Tuesday, April 19, 2011
657 New Islands Discovered Worldwide
Here's something you don't see every day — hundreds of new
The Earth has 657 more barrier islands than previously thought, according to a new global survey by researchers from Duke University and Meredith College in Raleigh, N.C.
The researchers identified a total of 2,149 barrier islands worldwide using satellite images, topographical maps and navigational charts. The new total is significantly higher than the 1,492 islands identified in a 2001 survey conducted without the aid of publicly available satellite imagery.
20 children killed in humanitarian effort for Misratah
"We have at least 20 verified child deaths and many more injuries due to shrapnel from mortars and tanks and bullet wounds," Reuters quoted Marixie Mercado of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) as saying in Geneva on Tuesday.
Mercado also said child casualties in Libya are “far worse than feared” and expressed deep concern that the death toll could rise if a ceasefire is not brokered immediately.
Food agencies say the residents of the besieged city of Misratah are in dire need of food, medicine, and other basic necessities while tens of thousands of foreign workers and injured people are waiting at the port to be evacuated.
Meanwhile, the UN says it has reached an agreement with the Libyan government to create a humanitarian corridor for dispatching aid to the long-suffering residents of Misratah.
Fidel Castro Resigns: Brother Raul Named Cuba Communist Party Head (VIDEO)
HAVANA (AP) -- Cuba's Communist Party stuck Tuesday with a slate of silver-haired icons of the revolution to spearhead a last-ditch effort to save the island's sputtering economy -- surprising those who took to heart declarations by Raul and Fidel Castro that it was time to give way to a new generation of leaders. (Scroll down for video)
Delegates to a key Party Congress picked 79-year-old Raul Castro to replace his ailing brother at the helm, while weathered veterans moved up to the No. 2 and 3 positions. Three somewhat younger politicians were named to lesser roles in the leadership council, but it remained dominated by men who came of age before television, let alone the Internet.
Fidel Castro made a surprise appearance, to thunderous applause from delegates, many of whom could be seen crying as he was helped to his place on stage by a young aide, then stood at attention during Cuba's national anthem.
Wearing a blue track suit over a checked shirt, the 84-year-old revolutionary leader looked unsteady on his feet as he clutched the aide's arm, and at times slumped in his chair. He became more animated as the proceedings continued, especially when Raul's name was read out by an official announcing members of the party's Central Committee. Fidel was left off the leadership slate for the first time.
But Raul said his brother needed no formal title to continue being the country's guiding light. "Fidel is Fidel," he said.
In a speech closing out the Congress, Raul acknowledged the lack of fresh faces, saying the country had failed to develop young leaders because of errors committed in the past, including by him and his brother.
"We have kept various veterans of the historic generation, and that is logical due to the consequences of the mistakes that have been made in this area," Raul told 1,000 delegates gathered in a sprawling Havana convention center.
Plane carrying Michelle Obama nearly collides with military cargo jet due to error with air traffic control [Updated]
A plane carrying First Lady Michelle Obamanearly collided with a military cargo jetMonday due to a mistake by air traffic control personnel.
The Washington Post is reporting that the Boeing 737 with Michelle Obama onboard was preparing to land at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland when air traffic control instructed the White House plane to execute a series of S-turns so it would not collide with a 200-ton C-17.
[Corrected, 3:20 p.m.: An earlier version of this post said the plane was trying to land at Edwards Air Force Base.]
When it became a greater possibility that the C-17 wouldn't be able to get off the runway quickly enough for the White House plane to land, the Andrews controllers instructed the 737 to abort its landing.
"In the grand scheme of things, events like this happen fairly frequently," a federal official who works with the air traffic control system told the Post anonymously. "Unfortunately, this one involves a presidential plane."
A second FAA manager told the Post that the error began with an air traffic controller at the Potomac Terminal Radar Approach Control facility in Warrenton, Va. "Not only did he get them too close, he told the [Andrews controller] that they were farther apart than they were," the manager said
Job center giving superhero capes to the unemployed
Florida's unemployment agency director has asked for an investigation into a federally funded jobs agency that is giving 6,000 superhero capes to the jobless.
Workforce Central Florida spent more than $14,000 on red capes as part of a media campaign to raise awareness of its services, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
The jobs agency plans to distribute the superhero capes to residents taking part in the agency's "Cape-A-Bility Challenge" by trying to vanquish "Dr. Evil Unemployment."
Residents of central Florida can win a cape by becoming a Workforce Central Florida fan on Facebook, taking a Facebook quiz, having a photo taken with a foam cutout of Dr. Evil Unemployment, tweeting a job posting, or using LinkedIn to recommend someone using the word "super."
The agency also spent about $2,300 on 12 five-feet-tall foam board cutouts of Dr. Evil Unemployment.
Florida Director Cynthia Lorenzo said the spending seemed "insensitive and wasteful" and has asked for an investigation
US has flown 800 Libya sorties since NATO takeover
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US military has flown more than 800 sorties over Libya since handing control of the air campaign's operations to NATO, the Defense Department said Tuesday.
Navy Captain Darryn James said US fighter jets this month unleashed bombs eight times on the air defenses of strongman Moamer Kadhafi's government, which is battling anti-regime rebels in the North African nation.
"The US has flown more than 800 sorties in support of Operation Unified Protector since April 1, and of those, more than 150 have been SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses) missions," said James, a Pentagon spokesman.
Do Americans Really Want Humanitarian Wars?
Bradley Manning, WikiLeaks Suspect, Being Moved Out Of Quantico
WASHINGTON — U.S. officials say the Army private suspected of giving classified data to WikiLeaks is being moved to Fort Leavenworth in Kansas in the wake of international criticism about his treatment during his detention at the Marine Corps base at Quantico, Va.
The officials say an announcement that Army Pfc. Bradley Manning will be moved is expected Wednesday at the Pentagon. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the move has not yet been made public.
Amnesty International has said Manning's treatment may violate his human rights. A committee of Germany's parliament has also protested about his treatment to the White House.
Manning is being held in maximum security in a single-occupancy cell at Quantico, and he is allowed to wear only a suicide-proof smock to bed each night.
Royal Wedding: Police Say Muslim Extremists And English Defence League Protests Will Be Stopped
The commitment came after one radical group, Muslims Against Crusades, made a formal bid for permission to demonstrate outside Westminster Abbey on the big day.
Senior officers rejected the application but admitted they have no powers to ban a stationary protest elsewhere in central London.
The group's US-registered website has a clock counting down the hours until the wedding on April 29 and includes a mocked-up photo of Prince Harry wearing a swastika beret.
"We strongly advise Prince William... to withdraw from the crusader British military and give up all affiliation to the tyrannical British Empire," the group's website warns.
"We promise that should they refuse, then the day which the nation has been dreaming of for so long will become a nightmare..."
'Bahrain police abduct 6 female teachers'
The teachers were kidnapped on Tuesday, witnesses said.
On Monday, Bahraini security forces arrested eight teachers and several pupils in the town of Hamad.
Meanwhile, the Bahraini education ministry formed a committee tasked with taking action against school officials taking part in anti-government protests and strikes.
Reports said some heads of schools, administration staff as well as teachers have already been summoned for questioning.
To express solidarity with the ongoing revolution, thousands of teachers, called by the Bahrain Teachers Society, went on a strike in February and again during in March.
People in Bahrain have been protesting since February 14, demanding an end to the rule of the Al Khalifa dynasty.
Group: Public cut out of SC Amazon tax discussion
Last Modified: Tuesday, April 19, 2011 at 3:01 p.m.
COLUMBIA — A conservative policy group said the public is being cut out of the discussion on a sales tax break for a South Carolina warehouse planned by online retail giant Amazon.com.
South Carolina Policy Council president Ashley Landess said the Senate Finance Committee meeting Tuesday does not give the public ample notice or opportunity to be heard on the issue.
South Carolina's Commerce Department had promised Amazon wouldn't have to collect sales taxes on goods sold in South Carolina as part of a deal to get the company to hire more than 1,200 people at a new facility in Lexington County. Amazon says it will scuttle its plans if it doesn't get the tax break.
Landess' group opposes such tax breaks as giving companies an unfair advantage over established retailers.