health: Lincoln Tribune

الثلاثاء، 3 يناير 2012

Lincoln Tribune

Report: Israel to build wall on Lebanese border to quell tensions
Indonesia recovers hijacked tug boat in Straight of Singapore
Sword master behind Darth Vader, Bob Anderson, dies at 89
Greek pharmacists and doctors begin nationwide strike
Truck crushes school van in northern India, killing 11

Report: Israel to build wall on Lebanese border to quell tensions

Posted: 02 Jan 2012 09:19 PM PST

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL (BNO NEWS) -- The government of Israel is planning to construct a wall which would separate its northernmost town from a Lebanese village in a bid to quell tensions in the area, according to media reports on Monday.

The Ma'an News Agency and the Xinhua news agency both cited Israeli officials saying the construction of the wall is expected to begin in the coming weeks when the plans are finalized. "The area in question has been a source of friction in the past," an Israeli army spokesman told Xinhua.

The wall would separate the Israeli village of kibbutz al-Matala and the Lebanese village of Kafr Kala. It would measure about five meters (16.4 feet) high and one kilometer (0.6 mile) long and be equipped with alarms.

In 2000, the United Nations (UN) established the 'Blue Line' which covers a stretch of the Israeli and Lebenon border area which has been disputed by both sides. The line was set to determine whether Israel had withdrawn from Lebanon after its 1982 invasion.

Border tensions have been high ever since. In November 2011, a series of four Katyusha rockets were fired from Lebanon into the Western Galilee area of northern Israel.

As a result of the attack, two buildings were damaged and one of the 122-millimeter (4.8 inch) rockets struck a gas tank. A fire broke out which burned for several hours, but there were no injuries.

The al-Qaeda affiliated militant group the Sheikh Abdullah Azzam Brigades later claimed responsibility for the attack. Members of the small group mostly live in Palestinian refugee camps in southern Lebanon and have limited and outdated arms, many of them leftover from the Lebanon civil war in the 1980s.

Indonesia recovers hijacked tug boat in Straight of Singapore

Posted: 02 Jan 2012 09:09 PM PST

JAKARTA, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) -- An Indonesian tug boat which was hijacked with nine crew members in the Straight of Singapore last month was rescued on Monday, officials said on Tuesday.

Noel Choong, chief of the piracy reporting center of the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), told the Straight Times that Indonesian authorities had rescued the tug boat, which had been hijacked several days earlier. Few details were immediately released.

The tug boat and barge had not been contacted since December 27 when it was located off the coast of southern Malaysia near the Straight of Singapore, as it was heading toward the island of Borneo.

Choong, who said the IMB was pleased with the recovery of the tug boat, noted that it had been towing a barge laden with heavy machinery and piling materials when Indonesian aircraft spotted it. Only one day later, three warships found the tug boat in the same area.

Sword master behind Darth Vader, Bob Anderson, dies at 89

Posted: 02 Jan 2012 08:56 PM PST

LONDON (BNO NEWS) -- English actor and fencer Bob Anderson, who portrayed Darth Vader in the original Star Wars saga, died on Sunday, the British Academy of Fencing announced Monday. He was 89.

Anderson, of Hampshire in southern England, was the stunt double for Darth Vader in 'Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back' and 'Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi', being one of the seven people who portrayed the famous sci-fi villain. The character's voice was brought to life by actor James Earl Jones, and he was physically portrayed by former weightlifter David Prowse.

"It is with extreme sadness that I must inform you that Bob Anderson passed away peacefully [yesterday] at 4 a.m. in hospital," Philip Bruce of the British Academy of Fencing said.

"He was truly one of our greatest fencing masters and a world-class film fight director and choreographer and both the fencing community and film world will miss him. My heart felt sympathies and thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues at this very sad time," Bruce added.

Little credit had been given to Anderson until Mark Hamill, who acted as Luke Skywalker, told Starlog Magazine that Anderson had done all of Darth Vader's sword fighting and deserved recognition.

Anderson also competed in the 1952 Olympic Games for Great Britain in fencing. He also participated in the World Championships in 1950. After emigrating to Canada, he became the technical director of the Canadian Fencing Association.

In the film industry, Anderson would work with several actors such as Errol Flynn and Antonio Banderas. He would also participate on the set of the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy.

Anderson died at an English hospital and is survived by his wife and three children.

Greek pharmacists and doctors begin nationwide strike

Posted: 02 Jan 2012 06:02 PM PST

ATHENS, GREECE (BNO NEWS) -- Greek doctors and pharmacists have started off the new year with strikes after comments from the country's health minister, local media reported on Monday.

Following statements by Greek Health Minister Andreas Loverdos, who said the state intends to reduce the state-mandated profit margin on prescription, pharmacists across the country announced a two-day strike for Monday and Tuesday, Athens News reported.

In addition, pharmacists said that those with social security funds will not be able to obtain their prescriptions on credit, as it had been previously announced by the health ministry.

This comes after the Panhellenic Pharmacists Association (PFS) claimed that the Greek Health Ministry made the announcement without consulting them. PFS also argued that the initiative further downgrades the already small profit margin of pharmacists, while reimbursement operations from the government were also delayed.

Furthermore, the Panhellenic Medical Association (PIS) announced that doctors working in hospitals and local health centers from the Social Security Foundation (IKA) will be carrying out a four-day strike from Monday to Thursday.

Greek Labor Minister Yiorgos Koutroumanis denounced the strike and the decision to stop providing prescription on credit for those with health insurance and pensioners. Koutroumanis argued that pharmacists were trying to prevent the National Organisation for Provision of Healthcare Services (EOPYY) from working, and said that on Thursday, pharmacists would be paid 10 days earlier than the 45-day reimbursement period.

Truck crushes school van in northern India, killing 11

Posted: 02 Jan 2012 05:58 PM PST

AMBALA, INDIA (BNO NEWS) -- Eleven people were killed on early Monday morning when a truck crashed into a passenger school van in northern India, police said. All but one of those killed were young children.

The accident occurred early Monday morning when the overloaded passenger van collided head-on with another vehicle near the village of Bhita on the Saha-Shahabad road, not far from the city of Ambala in the country's Haryana State.

Ambala district officials said the overloaded school van was carrying students from Arjun Public School near Saha and said the ten child victims were between 5 and 8 years old. The eleventh fatality was the driver of the van, whose identity was not immediately released.

In addition to the fatalities, twenty others on the van were injured and taken to hospitals in Ambala where some remain in a critical condition. The driver of the other vehicle, a truck, fled the scene of the accident and was being searched by authorities.

The cause of the accident was not immediately known, but local police said heavy fog in the area made it difficult for the drivers to see.

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الثلاثاء، 3 يناير 2012

Lincoln Tribune

Lincoln Tribune

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