health: Lincoln Tribune

الثلاثاء، 3 أبريل 2012

Lincoln Tribune

U.S. authorities investigate Internet threat to New York City
Six-year-old Cambodian girl dies from bird flu
Macky Sall sworn in as Senegal’s president
3 children die in Gaza candle fire amidst energy crisis
Thai PM visits south after car bomb attacks kill 14

U.S. authorities investigate Internet threat to New York City

Posted: 02 Apr 2012 06:23 PM PDT

NEW YORK (BNO NEWS) -- U.S. authorities are investigating the meaning and origin of three images which were posted on an al-Qaeda affiliated website on Monday. The graphics appear to threaten an al-Qaeda attack in the near future in New York City, although a note suggests it may not be a serious threat.

The graphics were posted on early Monday morning on a forum which is used by al-Qaeda leaders to release statements, videos and audio but is also used for discussions by its supporters. The images were posted in the 'artwork and design' section of the website, indicating that the poster is likely a supporter but not a member of al-Qaeda.

Three graphics were posted on the website, all of which are identical except for the font used to display a caption reading 'Al-Qaeda Coming Soon Again in New York.' The graphic uses a publicly available wallpaper, showing the Manhattan skyline, although it has been edited to show a street with pedestrians in the foreground.

"The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force is aware of the posting and investigating its authenticity and origin," said FBI spokesman J. Peter Donald, adding that the agency takes all threats seriously. "At this time there is no specific or credible threat to New York."

New York Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Paul J. Browne said the cyber unit at the NYPD's Intelligence Division is also investigating the origin and significance of the graphic. "Until more is learned about their origin, we take all threats against New York City seriously," Browne said, without saying whether extra security measures have been taken.

A note from the creator of the graphic called the posting a 'humble attempt' at merging two images with Photoshop, suggesting that the images may have been created as a test and not meant to represent a serious terror threat. Members of the forum congratulated the poster for creating the graphic.

Six-year-old Cambodian girl dies from bird flu

Posted: 02 Apr 2012 05:53 PM PDT

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA (BNO NEWS) -- A six-year-old girl died from bird flu in central Cambodia late last week, the country's health ministry and the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed on Monday. It is the second bird flu death in the country so far this year.

The Cambodian Health Ministry said 6-year-old Noy Makara of the Kampong Tralach district in Kampong Chhnang province had fallen ill on March 22 after eating the meat of a sick chicken. Her family initially attempted to treat her with medicine and injections, but the girl's condition continued to worsen.

"She did not get better and her family sent her for treatment at the Kuntha Bopha hospital on March 28," Morm Malay, deputy director of the provincial health department, told the Phnom Penh Post. He said the victim died on Friday, and hospital tests confirmed she had contracted the H5N1 strain of avian influenza.

Friday's bird flu fatality is the second in Cambodia so far this year, following the death of a 2-year-old boy in northwestern Banteay Meanchey province in early January. The latest death is the first ever confirmed case of H5N1 influenza in Kampong Chhnang province.

Since 2003, the H5N1 bird flu virus has killed or forced the culling of more than 400 million domestic poultry and caused an estimated $20 billion of economic damage across the globe before it was eliminated from most of the 63 infected countries.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the bird flu virus has infected 595 people since it first appeared, killing 351 of them. Most cases and deaths were recorded in Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt and China. Cambodia registered a total of eight fatal cases of human infection in 2011.

Macky Sall sworn in as Senegal’s president

Posted: 02 Apr 2012 05:25 PM PDT

DAKAR, SENEGAL (BNO NEWS) -- The newly elected president of Senegal, Macky Sall, was sworn into office on Monday to become the country's new leader in 12 years. He will succeed long-time president Abdoulaye Wade.

Sall, 50, won the second round of voting on March 25 over Wade and is set to formally take office on Tuesday, becoming Senegal's fourth president since 1960, when the nation became independent from French Sudan.

During the first round of voting on February 26, Wade received 34.81 percent of the votes against Sall's 26.5 percent. Because none of the candidates reached a majority of the votes, a run-off was held last month, resulting in 65.80 percent of the votes for Sall after he received the support of other presidential candidates who ran against Wade and Sall in the first round.

Wade was previously elected to two consecutive presidential terms, the first which began in April 2000. The first term was seven years long while the second term was five years long, and Sall promised during his election campaign to establish two five-year presidential terms as a maximum.

"I swear to faithfully fulfill the office of president," Sall said on Monday as he took the oath of office.

In 2008, Senegal's constitution established that presidents could only serve a maximum of two terms, but 85-year-old Wade pushed for his third term, arguing that his first term should not be considered as the new rule was introduced after it had ended.

3 children die in Gaza candle fire amidst energy crisis

Posted: 02 Apr 2012 04:22 PM PDT

GAZA STRIP (BNO NEWS) -- Three Palestinian children were killed on late Sunday night when a candle accident set their room ablaze, local media reported on Monday, as the energy crisis continues in the Gaza Strip.

The accident occurred on late Sunday night in the town of Deir Balah, located in the central Gaza Strip, when the children's room caught fire due to a candle, which was lighting the room.

Adham Abu Selmiya, a spokesman for emergency services in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, told Ynet News that three children aged two, five and six were killed. A fourth child, who is only six months old, suffered serious burn injuries and was rushed to a local hospital.

The energy crisis in the Gaza Strip continues as the only power station in the coastal area was shut down last week when it ran out of fuel, only two days after receiving (118,877 US gallons) of fuel from Israel.

However, protesters and local authorities have blamed the Israeli government for the energy crisis since it has been conducting a blockade to the strip. In addition, in June 2006, Israel destroyed the region's main power station. In 2008, Israel restricted pumping into the area after considering the Hamas-led area a hostile entity.

Last week, the Red Cross said it will be delivering emergency supplies to help Gaza's worst energy crisis, which is also affecting medical services.

Thai PM visits south after car bomb attacks kill 14

Posted: 02 Apr 2012 04:01 PM PDT

HAT YAI, THAILAND (BNO NEWS) -- Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Monday visited the southern region where a deadly bomb attack killed at least fourteen people over the weekend, local media reported. Hundreds more were injured in the attack.

Shinawatra arrived at the Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel in the Hat Yai commercial district, located in the province of Songkhla, near the Malaysian border.

Two car bomb attacks targeted the provincial seat of Yala, the capital of the southern province which holds the same name, in addition to the Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel in Hat Yai. In total, at least 14 people were confirmed dead while more than 500 others were reported injured.

Thailand's army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha told the MCOT news agency that the bomb attacks were carried out by an offshoot of the Barisan Revolusi Nasional. As a result of the attack, the military leader said officials are considering increasing the presence of troops in the area.

Prime Minister Shinawatra was received by Songkhla governor Krisda Boonraj and Region 9 Police commander Lieutenant General Chakthip Chaichinda. The leader visited several victims at the Hat Yai Hospital, expressing regret after the attack and assuring that the government would provide rehabilitation services.

Since 2004, over 4,800 people have been killed in Thailand's southern regions of Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat, as local insurgent groups renewed their fighting efforts against the government. More than 7,000 people have been injured in violent incidents launched by separatist militants.

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الثلاثاء، 3 أبريل 2012

Lincoln Tribune

Lincoln Tribune

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