Newly-released satellite images of the presumed site of an Israeli air raid on Syria last month suggest that a large building has been completely removed.

US research group, the Institute for Science and International Security, obtained and analysed the images.

The industrial-style building may have been a nuclear reactor under construction, says the ISIS.

A BBC correspondent says the images are not conclusive. Nor is it certain that they show the site hit by Israeli jets.

The Israeli strike has been shrouded in mystery and speculation.

Originally Israel did not even admit that the 6 September raid had been carried out, and its military censor ordered a complete blackout on information.

But Syria said Israeli warplanes violated its airspace in what it called a "hostile act", and Israel eventually acknowledged the mission some four weeks later.

Intelligence sources hinted at a possible link with North Korea's nuclear programme.

'Resemblance'

On Wednesday the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), an independent organisation, released satellite images pre-dating the attack, of a facility in northern Syria that it believes was the target.

They showed both a large industrial building and a pumping station near the Euphrates river.

Via BBC News
Read More

Labels: worlds-news

Iran has responded defiantly to new sanctions imposed by the US targeting Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps and three state-owned banks.

The Iranian foreign ministry said the sanctions were doomed to failure.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the measures are to "confront the threatening behaviour of the Iranians".

But both China and Russia criticised the sanctions. Russian President Vladimir Putin likened the US move to "mad people wielding razor blades".

Earlier, US Assistant Secretary of State Nicholas Burns criticised Russia for selling weapons to Iran and China for investing in the country.

He told the BBC: "It's very difficult for countries to say we're striking out on our own when they've got their own policies on the military side, aiding and abetting the Iranian government in strengthening its own military."

Via: BBC News
Read More

Labels: worlds-news

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Asociated Press

BALTIMORE — The father of a Marine killed in Iraq took the stand in his invasion of privacy suit against a fundamentalist church that pickets soldiers' funerals, saying protesters carrying signs at his son's burial made him sick to his stomach.

Albert Snyder said Wednesday he had hoped for a private funeral for his son, Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder.

"They turned this funeral into a media circus and they wanted to hurt my family," Snyder testified. "They wanted their message heard and they didn't care who they stepped over. My son should have been buried with dignity, not with a bunch of clowns outside."

Snyder is suing the Westboro Baptist church, whose members have picketed the funerals of military personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, claiming the deaths are punishment for the country's tolerance of homosexuality. The York resident is seeking unspecified monetary damages in the case for invasion of privacy and intent to inflect emotional distress as a result of the Topeka, Kan., church's protest at his son's funeral in Westminster in March 2006.

The church's protests have inspired several state laws and a federal law about funeral protests, but the Maryland suit is believed to be the first filed by the family of a fallen serviceman.

Source: FoxNews

Read More

Labels: worlds-news

COLUMBIA, S.C. --Police on Wednesday were investigating how a naked couple fell 50 feet from the roof of a downtown office building to their deaths.

The bodies were found on the road by a passing cabdriver around 5 a.m. Wednesday.

Clothing was discovered on the roof, leading authorities to suspect the man and woman, in their early 20s, may have been having sex. Their identities were not released.

"It's too early to rule out anything," Columbia police Sgt. Florence McCants said, but McCants said a preliminary investigation didn't show any sign of foul play.

Via: Boston News

Labels: shocking, worlds-news

06/18/2007 05:16 am
The Associated Press (SELMER, Tenn.)

Cars for Kids has staged a charity car show for 18 years in this small town, and the drivers always do crowd-pleasing burnouts _ spinning the tires to make them heat up and smoke _ at the end of the parade.

There had never been an accident until this past weekend, when pro drag racer Troy Warren Critchley lost control of his car and six people lost their lives.

The six people killed were all in their teens and early 20s, Tennessee Highway Patrol spokesman Mike Browning said. Saturday's wreck injured at least 20 others, including a 5-year-old boy, who were taken to hospitals in Tennessee and Mississippi.

The Highway Patrol scheduled a news conference for Monday to talk about the accident investigation.

Witnesses questioned the decision Sunday to let the driver speed down a highway with no guard rails, lined on both sides by hundreds of spectators.

"It ain't really safe to do anything with drag cars on a city street," said 19-year-old Garett Moore, who said he was about 15 feet away from the wreck, but was uninjured. "They shouldn't have done it."

Amateur video of the crash, broadcast on WMC-TV in Memphis, showed the car's engine revving loudly before the vehicle sped down a highway. After a few hundred feet, the smoking car skidded off the road and into the crowd.


Critchley, an Australian drag racer who is now based in Wylie, Texas, suffered minor injuries and was taken by car to a nearby hospital for treatment, authorities said. No criminal charges have been filed against Critchley, Browning said.

There was a short guard rail along part of the highway, but not along the stretch where the crash occurred.

Nick Staples, who was at the car show and charity event with his wife and three children, said he was standing 20 feet from where the car plowed into the audience.

"There should have been guard rails," Staples said. "But even if there had been, it wouldn't have mattered."

Mourners placed small votive candles, flowers, teddy bears and a ceramic angel at the crash site, which is located along state Highway 64 near the intersection with state Highway 45.

The Highway Patrol said Raven Griswell, 15, of Finger; and Sean Michael Driskill, 22, of Adamsville, died at the scene. Four others _ Brook L. Pope, 20, of Selmer; Scarlett Replogle, 15, of Selmer; Kimberly A. Barfield, 17, of Adamsville; and Nicole Griswell, 19, of Selmer, all died later in area hospitals.

Authorities closed the festival after the crash.

Cars for Kids holds several events throughout the nation and raises close to $200,000 annually for charities that help children in need, according to its Web site.

The charity was formed in 1990, two years after founder Larry Price's son, Chad, suffered a severe head injury in a bicycle accident. Price promised that if his son was saved from lifelong injuries, he would spend the rest of his life raising funds for disabled children, according to the Web site.

Price said he hoped to keep the charity going, but he wouldn't do any more burnouts on public streets.

___

Associated Press writer Woody Baird contributed to this report.

Source: TalkingPhoneBook
Related Articles: 4 dead in Manchester...

Labels: shocking, worlds-news

Associated Press - June 16, 2007 11:05 PM ET

SELMER, Tenn. (AP) - A drag-racing vehicle lost control during a parade and spun into a crowd of bystanders on Saturday, killing four adults and injuring up to 15.

Tennessee Highway Patrol spokesman Mike Browning said authorities are trying to determine what caused the vehicle to careen into the crowd around 6:30 pm during a parade at the Cars for Kids charity event in Selmer, located about 80 miles east of Memphis.



The identities of the victims and the driver, or the driver's condition, were not immediately known after the accident.

Eight people were transported to three different hospitals in the region.

Scott Henley, of Selmer, witnessed the accident and said the vehicle started burning off its tires, then began to fishtail and careened into a light pole before spinning around into the audience.

About 40,000 to 60,000 people were expected to attend the weekend event in Selmer, which is held at the city park.

The car show parade took place along State Highway 45, near the city park.

McNairy County sheriff's officials and Selmer police began to close down the festival shortly after the accident.

Source: Wreg.com

Labels: shocking, worlds-news

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - A 21-year-old man got the ride of a lifetime when his electric wheelchair became lodged in the grille of a semitrailer and was pushed down a highway for several miles at about 50 mph.




In this photo released by the Michigan State Police, Ben Carpenter is shown in his motorized wheelchair stuck to the front grill of this semi truck where he was pushed eastbound on Red Arrow Highway near Paw Paw, Michigan. (AP)







Ben Carpenter was unharmed but was taken to a hospital as a precaution. He had been secured to his wheelchair by a seat belt. Carpenter, who has muscular dystrophy, told a television station that he thought he might not make it through the ride.
"I was probably thinking that this is going to keep going and not stop anywhere, 50 or 60 miles somewhere," he told WOOD-TV of Grand Rapids.
Ben Carpenter’s father, Donald, told The Associated Press that his son had started to cross at an intersection Wednesday afternoon in Paw Paw, about 140 miles west of Detroit. The light changed to green while his son was in front of a semi, which started moving.
The wheelchair’s handles became lodged in the grille, the father said, and the wild ride started.
Motorists called 911 on their cell phones, and a pair of undercover police officers who happened to be nearby saw what was happening. They pulled the truck over and told the disbelieving driver, Donald Carpenter said.
The chair was undamaged except for losing most of the rubber on its wheels, he said.
"It’s a very bad story that ended very well," he said. "We’re just thrilled that he’s still around."

Via: BostonHerald

Labels: Interesting-Stuff, worlds-news

LOS ANGELES - Officers seized more than 100 pet rats, dozens of rabbits and other animals including several birds from the home of an 81-year-old woman, who was later treated at a hospital for what appeared to be bites, authorities said."

The woman had no food in the house for herself and seemed disoriented," said Annette Ramirez, an officer with the city's Animal Services Department. "Her arms were covered with open wounds apparently caused by animal bites."

Animal control officers discovered the scene while investigating a report Monday of unkempt conditions at a home in suburban Wilmington. In all, they found about 120 rats, 25 rabbits, six parakeets, a dog, a quail and a cockatiel, she said.The woman, identified as Wanda Langstom, was overwhelmed by how quickly the rats reproduced, Ramirez said."She said it just started with two but it got out of hand," Ramirez said.Most of the animals were in fair condition, but two rabbits needed medical attention. They will all be available for adoption after being treated by a veterinarian, she said.

Source: News Day

Labels: worlds-news

A Polish man has woken up from a 19-year coma to find the Communist party no longer in power and food no longer rationed, Polish TV reports.

Railway worker Jan Grzebski, 65, fell into a coma after he was hit by a train in 1988.

"Now I see people on the streets with mobile phones and there are so many goods in the shops it makes my head spin," he told Polish television.

He credits his survival to his wife, Gertruda, who cared for him.

Doctors gave him only two or three years to live after the accident.

A comatose patient is in a profound state of unconsciousness which renders them unaware of both self and the world around them, and from which they cannot be roused.

Although those in a coma do not respond to stimuli in a meaningful way, contrary to popular belief they do not always lie quiet and still - in some cases they can move, open their eyes and even talk.

Fall of communists

"It was Gertruda that saved me, and I'll never forget it," Mr Grzebski told news channel TVN24 of his recovery.

Mrs Grzebski is reported to have moved her husband every hour to prevent bed sores.

"I cried a lot, and I prayed a lot," Mrs Grzebski said on Polsat television.

"Those who came to see us kept asking: 'When is he going to die?' But he's not dead."

When Mr Grzebski had his accident Poland was still ruled by its last communist leader, Wojciech Jaruzelski.

"When I went into a coma there was only tea and vinegar in the shops, meat was rationed and huge petrol queues were everywhere," Mr Grzebski said.

The following year's elections ushered in eastern Europe's first post-communist government.

Poland joined the Nato alliance in 1999 and the European Union in 2004.

"What amazes me today is all these people who walk around with their mobile phones and never stop moaning," said Mr Grzebski.

"I've got nothing to complain about."

Source: BBC News

Labels: shocking, worlds-news

INNSBRUCK, Austria — Workers remodeling a house in western Austria found the bodies of two infants, and police discovered a third set of remains after a search, authorities said Saturday.

Officials said the discovery was made Friday at an apartment building in the alpine city of Innsbruck.

Workers were excavating the building's cellar when they came upon the bodies, which had been stuffed into plastic bags and buried, police said.

The ages of the three infants were not immediately clear. Investigators said they were awaiting the results of autopsies on the remains to determine the cause of death, but police spokesman Walter Pupp said two of the newborns appeared to have been boys.

The Austria Press Agency quoted an unidentified official as saying the evidence suggested the bodies had been in the cellar "for years."

Pupp said Saturday that investigators were trying to track down former tenants as part of their effort to find the infants' parents and determine whether the babies were stillborn or whether foul play was involved.

Although a search turned up no other bodies, Pupp said police could not rule out the possibility of unearthing more remains.

Friday's discovery was reminiscent of a 2005 case in the southern Austrian city of Graz, where the bodies of four infants — two in a freezer, the other two entombed in cement-filled buckets — were found at a home.

The mother is serving a sentence for murder after pleading guilty to the slayings.

Source: FoxNews

Labels: shocking, worlds-news

A 60-year-old New Jersey psychologist gave birth to two boys Tuesday, making her possibly the oldest woman ever to deliver twins in the United States.

Frieda Birnbaum gave birth to "Baby A" at 12:44 p.m. and "Baby B" a minute later by Caesarean section at Hackensack University Medical Center, hospital spokeswoman Nancy Radwin said. The twins each weighed 4 pounds, 11 ounces, she said.

Birnbaum told CBS' The Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm that age and longevity were not considerations for her. "I didn't know I was that old. And then I'm looking at the media and seeing '60-year-old woman.' I said, 'That's me?' Because I don't know what age means, you know? I feel like a 40-year-old."

"It's being defined as something incredible. I'm not doing anything incredible; my energy, my pregnancy, my delivery — there were no complications.

Birnbaum, a psychologist from Saddle River, underwent in-vitro fertilization last year in Cape Town, South Africa, at a center that specializes in older women. She and her husband, Ken, a New York attorney, have been married for 38 years.

"I suppose age has been redefined, hopefully," she told Storm, admitting that her television appearance was in part to let other women know that "if they feel like it and they feel young enough, go do whatever it is you want to do. It's about empowerment for women."

Birnbaum was not concerned by the fact that she would be 80 when her twin boys attend college. "My parents both lived on into their 90s," she said. "My father was 92; my mother was 89. They were mentally sound. And they'd both be alive [today] if not for medical negligence. So we've had no problems with that decision, as far as longevity is concerned."

She said she and her husband wanted their 6 ½-year-old boy to have siblings of a comparable age. (They have two older children — a son, 33, and a daughter, 29).

Coincidentally, Tuesday was the birthday of twins born one year ago to a 59-year-old woman — also to a New Jersey woman. Lauren Cohen gave birth to Gregory and Giselle on May 22, 2006, at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia.

Cohen said Birnbaum contacted her after seeing her name in a magazine and that the two quickly became friends.

"We talked about babies; I suggested things that would be helpful when you try to feed two babies simultaneously," Cohen said.

© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: CBS News

Labels: Interesting-Stuff, worlds-news