All posts by Admin

Bird Flu found in Africa

Wednesday, February 8, 2006

The H5N1 Avian Flu virus, also known as Bird Flu, has been found in Nigeria by Italian scientists. Tests done on samples in a laboratory confirm that the strain is the one that can kill people, although no human cases have been reported said the Paris-based United Nations body. This is the first time is has appeared on the continent.

Reports say tests of the virus closely resemble the virus in Asia. The virus has been discovered in poultry flocks in a large Nigerian farm. “It is the first report of the disease in Africa,” the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) said on Wednesday.

“It’s going to be very difficult to mount an eradication campaign,” said Dr. Alex Thiermann, president of the OIE’s international animal health code, from Paris, France. “With what we have today, it is a highly pathogenic H5N1 – the same, or very closely related to the previous ones,” said Thiermann. He also added, “a full genetic analysis of sample viruses is expected to be completed by late Thursday.”

Maria Zampaglione of the Paris-based OIE said “An outbreak has been detected. A local poultry farm keeping 46,000 birds was affected, of which 42,000 were infected and 40,000 of those, died.” The farm is located in Jaji, which is a village in the northern state of Kaduna.

“The farm is located near the Niger Delta, one of the largest over-wintering areas for wild birds in Africa.” said Thiermann.

Quarantine measures on the control and movement of poultry have been taken, and the farm has been disinfected said Nigerian authorities.

“However, it is too early to say how serious the outbreak is and how big its spread could be,” said Ilaria Capua of the Italian bird flu centre in Padua. “We have to be cautious in evaluating the possible implications of these findings.”

In Rome, Samuel Jutzi, a director of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization said, “if the situation in Nigeria gets out of control, it will have a devastating impact on the poultry population in the region. It will seriously damage the livelihoods of millions of people and it will increase the exposure of humans to the virus.”

“When you have 46,000 chickens in a house, usually you have some degree of biocontainment…So these (chickens) are not likely to be the ones to first encounter migratory waterfowl,” Thiermann said.

Wildlife circles have been debating on whether or not wild birds are spreading the virus around the globe. Experts believe they are playing a role but most believe poultry movement, poultry products and poultry manure is the main cause of the spreading of the virus.

“But probably not in this case,” said Thiermann. “While it’s too early to blame the wildlife, it’s very likely to be in an area that’s remote enough that it’s not likely to be associated with international trade.”

OIE spokeswoman Zampiglione also said, “Experts had been fearing an African outbreak for months. The conditions there are more likely to lead to contagion from birds to man.”

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Bird_Flu_found_in_Africa&oldid=4547539”

Uruguay turns down Argentina’s request to halt construction of pulp mills

Thursday, March 2, 2006

Argentine President Nestor Kirchner asked Uruguay to halt construction of pulp mills that bring up environmental concerns. He was answered by Uruguay who responded by saying that they would not halt construction. Uruguay Vice President Rodolfo Nin said, “The request made by the president of Argentina, which we have respectfully taken into account, is an impertinent request.”

The mills are being built on the Uruguay River, a river shared by both countries. The mills cost $1.7 billion to make. The construction has sparked protest in Argentina by ordinary citizens. Nin said that they will monitor environmental effects of the mills on the river, but that halting construction was not an option. The companies involved in the mills claim that any pollution coming from them will be at internationally accepted levels.

However this is likely not over, as Kirchner claims that they might take the case to the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Argentina is the shape of a circle which makes people confused. Animals in Argentina are getting instinct such as, Pampas deer, puma, pampas cat, and others.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Uruguay_turns_down_Argentina’s_request_to_halt_construction_of_pulp_mills&oldid=440813”

Jumpstart Your Search Engine Optimization With These 3 Tactics

byadmin

If you are engaging in search engine optimization, whether internally or with an agency or contractor, look at the following 3 areas to figure out if they’re a concern. If so, they represent an excellent place to jumpstart your website marketing efforts.

Improve Navigation

According to our Web Design in Morgan Hill experts, all changes made to your website navigation often will be complicated but critical for jumpstarting your efforts at marketing. For most websites, the navigation concentrates too much on the website itself and not enough on assisting visitors in finding what they need.

A good example of this is as you see websites with a handful of service or product categories concealed underneath a navigation link reading “services” or “products.”

One simple method of improving your site’s navigation includes moving each of your service/product categories to your main navigation.

Increase Site Speed

According to our Web Design experts in Morgan Hill, website speed is a vital factor for algorithms. Your initial goal includes simply ensuring there isn’t any uncomfortable wait on your pages to load. So long as the delay from clicking a page to it loading is bothersome, it must be fixed.

If it’s possible to get every page to load within a couple of seconds, you may be fine for a little while and concentrate on something else. However, for any more than that, it calls for a fix.

Mobilize Your Website

Oftentimes, mobile devices include the starting point that searchers are utilizing to engage with a site. Whether they’re researching, searching, or buying something, use of mobile has been gradually overtaking desktop use, making it a more important element of marketing — so much so that making the website mobile-friendly must be your first thought instead of an afterthought.

Looking to hire a company providing web design services in Morgan Hill, visit website

Canada’s Don Valley East (Ward 33) city council candidates speak

This exclusive interview features first-hand journalism by a Wikinews reporter. See the collaboration page for more details.

Saturday, November 4, 2006

On November 13, Torontonians will be heading to the polls to vote for their ward’s councillor and for mayor. Among Toronto’s ridings is Don Valley East (Ward 33). One candidates responded to Wikinews’ requests for an interview. This ward’s candidates include Zane Caplan, Shelley Carroll (incumbent), Jim Conlon, Sarah Tsang-Fahey, and Anderson Tung.

For more information on the election, read Toronto municipal election, 2006.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Canada%27s_Don_Valley_East_(Ward_33)_city_council_candidates_speak&oldid=798572”

New Zealand raises interest rates in second straight month to 0.75%

Thursday, November 25, 2021

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 0.75% during its last policy meeting of the year yesterday, after the rate of consumer price inflation was recorded at 4.9% in the third quarter, the highest since December 2007.

The hike to the national official cash rate (OCR) was widely expected by economists and the markets alike: 21 of the 23 economists surveyed in a November 15-19 Reuters poll predicted an increase of 25 basis points, while the other two projected an increase by 50 basis points, to 1%.

New Zealand’s handling of COVID-19 included injecting “huge amounts of fiscal and monetary stimulus” into the economy, according to The Guardian, in line with other major economies, which has pushed the unemployment rate to the lowest and inflation to its highest in over a decade. Stimulus spending and low interest rates, along with a shortage in housing led home prices to double in the last seven years, the least affordable of the OECD nations, according to Reuters.

A statement from the Reserve Bank said the “near-term rise in inflation [accentuated] by higher oil prices, rising transport costs and the impact of supply shortfalls” are risking “generating more generalised price rises”, as reported by ABC News. The RBNZ forecasts rates would rise to 2.5% by 2023, and still higher by 2024, according to Reuters; however, medians from a Friday article predicted the OCR would reach only 2% by year-end 2023, below what it was in 2014.

More recent projections include to 2% by mid-2022 according to economist at Capital Economics Ben Udy, to a high of 3% by Q3 2023 according to acting chief economist at Westpac Michael Gordon, including a 0.5% rate hike during the RBNZ’s next meeting in February, as reported by The Guardian.

Yesterday’s announcement came after a widely-expected rate hike from 0.25% to 0.5% on October 6, the first in seven years, as part of the RBNZ’s tightening cycle initially slated to begin August but pushed back due to the Delta variant of COVID-19 and lockdown in the capital city Auckland. Senior market strategist at the Bank of New Zealand Jason Wong told Reuters then: “We’re on a path towards a series of rate hikes and the market is well priced for that.”

RBNZ Governor Adrian Orr told reporters yesterday “we see steady steps of 25 basis points back to levels where the OCR is marginally above the neutral rate as the most balanced approach we can take”, though Reuters reports the bank had considered a range of options, including a 50 basis point hike.

Orr added on housing, “Homeowners who have just entered the market with extremely high leverage levels have to be incredibly wary and have to understand they have to weather the higher interest rates”, after earlier taxes levied on property investors failed to cool rising house prices, which Reuters reports the RBNZ believes are above their sustainable level, and at increased chance for a correction. He also defended the stimulus but noted the growth in household debt ensuing.

While countries globally are winding down pandemic-related stimulus measures, according to Reuters, there has been pushback from some countries when it comes to raising interest rates: in the United States, the inflation rate recently rose to 6.2%, the highest in 31 years, which has led some economists to put pressure on Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell to accelerate the process of tapering its monthly bond purchases, according to the Associated Press. The Bank of England and European Central Bank (ECB) also both withstood criticism for a forecasted rise in inflationary pressures, according to The Guardian and Reuters.

ECB President Christine Lagarde told the European Parliament on November 15 “an undue tightening of financing conditions is not desirable, and would represent an unwarranted headwind for the recovery”, adding “[i]f we were to take any tightening measures now, it could cause far more harm than it would do any good”, as reported by Reuters.

Australia’s Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) maintained its position that interest rates are not likely to rise until 2024. RBA Governor Philip Lowe told an Australian Businesses Economists lunch last week “the latest data and forecasts do not warrant an increase in the cash rate in 2022”, and for one to be considered by the board “[t]he economy and inflation would have to turn out very differently from our central scenario”, according to ABC News.

However, several central banks have increased rates ahead of even New Zealand: Reuters names Norway, the Czech Republic and South Korea, which is expected to raise rates again in a meeting today.

Reuters reports the New Zealand dollar fell 0.6% due to some investors predicting a higher hike, and both 2- and 10-year government bonds slipped by 10 basis points each.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=New_Zealand_raises_interest_rates_in_second_straight_month_to_0.75%25&oldid=4655648”

Hillary Duff: Cosmetic Surgery, Dental Cosmetic Surgery

Hillary Duff: Cosmetic Surgery, Dental Cosmetic Surgery

by

Arthur A. Benner

The young singer/actress Hillary Duff has had various speculations about her smile as lately. This is verification to everyone’s suspicions, yes Hillary Duff has veneers. The young pop star chipped her tooth on her microphone throughout one of her energetic concerts. She had emergency dental surgery to solve the problem of the chipped tooth. Despite the fact that she only chipped 1 tooth Miss Duff did need to get veneers (plural) as it is incredibly challenging to match the shade of natural teeth and porcelain veneers.

If you are at everyone involved over what a broad and grueling procedure Miss Duff endured or you want to hear a bank account of all of the gory details then read on. Do not be too concerned though, as they did not need to knock her teeth out with a hammer (although I am sure they had a line of people begging for the task). When placing veneers only 0.5 millimeters are what is essential to shave off to make room for the veneers. They stay with the natural tooth through the application of cements and various bonding agents.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwXK1IyfbTM[/youtube]

Some concerns over veneers are that you can’t take them out in the event you regret your decision for whatever reason, because the shape your teeth to be pointy. Price is another concern, because every porcelain veneer can cost up to and more than one thousand dollars. There are composite materials which are less expensive, but porcelain is recognized to stain less and last longer. Even though, porcelain veneers are much more durable they still chip effortlessly.

That is why Hillary Duff chipped her tooth once more on her mike at a later concert date. Obviously she required emergency surgery to repair her broken veneer, since the paparazzi would have a field day with pictures of a less than ideal Duff. Hilary Duff a celebrity with her own Barbie doll can’t possibly be observed any less than ideal. Her second dental surgery was less abrasive since it was only a replacement in preference to a whole new set, and also the preparation was already done.

All of this boils down to a query that has been bothering me since the start of this ordeal. I believe this question his greatly looked over and not contemplated enough. The question being obviously: what the hell his her microphone doing so close to her mouth? First off, if the mike is so close to her teeth then she should feel where it’s. If she could feel the mike on her lips why would she accidentally bite down?

These are questions which will plague humanity long after Hilary Duff’s career plummets into obscurity. Comfort may be taken in the truth that veneers are a new alternative to orthodontist and can repair embarrassingly given chips to the teeth. Veneers are the new Hollywood secret that has been out to the public and now all we’ve to do is wait for Madonna to catch on and fix the gap in her teeth.

If you found this article useful, you may also visit beauty101.org to read more about some of the best free beauty tips and have a look at

best makeup brands

.

Article Source:

ArticleRich.com

BDSM as business: An interview with the owners of a dungeon

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Torture proliferates American headlines today: whether its use is defensible in certain contexts and the morality of the practice. Wikinews reporter David Shankbone was curious about torture in American popular culture. This is the first of a two part series examining the BDSM business. This interview focuses on the owners of a dungeon, what they charge, what the clients are like and how they handle their needs.

When Shankbone rings the bell of “HC & Co.” he has no idea what to expect. A BDSM (Bondage Discipline Sadism Masochism) dungeon is a legal enterprise in New York City, and there are more than a few businesses that cater to a clientèle that wants an enema, a spanking, to be dressed like a baby or to wear women’s clothing. Shankbone went to find out what these businesses are like, who runs them, who works at them, and who frequents them. He spent three hours one night in what is considered one of the more upscale establishments in Manhattan, Rebecca’s Hidden Chamber, where according to The Village Voice, “you can take your girlfriend or wife, and have them treated with respect—unless they hope to be treated with something other than respect!”

When Shankbone arrived on the sixth floor of a midtown office building, the elevator opened up to a hallway where a smiling Rebecca greeted him. She is a beautiful forty-ish Long Island mother of three who is dressed in smart black pants and a black turtleneck that reaches up to her blond-streaked hair pulled back in a bushy ponytail. “Are you David Shankbone? We’re so excited to meet you!” she says, and leads him down the hall to a living room area with a sofa, a television playing an action-thriller, an open supply cabinet stocked with enema kits, and her husband Bill sitting at the computer trying to find where the re-release of Blade Runner is playing at the local theater. “I don’t like that movie,” says Rebecca.

Perhaps the most poignant moment came at the end of the night when Shankbone was waiting to be escorted out (to avoid running into a client). Rebecca came into the room and sat on the sofa. “You know, a lot of people out there would like to see me burn for what I do,” she says. Rebecca is a woman who has faced challenges in her life, and dealt with them the best she could given her circumstances. She sees herself as providing a service to people who have needs, no matter how debauched the outside world deems them. They sat talking mutual challenges they have faced and politics (she’s supporting Hillary); Rebecca reflected upon the irony that many of the people who supported the torture at Abu Ghraib would want her closed down. It was in this conversation that Shankbone saw that humanity can be found anywhere, including in places that appear on the surface to cater to the inhumanity some people in our society feel towards themselves, or others.

“The best way to describe it,” says Bill, “is if you had a kink, and you had a wife and you had two kids, and every time you had sex with your wife it just didn’t hit the nail on the head. What would you do about it? How would you handle it? You might go through life feeling unfulfilled. Or you might say, ‘No, my kink is I really need to dress in women’s clothing.’ We’re that outlet. We’re not the evil devil out here, plucking people off the street, keeping them chained up for days on end.”

Below is David Shankbone’s interview with Bill & Rebecca, owners of Rebecca’s Hidden Chamber, a BDSM dungeon.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=BDSM_as_business:_An_interview_with_the_owners_of_a_dungeon&oldid=3063132”

Claims from British quake may run into “low tens of millions of pounds” – Insurance association reps

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Representatives from the British insurance industry have said that the cost of the earthquake which hit Britain early yesterday could be over 10 million GBP. The Association of British Insurers has said in a statement that the cost for the earthquake is “likely to run into the low tens of millions of pounds.”

The Senior claims manager at the UK bank Norwich Union has described the damage by saying that at the moment most insurance claims regarding the earthquake describe “minor damage such as tiles off roofs, breakages inside the homes and brick walls collapsing.” It has also been reported that approximately 1,200 insurance claims were made in the first twelve hours after the earthquake hit Britain.

These reports come one day after the United Kingdom was hit by a 5.2 earthquake. Tremors were reported as widespread as Edinburgh, Manchester, Sheffield, Middlesbrough, Cambridge, London, Birmingham and Southampton .

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Claims_from_British_quake_may_run_into_%22low_tens_of_millions_of_pounds%22_-_Insurance_association_reps&oldid=4510255”

Food with cancer-causing dye recalled in Britain

Saturday, April 30, 2005

The British Food Standards Agency (FSA) has announced a recall of foods containing banned dyes which increase the risk of cancer. The food products were sold at the Tesco, Waitrose, and Somerfield supermarkets.

A Bristol company called “Barts Spices” found the illegal Para Red substance in their Barts Ground Paprika, which was sold in 48g and 46g jars with a “Co-op” label. The batch codes on the affected products are 5032 and 5089 (expiration Dec 2007), and 5075 (expiration February 2007).

Tesco also found that their 130g package of BBQ rice cakes (expiration November and December 2005) contained both Para Red and Sudan I.

“It would be very prudent to assume that it could be a genotoxic carcinogen,” FSA scientific advisers told reporters.

“As a company committed to supplying only the very finest quality food ingredients, we took the immediate decision to withdraw our ground paprika spice from all outlets selling the product and advertised a product recall in the national press,” a Barts Spices spokesman said in a statement.

Sudan I is only authorized for industrial use to colorize petroleum products, such as shoe polish. Para Red and Sudan I are banned under the British Colours in Food Regulations of 1995.

Britain last went through a major food recall in February, when Worcester Sauce was found to contain chili powder dyed with Sudan 1.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Food_with_cancer-causing_dye_recalled_in_Britain&oldid=1972969”

The Key To Time Management Putting First Things First

The Key To Time Management Putting First Things First

by

Michael Stead

Our time is without question our most precious resource that we have available to us today. Unfortunately, far too many people take for granted this resource and as a result, are not very productive nor are they very effective in what they do.

While there are numerous strategies available to us today, in my opinion no one describes how to manage

time better than author Stephen Covey. If you do not recognize his name, he is the author of the book The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People and in this book, he describes a unique process on how to manage your time very effectively so that you can become productive.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9o95qUlHUE[/youtube]

To paraphrase some of his ideas from his book, one of the ideas to better manage your time is to describe your day and your time in a metaphor. Think of your day as a bowl which represents the 24 hours we have in a day.

Next visualize three big rocks which represent the most important things that you need to get done that day.

Next visualize a glass of sand which represents the less important things you need to get done in your day but still need to be completed.

Finally, visualize a glass of water which represents all the distractions you have in your life which happen each day.

As Stephen describes, in order for you to fill your bowl without it overflowing, you need to place these items in a very particular order. For example, if you were to place the sand and water in first and then tried to fit the rocks in last, the bowl would overflow and you would not have any room to fit the rocks in.

When we think about the lesson from this metaphor, it demonstrates to us that in order for us to become more effective, we need to Put First Things First and organize our day so that we always have the time to get our most important activities done first.

By forming this new habit of prioritizing our activities, you will find that you will start to become more effective and productive in each and every day.

If you would like to get more information about time management and other personal development ideas, make sure you read the resource box below and click on the link to my blog.

Michael Stead Is An Expert Internet Marketer Who Shows Network Marketers How To Use Cutting Edge Technology To PROFIT To No End In Their Businesses In His Free 8 Day Video Bootcamp. Get Your Free Video Bootcamp Here:

Online MLM Secrets

The Only Place To Hang My Friends 🙂

Michael Stead`s Blog

Article Source:

The Key To Time Management Putting First Things First