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Human to human transmission of the H5N1 Avian Flu may have infected seven Indonesian family members The World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement that all seven Indonesian individuals infected with the deadly H5N1 Avian Flu (Bird Flu) virus, six of whom have died, contracted the disease through "close and prolonged exposure to a patient during a phase of severe illness." All victims were part of the same family. Turkish and Greek fighter planes collide in mid air Two F-16 fighter planes, one from Turkey and the other from Greece, collided in mid air and crashed into the Aegean Sea. The location of the crash is approximately 10 miles east of Karpathos, a Greek island in the southern part of the Aegean Sea.

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Interview with Ton Roosendaal about Elephants Dream and free content movies Three days after the Internet release of the free content 3D short Elephants Dream, we exchanged e-mails with Ton Roosendaal about the reaction to the film, open source filmmaking, and the changes to Blender that resulted from the production. http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Featured

Wikipedia Current Events
Mobs of angry garmentry workers set fire to seven fabric factories in Bangladesh in response to the announced death of "Rana," a workers' rights leader. 100 people were injured amidst clashes between police and firefighters and protesters. Workers are forced to work overtime and seven days a week. Greek and Turkish military F-16 jets collide above Karpathos whilst intercepting each other in the disputed airspace above the southern Aegean Sea. Israel captures Hamas leader Ibrahim Hamed in a Ramallah raid. The President of Mexico, Vicente Fox, begins a tour of the United States in Salt Lake City to discuss strengthening ties with the U.S. and all of North America. This comes amid the controversy over illegal immigration.

Human to human transmission of the H5N1 Avian Flu may have infected seven Indonesian family members
The World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement that all seven Indonesian individuals infected with the deadly H5N1 Avian Flu (Bird Flu) virus, six of whom have died, contracted the disease through "close and prolonged exposure to a patient during a phase of severe illness." All victims were part of the same family. A 10-year old boy is believed to have contracted the disease through his aunt and then spread the virus to his father. This is the first report of the virus spreading through a three person chain.

According to the WHO, experts have not been able to find the birds or animals responsible for spreading the disease.

"Although human-to-human transmission cannot be ruled out, the search for a possible alternative source of exposure is continuing," said the WHO in a statement on its website.

"All confirmed cases in the cluster can be directly linked to close and prolonged exposure to a patient during a phase of severe illness" and that the 32-year old father was "closely involved in caring for his son, and this contact is considered a possible source of infection," said the WHO in a statement.

However; the WHO also said that that tests performed on samples from the patients, "found no evidence of genetic reassortment with human or pig influenza viruses and no evidence of significant mutations. The viruses showed no mutations associated with resistance to the neuraminidase inhibitors, including oseltamivir (Tamiflu)."

They also stressed that "to date, the investigation has found no evidence of spread within the general community and no evidence that efficient human-to-human transmission has occurred." In January, DNA taken from two Turkish teens, confirmed that they died from a mutated strain of the Bird Flu virus.

Audiotape of al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden surfaces on internet
A new audiotape of al-Qaeda's leader, Osama bin Laden, has surfaced on the internet.

On the tape, bin Laden claims that it was him alone who assigned the hijackers to perform the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and that Zacarias Moussaoui had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks.

"He had no connection at all with Sept. 11. I am the one in charge of the 19 brothers and I never assigned brother Zacarias to be with them in that mission. I am certain of what I say because I was responsible for entrusting the 19 brothers ... with the raids," said bin Laden who was speaking about the 9/11 highjackers.

Bin Laden also said that Moussaoui confessed because of "pressures exercised against him during four and a half years [in jail]."

The Pentagon is aware of the tape but has not yet confirmed its authenticity.

In April, bin Laden released an audiotape to Aljazeera saying that the isolation of the Hamas-led Palestine is a "war by crusaders and Zionists against Islam" and spoke of the "situation in Iraq, Palestine and Sudan."

Malaysian documentary "passed without cuts", banned by Home Ministry
The Last Communist, a Malaysian documentary inspired by now-defunct Malayan Communist Party leader, Chin Peng, has been banned by the Home Ministry. The movie had been passed without cuts by the National Film Censorship board.

The ban was imposed after the conservative Malay daily Berita Harian printed a series of articles, from May 3rd to 5th, questioning the content of the film.

In the first article, prominent members of the government and institutions were asked to comment on the film. History Professor Emeritus Datuk Khoo Kay Kim called the approval "hasty". "Before passing it, let experts view it first." said Datuk Khoo.

All expressed concern that the Malaysian public is too sensitive to the topic of Chin Peng and the Malayan Emergency where over ten thousand Malayan and British troops and civilians lost their lives. "This film belittles our struggle," said President of the Former Armed Servicemen Association of Malaysia, Datuk Mohamad Ghani.

The article also misstates several facts about the production of the film. Puteri UMNO leader Datuk Noraini Ahmad opposes the film because it glorifies "the communist leader" when in truth, Chin Peng is mentioned only once throughout the film.

Home Minister and UMNO Secretary-General Datuk Seri Mohd Radzi Sheikh Ahmad picked up on the protest and issued a retraction of the approval on May 5, 2006. Deputy Minister Datuk Tan Chai Ho described the reasons behind the ban as, "the public was not very happy about the movie."

In a statement on his blog, heavily quoted among English newspapers, filmmaker Amir Muhammed revealed that neither the journalists responsible for the series of articles or their sources had seen the movie. Berita Harian editor Akmal Abdullah confirms this in an editorial, saying it might not be fair to punish a film without watching it. Amir says he was asked to screen his film for Special Branch unit of the Royal Malaysian Police Force, who felt the subject matter would not make an impression on the viewing public. Amir also contends that Berita Harian habitually attacks films that portray adult relationships between Muslims and non-Muslims.

At the request of opposition Parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang, the documentary was screened for ministers of Parliament. Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said, "The plot isn't controversial and there's nothing that could be deemed as offensive from the cultural viewpoint." Lim Kit Siang called the movie, "an eye opener for all".

On Monday, 22 May, Radzi announced that in the annual meeting of the UMNO supreme council, in June, the government will decide whether to keep the ban on the film, or let the people decide for themselves.

Former U.S. senator Lloyd Bentsen dies at 85
[edit]

According to family, former United States senator for Texas and former Treasury Secretary, Lloyd Bentsen has died at the age of 85 in his home located in Houston, Texas.

Bentsen is most famous for his words during a Vice Presidential debate on October 5, 1988. Indiana Senator Dan Quayle, the Republican candidate for Vice President, compared his congressional experience to that of former President John F. Kennedy when he sought the presidency. Bentsen replied, "Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you are no Jack Kennedy." The sharp rebuke, however, didn't save Bentsen, as George H.W. Bush and Quayle defeated Michael Dukakis and Bentsen in the 1988 elections.

In 1998, Bentsen suffered a small stroke which he said was caused by a 3-month long trip to 15 different nations.

"I enjoy challenges and being involved," Bentsen said.

Bentsen was born on February 11, 1921 and represented the state of Texas for 28 years.

Australia saves three billion plastic bags from circulation
The Australian Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Senator Ian Campbell, has praised supermarket shoppers and operators for cutting three billion plastic bags from circulation during the past two years. He said a report compiled by the Australian National Retailers Association, representing major supermarkets, showed that by the end of last year supermarkets had reduced their annual use of lightweight, single-use bags by 45 per cent compared with 2002.

"This is an enormous achievement by shoppers and supermarket management and a clear demonstration of a behavioural change by thousands of Australians," Senator Campbell said. "The cutback means fewer bags in the litter stream. The goal must be to stop plastic bags getting into the litter stream and spoiling Australia’s environment."

The Senator says the result came from entirely voluntary action – "no regulations, no levies or additional costs to shoppers. I am delighted that the major supermarkets are committed to achieving the 50 per cent goal by the end of this year. I also share their view that development of a viable degradable bag to replace existing lightweight plastic ones is a key to achieving further significant reductions."

Plastics have been widely used in Australia in the past few decades but environmentalists say plastic bags have had a devastating impact on the nation's natural environment. According to Clean Up Australia plastic bags can take between 20 and 1000 years to break down. Despite their recyclable nature, an estimated 6.67 billion or 36,700 tonnes of plastic bags are disposed of in landfill sites throughout Australia each year.

Many thousands of marine mammals and seabirds die every year around the world as a result of plastic litter. A 2004 NSW Parliamentary paper reported that plastic bags are of "significant concern in the marine and aquatic environment, as aquatic life can be threatened through entanglement, suffocation and ingestion." The then Federal Environment Minister was reported as saying: "All environmental ministers believe that all plastic bags should be phased out within five years. If this voluntary campaign isn’t working then of course we have to consider what to do (next)..."

Turkish and Greek fighter planes collide in mid air
Two fighter planes, a Turkish F-16 plane and a Greek F-16 collided in mid air and crashed into the Aegean Sea.The location of the crash is approximately 10 miles east of Karpathos, a Greek island in the southern part of the Aegean Sea.

Yiannis Papageorgiou a spokesman for the Greek Air Force says that the Greek F-16 was dispatched to intercept and identify the Turkish plane which according to Papageorgiou was violating the Athens Flight Information Region, when the two planes collided.

The Greek Defense Ministry said earlier that "the planes collided during interception manoeuvres above Karpathos. We don’t know what has happened to the Greek pilot yet." The Turkish pilot, Halil Ibrahim Ozdemir, who denied to be rescued by Greek frogmen, was rescued by a passing merchant ship.

Vecdi Gonul, Defense Minister for the Turkish government released a partial statement saying, "we’re still waiting for definite information and our Chief of Staff is speaking to the Greek Chief of Staff."

Puma helicopters as well as rescue personnel have been dispatched to the area.

When the event became known, Turkish Foreign Minister, Abdullah Gül communicated immediately with his counterpart, Dora Bakoyiannis in order to have a first conversation regarding the fighter planes' crash.

Both countries disagree on the boundaries of their airspace over the sea and fighters sometimes conduct mock dogfights in the area between the two countries.

Israeli forces capture Hamas commander
Israeli troops have captured Ibrahim Hamad, the leader of the military wing of the Islamic Group Hamas in the West Bank town of Ramallah. Israel accusses the 41-year-old Hamad (who has headed the Izzedine al- Qasam brigades in the West Bank since 2003) of masterminding a string of suicide bombings including attacks on cafes and universities in Jerusalem. Hamas, which has launched some of the biggest attacks against Israel, declared an informal truce 15 months ago. Since then, Hamas also won the palestinian parliamentary elections in January of this year.

The raid (which was executed early this morning) involved Israeli troops, jeeps and a bulldozer. Eye-witnesses say the soldiers surrounded a row of shops in which Hamad was hiding and threatened to demolish the building if he did not come out. The bulldozer then proceeded to ram the iron doors of the shops, after which Hamad emerged and surrendered. The Israeli troops then ordered him to strip to make sure he was unarmed. After this, he was arrested and taken away in his underwear.

Hamad had been wanted by Israel since 1998, he was arrested by the Palestinian Authority but was released in 2002 during a major Israeli offensive in the West Bank. The BBC's correspondent in Jerusalem, Caroline Hawley says it is not clear why Israel moved against Hamad since Hamas has not carried out any attacks for over a year. Israeli operations in the past few months have been concentrated against the more active group Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Howard government confirms "secret nuclear power committee"
An internal government committee has been created to look at Australia's nuclear energy role. The Federal Government has admitted it has set up a "secret committee" to examine the economics and science of nuclear power. During a Senate estimates committee, the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet's deputy secretary, Duncan Lewis confirmed that the committee had been formed following statements by US President George W Bush to create a global nuclear energy partnership. He told the Senate estimates that the committee would effectively try to develop an Australian perspective on the American proposal.

Labor Opposition environment spokesman, Anthony Albanese, says the information has not been made public because of the sensitivity of the issue. "This hasn't been announced, the work's been done behind-the-scenes because the Government knows that this is indeed a very dangerous path for Australia to go on," he said.

Greens Senator Christine Milne said that the establishment of a secret committee to look at nuclear power was deeply troubling: "Prime Minister John Howard says he wants a full public debate on whether Australia should adopt nuclear power yet his government has set up a secret committee to examine the matter," Senator Milne said.

"The latest evidence about climate change supports the Greens' position that nuclear power is no solution to climate change, as the government claims. As well as being dangerous it is too slow to mobilise," Senator Milne said in a media relase.

Democrats Leader Lyn Allison says it is extraordinary that the Government did not make the details of the committee public. "It's very clear... that we're looking here at a very secret, narrow and possibly a biased inquiry," she said. "If that's where it is going, in fact we'll be moving as soon as we can to establish a Senate inquiry into this, we think it needs to be open, it needs to be public." Senator Allison said in a media release that Howard's push for nuclear power "is greed and glow in the dark politics..."

"The Government has no plan for power generation into the future that doesn't add to greenhouse emissions or produce intractable waste. The enrichment process is energy-intensive and Australia is already the world's highest per capita greenhouse gas emitter. We cannot afford another energy guzzling industry, especially when this government has abandoned renewable energy," she said. "Enriching uranium concentrates the isotopes making the uranium more hazardous, more polluting, and makes Australia a greater target for nuclear terrorism."

Senator Milne said on the Democrats website: "Australians want leadership on this issue, not knee jerk reactions to what George Bush thinks is a good idea. They want a debate that isn't set up to merely justify selling enriched uranium and nuclear power."

Anthony Albanese says John Howard's push for a nuclear energy debate would become "Australia's nightmare." Mr Albanese said Mr Howard's views were retrospective and not in Australia's best interests: "This is classic John Howard whether it be the GST, whether it be the extreme industrial relations agenda, or whether it be this nuclear fantasy which will become Australia's nightmare – John Howard always returns to the past," Mr Albanese said in a News Limited article.

"For John Howard to say that there hasn't been a debate on nuclear energy would suggest that he went to sleep in the 50s and he's just woken up." Mr Albanese said the dangers and costs of nuclear energy outweighed the energy benefits. "The problems of cost, safety, waste disposals and nuclear proliferation in the climate of terrorism are more acute today than they've ever been."

Nuclear power sites for east coast?

Meanwhile a new study by the Australia Institute has identified several areas on Australia's east coast, where nuclear power plants could be built if the Howard Government decide to take the nuclear energy path. The Australia Institute say they have consulted experts who say that the plant will need to be located on the coast, near transmission lines and be near a major centre with good rail and port access.

The institute's Dr Clive Hamilton said the area south of Wollongong, the central coast of New South Wales, the Sunshine Coast and other areas in Queensland and Victoria would be ideal. "You can't have a nuclear industry without specifying where the nuclear power plants are likely to be," he said. "We're really taking up the Prime Minister's challenge to have a debate about nuclear power in Australia. We want to make it an honest debate and to start talking about where you would put the nuclear power plants if they were to be built."

Dr Hamilton suggests the nuclear debate barely touched the surface. "Wherever a nuclear power plant is built in Australia, some people aren't going to like it, that's just an inevitability," he said. "I think if we're going to have a serious nuclear debate rather than just a false debate then we need to start to talk about the reality of building nuclear power plants which, in the end, comes down to location."

Australian PM to be snubbed by up to six Irish MPs
When Australian Prime Minister John Howard speaks to Ireland's Dail (lower house) later today Irish Time up to six members will not be in attendance to protest Australia's involvement in the invasion of Iraq.

Joe Higgins, one of the members who will dissent from parliament for Mr Howard's speech called him a xenophobe and warmonger. "I would describe him as xenophobic, as a warmonger, as an anti-trade union representative of Australian and indeed world big business." he said.

Mr Howard said that the boycott plans were an example of democracy at work. "Well, I would say to them, isn't it terrific to celebrate the joy of democracy? And part of the joy of democracy is the right to peaceful and lawful dissent" Mr Howard said.

"The Irish brought many things to Australia and one of them was dissent. So they are living exemplars of that Irish spirit, God bless them." Mr Howard said.

It is the first time Mr Howard has visited Ireland as Australia's Prime Minister. Mr Howard was last in Ireland in 1986, when he was leader of the oppositon.

Mr Howard's visit has also encouraged predictions about the 2007 Australian general election.

Two community leaders in Ireland have said they expect Mr Howard to secure a fifth term in office when Australia goes to the polls in 2007. University College Dublin president Hugh Brady said that he had been told by his sources that Mr Howard was expected to be returned to office next year.

Eugene McCague, the Dublin Chamber of Commerce president, followed Mr Brady's comments, telling a group of business people that Mr Howard could share some advice with Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern. There will also be an election next year in Ireland and Mr Ahern will be seeking a third term in office.

"I hope if you have a few moments, the Taoiseach could take an opportunity to ask and learn from you what are the secrets of winning three general elections in a row, or indeed in your case four general elections in a row" Mr McCague said.

"And I also suspect he might like to understand what the secret is of somebody whose party members are clamouring for him to lead them into a fifth general election in a row."

Hurricane forecasters: Up to 10 hurricanes in Atlantic
Forecasters with the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami predict that up to ten hurricanes will form in the North Atlantic this hurricane season, and that up to six of them will be considered "major." The hurricane center also predicts from 13 to 16 "named" storms this season (i.e. of tropical storm strength or greater, with winds in excess of 39 mph or 62 km/h.)

A major hurricane, as defined by the National Hurricane Center, is one that rates Category 3 or above on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with sustained winds of 111 mph (179 km/h) or more.

Conrad Lautenbacher, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, says that warmer ocean temperatures and low wind shear make conditions favorable for hurricane development. Although it is too soon to predict how many storms will make landfall, Lautenbacher says that it is possible that two to four hurricanes could affect the United States.

According to NOAA, the Atlantic basin has been in an active period since 1995, with nine of the past eleven seasons with above average storm activity. Max Mayfield, directory of the National Hurricane Center, said that "the research is telling us we are in an active period that may last 20 years, and that's not good news. So the message is clear: We need to be prepared."

"It takes just one hurricane over your house to make for a bad year," said Mayfield.

Last year, 28 named storms developed into 15 hurricanes, of which seven were major. The hurricane center had predicted five major hurricanes out of nine total hurricanes that year. Five hurricanes (Dennis, Katrina, Rita, Stan, and Wilma) were so destructive that the World Meterological Organization retired their names.

The North Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30.

Global warming underestimated, say scientists
Some scientists say current climate change estimates may be significantly underestimating the potential scale of global warming. The team of researchers report that the actual warming due to human fossil fuel emissions could be 15 percent to 78 percent higher than estimates that fail to take into account the feedback mechanism which involves carbon dioxide and Earth temperature.

Greenhouse gases are believed to contribute to global warming, yet scientists have said that global warming itself triggers greenhouse gas emissions - meaning that the Earth may get hotter faster than climate models predict.

Another team of researchers in California, has reported a similar conclusion: "when the Earth has warmed up in the past, due to the sun's natural cycles, more greenhouse gases have been spewed into the atmosphere. As greenhouse gas levels rose, so did the Earth's temperature," the scientists reported.

Dr Margaret Torn of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory said: "It means the warming is happening faster, each decade is actually warming faster than it would have," Dr Torn said. "It's the pace of change that will be one of the big problems. It's how humans adapt and the cost that will depend on the rate of change of climate."

Over the past 30 years, the Earth has warmed by 0.6 degrees Celsius, NASA has reported. Over the past 100 years, it has warmed by 0.8 degrees C, indicating a recent acceleration in warmth. Current climate models predict temperature increases of 1.5 to 4.5 degrees Celsius, but the California team realised that additional carbon dioxide caused by the natural solar cycle may elevate these estimates.

Taking this information on board could mean temperature increases of 1.6 to 6 degrees Celsius - and the higher temperatures are more likely, they said in a statement.

Meanwhile, another group of leading US scientists has linked global warming to the recent increase in hurricane intensity. They warn that humans must develop cleaner energy and transportation immediately - or bear the risk of more extreme storms.

"One is faced with repeating history, of putting up with $200 billion worth of damage every so often," said Dr. Peter Webster, a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology and author of a 2005 study that found the strength and duration of hurricanes has doubled in the last 50 years. "I’m not sure how many $200 billion the country can afford," he told journalists.

Lawrence Berkeley's Dr Torn said humans are the biggest unknown: "To predict the future, you have to guess how much CO2 levels will go up. That depends on the biggest uncertainty of all - what humans decide to do. Do we get smart and prevent CO2 emissions? Do we continue with business as usual? Or will we end up somewhere in between?"

Mother charged with manslaughter
An overseas student who is currently in Dunedin has been charged with manslaughter because of her baby's death.

The 20-year-old will appear in Dunedin Court this afternoon.

Her baby was born in the early hours of Saturday, 20, May. The mother was taken to hospital on the same day about 2.30 pm because her friends were concerned about her health, she was suffering from internal bleeding. It was later discovered that she had given birth. The baby was found at around 11 pm at Studholme College, which was where she was staying.

They interviewed the mother and did a post-mortem on the baby.

Detective Senior Sergeant Tony Wakelin says: "She's obviously quite traumatised still. Physically she's recovering well, but she's got a long way to go psychologically."

Police would not comment on the case any further since the case is now before the courts.

Drug crackdown in Northern NSW nets two suppliers
New South Wales Police, on Monday arrested and charged two people in seperate simultaneous raids in Northern NSW. The raids follow an investigation into cannabis supply by Strike Force Bayan.

Police conducted three seperate raids simultaneously around 7:30PM on properties in Mullaway, Woolgoolga and Halfway Creek, all just North of Coffs Harbour on the NSW North Coast.

Police claim to have seized AUD $400,000 worth of cannabis at a property in Mullaway and have arrested and charged a 35 year-old man with drug possession.

The other person caught by the operation was a 46 year-old woman at the Woolgoolga property. She was charged with supplying cocaine.

Police found a large amount of cannabis and money at the Halfway Creek property but are yet to lay charges over the discovery.

Back in December, 2000, a Alcohol and Other Drug Sector Agency Forum discovered that the rate of cannabis use among young people in the Coffs Harbour area was particularily high and that many cannabis users come from families where parents and even grandparents use the drug.

Australian treasurer enters nuclear debate
Peter Costello, Australian treasurer and the man most likely to succeed Prime Minister John Howard as Liberal party leader has thrown his support behind a nuclear power industry in Australia.

Mr Costello said that when nuclear power generation becomes economicaally viable, Australia should pursue it's use. "If it becomes commercial, we should have it. That is, there's no in-principle objection to nuclear energy" Mr Costello said.

Mr Costello said that nuclear energy was clean and safe, provided waste was dealt with. "Nuclear energy is an efficient form of energy. Provided you deal properly with the waste, then it's safe,"

"It has much less greenhouse emissions than coal." Mr Costello said.

Long time environmentalist and Labor party member for Kingsford Smith, Peter Garrett said that the government were only discussing nuclear energy to cover up it's inaction on climate change.

"When really, when you look seriously at what is going on here, Australia needs to make a decision about why we are not addressing climate change and find those necessary alternatives that will make up the energy mix" he said.

Mr Garrett said that it was a "farce" that PM Howard leaves the US and suddenly becomes pro-nuclear. "It's more than hypocritical, it's a farce for the Prime Minister to come back from America and suddenly become born again for nukes" he said.

Federal Environment Minister, Ian Campbell rejected Mr Garrett's claims that the government has ignored climate change and renewable energy, but said that nuclear power needed to be considered. He denied that the debate on nuclear power is a cover-up.

"We need to look at all of the options, not have this false debate about renewables versus coal or coal versus nuclear" he said.

"We need everything and we need to do it very well and that's how we will secure Australia's future." Mr Campbell said.

The federal opposition's environment spokesperson, Anthony Albanese said today that Mr Howard's viewws were stuck in the past and were not in the best interests of Australia.

However, Mr Albanese said Mr Howard's views were retrospective and not in Australia's best interest.

“This is classic John Howard whether it be the GST, whether it be the extreme industrial relations agenda, or whether it be this nuclear fantasy which will become Australia's nightmare – John Howard always returns to the past” Mr Albanese said.

“For John Howard to say that there hasn't been a debate on nuclear energy would suggest that he went to sleep in the 50s and he's just woken up.”

Mr Albanese claims that the high cost and safety concerns surrounding nuclear energy outweighed any benefits. “The problems of cost, safety, waste disposals and nuclear proliferation in the climate of terrorism are more acute today than they've ever been.” he said.

Sweden wins World Ice Hockey Championships
The Swedish national ice hockey team won the 2006 Ice Hockey World Championships Monday in Riga, Latvia, defeating the Czech Republic by a score of 4-0 to become the first country to win both the Winter Olympics and the Ice Hockey World Championships in the same year.

Jesper Mattsson (14:36), Fredrik Emvall (15:13), Niklas Kronwall (24:07), and Jorgen Jonsson (37:01) contributed the four goals that led to the Swedish team's win. Coach Bengt-Ake Gustafsson was reported as stating that "It's fun to be part of hockey history. It's been great working with these guys and my staff. I think we played more or less a perfect game today."

Kronwall, a Detroit Red Wings defenseman, was named the MVP of the tournament.

Today in History
1487 - Impostor Lambert Simnel was crowned in Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland as "King Edward VI".

1626 - Peter Minuit bought Manhattan in exchange for trade goods valued at 60 guilders.

1822 - Ecuadorian War of Independence: Troops led by Antonio José de Sucre secured the independence of Quito from Spain in the Battle of Pichincha.

1883 - The Brooklyn Bridge, at the time the longest suspension bridge in the world, was opened.

1941 - World War II: The German battleship Bismarck sank the British battlecruiser HMS Hood in the Battle of the Denmark Strait.

May 24 is Independence Day in Eritrea (1993), Sts. Cyril and Methodius Day in Bulgaria

Quote of the Day

"Every failure is a step to success." ~ William Whewell

Word of the Day

cacophony; n

Definition

A mix of discordant sounds; a dissonance.

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