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Widespread looting blamed for disrupted rescue efforts in New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin has suspended search-and-rescue efforts, redirecting police efforts to stopping looting in the area. Total evacuation of New Orleans planned As looters roam the flooded streets of New Orleans, the governor has announced a complete shut-down and evacuation of the city.

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Philippine impeachment unlikely to succeed A Philippine congressional committee has voted to turn down all impeachment petitions against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

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Russia marks the first anniversary today of the Beslan tragedy. Militants last year seized nearly 1,200 hostages and 331 victims were killed, more than half of them children.

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Al Jazeera broadcasts a video tape claimed to be supplied by Al-Qaeda which apparently shows suicide bomber Mohammad Sidique Khan prior to the 7 July 2005 London bombings stating that he would take part in the attacks. He warned Westerners that they would not be safe because of their "crimes against humanity." Both houses of the United States Congress are set to reconvene later in the day, prior to their scheduled return September 6, to pass $10.5 billion in emergency spending legislation relating to storm relief. On the eve of Chinese President Hu Jintao's first visit to North America next week, today a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman warned against any government providing Taiwan with missle defense systems. Hu Jintao arrives in Washington, D.C. on Monday, then visits Canada and Mexico before visiting the United Nations General Assembly. The Common Chimpanzee genome sequence has been released, revealing genetic differences between chimps and humans including differences in a region of the genome thought to be involved in speech acquisition.

Talks between Pakistan, India yield apparent progress

Diplomats from Pakistan and India met today in Islamabad to discuss their continuing peace efforts. Plans were made for Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to meet in New York on September 14.

The president and prime minister are expected to attend the United Nations General Assembly during their meetup in New York. Discussion on other items on the New York agenda occured today and will continue tomorrow in a second day of talks.

Recent talks have also been met with the announcement that an agreement between the two countries regarding missile tests would be signed in October. Although Pakistan and India have informally agreed to inform each other about their missile testing activities, they now seek a formal agreement.

The Asian countries began seeking peace in 2003 after fighting two wars over control of Kashmir.

When Musharraf and Singh met last in April, they called their peace process "irreversible." However, this statement is challenged by continued terrorist activity in Kashmir.

"Toxic soup" scenario in New Orleans unlikely

Initial fears that the combination of storm damage and flood waters might produce a "toxic soup" in downtown New Orleans have been downplayed by experts in environmental science. While the threat of cholera, typhoid and other diseases is certainly increased by the contamination of the flood waters with sewage and corpses, many of the chemical companies located in or near New Orleans survived the storm without spilling dangerous contaminents into the water system. Of course, care should be taken to not ingest any of the flood water. People with open wounds wading or swimming through the water might also be at risk for disease.

Experts at Louisiana State University said that the sediments in the Mississippi River and Lake Ponchartrain are not heavily polluted and that the biggest risk of chemical contamination will come when the flood waters recede, leaving shallow pools where the water can evaporate, concentrating heavier chemical pollutants.

The widespread damage caused by the flooding is actually one of the factors in reducing the contamination, since the large amounts of water have diluted many of the contaminents. Most of the chemical pollutants that were released were of low quantity, including gasoline from underground storage tanks, dry cleaning solvents, and household and small-scale industrial chemicals, such as cleaning agents.

Microsoft acquires VoIP firm

Microsoft Corp. has acquired voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) provider Teleo Inc., on August 30, for an undisclosed sum. Teleo was founded in 2003, in San Francisco, USA.

Teleo had been running a public beta test of its VoIP software, but it has now been discontinued. A beta version of the Microsoft/Teleo product is expected later in the year.

Teleo users could call both other PCs and regular telephones. Calls to regular telephones cost US$0.02 per minute to many countries. Teleo’s software also integrates with Microsoft Outlook and Internet Explorer to provide a feature called “click to call”. This feature turns any phone number displayed within a website or e-mail into a link that will dial the number.

Teleo Inc website now redirects to a page on MSN. This page states: that “Microsoft plans to incorporate and expand upon Teleo’s technologies, integrating them into the MSN services infrastructure, with plans to ultimately deliver new VoIP consumer applications in future releases of MSN services, such as MSN Messenger”.

Many of Microsoft competitors in the instant messaging market already offer VoIP service or are working on providing it in the near future. Google recently launched Google Talk, an instant messaging program with free PC to PC calling. PC to Phone calling is rumoured to be in the works. Yahoo! has said it plans to add calling to regular telephones from its instant messaging program in the coming months. MSN Messenger is by far the most popular instant messaging program, Yahoo!'s instant messenger is the second most popular as of July.

U.S. man murdered by wife in Hong Kong

A U.S. housewife was convicted on Sept. 1, 2005 of her husband's murder by a Hong Kong high court. On November 2, 2003, she apparently laced his milkshake with sedatives and beat him to death in their apartment while he was unconscious, sources say. Nancy Kissel was handed a unanimous life sentence verdict for murdering her banker husband in this infamous "Milkshake Trial", as it came to be known.

She sat expressionless and clothed in black throughtout the trial, in which prosecutors painted a picture of her as a cold, calculating killer, who murdered her husband because of his desire to divorce her and take custody of their children after learning that she was having an affair with a repairman. His body was found two days after the murder in a rented storage locker, which the prosecution claimed was evidence of her trying to cover up the murder.

An autopsy found six types of sedatives in his body, which were powerful enough to knock him out, and a search of her computer brought up her Internet searches with keywords such as "drug overdose".

Prosecution lawyer Paul Chapman stated that "These were five fatal blows with murderous intent ... Self defense has no basis in this case." Relatives of Robert were relieved to finally reach a verdict on the case, with his father William saying "It's a 65-day trial and it's unanimous. That's justice."

The defendants claimed that the murder was in self defense. Kissel did admit to killing her husband, but she denied spiking his drink with a mixture of powerful drugs, and stated that she defended herself with a metal statue after he had attacked her with a baseball bat. According to Nancy, she had no recollection of the events after the night of her husband's murder.

The 65 day long trial was filled with her descriptions of how Robert Kissel, her husband and an American banker, supposedly abused her sexually and physically after using drugs and alcohol. Her lawyer, Alexander King, said that she sought refuge from her cocaine-abusing husband in an affair with the repairman.

The expatriate American community in Hong Kong is shocked by the murder.

Google begins selling print ads

Google, which has become one of the world's most influential companies by selling online advertising, has expanded past cyberspace Wednesday when it began reselling print ads in technology magazines.

In a small experiment, the first print-based venture for the company, Google bought pages of advertising in magazines such as PC Magazine and MacAddict and sold portions of each page to smaller companies. Undoubtedly, Google expects profits to come from a higher rate of resale.

The first publication to carry such advertising is the September 6th issue of PC Magazine. It contains a single page with five smaller ads, each with the caption "Ads by Google", which is well-known to Internet users.

This page runs near the cover, and some of Google's clients are grateful for the exposure that the program has enabled. Most popular magazines run advertising smaller than a full page closer to the back.

Al-Qaida claims responsibility for London 7/7 bombings

Al Jazeera has aired two video tapes by Al Qaida on Thursday evening. In one of them, the terror group's second in command Ayman al-Zawahiri has claimed responsibility for the July 7 London bombings and threatened further attacks. The alleged leader of the London bombers, Mohammad Sidique Khan, appeared on a seperate recording and outlined his reasons for the bombings.

Speaking in English with a Yorkshire accent, Kahn stated that the Blair government is to blame for the attacks. He claimed that the West is backing goverments who commit crimes against humanity. Western citizens should no longer feel safer, he said and threatened similiar attacks upon them: "Until you stop the bombing, gassing, imprisonment and torture of my people we will not stop this fight. We are at war and I am a soldier. Now you too will taste the reality of this situation"

Al-Zawahiri described the 7/7 attacks as "a slap to the policy of British Prime Minister Tony Blair" and called the attacks a response to the UK's foreign policy "just as 9/11 was a response to America's".

Scotland Yard said they are "aware of the tape; we will consider it as part of our ongoing investigation". The office of PM Blair refused to comment on the tape's release.

UN Security Council considers Cote d'Ivoire sanctions

Yesterday, the United Nations Security Council said it would take all steps necessary, including the implementation of individual sanctions, in order to ensure that the resolutions of the Security Council were adhered to by both sides of the troubled Ivoiran peace process. The remarks followed a briefing to the Security Council by representatives from the UN Mission in Cote d'Ivoire and African Union-appointed South African mediators.

"The South African Mediation stated that it will continue its efforts, with the support of the United Nations and the African Union, to ensure the holding of free, fair and transparent elections in Côte d’Ivoire as scheduled, which is the only solution to the crisis," the Security Council said in a statement following the meeting.

The next round of elections are scheduled for the end of October although it is widely believed this date is unlikely to be met.

The peace process in Cote d'Ivoire has been on shaky ground following the failure of the rebel forces to begin the disarmament process originally scheduled for 31 July. The rebels, led by the Forces Nouvelles, claimed that Ivorian President Gbagbo had failed to make the necessary legal reforms necessary to begin the disarmament. The international community later ratified the legal changes made by the Ivorian government as being in compliance with the peace deal.

Widespread looting blamed for disrupted rescue efforts in New Orleans, Louisiana

The Mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, has ordered the local police force to stop search-and-rescue efforts so that they may focus upon stopping looters and thieves who are becoming increasingly hostile.

A rescue helicopter attempting to retrieve stranded people from New Orleans' Superdome stadium was reportedly shot at; but this has not yet been confirmed. A member of the National Guard was reportedly shot, but was not seriously injured. Official reports say that one New Orleans police officer was shot in the head, but was expected to survive. Other reports say that police stranded on the roof of a hotel were being fired upon by looters in the streets.

While food appears to be the target of many looters, others are reportedly taking non-essential and luxury items, such as TVs and computers. Reportedly, gun and pawn shops are also a popular target for looting.

Earlier today, buses were taking the most vulnerable away to the state capital of Louisiana, Baton Rouge. Evacuees in the Superdome are also being moved by bus to the Astrodome in Houston, Texas.

US President George W. Bush, in an interview on ABC television, condemned the looting, saying "I think there ought to be zero tolerance of people breaking the law during an emergency such as this."

A hospital in Gretna was evacuated after a supply truck carrying food, water and medical supplies was stopped at gunpoint. Spokesman Stephen Campanini estimated there to be approximately 350 employees in the hospital, along with between 125 and 150 patients. Campanini said, "There are physical threats to safety from roving bands of armed individuals with weapons who are threatening the safety of the hospital."

Despite this, some of the other rumors of looting have proven to be false. One of the most prevalent was the story that armed looters laid siege to the Children's Hospital. The Times-Picayune reported that this story was false.

First executions in post-Saddam Iraq held in Baghdad

Iraq has carried out the first executions since the demise of the Saddam Hussein regime. Three men convicted of murder were hanged on Thursday morning in Baghdad.

The Iraqi government argues that the death penalty will help to detere criminals but spokesman Laith Kubba admitted that "this is not an easy thing to do".

Iraqi president Jalal Talabani is personally opposed to capital punishment and stated that he would never sign a death sentence, not even against Saddam Hussein himself. His deputy Adel Abdel Mehdi signed the warrant instead.

Human rights groups and the United Nations had hoped Iraq would refrain from using the death penalty against its citizens and urged the government not to carry out the sentences.

The three men, named as Bayan Ahmed Said, Ouday Dawood Salman and Dhahar Jasim Hassan were convicted of murdering three policemen in the city of Kut, Wasit province. Additional crimes include kidnapping and rape .

Fats Domino missing in the wake of Hurricane Katrina

Legendary R&B singer Fats Domino is missing, three days after Hurricane Katrina hit in his hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana.

Fats Domino

The singer told his agent, Al Embry, that he planned to stay at his home with his wife and daughter, rather than evacuate. He has not been heard from since Sunday night. It was reported on Wednesday that his house was flooded, though there were no reports on whether Domino and his family were able to escape.

Domino, 77, lives in the city's 9th Ward, one of the areas hardest hit by Katrina. Attempts to reach Domino by phone proved futile, as phone lines have not been working in the area since the storm hit.

Antoine 'Fats' Domino first gained stardom with one of the first rock n' roll records, "The Fat Man". The record went platinum, selling over a million copies and hitting #2 on the Billboard charts. Of Domino's numerous Top 40 singles, perhaps his most notable were Blue Monday and a cover of Blueberry Hill.

Domino retired from touring in the 1980s, and has not left the city since, citing his dislike of touring, and his love of New Orleans cuisine. Not even his induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame or an invitation to the White House were able to get Domino to leave the town.

Football: Ronaldinho signs for Barcelona until 2010

Brazilian international footballer, Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, also known as Little Ronaldo (Ronaldinho), signed a contract with FC Barcelona until 2010, today, prolonging it for two years.

It is fairly certain that he will stay in the club for the length of the contract. "Now I'll just carry on doing the same as I have been doing until now, only that now I have a longer term contract, I'll be even more motivated," an official Barcelona website quoted Ronaldinho. According to a new clause in his contract, any club who wants to buy him will have to part with 85 million pounds. One of the most interested teams was Chelsea FC, who were looking to fill their striker position.

Ronaldinho is happy to stay in Barcelona: "You cannot put a price on the happiness and joy I am feeling right now." He transfered from Paris Saint-Germain in 2003 for 17 million pounds becoming one of the biggest football starts in Spain. FIFA awarded him the prestigous title of "best football player in the world" in 2005.

Idaho companies claim of new record for transmitting data across a wireless link

Microserv Computer Technologies (Internet Service Provider) and Trango Broadband Wireless (fixed-wireless equipment maker) announced on Tuesday August 11th 2005 that they wirelessly transmitted data over unlicensed spectrum 137.2 miles.

They used external PacWireless 2-foot dishes from Trango to connect two mountaintops in Idaho. They were operating on the 2.4GHz and 5.8 Ghz wireless spectrum, not the standard 802.11 wireless technology. They claim they transmitted a file at the rate of 2.3 megabits per second.

This claim of transmission record has been contested by current record holders (Defcon Wifi Shootout Contest). They question the validation of testing methods and subjectivity. "I suppose it's certainly possible for Microserv to have done what they claim to have done," Dave Moore, founder of the Defcon contest, said in an e-mail. "What sets apart the 125-mile record set at the Defcon Wifi Shootout Contest is that it was subject to a strict verification and certification process administered by four independent judges."

A technical presentation was presented at the WiNOG conference in Park City, Utah August 15-17, 2005. Technical information and pictures can be found at http://www.wifiworldrecord.net

Józef Rotblat, 1995 Nobel Peace Prize winner, dies

Noted physicist Józef Rotblat, a historic figure who left the Manhattan Project and later became a prominent figure in the movement against the Nuclear Arms Race, has died at the age of 96.

Born in Poland in 1908, he graduated from Warsaw University. Rotblat collaborated with the United States government on the Manhattan Project, which was attempting to construct the world's first atomic bombs. However, Rotblat left the project, the first and only physicist to do so, after realizing that Germany was unlikely to be developing a nuclear weapon of their own.

Rotblat formed the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs organization in 1957. The group promoted nuclear disarmament and greater collaboration between scholars from all over the world to try and prevent major global conflict.

In 1995, Rotblat and the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, "for their efforts to diminish the part played by nuclear arms in international politics and, in the longer run, to eliminate such arms." In his acceptance speech, Rotblat noted that the group's goals were entirely doable, noting the close-knit structure of the European Union, "within which war is inconceivable."

New Caledonia prepares for 2011 South Pacific Games

New Caledonia is beginning to prepare for the 2011 South Pacific Games, hosting duties won after a vote in Palau.

On July 31, the South Pacific Games Council met to decide on the matter, with the meeting announced to the public by Michael White, NMI chef de mission to the 2005 Palau South Pacific Mini Games. The hosting duties were also bid on by the Solomon Islands, and American Samoa, which was eliminated in the first round.

The last time that the city of Noumea, New Caledonia hosted the event was 1987.

Any country that sends athletes to participate in the SPG is eligible to host the competition.

The New Caledonia win is the culimination of a six-year bid process that all interested countries must follow. White commented, "The charter lays out the time requirements you have to submit a bid and the charter prescribes what elements have to be covered in your bid proposals. Then at some point, six years before the Games, the SPG council reviews all the bids and hears presentations from the bidding countries and decides which country is going to be awarded the Games."

The Micronesian Games Council is still deciding which city will host the 2006 Micronesian Games. Officials from Yap, the original host of the event, say that they won't be ready to host the event due to damage from a recent typhoon. The Republic of the Marshall Islands will host the 2010 Micronesian Games.

Hurricane Katrina: Resources regarding missing/located people

With victims of Hurricane Katrina moved to shelters and remote locations, their relatives and friends in other parts of the world have turned to the web to try and establish contact and confirm their health. Many families living in the path of Katrina have even been split up as they are rescued and now desperately need to contact each other.

Several web sites have started forums for posting information on missing people. The forums also allow individuals and families in the path of the hurricane who are safe post their information, where they are now located and how their family should contact them.

The American Red Cross is keeping records of all persons they treat and assist, but those records are not available either by phone or online. They have issued a press release titled AMERICAN RED CROSS URGENT FAMILY ALERT. Quoting, in part:

The Red Cross does not have information on the well being of any individuals.

Our phone lines are being overwhelmed with calls, and we appreciate the desire to know how people fared during the storm.

Please do not contact any Red Cross media representatives with welfare inquiries.

A caller to WAMU's radio program The Kojo Nnamdi Show on August 31st relayed information that while cell phones couldn't make or receive calls because of network overload, text messaging to otherwise unreachable cell phones was working.

Israel rules victims of Jewish terrorist not entitled to lifelong support

Israel's defence minister has ruled that the man who shot dead four Israeli Arabs is not a terrorist, because he is Jewish. The decision means that the families do not receive the compensation as family members of people classed as victims of terrorism. The laws governing compensation only recognise terrorism as being perpetrated by "organisations hostile to Israel".

Ariel Sharon had previously described the act as "a despicable act by a bloodthirsty terrorist," and The Jerusalem Post described the gunman as a "Jewish far-Right fanatic".

The families will receive a lump sum instead of a lifelong payment. Arab Israeli leaders described the law as racist.

"The decision raises a strong scent of racism, which distinguishes between a Jewish terrorist and an Arab terrorist," one member of parliament said.

The Anti-Defamation League, a US based organisation set up to combat anti-semitism, has also condemned the killing and described it as terrorism.

"We strongly condemn today's terrorist attack by a Jewish gunman in Shiloh. The perpetrator is in police custody and we are confident he will be punished to the fullest extent of the law," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, in a statement released on the day of the attack.

Member of the Knesset Mohammad Barakeh, has demanded an amendment to the current law. He is asking that the law recognise as victims of terror anyone hurt by "hostile activities by a terror organization." According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the Prime Ministers Office has requested that the Attorney General review the issue.

The 19-year old Nathan Zaada shot the four Israeli Arabs in an industrial area of the town of Shfaram on August 4th. He was later killed by a mob.

Nigeria Bill has Taylor Implications

The Nigerian legislature is considering a Bill that would permit the Senate to extradite persons granted asylum by Nigeria to other nations and organizations, such as the United Nations and the African Union, to face trial for war crimes. Under the law, the Senate would have the power to accept or decline applications for asylum as well as remit persons already with asylum to requesting organizations or countries.

If the Bill passes, it would provide the mechanism needed by Nigeria to lawfully extradite indicted war criminal, Charles Taylor, to stand trial at the Special Court in Sierra Leonne. To date, Nigeria has resisted repeated claims by Sierra Leone, the United States, and the United Nations to extradite Mr. Taylor saying that they will only do so if called upon by a freely elected Liberian government. Liberia has its first national elections since Taylor's regime scheduled for October.

The Bill has significant implications in Liberia, where Taylor was President until ousted by the international community in August 2003, under an asylum deal with Nigeria. The United Nations has maintained a peacekeeping mission in the country ever since. In October, Liberia faces its first national elections since Taylor, and his influence, although against the terms of his asylum, is seen as potentially destabilizing.

The front runners in Liberia's presidential race recently spoke on the Taylor issue at a series of presidential debates held on local radio. Although most candidates agree that the rule of law must be followed none would commit to handing Taylor over to the Special Court if elected.

Shots reported during Superdome evacuation

Air evacuation of the Superdome was temporarily halted Thursday after shots were reportedly fired at a military helicopter.

Evacuations by bus continue, despite an early news report to the contrary. Thousands of people taking temporary shelter in the Superdome and nearby areas in New Orleans are being evacuated after Mayor Ray Nagin ordered a complete evacuation of the city, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Evacuees will be taken to the Astrodome in Houston.

Looting has become an increasing concern, as looters and gangs are beginning to rob hotels and hospitals. Some looters have even been able to take guns from abandoned shops. Officials say that they are concerned about the increasing number of people with guns. Officers stranded on a hotel roof reported shots fired at them.

President George W. Bush plans to visit the affected areas on Friday. Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush are expected to lead a private fund-raising campaign for the victims of the hurricane, similar to the campaign after the oceanic earthquake and resulting tsunami in late 2004.

Bush authorizes oil release from Strategic Petroleum Reserve

Yesterday, President George W. Bush authorized the release of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve due to Hurricane Katrina's effects on oil refineries in the Gulf Coast.

The decision was made late Tuesday and announcement was made Wednesday.

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve consists of 700 million barrels of oil located in salt caverns along the Texas and Louisiana coast. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is meant to act as a cushion for the oil market during disruptions of energy.

Energy production was interuppted by Katrina as more than 735 oil and natural gas rigs had to be evacuated. This shut down 95 percent of crude production and 88 percent of natural gas output in the Gulf of Mexico.

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Today in History
31 BC: Troops under Octavian defeated the forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra in the naval Battle of Actium.

1870: Franco-Prussian War: Napoleon III of France was captured after the Battle of Sedan.

1898: Horatio Kitchener established British dominance in northeastern Africa at the Battle of Omdurman.

1945: The Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed on the deck of the USS Missouri, formally ending World War II.

1998: The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda found Jean Akayesu guilty on nine counts of genocide and other crimes against humanity.

September 02 is Independence Day for Vietnam (1945)

Quote of the Day

"It takes a real storm in the average person's life to make him realize how much worrying he has done over the squalls." ~ Bruce Fairchild Barton

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