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Ice levels at all-time record low in Arctic Melting opens up Northwest Passage for first time Colin McRae feared dead in helicopter crash An AS350B2 helicopter registered to former champion World Rally Championship driver Colin McRae has crashed near his home in Lanarkshire.

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Health organisations respond to Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo The World Health Organization, non-governmental aid organisation Médecins Sans Frontières and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have sent experts to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to assist local health authorities with a recent outbreak of Ebola haemorrhagic fever.

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Andrei Lugovoy, the former KGB agent accused by British authorities of murdering Alexander Litvinenko with a radioactive isotope in London last November, said he will run for parliament on the party list of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia. Flight OG 269 crashes while trying to land in heavy rain at Phuket International Airport in Thailand with reports of 88 deaths and at least 20 people seriously injured. Colin McRae and his son are confirmed dead in the helicopter crash in Scotland. The Election Commission of Pakistan amends Presidential Election Rules 1988 ahead of the elections so that Article 63 of the Constitution no longer applies to the President. The Iraqi parliamentary bloc controlled by militia leader Moqtada al-Sadr announces that it will abandon the party led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Chinese authorities recall tainted leukemia drugs blamed for leg pains and other problems. Greek voters go to the polls for the Greek legislative election, 2007. The ruling New Democracy Party wins the election, with over 73% of the votes counted, gaining 43.1% of the vote and 155 seats over 38.6% and 103 seats for ths socialist PASOK party.

O.J. Simpson arrested in connection to armed robbery
O.J. Simpson has been arrested at the Palms Hotel and Casino on charges related to an alledged armed robbery on Thursday. Simpson is accused of taking items from memorabilia dealers at the Palace Station casino-hotel in Las Vegas. Simpson claims that the items belonged to him and were "things he hadn't seen in years or that had been stolen." Simpson denies guns were involved and that the incident was a robbery.The exact charges are currently unknown.

Two guns have been confiscated by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, as well as some of the sports memorabilia. Las Vegas police Lt. Nichols said the two guns were not registered to Simpson and were not in his possession when they were seized.

France warns of war with Iran
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner warned on Sunday of the possibility of a war over Iran's nuclear programme.

"We have to prepare for the worst, and the worst is war," Mr. Kouchner stressed in an interview broadcasted by French radio and TV. He also highlighted the importance of negotiations with Iran, stating these should continue "right to the end," though he underlined that if Iran possessed real nuclear weapons, this would pose "a real danger for the whole world".

Tehran has denied all charges from developing nuclear weapons; nevertheless, Iran has announced its intentions to acquire uranium for energy rather than weapons.

Mr. Kouchner also stated that "we are trying to put in place plans which are the privilege of chiefs of staff and that is not for tomorrow," and, that even though any attack was far from taking place, "It is normal for us to plan".

The French Minister also added that France intended to impose new sanctions over Iran, but not under the framework of the UN Security Council, and thus force Tehran to give up any attempt to acquire nuclear weapons.

The United Nations Security Council has imposed severe sanctions over Iran, but until now has not accepted military action.

2007 Rugby World Cup: Fiji, Tonga and France win
The Pacific Island nations were pushing for places in the knockout stage of the 2007 Rugby World Cup today. Fiji overcame Canada 29-16, claiming a vital bonus point to go second in Pool B ahead of Wales.

Tonga defeated Samoa 15-19 in Pool A. Tonga overturned a six point deficit at half time to go second in the pool, ahead of a faltering England side who are yet to play both teams.

Meanwhile, France comprehensively defeated Namibia 87-10 in Pool D. Having made twelve changes to the team that lost to Argentina, the French scored thirteen tries in their largest ever win.

Fiji	29 – 16	Canada

Canada scored the first points of the match through a James Pritchard penalty. Nicky Little equalised for Fiji four minutes later, and they took the lead in the 20th minute after a try from Kele Leawere. Canada kept in touch with another penalty from Pritchard, but Fiji extended their lead to 15-6 immediately when Kameli Ratuvou scored a try.

After half-time Vilimoni Delasau scored Fiji's third try, but Canada closed the gap to six points after a try from Ryan Smith and a third penalty from James Pritchard. Kameli Ratuvou sealed the win and a crucial bonus point for Fiji after a last minute try, taking the final score to 29-16.

Fiji are currently second in Pool B with ten points, ahead of Wales with five and behind Australia on points difference. Canada are bottom of the group with no points, one short of Japan.

Samoa	15 – 19	Tonga

In Pool A, Tonga produced a surprise win over Samoa. Pierre Hola kicked them into the lead with a penalty in the third minute, but Samoa's Gavin Williams kicked four penalties to give Samoa the lead. Hola kicked a second penalty for the Tongans in the 38th minute, making the score at half-time 12-6.

Tonga took the lead in the second half with two more penalties from Pierre Hola and a try from Epeli Taione. Gavin Williams scored a fifth penalty for Samoa, but Tonga held on for the victory despite having one player sent off and another receiving a yellow card towards the end of the match.

Tonga go second in Pool A with eight points, behind South Africa with nine and ahead of England with four. Samoa are fourth in the pool with one point, ahead of the United States who have none.

France	87 – 10	Namibia

France scored thirteen tries against Namibia in their 87-10 victory. The result is France's largest ever win in Rugby Union.

Having drastically changed the side that lost to Argentina in the opening match of the tournament, France had no problems in this match and Cédric Heymans opened the scoring with a seventh minute try. Namibia responded three minutes later with a drop goal from Emile Wessels. David Marty continued the scoring for France, but Namibia lost a player soon afterwards when Jacques Nieuwenhuis received a red card for a dangerous tackle. France scored four more tries in the first half, one each from Thierry Dusautoir and Vincent Clerc and two from w:Lionel Nallet to bring the score to 40-3 at half time.

Vincent Clerc scored two more tries in the second half, and Julien Bonnaire, Sébastien Chabal (2), Jean-Baptiste Élissalde and Raphaël Ibañez added more. Bratley Langenhoven scored a late consolation try for Namibia to reduce France's lead to 77 points.

France are third in Pool D with six points, behind Argentina and Ireland who both have nine. Namibia are bottom of the group with no points, behind Georgia with one.

Litvinenko murder suspect running for MP
Andrei Lugovoi, one of the main suspects in the murder case of Russian intellgence agent Alexander Litvinenko, is to run as a MP in the Russian elections on 2 December. If he is elected, Lugovoi will be immune from prosecution. This is worrying for the British government, who want to arrest Lugovoi.

Lugovoi is to be a candidate for the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia. The LDPR currently has 35 of the 446 in the Duma, the lower house in the Russian parliament. The leader of the LDPR, Vladimir Zhirinovsky said, "I head the list (for the December 2 parliamentary elections), the fraction's leader will be third... Our second will be Andrei Lugovoi - he has suffered, been targeted by British special services."

Lugovoi is wanted by the British, as he is the main suspect in Litvinenko case. Litvinenko, who was a critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin who had taken refuge in Britain, was murdered after he was fed the radioactive substance polonium-210. Lugovoi, a former KGB agent, met Litvinenko on 1 November 2006. The British want Lugovoi extradited but the Russians refuse, denying Lugovoi has had anything to do with murdering Litvinenko.

2007 ICC World Twenty20: South Africa vs England
South Africa defeated England by nineteen runs in the Super 8 stage of the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 at Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town, South Africa.

After suffering an early blow, when opening batsman Jean-Paul Duminy was caught behind off Stuart Broad's first delivery, South Africa were restricted by the England bowlers. Two wickets fell quickly as Dimitri Mascarenhas caught Graeme Smith for 19 runs and Abraham de Villiers was caught behind for 18. After a partnership of 49 runs between Justin Kemp and Mark Boucher, South Africa lost three wickets in quick succession to reduce them to 94-6. However England missed some catches, and dropped Albie Morkel twice. Morkel went on to score 43 runs off 20 balls to take South Africa to 154-8 at the end of their twenty overs.

England opener Luke Wright fell in the first over for a duck, and Kevin Pietersen was run out after losing his bat in a collision with bowler Shaun Pollock. Paul Collingwood was caught first ball at slip, and England were left on 27-3. Matt Prior (32) and Owais Shah (36) shared a partnership of 55 runs, but England scored too slowly. After Andrew Flintoff was bowled by Johan van der Wath for 17 runs, England could only reach 135-7 after twenty overs.

Women against FMC Novamed: Workers struggle against unfair treatment
In a free trade zone in Antalya, Turkey, 80 women workers of FMC Novamed are in strike for almost a year now, since September 26th, 2006. They allege not only low wages but also severe abuses on FMC's part.

Novamed, founded in 2001, is a factory managed by Turkish capitalists and located in the free trade zone in Antalya, Turkey. 95% of its workers are women. It is owned by Fresenius Medical Care (FMC), which is an international corporation with its headquarters in Germany. With factories in 12 countries and a total of 100,000 workers, FMC is a monopoly in the market of dialysis products.

Following is a list of some of the abuses as alleged by the woman workers of the union:

Married woman workers are not allowed to become pregnant without FMC Novamed's approval. Each worker is given a schedule, which specifies during which months they are allowed to become pregnant. If a woman worker becomes pregnant in "breach" of this given schedule, she is terminated without compensation.

Woman workers are required to get permission from the employer before getting married.

To "save energy" for their work at the factory, workers are being advised:

not to accept guests in their own homes when they are off the clock,

not to communicate or even have sex with their spouses when they are off the clock,

not to see each other when they are off the clock,

only to eat and sleep when they are off the clock.

Workers are treated inhumanely, and continuously humiliated regardless of whether they make a mistake or not.

Managers and supervisors call their workers to their office and accuse and humiliate them in such a way that there are few workers who come out of these accusation-performances without crying.

Workers are not allowed to talk to each other during work hours, as well as in the shuttle during their trips from and to work.

Workers are allowed inside the factory premises after being "sniffed" by their supervisors, because smoking during work hours is forbidden.

During work hours, there is only a 15-minutes break and a 25-minutes lunch break. During lunch, instead of food, the factory is serving tea and cookies.

An average shuttle trip from home to work may take as long as 2 hours because there are not enough shuttles allocated by the factory for the workers.

In 2005, FMC Novamed had 264 workers. Workers applied to the Labor Ministry of Turkey for a union license after its union members (162 then) became the majority among the factory's workers. However, they were sued for the license and due to the procedures of the lawsuit, the membership list of the union had to be given to the employer, FMC Novamed. Following pressure from the company, workers started to quit the union, and even the factory itself.

When the union finally managed to start negotiations with FMC Novamed, they were greeted by an attitude of indifference. As the negotiations were blocked, the union had to decide whether to strike. They were inclined to apply to "Grand Arbitrator Committee" (Yüksek Hakem Kurulu), a committee whose duty is to arbitrate between the employer and the employee when they cannot negotiate themselves and are bound for a strike.

However, in the meantime, FMC Novamed employed an unfamiliar anti-union strategy: the factory employed workers and enrolled them in the union, but interestingly not as strike-breakers. While the union workers voted for an arbitrator instead of going to strike, the factory-employed workers, now the majority, voted for the strike and won. In the end, those who voted yes for the strike kept on working during the strike, while those who voted no ended up in a forced strike: if they would not strike, their union license would be revoked...

FMC Novamed maintains that all the allegations by the union workers are a lie. According to Cem Günaltay, the Finance Manager for Novamed, the workers who are on strike and all the members of the union are lying. FMC's International Production Manager Antonio Raffa claimed that the union is insincere and hypocritical in its allegations.

According to Burn (2005, p. 170-172), Free Trade Zones are established in "Third World" countries because they are generally exempt from tax, labor, safety, health, and environment laws when they do business in these zones. In these zones, women are the preferred labor force because they can be hired for significantly lower pay and under significantly less desirable working conditions than men can. Often from rural areas and unaware of their rights, in a setting with high unemployment rates, left unprotected by their nation-state, and already oppressed by the harsher patriarchal conditions of their societies, women workers in a transnational factory have little choice other than to accept the questionable work conditions imposed on them.

2007 ICC World Twenty20: Australia vs Bangladesh
Australia defeated Bangladesh by nine wickets in the Super 8 stage of the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 at Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town, South Africa.

Bangladesh were restricted to just 123 runs from their twenty overs. Having reached forty runs in the seventh over, Bangladesh lost opening batsman Nazimuddin, caught by Ricky Ponting for 11. Ponting also caught Tamim Iqbal, who was Bangladesh's top scorer with 32 runs off 40 balls. Brett Lee took the first hat trick in Twenty20 internationals, first dismissing Shakib al Hasan, then bowling Mashrafe Mortaza and trapping Alok Kapali lbw. Nathan Bracken took two wickets in two balls in the final over, including that of Aftab Ahmed for 31 runs.

Australia cruised to 124 runs from 13.5 overs, with Matthew Hayden hitting 73 runs off 48 balls. Just one wicket fell during the Australian innings, when Adam Gilchrist was run out for 43.

At least 80 thought to be dead in Phuket, Thailand air crash
An airliner belonging to One-Two-GO Airlines crashed and split in two on landing at Phuket International Airport in Thailand today. Approximately 80 people were thought to be dead, and at least 10 injured in the first major incident involving an airliner in Thailand's burgeoning low-cost aviation sector.

One-Two-GO's Flight OG 269, a MD-82 jet, had 123 passengers and five crew members aboard. The plane was on a regularly scheduled flight from Bangkok's Don Mueang International Airport to Phuket. It departed Bangkok at around 2:30 p.m. local time (0730 GMT) and reached Phuket at around 3:40 p.m. Upon landing, the plane skidded off the runway, crashed into some trees and burst into flame.

"The fire was throughout the airplane," Phuket Deputy Governor Worraphot Ratsrimaa was quoted as saying. "We expect that at least 90 percent of the passengers died."

There was heavy rain and visibility was poor, officials said. "The airplane asked to land but due to the weather in Phuket – strong wind and heavy rain – maybe the pilot did not see the runway clearly," civil aviation official Chiasak Angkauwan was quoted as saying.

The Nation newspaper published a list of 10 injured passengers from the crash, who were being treated at Phuket Hospital. The exact numbers of dead and injured were still being determined as of 7:00 p.m. local time. Phuket (pronounced, roughly, "Poock-get") is a popular holiday destination for tourists. Around 74 of the passengers were Thai nationals, The Nation said.

"We sat on the 18th row. The weather was real bad and there were lots of unusual noises during the landing. Something was obviously wrong [during the landing]," a survivor identified as "John" was quoted as saying in The Nation.

Another passenger, Nong Khaonual, told The Nation that he felt the plane had descended at an unusually high speed, and that it immediately caught fire after it skidded off the runway and came to rest in some trees. Nong said he was able to drag his wife from the plane. He said he and some other survivors were seated at the rear of the aircraft, where the impact of the crash was less severe.

One-Two-GO is the domestic, low-cost subsidiary of Orient Thai Airlines, a small airline that operates a fleet of older Boeing 747 jumbo jets and some smaller MD-82 and MD-83 jets. One-Two-GO is one of several low-cost airlines that have started up in Thailand in recent years.

2007 ICC World Twenty20: India vs New Zealand
New Zealand have beaten India by ten runs in the Super 8 stage of the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 at Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa.

The Black Caps lost opener Lou Vincent in the second over. Brendon McCullum (45) and Peter Fulton added 58 runs together to take New Zealand to 69-1, but four quick wickets fell and they were reduced to 91-5. Jacob Oram (35) and Craig McMillan (44) shared a 73 run partnership as New Zealand pushed towards 190. However four wickets fell in the last over, as Daniel Vettori was bowled by R P Singh and three other batsmen were run out.

India got off to a quick start chasing 191 to win. Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag had reached 76 runs in the sixth over when Sehwag was caught by Scott Styris for 40 runs. Daniel Vettori caught and bowled Robin Uthappa for a duck and had Gambhir caught behind for 51. Mahendra Singh Dhoni was run out for 24 as the Indian batsmen fell, with Vettori taking four wickets for New Zealand. India finished their twenty overs on 180-9, ten runs short of New Zealand's total.

Colin McRae feared dead in helicopter crash
An AS350B2 helicopter registered to former champion World Rally Championship driver Colin McRae has crashed near his home in Lanarkshire. Known to be a keen helicopter pilot it has been revealed that McRae was at its controls when it crashed killing all aboard.

A police statement said: "Around 1610 BST on Saturday, 15 September 2007, emergency services were called to a helicopter crash in Jerviswood... There are no survivors... There will be no formal identification of anyone on board this evening."

McRae's five-year-old son was also comfirmed to have perished, and police have been in contact with the family regarding the crash.

David Richards and his wife survived a helicopter crash in Essex whilst returning from the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix, the day after Colin McRae's helicopter crash, who was his former employee.

Health organisations respond to Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo
The World Health Organization (WHO), non-governmental aid organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have sent experts to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to assist local health authorities with a recent outbreak of Ebola haemorrhagic fever in Kasai Occidental province of DRC. The illness had been unidentified until laboratory test results confirmed the presence of the virus.

DRC President Joseph Kabila described the situation as being contained. "The village of Kampungu has been quarantined to prevent population movement towards Kananga," Kabila said on Thursday. Kananga is the provincial capital. "The situation is at the moment, I cannot say under control, but at least the problem has been contained very well in the area," he continued. "There is no risk that the whole country will be affected."

WHO is working closely with officials from the DRC Ministry of Health and MSF to improve local facilities in order to better contain the virus. A mobile field laboratory is to be established in order to provide rapid sample analysis and, subsequently, diagnosis of patients. There are concurrent outbreaks of other diseases, such as dysentery (Shigellosis), that have been complicating diagnoses and need to be identified as well.

Ebola haemorrhagic fever generates mortality rates in the range of 50 to 90 percent, typically. There is currently no vaccine or effective treatment for Ebola. WHO describes the symptoms of Ebola as being "characterized by the sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. This is often followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, impaired kidney and liver function, and in some cases, both internal and external bleeding. Laboratory findings show low counts of white blood cells and platelets as well as elevated liver enzymes."

MSF, who now have 14 experts in DRC, arranged for eighteen tons of supplies, such as medical and sanitation material, to be delivered to the province of West Kasai. MSF indicated that the transportation of supplies from the airport to the affected areas has been a challenge, due to poor road conditions. It has taken up to three days to travel the 250 km to the outbreak area from the provincial capital city, Kananga.

MSF experts will provide advice on sanitary burial procedures, which would include the use of body bags and spraying. Both the WHO and MSF will disseminate information to the local population regarding the transmission of the virus and measures that could be taken to reduce the spread of the disease.

The MSF emergency team coordinator in Kampungu, Rosa Crestani, described the isolation ward set up at Kampungu's health centre. "Our isolation centre is basically divided in three parts. One is completely isolated, where the sick patients are; another is where the staff dresses with the complete protection uniform and then undresses after having been in contact with the patients; and the third part is a space for disinfection in between," said Crestani. "In the coming days, we will decide with the Ministry of Health and the WHO whether we set up isolation structures in other locations of the health zone."

Neighbouring countries, such as Rwanda and Zambia have issued alerts to their citizens, warning of travel to and from DRC. Zambian Health Minister Brian Chituwo stated that all people coming into Zambia from DRC will be watched for symptoms of Ebola for up to eight hours. Chituwo noted, however that it would be unlikely for an infected person to travel into the country, as the time between onset and death is very rapid and that the symptoms are severe.

There has been a minimum of 395 people affected by haemorrhagic fever, including 160 deaths, in DRC in the past few months. Since arriving in Kampungu in early September, MSF have seen 25 patients admitted with suspected Ebola haemorrhagic fever, of which eight have died.

Arctic ice levels at record low opening Northwest Passage
According to the European Space Agency (ESA), 200 satellite images from the Danish National Space Center (DNSC) indicate that the Arctic ice levels are at an all time low, since the first images taken in 1978, and as a result the Northwest Passage has completely opened up for the first time since humans began to record history.

The images have shown the melting of the ice has "dramatically increased" more than previously thought and that by 2030, all of the summer ice could be gone with the region being completely ice free by 2070. Researchers call it an "extreme" situation and say that the ice is now shrinking at a level of about three million square kilometers a year, up from one million square kilometers per year in 2005.

"The strong reduction in just one year certainly raises flags that the ice may disappear much sooner than expected," said DNSC spokesman Leif Toudal Pedersen in a statement.

The new findings have put Canada and the United States at a standoff, both laying claim to the passage because it could be a valuable resource for the shipping industry. The passage goes through the boundaries of both nations. In 1985 diplomatic relations on the passage were strained after a U.S. icebreaker passed through without the U.S. notifying Canadian officials.

As a result, the Canadian military is building two new bases at both ends of the areas they claim to be theirs. There will also be at least six new naval patrol ships built, that will be stationed in the passage.

The U.S. claims that regardless which country boundaries the passage passes through, the waterway should be open to anyone who wants to use it.

"We believe it's an international passage," said U.S. President George W. Bush.

Denmark, Norway, and Russia all also lay claim to the vast amounts of minerals, natural gas, and oil.

Today in History
1862 – American Civil War: Almost 23,000 total casualties were suffered at the Battle of Antietam near Sharpsburg, Maryland, where Confederate and Union troops fought to a tactical stalemate.

1894 – The Imperial Japanese Navy defeated the Beiyang Fleet of Qing China in the Battle of the Yalu River at the mouth of the Yalu River in Korea Bay, the largest naval engagement of the First Sino-Japanese War.

1916 – World War I: "The Red Baron", a flying ace of the German Luftstreitkräfte, won his first aerial combat near Cambrai, France.

1978 – President Anwar Al Sadat of Egypt and Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel signed the Camp David Accords after twelve days of secret negotiations at Camp David.

2001 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average opens for the first time after the September 11 attacks, but the stock market posts its biggest point drop in its history closing down 684.81 points to 8920.70.

September 17 is Respect for the Aged Day in Japan (2007); Constitution Day and Citizenship Day in the United States.

Quote of the Day

You don't lead by pointing and telling people some place to go. You lead by going to that place and making a case. ~ Ken Kesey

Word of the Day

ingenue; n

An innocent, unsophisticated, naive, wholesome girl or young woman.

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