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Chavez wants UN uprooted from New York In a speech before the United Nations General Assembly, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called for the UN headquarters to be moved out of the United States. Chavez cited the Iraq War and the US' alleged disregard for the will of the United Nations as his reasoning for proposing the pullout. Panic-buying as petrol protests sweep Britain Three days of fuel tax protests are starting today as panic buying causes shortages at petrol stations

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US peace activist to be deported from Australia A US peace activist and history teacher, Scott Parkin, has been arrested in Melbourne after his visa was revoked on grounds of character. He was deemed "a threat to national security" by the Australian Department of Immigration, according to a spokesperson from Anti-Deportation Alliance

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87 journalists are arrested at a protest in Nepal. The President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, has evoked outrage by suggesting that rape victims in Pakistan are part of a "money making concern". Hurricane Ophelia is downgraded to a tropical storm as it appears to head out to the Atlantic Ocean. The Bicentennial of the Battle of Trafalgar and the death of Admiral Lord Nelson is commemorated by a re-enactment of the 1806 waterborne state funeral procession on the River Thames in London. New Zealand prepares to go to the polls on Saturday.

Apple may build cameras into Macs

According to a recent patent published by Apple Computer, Inc., future Mac laptops may come with built-in video cameras. Ostensibly, they would be used with the company's iChat AV video conferencing software, which allows for four way video conferencing, and up to nine way audio conferencing.

The patent reveals plans for a laptop with a swiveling lid, which rotates on the base. The camera, or, as the patent describes, "data capture device," would be placed on top of the lid of the laptops, where it would "secure the lid to the base," according to the patent.

The patent is not unclear; it is firmly in the direction of developing a video camera built into a laptop.

However, it is not entirely focused on laptops; a quote from the patent says it all: "For example, although the invention is primarily directed at a camera latch for a laptop computer, it should be noted that concepts disclosed herein may also be applied to other electronic devices, including but not limited to PDAs, music players, mobile phones and the like or I/O devices such as monitors, televisions and the like."

The camera could be configured to produce either streaming video, video stills, or images taken at intervals, and the camera would most likely have a built-in microphone.

MasterCard to debut on NYSE

MasterCard Inc, the world second-largest credit card issuer, said it can raise up to $2.45 billion issuing 61.5 million shares in an initial public offering on NYSE. The company is to offer outside investors 49% of its shares, covering 83% of voting rights. It is expected to trade on the market under the symbol "MA".

Purchase, NY-based MasterCard is currently owned by some 1,400 banks that issue company-branded credit and debit cards, now 716 million worldwide, which makes the issuer second only to Visa.

MasterCard earned $213.5 million on revenue of $1.4 billion in the first half of 2005. The company strongest NYSE-traded rival, American Express, trades at $57.34 a share now.

Blair recognizes Kyoto treaty stopped by its restrictions

In New York, speaking at the Clinton Global Initiative, British Prime Minister Tony Blair spoke with "brutal honesty" about the UNFCCC's Kyoto protocol and global warming.

Blair, a longtime supporter of the Kyoto treaty, recognized that countries will not accept the limits imposed on Kyoto: "No country is going to cut its growth."

Of India and China, "They're not going to start negotiating another treaty like Kyoto." India and China are classified as developing countries in the Kyoto protocol, so can get money and technology but are not restricted by its limits.

His approach: "What countries will do is work together to develop the science and technology….There is no way that we are going to tackle this problem unless we develop the science and technology to do it."

Resolution of Inquiry into pre-Iraq war U.S.-U.K. correspondance fails by one vote

The U.S. House Committee on International Relations voted Wednesday on a Resolution of Inquiry that would have required the White House and State Department to "transmit all information relating to communication with officials of the United Kingdom between January 1, 2002, and October 16, 2002, relating to the policy of the United States with respect to Iraq." The resolution comes in response to questions that have been raised by senior intelligence officials and information revealed in leaked U.K. documents such as the Downing Street Memo, regarding the handling of pre-war intelligence by the Bush administration, and the planning and execution of the Iraq war.

Originally proposed by Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), the Resolution of Inquiry had 83 co-sponsors at the time of voting, including one Republican member of the International Relations Committee, Jim Leach, who was the only Republican voting in favor of the resolution.

YES PRESENT NO

Dem 20 0 0

Rep 1 1 22

TOTAL 21 1 22

Some members of the committee from each party were absent.

Hiroshima citizens aid radiation exposed people in Kazakhstan

A Japanese non-profit organisation Hiroshima Semipalatinsk Project will send their 8th medical aid visiting team to Semey, Kazakhstan, known as Semipalatinsk under the USSR reign, reported a regional newspaper, Chugoku Shimbun. The team will consist of seven medical staffs, doctors and nurses, including Professor Masaharu Hoshi of the Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine at Hiroshima University. They will visit Semey from 19 September till 26 to examine radioactive exposed people and give medical instruments to local hospitals.

Hiroshima Semipalatinsk Project (HSP) was founded in 1999 by Hiroshima citizens, many of whom or their relatives suffered radiation exposure due to the atomic bomb dropped by the US army in 1945. When in 1994 Hiroshima hosted the Asia Games, a Hiroshima citizen met a Kazakh and eventually became aware of another group of "Hibakusha". In Semey approximately 470 atomic bomb experiments were held between 1949 and 1989 by the USSR government. Residents have been severely affected by radiation. Following the Hiroshima Semipalatinsk Project it is reported that 1.2 million people are affected by the fallouts and over 300,000 people have suffered of radiation exposure in that area, mainly in the city of Semey with a population of 350,000.

Since its foundation in 1999, HSP continues to aid Kazakhs and endeavours to provide the public with information about suffering in the area. The organisation gives Kazakhs not only medical aid but also social aid through student exchange programs for highschool students.

Bush calls for expanding Federal authority

In an address to the nation on Thursday, President Bush laid out a sweeping set of initiatives to aid the rebuilding effort of the gulf region and called for an investigation into what went wrong in the disaster and how better to respond in the future.

Following a list of economic stimulus programs designed to aid small businesses and individuals, the president called for something sure to draw fierce debate, a broadening of Federal power to declare martial law.

"It is now clear that a challenge on this scale requires greater federal authority and a broader role for the armed forces – the institution of our government most capable of massive logistical operations on a moment’s notice."

This follows on the heels of the Bush administration's failed effort to have Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco sign documents allowing Bush to invoke the Insurrection Act during the height of the crisis in the wake of hurricane Katrina.

Current law prevents regular military troops from law enforcement except in the case of insurrection against the state if that state has lost the ability to maintain order. Loosening of this restriction, and whatever else is contemplated in the president's statement, would mean a fundamental shift in the current balance of power between the Federal and State governments.

Norway to withdraw troops from Iraq

The leader of the Norwegian Labour Party, incoming Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, announced yesterday that Norway is to withdraw the remainder of its troops from Iraq. Nato member Norway still has approximately 20 military officers stationed in Iraq. They participate in the training of Iraqi troops with the British and Polish divisions. Previously Norway had approximately 170 soldiers stationed in Iraq, of which most were withdrawn in 2004 due to lack of popular and government support.

Stoltenberg notified George W. Bush of his decision on Thursday, when Bush called to congratulate him on his election victory. Norwegians voted in Monday's parliamentary elections in favour of a red-green alliance headed by Stoltenberg's Labour party, ousting the centre-right government.

Retiring Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik criticized Stoltenberg's decision as inconsistent. He said Labour's plan to withdraw the same troops it previously supported sending to Iraq was contradictory.

Bushmen given 10 days to leave their reserve in Botswana

Armed police and officials entered the Central Kalahari Game Reserve on September 12, giving the Bushmen there ten days to leave. Some Bushmen are reported to have fled into the Reserve and are evading capture.

In 1996 the central government of Botswana adopted a policy of evicting the Bushmen from the Central Game Reserve, an area originally set aside for them to inhabit. A constitutional amendment is also pending in Parliament to revoke the right of Bushmen to live in the Reserve in perpetuity. The government has expressed concern with several issues surrounding their continued presence in the reserve, including the need to supply them with water, the expense of educating them and providing them with health care, and their effect on the animals in the Reserve. They also say that it is in the Bushmen's best interest to join civilized society.

Critics of the relocation, including the groups Survival International and Botswanian Centre for Human Rights, allege very different motivations. Some believe that the government is moving the Bushmen out of the region to encourage tourism and diamond mining. Others argue that the government is acting out of compassion, but is making the wrong choice; they say that the Bushmen should be left to their hunter-gatherer ways, and that attempting to integrate them into modern Botswania will destroy their identity. They also state that the resettlement camps they are placed in are in bad condition, with rampant alcoholism and prostitution.

A court case has been in progress for three years against the government for moving them out of the Reserve, and is currently being heard. In August 2005 the United Nations urged Botswana to work with the Bushman to settle the dispute. It is estimated that some 250 Bushmen remain in the Reserve, having evaded eviction or infiltrated back after having been removed.

At press time, there were six days left on the government's ultimatum.

Chavez wants UN uprooted from New York

In a speech before the United Nations General Assembly, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called for the UN headquarters to be moved out of the United States.

United Nations headquarters, New York City.

Chavez cited the Iraq War and the US' alleged disregard for the will of the United Nations as his reasoning for proposing the pullout. He then went on to criticise the proposed UN reforms, saying they were "illegal" as they did not take into account anti-poverty goals set out in a 2000 summit. Proposing sweeping reforms, including the elimination of Security Council members' veto powers, Chavez described the UN as unfit for the 21st century.

President Chavez speaks in 2003.

Source: Victor Soares/ABr

In a comment more related to the frosty relationship between the US and Venezuela, Chavez expressed regret that Pat Robertson remained at liberty. Chavez has branded Robertson a terrorist for implying that the US would do well to assassinate the Venezuelan President.

The current summit marks the sixtieth anniversary of the formation of the United Nations, and many world leaders have gathered to work out reforms to the organisation to make it more relevant in today's world.

Hurricane Ophelia hits U.S. East Coast

With recovery from Katrina still under way, Hurricane Ophelia has now cut power to nearly 81,000 homes and businesses on the Eastern coast of North Carolina.

On Thursday, the storm moved slowly up the coast of North Carolina, causing considerable damage. Alton Ballance, a resident of the affected area, said that the storm was "just beating us to death. It's similar to the wintertime nor'easters that lay there and beat you for a couple of days.".

A small Category 1 hurricane, with top wind speeds of 85 mph (136 kph), Ophelia is nearly stalled in its current position in North Carolina and, in the words of another resident, Laurie Garner, "It just beat us and beat us and beat us."

"The barrier islands will be getting hammered one way coming up and the other way going back out," said the Governor of North Carolina, Mike Easley.

Kay Hull crosses floor in Australian House of Representatives on Telstra legislation

Kay Hull, an Australian National Party member of Parliament representing the electorate of Riverina, crossed the floor September 15 at the final third reading stage of debate on the Telstra legislation, previously passed and returned to the Australian House of Representatives.

Hull was the only MP who did so; the legislation passed the third reading on a majority of seventeen votes.

Hull was praised by the Manager of Opposition Business, Julia Gillard in the adjournment debate, stating "We have seen the National Party at its worst -- with the notable exception of the Member for Riverina".

Microsoft announces Xbox 360 launch dates

Microsoft announced on Thursday the release dates for the new version of the Xbox gaming console. The Xbox 360 will be in shops in the US on November 22. It will be launched in Europe on December 2 and in Japan on December 10.

The Xbox 360 in the US and Europe will come in two editions, base and premium. The premium edition will include the console, an external hard drive, wireless controllers, headset and membership in the Xbox Live gaming service. The base version will only include the console and a wired controller. The base edition will sell for £209.99 in the UK, €299.99 in Europe and $299.99 in the USA. The premium edition will sell for £279.99 in the UK and $399.99 in the USA. A third edition with nearly identical features to the premium edition will be available in Japan for ¥37,900.

Microsoft has said up to 20 games would be ready by the launch date, and 40 games should be launched by the end of 2005. "We expect a strong portfolio of titles on launch day and through the holidays that will appeal to fans of every genre and gamers in every region," said Chief Xbox officer Robbie Bach.

The launch date is two days before Thanksgiving, the traditional start of the US Christmas buying season. A November launch will give Microsoft a lead over competitors Sony and Nintendo. Sony plans to release the PlayStation 3 in the spring of 2006, and Nintendo plans to release its new console, the Revolution, sometime in the next year.

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Today in History
1787: The text of the United States Constitution was finalized in Philadelphia.

1809: The Treaty of Fredrikshamn concluded the Finnish War between Russia and Sweden, with Finland becoming an autonomous Grand Duchy under Czar Alexander I.

1894: The Imperial Japanese Navy and the Beiyang Fleet of Qing China clashed in the Battle of Yalu River, the largest naval engagement of the First Sino-Japanese War.

1908: Thomas Selfridge became the first passenger to die in a plane crash.

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

September 17 is Citizenship Day in the United States

Quote of the Day

"I've never seen anybody really find the answer — they think they have, so they stop thinking. But the job is to seek mystery, evoke mystery, plant a garden in which strange plants grow and mysteries bloom. The need for mystery is greater than the need for an answer." ~ Ken Kesey

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2005-09-16T19:21:51