2009 Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4 Spyder

The world debut of the 2009 Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4 Spyder at the Los Angeles Auto Show is designed to build on the success of the coupe version, which was launched in early 2008.

According to Lamborghini president and CEO Stephan Winkelmann, "With the Spyder, we are now unveiling a car that is quite simply a new dimension of the latest Gallardo range."


Underpinning the car is the same mechanical package of the coupe — a brawny V-10 engine that produces 560 bhp, delivered to all four wheels. In addition to delivering 40 more horsepower than the previous-generation Gallardo, the new generation model is also lighter, further improving the car's power-to-weight ratio. The drivetrain includes Lamborghini's e.gear automated manual that has an automatic mode or can be shifted manually via steering wheel-mounted paddles. Improvements to the e.gear transmission have reduced shift times by 40 percent.


Lamborghini claims a 0–100 km/h (62mph) acceleration of just 4.0 seconds and 0–200 km/h (124 mph) in 13.1. Top speed is listed at 201 mph.


Unlike the trend toward retractable hardtops, the Gallardo LP 540-4 Spyder employs a soft top that when in place, nicely integrates with the lines of the car. Although the styling is similar to the coupe's, the Spyder looks slightly more aggressive and muscular thanks to its more prominent haunches that house the convertible mechanism. The power top takes just 20 seconds to open or close. One unique feature of the top: The backlight functions as a wind blocker when the roof is stowed.

2009 Ferrari California

Talk about dragging the launch of a car out! The first official photos of the Ferrari California were published months ago. But here at the Paris show is the California's true world premier. And it's worth the wait to see it in the flesh. From a fully retractable hardtop to a dual-clutch transmission to the first-ever production Ferrari with a front-mounted V-8, the Ferrari California is packed with the latest and greatest from the engineers in Maranello...despite the fact the California is not Ferrari's flagship model.


Ferrari says the California "is aimed at owners who desire a car which embodies everything the Prancing Horse represents in terms of sporty design and innovation, but also seek a car with greater versatility than ever." This newest prancing horse is not a "baby Ferrari." It is, in fact, a brand-new model complementing, and similar in size to, the racier F430 — except the California has more flexibility in packaging. In addition to having a power retractable hardtop, the California can be ordered in a 2+2 configuration — children seating only — or for more storage space for weekend outings. There is even a trunk pass-through for skis for those who want to hit the slopes in the winter.


Despite a raft of new technologies, the California doesn't forget Ferrari's past. The car's styling uses several nostalgic elements from the Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder from the late 1950s and early 1960s. Those elements include the large air intake on the hood, the side gills just aft of the front wheels, near identical grillework and similarly swoopy rear fenders. And photos don't do this car justice — we must say, the Ferrari California looks absolutely stunning in person.


Unlike the Ferrari Superamerica from a few years back, which featured a roof that simply flipped backward, the California will come only as a true retractable hardtop; when the top is down, the rear deck is completely flat — just like the Mercedes-Benz SL. The top is slick in its operation, and only takes 14 seconds to go from open to fully closed.


As with any Ferrari, the engine is the star. The 4.3-liter direct-injected flat-crank V-8 produces 460 bhp. Even more important is the car's use of Ferrari's first dual-clutch gearbox with not six speeds, as on every other recent Ferrari, but seven forward gears. Ferrari claims the California will be able to hit 100 km/h (62 mph) in less than 4 seconds.


In another dramatic move, Ferrari has swapped out its traditional double-wishbone suspension at the rear for a multilink setup on the California. And those amazing (but incredibly expensive, lightweight and fade-resistant) Brembo carbon-ceramic brake discs seen on so many Ferraris these days? Standard issue on the California.


Ferrari started production of the California late this summer in a brand-new building in Maranello. It will be on sale in Europe by the end of the year. U.S. sales will follow later, probably as a 2009 model and priced in the range of the F430

2009 Aston Martin DBS Touchtronic 2

The range-topping Aston Martin DBS — which made its North American debut in L.A. — is further refined with the addition of the Touchtronic 2, a 6-speed paddle-shift automatic transmission.


The Touchtronic 2 is a revised version of the same ZF automatic transaxle used in the DB9, but with enhancements to accommodate the DBS' 510-bhp 6.0-liter V-12. The gearbox has been reworked to provide more aggressive shifts and increased flexibility to match the wide powerband of the DBS V-12. In addition, the final-drive has been changed from 3.15:1 to 3.46:1 to provide quicker acceleration. This allows the automatic-equipped DBS to match the manual's 0–100 km/h (62 mph) acceleration of 4.3 seconds.


The Touchtronic 2 operates in either a fully automatic or sequential manual shift mode and also has a sport setting, which features even more aggressive upshifts and rev-matching downshifts. The sport mode also remaps the electronic throttle to match the quicker shift strategy.


The DBS also features a new Bang & Olufsen BeoSound system developed specifically for Aston Martin. With a total power output of 1000 watts, the entertainment system delivers a total of 13 channels of sound across 10 speaker locations.


While the DBS was launched as a 2-seater, a new 2+2 configuration has been added to the line in response to customer demand. The two covered rear storage spaces of the standard DBS can be replaced with two small jump seats.

French say they need biggest condoms

The French say they need the largest condoms in Europe while Greeks get by on smaller ones, according to a Europe-wide study by a German consultancy that provides advice on condoms.

The study by the Singen-based Institute of Condom Consultancy was done by asking 10,500 men in 25 countries to measure their penis and enter the number into a database.

The results show Frenchmen on average claim to need 15.48-cm (6.09-inch) long condoms, about 3 cm longer than Greeks, whose condom-size requirement was the most modest.

Jan Vinzenz Krause, the institute's director, told Reuters Friday the data was collected over a period of eight months.

He did not want to comment on how honest he thought the Frenchmen had been in reporting the data.

The survey was aimed at educating youngsters about the importance of effective contraception.

The institute also offers online condom-size advice and hosts "Pimp Your Condom" -- an annual fair organised in cooperation with the national Aids Trust -- with the aim of educating teens about sexually transmitted diseases.

Krause was in the spotlight in the past when he produced a prototype of the "spray-on condom" -- an aerosol can which contains latex that creates a perfectly fitting condom. But the idea was not developed further.

'Babies Stressed Out By Buggies'

Babies pushed in buggies facing away from their parents could suffer lasting psychological damage, scientists claim.



Children made to face away from their carers are more likely to end up anxious adults, the first ever study on the effects of buggies has revealed.


The away-facing babies in the research were "emotionally impoverished", laughed less, talked less and suffered more stress than those facing their parent.


Almost 3,000 parent-infant pairs were studied as part of the research by Dundee University for the Talk To Your Baby early language campaign of the National Literacy Trust.


In one experiment, 20 babies were pushed for a mile, half the journey spent in an away-facing buggy and the other in a toward-facing one.


A quarter of parents using face-to-face buggies talked to their baby - more than twice as many as those using away-facing buggies.


Babies facing towards the buggy-pusher enjoyed a reduced heart rate and were twice as likely to fall asleep.


Only one baby in the group of 20 laughed during the away-facing journey, while half laughed during the face-to-face journey.


Dr Suzanne Zeedyk, from Dundee University's School of Psychology, said: "If babies are spending significant amounts of time in a baby buggy, that undermines their ability to communicate easily with their parent.


"Our data suggests that for many babies today, life in a buggy is emotionally impoverished and possibly stressful. Stressed babies grow into anxious adults."

Boy Died After Spraying Deodorant

A 12-year-old boy died when his heart failed after he sprayed on too much deodorant, an inquest has been told.

Daniel Hurley, from Sandiacre, Derbyshire, was found collapsed in his bathroom by his father Robert Hurley after using Lynx Vice deodorant.

Derby Coroner's Court heard that use of the spray in a confined space led to Daniel suffering a cardiac arrhythmia.

Mr Hurley tried to revive his son but he died at the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham on January 12, five days after he was found.

Mr Hurley told the inquest: "He was always putting gel on his hair and spraying deodorant and it was quite common for him to spray his clothing as well.

"The bathroom is adjacent to the kitchen and I made some tea and shouted into the bathroom to see if he was OK.

"I heard nothing so I shouted again but did not get a reply. I forced the door open and found Daniel in the bath."

Consultant pathologist Dr Andrew Hitchcock, who carried out the post mortem examination on Daniel, told the inquest there was no evidence he had abused alcohol or drugs.

Derby and South Derbyshire Coroner Dr Robert Hunter said manufacturer Unilever provided adequate warnings on cans of the deodorant that large amounts should not be used in a confined space.

He said: "It seems the presence of a volatile agent caused the cardiac arrhythmia. Daniel copiously used deodorant in the bathroom.

"I do not know how many people read the warnings about exposure awareness.
"But people need to know about the risks that these products have on the cardio-vascular system."

He recorded a verdict of accidental death.

'The Car That Makes Parking Easy'

A car which rotates 360 degrees and a driveable armchair are among the cars of the future now on display in London


The Nissan PIVO 2 can pivot on its wheels, meaning drivers never need reverse park again.
You simply drive into the space, turn the car around and drive straight out again.


Its designers have also added a built in pop-up robot to the dashboard which reads the facial expressions of the driver.


If the driver appears stressed or confused the robot will talk to them and offer advice.
And while this car is still only an idea, the team behind it believe it could provide a real insight into the future of road transport.


But if a rotating car still sounds like too much work, the Toyota i-REAL could be the answer.
Its manufacturers describe it as a new step in personal mobility - although to the untrained eye it's a motorised armchair.


Complete with a fingertip control panel, the i-REAL is designed to travel on roads and pavements. It also interacts with other i-REALS nearby.


Both vehicles are part of a new display of Japanese cars at the Science Museum in London.
The exhibition's curator, Kenya Hara, said: "Japan's cars have their own unique characteristics and individuality."


Other more practical designs include an electric car which can be charged overnight using a domestic plug.


After seven hours of charging the car can then be driven for about 100 miles.


Shigeru Ban, a Japanese architect and designer, said: "Cars are not the only industry that represents Japan, but the one which best reflects Japanese society.


"Today Japanese car design also deeply relates to global environmental issues."

Japanese man releases hundreds of worms in train

A Japanese man was arrested for releasing hundreds of beetle larvae inside a moving express train to try to scare female passengers, police said Tuesday.

"I wanted to see women get scared and shake their legs," police quoted 35-year-old Manabu Mizuta as saying.

He was arrested on the spot by a patrolling police officer after releasing the creatures on the Keihan line in Osaka prefecture.

"He would go close to women on the train, any woman, and pour out the worms from containers," said a police spokesman.

Local police had been on alert after 18 similar cases of released worms had been reported this month by the same train operator.

"When the arrest was made, the man had nearly emptied a container, which is believed to have held 200 worms," he said. "You cannot count them because there are so many."
Mizuta had 10 containers in his backpack estimated to contain a total of 3,600 worms, police said.

"We have the worms sitting inside the police station right now," the spokesman said. "You see them wriggling inside their clear cases. It's really disgusting."

Fishermen find ancient boat in Black Sea

SOFIA, Bulgaria – A well-preserved ancient wooden dugout canoe has been discovered at the bottom of the Black Sea, scientists said Saturday.

The vessel was discovered by fishermen trailing nets along the sea bottom some 15 miles off the coast, said Dimitar Nedkov, head of the Archaeological Museum in the port city of Sozopol.

"The dugout is 2.6 meters (8.5 feet) long and 70 centimeters (27.5 inches) wide, and it is made most probably of oak," Nedkov told The Associated Press.

Bulgarian explorers have found four ancient vessels in remarkably good condition in the Black Sea, whose oxygen-depleted deep water preserves wrecks without the worm damage and deterioration that normally affects wooden vessels.

"Nowhere else can you find similar dugouts, as well as any kind of wooden vessels over 300 years old, because water rots the wood away," said Bozhidar Dimitrov, head of the National Museum of History. "In the Black Sea, however, there is dissolved hydrogen sulfide below a certain depth which preserves all organic materials."

Major source of Internet spam pulled off the Web

Chicago (IL) – There is a good chance that the spam volume hitting your email inbox could drop drastically. A web hosting firm was identified earlier in the week by the computer security community as a major host of organizations that were engaging in spam activity. The web hosting firm was pulled from the Web.

Located in a 30-story office tower in the heart of Silicon Valley, in downtown San Jose, a relatively small firm was involved in a full scale cyber crime network. The McColo Corporation operated the servers located within the building, and they were involved in hosting services for all types of firms that compromised computers to advertise counterfeit designer goods, pharmaceuticals, fake Internet security products and even child pornography by way of e-mail.

Viewing the company’s website is no longer possible, two Internet providers cut off McColo’s connectivity to the Internet. Almost instantaneously, security companies noticed a tremendous drop in the global volume of spam. E-mail security firm IronPort said that spam levels had fallen by almost 66% as of Tuesday evening.

Spam watchdog Spamcop.net stated that there was a decline of 10 - 40 spam emails per second.

At this time, it is not known whether McColo be legally responsible will be for the activities of their clients. At this time there is no confirmation that the company has been charged with a crime.

Private security researcher Jart Armin has been documenting the activity of McColo. She mentioned that currently McColo is hosted at a minimum 40 different child pornography websites, or sites that collect payment for the content. A traffic analysis of one of the sites proved that each one of these sites were generating between 15,000 and 25,000 visitors daily.

For several months, cyber criminals have been utilizing servers at McColo to manage websites that send out new versions of the “Torpig” or “Sinowal” Trojan horse program that is one of the most stealthy malware programs in existence currently.

This is just one more successful move in the government’s quest to go more seriously after spammers. Last month, the FTC seized the assets of Herbal King that was in the business of selling counterfeit prescription drugs. This network was deemed the largest “spam gang” in the world. The spammers utilized the Mega-D botnet, which reportedly was able to send 10 billion e-mail messages per day.

PhD Studentships England

PhD Studentships, Institute of Cancer Research, LondonPhD studentships are available to prospective students to carry out research at the Institute of Cancer Research, London UK.

Deadline : 1st December 2008

Admissions Criteria
A first or upper second class honours degree in a relevant subject (either expected or obtained.)Overseas qualification to the equivalent level.Experience of laboratory or research work. One of your referees must be able to comment on your research experience.A TOEFL score of 650 (paper based), 280 (computer based) or 109 (Internet based). OR an IELTS score of at least 7. Students without TOEFL or IETLS score should have either education experience in English (min 1 year) or work experience (min 18 months)

Application Guidelines
All applications must be made via the online form.A completed application consists of:An online application form, where you have uploaded a summary of a research project and your degree transcript if you are from overseas.Two references (one of whom must be able to comment on your research abilities.)Your referees will be contacted immediately. They will be emailed a link to a form which they complete. You will receive an email when they have done this. If you do not receive this email, you should contact your referees: it is your responsibility to ensure that we receive your references.The deadline for applications is 1st December 2008. The deadline for receiving two references is 5th December 2008. (Please note that the deadline for applications is 1st December 2008. Successful applicants should be available for interview 2nd - 4th February 2009.)

Funding
Studentships funded by The Institute of Cancer Research, Cancer Research UK or MRC will be supported for four years. The non-taxable stipend, which for 2009/10 is £19,096 (inner London - Chester Beatty Laboratories, Fulham Road) or £17,770 (outer London - Sutton Campus), is increased annually in-line with the increase in cost-of-living.

Further Information and online ApplicationFor detailed further information and to apply for these studentships, please follow the link below:
http://www.icr.ac.uk/education/phd_studentships/available_studentships/index.shtml

LA SHOW: Nissan shows all-new "Z"

In the first full redesign of the Nissan Z since its re-introduction in 2003 (as 350Z), the new 370Z now sports a shorter wheelbase, greater use of lightweight body materials, new engine with more horsepower and a new 7-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters, as well as the world's first synchronised down/up shift rev control system for the manual transmission.

Nissan is also keen to point out that the Nissan 370Z pays homage to the original 1970 240Z with its upswept line on the new rear quarter window.

"The fresh character of the Nissan 370Z is immediately apparent in the crisp new exterior design, which is sportier yet still immensely identifiable as a Z," said Pierre Loing, Nissan's European Vice President for Product Planning.

"The new 370Z builds on the best features of both the first and last generation's Z-cars - respectful but not retro, simple yet sophisticated, and unmistakeably Z.

"The new Z's wheelbase is nearly 100mm shorter than the previous generation Z (2550mm versus 2650mm), accomplished by moving the rear wheels forward in the 2nd generation FM platform, while overall length is reduced by 70mm (4250mm versus 4320mm). At the same time, the overall width has been increased by 33mm and the rear track by 55mm.

The more compact exterior dimensions and expanded use of lightweight materials help reduce weight, while at the same time the body structure has been extensively reinforced, improving rigidity.

Nissan says the exterior design incorporates intentional 240Z styling cues, a sleek aerodynamic shape, a 'dynamic motion' feel with a dramatic cantilevered roof (with Nissan GT-R styling cues) and a 'low visual gravity'.

As its new moniker suggests, the new 370Z is now powered by a 3.7-litre VQ37VHR engine with VVEL (Variable Valve Event and Lift). Along with its larger displacement, the new engine gives better power delivery all the way to the 7,000rpm redline, improved low-end power and more high-end torque, creating an entirely new driving experience, Nissan says.

Approximately 35 percent of the engine's parts are new, versus the previous design. Power is rated at 331PS, while torque is 366Nm. Engine output figures for Europe are subject to homologation.

The new engine is backed by a choice of two new advanced transmissions, both designed to improve driver performance. The newly improved close-ratio 6-speed manual gearbox includes the world's first synchronised down/up shift rev control system, which allows drivers of any skill level to experience perfectly smooth gear shifts every time. The 'Synchro Rev Control' function automatically adjusts engine speed when changing gear to the exact speed of the next gear position, essentially 'blipping' the throttle to smooth out any down/up shifts.

"This exciting new Z represents the essence of the Nissan brand, just as the original 240Z did nearly 40 years before," said Loing. "It provides passionate performance at an excellent value - just what was needed then and just what sports car enthusiasts are looking for today."

Hostages said dead in Mumbai Jewish center

MUMBAI, India – Commandos who stormed the Mumbai headquarters of an ultra-orthodox Jewish group found the bodies of five hostages inside, including a New York rabbi and his wife, officials said, as a fresh battle raged at the luxury Taj Mahal hotel and other Indian forces ended a siege at another five-star hotel.

More than 150 people have been killed since gunmen attacked 10 sites across India's financial capital starting Wednesday night, including 22 foreigners — four of them Americans, officials said.

Early Friday night, Indian commandos emerged from a besieged Jewish center with rifles raised in an apparent sign of victory after a daylong siege that saw a team rappel from helicopters and a series of explosions and fire rock the building and blow giant holes in the wall.
Inside, though, were five dead hostages.

A delegation from Israel's ZAKA emergency medical services unit entered the building after the raid and reported through an Indian aide that five hostages and two gunmen were dead, a ZAKA spokesman in Israel said. The spokesman had no information on the hostages' identities or whether there were wounded inside.
Jewish law requires the burial of a dead person's entire body, and the mission of the ultra-Orthodox ZAKA volunteers is to rescue the living — and in the case of the dead, carry out the task of gathering up all collectable pieces of flesh and blood.

Numerous local media reports, quoting top military officials, also said five hostages and two gunmen had been killed in the Jewish center.

The airborne assault on the center run by the Jewish outreach group Chabad Lubavitch was punctuated by gunshots and explosions as forces cleared it floor by floor.

Late Friday, Rabbi Zalman Schmotkin, a spokesman for the Chabad Lubavitch movement, said that Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg and his wife, Rivka, were among the dead.

The couple's toddler son, Moshe Holtzberg, was smuggled out of the center by an employee, and is now with his grandparents.

By Friday evening, at least nine gunmen had been killed and one had been arrested, said R. Patil, a top official in Maharashtra state, where Mumbai is the capital. Media reports said one or two were thought to still be in the Taj Mahal.

Patil said a total of more than 150 people had been killed and 370 injured.

After hours of intermittent gunfire and explosions Friday at the Taj Mahal, a hotel with 565 rooms, the battle heated up at dusk when Indian forces began launching grenades at the hotel, where at least one militant was believed to be holed up inside a ballroom, officials said.

Commandos had killed the two last gunmen inside the nearby Oberoi earlier in the day.

"The hotel is under our control," J.K. Dutt, director general of India's elite National Security Guard commando unit, told reporters, adding that 24 bodies had been found. Dozens of people — including a man clutching a baby — had been evacuated from Oberoi earlier Friday.

Security officials said their operations were almost over.

"It's just a matter of a few hours that we'll be able to wrap up things," Lt. Gen. N. Thamburaj told reporters Friday morning.

The group rescued from the Oberoi, many holding passports, included at least two Americans, a Briton, two Japanese nationals and several Indians. Some carried luggage with Canadian flags. One man in a chef's uniform was holding a small baby. About 20 airline crew members were freed, including staff from Lufthansa and Air France.

"I'm going home, I'm going to see my wife," said Mark Abell, with a huge smile on his face after emerging from the hotel. Abell, from Britain, had locked himself in his room during the siege.

The well-coordinated strikes by small bands of gunmen starting Wednesday night left the city shell-shocked.
Late Thursday, after about 400 people had been brought out of the Taj hotel, officials said it had been cleared of gunmen, but they later said two to three more were still inside with about 15 civilians.

Early Friday, Thamburaj, the security official, said at least one gunman was still alive inside the hotel and had cut of electricity on the floor where he was hiding. Shortly after that announcement, another round of explosions and gunfire were heard coming from the hotel.

On Friday, India's foreign minister pointed an accusing finger across the border at rival Pakistan.
"According to preliminary information, some elements in Pakistan are responsible for Mumbai terror attacks," Pranab Mukherjee told reporters in the western city of Jodhpur.

"Proof cannot be disclosed at this time," he said, adding that Pakistan had assured New Delhi it would not allow its territory to be used for attacks against India. India has long accused Islamabad of allowing militant Muslim groups, particularly those fighting in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, to train and take shelter in Pakistan. Mukherjee's carefully phrased comments appeared to indicate he was accusing Pakistan-based groups of staging the attack, and not Pakistan itself.

Earlier Friday, Pakistan's Defense Minister Ahmed Mukhtar, in Islamabad, denied involvement by his country: "I will say in very categoric terms that Pakistan is not involved in these gory incidents."

Indian home minister Jaiprakash Jaiswal said a captured gunmen had been identified as a Pakistani and Patil, the Maharashtra state official, said: "It is very clear that the terrorists are from Pakistan. We have enough evidence that they are from Pakistan."

Neither provided further details.

Pakistan's government said Friday that it will send its spy chief, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shujaa Pasha, to India to help probe the attacks.

The gunmen apparently came to Mumbai by boat, and Indian forces expanded their investigation to the sea. Authorities stopped a cargo ship off the western coast of Gujarat that had sailed from Saudi Arabia and handed it over to police for investigation, said Navy Capt. Manohar Nambiar.

They also stopped a cargo ship that had come to Mumbai from Karachi, Pakistan, but released it when nothing suspicious was found on board.

The British government, meanwhile, was investigating whether some of the attackers could be British citizens with links to Pakistan or the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir, a British security official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of his work.

The gunmen were well-prepared, apparently scouting some targets ahead of time and carrying large bags of almonds to keep up their energy.

"It's obvious they were trained somewhere ... Not everyone can handle the AK series of weapons or throw grenades like that," an unidentified member of India's Marine Commando unit told reporters, his face wrapped in a black mask. He said the men were "very determined and remorseless" and ready for a long siege. One backpack they found had 400 rounds of ammunition inside.

He said the Taj was filled with terrified civilians, making it very difficult for the commandos to fire on the gunmen.
"To try and avoid civilian casualties we had to be so much more careful," he said, adding that hotel was a grim sight. "Bodies were strewn all over the place, and there was blood everywhere."

A U.S. investigative team was heading to Mumbai, a State Department official said Thursday evening, speaking on condition of anonymity because the U.S. and Indian governments were still working out final details.

India has been shaken repeatedly by terror attacks blamed on Muslim militants in recent years, but most were bombings striking crowded places: markets, street corners, parks. Mumbai — one of the most populated cities in the world with some 18 million people — was hit by a series of bombings in July 2006 that killed 187 people.
These attacks were more sophisticated — and more brazen.

They began at about 9:20 p.m. with shooters spraying gunfire across the Chhatrapati Shivaji railroad station, one of the world's busiest terminals. For the next two hours, there was an attack roughly every 15 minutes — the Jewish center, a tourist restaurant, one hotel, then another, and two attacks on hospitals. There were 10 targets in all

Somali pirates hijack ship, British guards escape

NAIROBI, Kenya – Somali pirates hijacked a chemical tanker with dozens of Indian crew members Friday and a helicopter rescued three British security guards who had jumped into the sea, officials said.

A warship on patrol nearby sent helicopters to intervene in the attack, but they arrived after pirates had taken control of the Liberian-flagged ship, according to Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Malaysia.

The ship master had sent a distress call to the piracy reporting center, which relayed the alert to international forces policing Somali waters, Choong said. No details about how the pirates attacked or the condition of the crew were available immediately.

Choong said the ship was being operated out of Singapore.

Still on board were 25 Indian and two Bangladeshi crew members, said diplomats who could not be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media. The British security guards escaped by jumping into the water, said a news release issued by their company, Anti-Piracy Maritime Security Solutions.

The company said it was aware of the incident on the chemical tanker it identified as M/V BISCAGLIA.

"We have been informed by coalition military authorities that three of our unarmed security staff were rescued from the water by a coalition helicopter and are currently on board a coalition warship in the Gulf of Aden," the company statement said.

German Defense Ministry spokesman Thomas Raabe confirmed that a naval helicopter lifted three people out of the water in the Gulf of Aden at about 4 a.m. Friday morning and deposited them on a French ship.

Germany and France have ships in the area as part of a NATO fleet which, along with warships from Denmark, India, Malaysia, Russia and the U.S., have started patrolling the vast maritime corridor. They escort some merchant ships and respond to distress calls.

The ship hijacked Friday was the 97th vessel to be attacked this year off Somalia, where an Islamic insurgency and lack of effective government have contributed to an increase in pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden.

Ships "must continue to maintain a 24-hour vigil and radar watch so they can take early measures to escape pirates. Even though there are patrols, the warships cannot be everywhere at the same time," Choong said.

Pirates have become increasingly brazen in the Gulf, a major international shipping lane through which about 20 tankers sail daily.

Forty ships have been hijacked this year, including a Saudi supertanker loaded with $100 million worth of crude oil Nov. 15.

Pirates demanding multimillion-dollar ransoms hold 15 ships and nearly 300 crew, Choong said.
Somalia, an impoverished nation in the Horn of Africa, has not had a functioning government since 1991.

Associated Press Writer Sean Yoong contributed to this report from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Bamboo Laptop by Asustek to Debut Saturday Nov 29

Asustek Computer plans to debut a nature-friendly laptop PC with a casing made of bamboo on Saturday at Taiwan's IT Month exhibition.

The laptop, first announced last year, is part of Asus's efforts to use renewable materials in products. The shell of the laptop is made of real bamboo, which grows fast and is used widely throughout Asia in furniture, as well as construction scaffolding, food for pandas, and in artworks.

The company on Thursday displayed the first bamboo laptop that's ready for the market. The device is part of Asus's U6V series of notebook PCs and sports a 12.1-inch screen, Intel Core 2 Duo microprocessor, and Microsoft's Windows Vista OS.

Asus plans to sell them at the Taipei IT show for NT$59,900 (US$1,802) each.
The company will launch the bamboo laptops in the U.S. and Europe at a later date, but has not decided exactly when, an Asustek representative said.

IT Month in Taiwan is a time for companies to display products and normally ends up with bargains on IT gear for consumers. The exhibition is hosted in four major cities on the island, including at the Taipei World Trade Center exhibition halls from Nov. 29 to Dec. 7.

ASUS Spurs Green Computing Revolution with Bamboo Series Notebook

Taipei, Taiwan, August 28, 2008 – ASUS, recognized as a highly environmental friendly company in the Computers and Peripherals Industry by oekom in 2007*, today launched the ASUS Bamboo Series notebook, a groundbreaking bamboo-clad product that is truly green throughout every phase of its life – from its conception, production and use to its eventual recycling and disposal. In developing the ASUS Bamboo Series notebook, ASUS staff at all levels leveraged the full spectrum of environmental expertise that the company has accumulated since 2002 when it initiated its Green ASUS drive – before the RoHS and WEEE directives were enforced – and utilized the comprehensive green product design and management tools specifically created to encourage the disciplined adherence to green principles at a systemic level.

The ASUS Bamboo Series is a major milestone for ASUS and the IT industry at large, as it signals the coming of age of green technologies that are no longer confined to the conceptual realm, and that are implementable on a mass production scale. It also serves as a tangible manifestation of ASUS' commitment to continually bolstering its green capabilities. Finally, it is proof positive that meeting the demands of modern computing can be reconciled with the need to preserve the Earth, especially when a green mentality has become deeply ingrained in the solution provider's culture – just as it has at ASUS.

The ASUS Bamboo Series notebook: A Seamless Marriage of Art and Engineering

The first thing about the ASUS Bamboo Series notebook that commands immediate and unfailing attention is its artisan-grade Moso bamboo paneling, which is crafted with the precision and care typically associated with bamboo instruments and arts and crafts. The organic tactility, refreshing scent and minimalist aesthetics of bamboo lend the ASUS Bamboo Series notebook an arresting aura of spirituality, warmth and old world charm that synthetic materials and cold, impersonal metals will struggle to replicate. With every touch, users will be able to feel the difference – the bamboo gives an instant sense of familiarity, just like the sensation one would get from running one's fingertips across furniture. The sensation of being close to nature is even conveyed when users use the touch pad. The genuine bamboo fiber patterns on the touch pad create the sensation of touching live bamboo. Furthermore – like any piece of original art – every ASUS Bamboo Series notebook is unique, each with its own natural patterning that is brought out beautifully by ASUS' proprietary manufacturing process. The air of individuality of each piece can be further enhanced by several treatments that yield different colors, or by laser etching distinctive designs onto the ASUS Bamboo Series notebook's bamboo-clad cover.

The ultra slim ASUS Bamboo Series notebook is currently available in two versions: a 12.1" model that weighs 1.57kg and an 11.1" model that weighs a mere 1.25kg. Both house Intel® Core™2 Duo processors and are fitted with DDRII RAM.

ASUS Super Hybrid Engine: A Next Generation Breakthrough in Power Efficiency

All of the ASUS Bamboo Series notebook's power does not come at the expense of the environment. On the contrary, the ASUS Bamboo Series notebook – as with the new generation of ASUS notebooks released to market from the second half of 2008 – is remarkably energy-efficient, thanks to the implementation of ASUS' exclusive Super Hybrid Engine technology, which is the product of a comprehensive redesigning of the hardware, software and BIOS on the part of ASUS' engineers.

The most remarkable breakthrough of Super Hybrid Engine is that it accords users the control they need to obtain their desired level of performance – either improving power efficiency or boosting performance by the same technology core. In terms of power efficiency improvement, Super Hybrid Engine can extend battery life between 35% and 70% as compared to notebooks with the same specifications but without the technology, and yet enable users to boost their systems' performance by up to 23%. It achieves this by intelligently monitoring the power requirements of the notebook's components and automatically adjusting the power levels in real-time to match the current consumption needs, thus optimizing both system performance and power efficiency. Users are also given the option of selecting from a number of presets manually to ensure that the notebook conforms to the owner's usage demands.

With the accrued power savings, Super Hybrid Engine reduces yearly CO2 emission by 12.3kg per notebook. Given that ASUS ships approximately 6 million notebooks per year, this works out to a massive 73.8 million kilograms of CO2 emission reduced per year, which equates to saving 36 million trees annually.

Bamboo as an Alternative Material: The Natural Choice

ASUS has achieved international renown for its research into, and inspired use of, biodegradable materials such as leather in its products, but its decision to embrace bamboo is nothing short of ingenious. Through the use of bamboo which has an immense tensile strength that rivals that of many metal alloys, the ASUS Bamboo Series notebook is highly resilient – an attribute proven conclusively by the fact that it is the first notebook to have survived the unforgiving conditions of snow-capped Qomolangma Peak, which stands at a staggering height of 8,848 meters (29,028 feet). Bamboo also has a renewal rate that no other plant can match. It has been known to grow 60cm in just 24 hours, reaching its maximum height in several years. Bamboo is also capable of regenerating itself upon harvesting without necessitating replanting, making it possibly the perfect renewable resource.

It's Easy Being Green

The crux of the message borne by the ASUS Bamboo Series notebook is that “it's easy being green". This message resonates at both the consumer and solution provider strata. For consumers, being green is a simple matter of making smart, environmentally-conscious purchasing decisions. Choosing the ASUS Bamboo Series notebook – or any of ASUS' notebooks, all of which were designed and manufactured in strict adherence to the same rigorous green policies and standards that governed the development of the ASUS Bamboo Series notebook – over less green alternatives, will help to preserve the Earth in no small measure.

For solution providers, the key to going green entails looking beyond mere legal compliance and proactively inculcating green values among staff. ASUS is the beacon of success for this approach. In relation to the ASUS Bamboo Series notebook for instance, staff spanning the research and development, strategy development, manufacturing, procurement, quality control, sales and marketing and even administrative departments rallied behind a common raft of green principles set by a steering committee headed by the Chairman of ASUSTek Computer Inc., Jonney Shih. This was only made possible by the company-wide green design, manufacturing and procurement systems that ASUS has in place, as well as its considerable investment into green-oriented e-learning platforms and staff education programs.

ASUS Bamboo Series notebook Specifications

12.1"

Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T9400/P8600/P8400 Mobile Intel® PM45 Express Chipset Intel® WiMAX/WiFi Link 5100

Genuine Windows Vista® Ultimate

Genuine Windows Vista® Business

Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium

Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic

DDR2 800 MHz SDRAM, 2 x SODIMM socket for expansion up to 4GB SDRAM

12.1" WXGA LED-backlit LCD with Color Shine (Glare-type), Crystal Shine (High brightness) and ASUS Splendid Video Intelligence Technology

NVIDIA® GeForce® 9300M GS External 256MB VRAM

2.5" 9.5mm SATA 320/250/160GB

Hybrid with 256MB flash

DVD Super Multi Double Layer: Ultra Slim

8-in-1 card reader: SD,MMC,MS,MS-Pro,xD, Smart Media, mini SD with adapter, MS-Duo, MS-Pro Duo via adapter

0.3 Mega Pixel web camera

3/6/9 cells: 2400/4800/7800 mAh,

30 x 22 x 2.53 - 3.16 cm (W x D x H)

1.57 kg, with 3 cell battery pack

11.1"

Intel® Core™ Duo Processor U7600

Mobile Intel® GM965 Express Chipset

Intel® Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN or Intel®

PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection(optional)

Genuine Windows Vista® Ultimate

Genuine Windows Vista® Business

Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium

Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic

DDR2 667 MHz SDRAM, 2 x SODIMM socket for expansion up to 4GB SDRAM

11.1" WXGA LED-backlit LCD with Color Shine (Glare-type) and ASUS Splendid Video Intelligence Technology

Embedded Intel® GMA X3100

1.8" 9.5mm PATA 80/100/120GB

32GB SSD

DVD Super Multi Double Layer

8-in-1 card reader: SD,MMC,MS,MS-Pro, mini SD with adapter, MS-Duo, MS-Pro Duo via adapter

0.3 Mega Pixel web camera

3/6/9 cells: 2400/4800/7800 mAh, 26.6/53/80 Whrs

27.7 x 19.4 x 2.49 ~ 2.9 cm (W x D x H)

1.25 kg, with 3 cell battery, SSD

ASUS is a leading company in the new digital era. With a global staff of more than eight thousand and a world-class R&D design team, the company's turnover for 2007 was 6.9 billion U.S. dollars. ASUS ranks among the top 10 IT companies in BusinessWeek's "InfoTech 100", and has been on the listing for 11 consecutive years. ASUS was also selected by the Wall Street Journal Asia as No.1 in quality and service in Taiwan.

What is Skype ?

A lot of people have been commenting on my "Skype on PSP" video asking questions like: "What is Skype?", "Is is free?", "Do I need a microphone?", "How can people call me?", "How do I get Skype on my PSP?", "Why can't I get Skype on my PSP?". Well, this post aims to answer all those questions.


What is Skype?Skype allows users to make telephone calls over the Internet to other Skype users free of charge and to landlines and cell phones for a fee.


Is it free?Yes and no. Calling other Skype users on their computers, PSPs, and other Skype enabled devices is absolutely free. On the other hand, calling landlines and cell phones costs a small amount of moola.


Do I need a microphone?Yes, you need the PSP headset and remote. The remote came with the original PSP but not the Slim. You can buy the PSP Headset Kit for Skype at Gamestop or Amazon, which includes both the headset and remote.


How can people call me?There are two different ways people can call you. The first way is calling you from Skype on their computer, PSP, or other Skype device. Secondly, people can call your SkypeIn number from any phone, which is basically the same as a regular phone number, but this feature will cost extra.


How do I get Skype on my PSP?Skype is included in the latest PSP Slim/2000 firmware update. If you have WiFi then you can update by going to the settings on your PSP and clicking "Network Update". If you don't have WiFi then you can update by going here and following the instrcutions at the bottom of the page (This requires either the PSP USB cable or a Memory Stick Duo reader).


Why can't I get Skype on my PSP?If you can't get it on your PSP then you most probably don't have a Slim/2000 series PSP. It will not work with the old PSP 1000 series PSPs. You probably think it's because Sony doesn't care about the people that bought the original PSP. Well, that's not the case. The reason it doesn't work is that the original PSP doesn't have enough RAM to run Skype.

Enta El Ghaly by Amr Diab

Mitsubishi's 405hp EVO X FQ 400

The latest iteration of the Evo line has been well received - especially in comparison to its arch rival, the Subaru Impreza, which has gone all hatchback on those legions of fans who like their Japanese would-be rally cars as saloons. Seen here in concept guise, this new car is covered in new cooling ducts which we are assured are very much necessary - and not just for show-off purposes. There is also a very nifty little hole just to the right of the bonnet opener, while the air scoops on the bonnet itself are significantly more pronounced on the more down to earth - yet still fairly extreme - Evos. Moving to the side, check out those twin ducts just forward of the front wheels, which this time are to keep the brakes cool and functioning - and just for good measure, yet another blow-hole a bit further down the bodykit. Road RocketMoving around to the back, feast your eyes on that giant carbon-fibre diffuser, and the enhanced 'vortex generator' which is the jaggedy thing on the top of the roof - all of which are designed to keep this 405hp, 400NM of torque rocketship on the road. The exhaust gets the special treatment too - a twin in normal Evos, these are scrapped in favour of one single fat central exhaust, Lamborghini Murcielago-style. The car gets a rather old-school sounding five-speed manual gearbox, which sounds good for power but may ensure fuel economy figures that are... not quite as good as they might be.A 0 to 60 time of 3.5 seconds is mooted, making this car as fast as a Porsche 911 Turbo. Like all Evos it will be limited to 155mph.Pricing will see a hike from £38,000 for the current top-of-the-range FQ-360 to around £50,000 for this version. A UK-only special edition - us Brits just love these cars it seems - expect a formal unveiling early in 2009, with cars on the road shortly thereafter. Those taken with the idea of having this licence-losing rally car on their drive should drop a line to their nearest Mitsubishi dealer sharpish; since this car will be available as a strictly a limited edition run - credit crunch or not - it may be sold out before it even goes on sale.

Alltel To Launch New Motorola Hint QA30 Slider Phone

The largest American wireless network, Alltel Wireless, and Motorola have announced the new handset built for social connectivity brings convenience and full music experience - Motorola Hint QA30, the vertical slider phone that keeps users in touch with their wide social circle in a variety of ways, aiming to provide users a complete mobile experience.

“Wireless customers communicate in so many different ways, and they want their cell phones to be a portal to their social networks and the Internet,” said Brian Ullem, vice president of device strategy at Alltel Wireless. “The Motorola Hint gives them a fun and sophisticated way to stay in touch with the people who matter most.”

Impressive Highlights Of Motorola Hint From Alltel Wireless:

Full QWERTY keyboard with dedicated keys for the 2 megapixel camera, MP3 player and Web access

Large 2.5-inch QVGA (320 x 240 pixels) display screen

Preloaded with popular applications, including Alltel Navigation powered by Telenav, XM Radio Mobile and Aricent Celltop

Stereo Bluetooth and advanced voice recognition dialing capabilities

USB high speed port and 3.5 mm headset jack

External music keys that allow for easy playback control and browsing of song files

High speed EVDO internet compatibility

microSD memory card slot upto 8gb

Talk time: 4.5 hours ; Standby time: 15.6 days

The new compact Motorola Hint which measures 3.23 x 2.43 x 0.67-inches and weighs just 4.23 oz will be available through Alltel Wireless starting November 28th, retailing for $99.99 after two-year contract and $50 mail-in rebate.

Lives of innocent people disrupted by Mumbai Terror Attacks

A policeman gives water to an injured child at a hospital in Mumbai November 26, 2008. At least 10 people were killed and 26 wounded in a series of shootings around India's financial capital Mumbai on Wednesday night, with two five-star hotels among the targets in what police called a terror attack. Maharahstra state police chief A.N. Roy said attackers had fired automatic weapons indiscriminately, and used grenades, adding that they were still holed up in some buildings

TV grab from Indian TV via Sky News shows people crying at the Mumbai hospital after a series of attacks in Mumbai. Nearly 60 people were killed in a series of attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai late Wednesday, with five-star hotels among the targets of gunmen armed with powerful assault rifles and grenades

A man injured in a gunbattle is carried to a hospital, at the Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus, in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2008. Gunmen targeted luxury hotels, a popular tourist attraction and a crowded train station in at least seven attacks in India's financial capital Thursday, wounding 25 people, police and witnesses said. A.N Roy police commissioner of Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital, said several people had been wounded in the attacks and police were battling the gunmen.

Mumbai rocked by attacks

Gunmen kill at least 78 in attacks across Mumbai

MUMBAI, India – Teams of heavily armed gunmen stormed luxury hotels, a popular restaurant and a crowded train station in coordinated attacks across India's financial capital Wednesday night, killing at least 78 people and taking Westerners hostage, police said. An explosion followed by a raging fire struck one of the hotels, the landmark Taj Mahal, early Thursday. Screams could be heard and enormous clouds of black smoke rose from the at the century-old edifice on Mumbai's waterfront. Firefighters were spraying water at the blaze.

The attackers specifically targeted Britons and Americans, witnesses said. Fires burned and gunfire was heard for hours. Officials said at least 200 people were wounded.

The motive for the onslaught was not immediately clear, but Mumbai has frequently been targeted in terrorist attacks blamed on Islamic extremists, including a series of bombings in July 2007 that killed 187 people.

An Indian media report said a previously unknown group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen had claimed responsibility for the attacks in e-mails to several media outlets.
Police reported hostages being held at the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels, two of the best-known upscale destinations in this crowded but wealthy city.

Gunmen who burst into the Taj "were targeting foreigners. They kept shouting: `Who has U.S. or U.K. passports?'" said Ashok Patel, a British citizen who fled from the hotel.

Authorities believed seven to 15 foreigners were prisoners at the Taj Mahal, but it was not immediately clear if hostages at the Oberoi were Indians or foreigners, said Anees Ahmed, a top state official.

State Department spokesman Robert Wood said U.S. officials were not aware of any American casualties, but were still checking. He said he could not address reports that Westerners might be among the hostages.

"We condemn these attacks and the loss of innocent life," White House spokesman Tony Fratto said.

Johnny Joseph, chief secretary for Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital, said 78 people had been killed and 200 had been wounded.

Blood smeared the floor of the Chhatrapati Shivaji rail station, where attackers sprayed bullets into the crowded terminal. Press Trust of India quoted the chief of the Mumbai railway police, A.K. Sharma, as saying several men armed with rifles and grenades were holed up at the station.
Other gunmen attacked Leopold's restaurant, a landmark popular with foreigners, and the police headquarters in southern Mumbai, the area where most of the attacks took place. The restaurant was riddled with bullet holes and there were blood on the floor and shoes left by fleeing customers.

A British citizen who was dining at the Oberoi hotel told Sky News television that the gunmen who struck there singled out Britons and Americans.

Alex Chamberlain said a gunman, a young man of 22 or 23, ushered 30 or 40 people from the restaurant into a stairway and ordered everyone to put up their hands. He said the gunman spoke in Hindi or Urdu.

"They were talking about British and Americans specifically. There was an Italian guy, who, you know, they said: 'Where are you from?" and he said he's from Italy and they said 'fine' and they left him alone. And I thought: 'Fine, they're going to shoot me if they ask me anything — and thank God they didn't," he said.

Chamberlain said he managed to slip away as the patrons were forced to walk up stairs, but he thought much of the group was being held hostage.

Early Thursday, several European lawmakers were among people who barricaded themselves inside the Taj, a century-old seaside hotel complex and one of the city's best-known destinations.
"I was in the main lobby and there was all of a sudden a lot of firing outside," said Sajjad Karim, part of a delegation of European lawmakers visiting Mumbai ahead of a European Union-India summit.

As he turned to get away, "all of a sudden another gunmen appeared in front of us, carrying machine gun-type weapons. And he just started firing at us ... I just turned and ran in the opposite direction," he told The Associated Press over his mobile phone.

Hours later, Karim remained holed up in a hotel restaurant, unsure if it was safe to come out.
The British Foreign Office said it was advising all British citizens in Mumbai to stay indoors.
Britain's foreign secretary, David Miliband, strongly condemned the attacks. "Today's attacks in Mumbai which have claimed many innocent victims remind us, yet again, of the threat we face from violent extremists," Miliband said in a statement.

ESET NOD32 Antivirus 4.0.68 BETA

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ESET solutions are built on ESET’s one-of-a-kind ThreatSense technology. This advanced heuristics engine enables proactive detection of malware not covered by even the most frequently updated signature-based products by decoding and analyzing executable code in real time, using an emulated environment. By allowing malware to execute in a secure virtual world, ESET is able to clearly differentiate between benign files and even the most sophisticated and cleverly-disguised malware.

Users of Microsoft® Windows® can experience the power and elegance of NOD32's ThreatSense Technology with ease and comfort. Our single optimized engine offers the best protection from viruses, spyware, adware, phishing attacks, and more. Keep tomorrow's threats at bay with our proactive detection technology.

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Dying Boy Makes Final Wish to Feed Homeless

11-Year-Old Brenden Foster Leaves Legacy; Inspires Food Drives Nationwide

Just imagine what you might do if a doctor said you have only two weeks left to live.

For 11-year-old Brenden Foster of Bothell, Wash., who was given that prognosis earlier this year after learning he was suffering from leukemia last December, the answer was probably not what you'd expect.

"He's always thought about the better of others, wanting to help others," said his mother, Wendy Foster. "He's never complained about having to go through this, ever."

In just two weeks, an 11-year-old boy, too sick to even work a paper route, has raised tens of thousands of dollars and brought in truckloads of donations to local food pantries.

He's left a legacy and he's 11," his mother said. "He's done more than most people ever dream of doing just by making a wish and speaking his mind."

"We're going to get together tonight with about 15 people and make 200 sandwiches and then bring them downtown tomorrow," said Jennifer Morrison, one of the volunteers.
It was just the beginning. His story touched people so deeply that it spread, inspiring food drives from Los Angeles to Pensacola, Fla., to a school in Ohio -- all in this past week alone.

Foster lived long enough to see his dream come alive, before dying in his mother's arms Friday morning.

"Follow your dreams, don't let anything stop you," Foster said.

At the Union Rescue Mission, 2,500 meals have been served in Foster's honor. On the paper bags, volunteers write, "Love, Brenden" in marker to keep his legacy alive.

"When I told him he was dying, he cried," his mother recalled. "And he said, 'When I get to heaven I'm going to ask God why it had to be so soon because I had so much more I wanted to do.' Everything that he wanted to do was to help others and to benefit others."

THE TALE OF THE ARAB FLIGHT CREW

THE TALE OF THE ARAB FLIGHT CREW

Written by To The Point News

Friday, 16 May 2008

The brand spanking new Airbus 340-600, the largest passenger airplane ever built, sat in its hangar in Toulouse , France without a single hour of airtime. Enter the Arab flight crew of Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies (ADAT) on November 15, 2007 to conduct pre-delivery tests on the ground, such as engine run-ups, prior to delivery to Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi

The ADAT crew taxied the A340-600 to the run-up area. Then they took all four engines to takeoff power with a virtually empty aircraft. Not having read the run-up manuals, they had no clue just how light an empty A340-600 really is.

The takeoff warning horn was blaring away in the cockpit because they had all 4 engines at full power. The aircraft computers thought they were trying to takeoff but it had not been configured properly (flaps/slats, etc.) Then one of the ADAT crew decided to pull the circuit breaker on the Ground Proximity Sensor to silence the alarm

These fools the aircraft into thinking it is in the air.

The computers automatically released all the brakes and set the aircraft rocketing forward. The ADAT crew had no idea that this is a safety feature so that pilots can't land with the brakes on.

Not one member of the seven-man Arab crew was smart enough to throttle back the engines from their max power20setting, so the $200 million brand-new aircraft crashed into a blast barrier, totaling it.

The extent of injuries to the crew is unknown, for there has been a news blackout in the major media in France and elsewhere. Coverage of the story was deemed insulting to Arabs. Finally, the photos are starting to leak out.....

New Zealand International Undergraduate Scholarships

The New Zealand International Undergraduate Fees Scholarships (NZIUFS) provides financial support in the form of tuition fees for eligible international students. Scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic merit.

Up to 28 scholarships a year will be awarded to students undertaking undergraduate study in New Zealand. Students are to submit their applications to the designated agency in their country of citizenship. The agency will then nominate a number of candidates to Education New Zealand for final selection.The scholarships are funded by the New Zealand Government and administered by Education New Zealand.All candidates for the NZIUFS must meet the eligibility criteria set out in the terms and conditions.

Please note that additional country-specific criteria may apply.

Read The Term and Conditions before aply

If you have questions about the NZIUFS scholarships,
please contact the Education New Zealand Scholarships Managerscholarships@educationnz.org.nz

Why hijack a plane when you can seize a supertanker?

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – When pirates armed with little more than AK-47s and rope ladders seized a supertanker last week, they showed how simple it is to storm a ship -- a vulnerability that al Qaeda could exploit to attack the global economy.

Security analysts say the ease with which Somali pirates have captured a huge range of vessels illustrates how much more at risk global shipping is to terrorist attack than the airline industry, which massively improved security after September 2001.

Al Qaeda has launched or planned several seaborne attacks in the past decade -- notably the suicide bombing of the USS Cole in 2000, which killed 17 American sailors, and a similar attack two years later on the French supertanker Limburg, which killed one crewman and spilled 90,000 barrels of oil into the Gulf of Aden.

"There had been an argument that terrorist groups don't have the nautical skills required to capture a ship. But the Somali experience shows you don't need a high degree of skills," said Ian Storey, a fellow at Singapore's Institute of Southeast Asian Studies and an expert on piracy. "It shows how easy it can be."

It's a lesson al Qaeda had already learned. After the Limburg bombing it issued a statement boasting that a major vessel had been crippled by a low-tech attack:

"If a boat which didn't even cost $1,000 managed to devastate an oil tanker ... imagine the extent of the danger that threatens the West's commercial lifeline, which is petroleum."
Peter Chalk, a terrorism-risk analyst at the Rand Corporation think tank, said in a report on piracy and terrorism in June that "there has been a modest yet highly discernable spike in high-profile terrorist incidents at sea over the past six years."

Pakistan gets $7.6 billion loan package from IMF

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Pakistan, the front-line state in the battle against Islamist terrorism, has won final approval for a $7.6 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund to help stave off a possible economic meltdown.

The IMF said a first installment of $3.1 billion will be transferred immediately to the nuclear-armed country, which is battling surging violence by Taliban and al-Qaida-linked militants and is increasingly seen in the West as key to stabilizing neighboring Afghanistan.
The IMF said the Pakistani economy had been badly hit by the worsening security situation, higher oil and food import prices and the global financial and credit crisis.
"By providing large financial support to Pakistan, the IMF is sending a strong signal to the donor community about the country's improved macroeconomic prospects," said IMF acting Chairman Takatoshi Kato in a statement released after the decision Monday in Washington, where the fund is based.

Pakistan's young government had been reluctant to go to the IMF but had little choice after close allies — the United States, China and Saudi Arabia — turned down pleas for significant bilateral aid.
In mid-November, the IMF announced it had reached a preliminary agreement on the deal.
Opposition and nationalist lawmakers have criticized the government for turning to the fund, saying the IMF will impose austerity measures that will hurt ordinary Pakistanis, two-thirds of whom live on $2 dollar a day or less.
"This IMF loan the government is getting is in fact poison, and the nation has been forced to drink it," said Javed Hashmi, a senior figure in the main opposition party, told reporters

The loan removes the most pressing risk facing the country — that it would not be able to repay dollar-denominated government bonds due to mature early next year, said Muzammil Aslam, an economist at the Pakistani securities firm KASB.
Aslam and other economists said Pakistan's government had already made some tough decisions, such as hiking the prices of fuel and electricity.
Many Pakistani economists and commentators argued that the country had no choice but to turn to the IMF. They say it is now critical that the money is well spent — always a worry in corruption-prone and chaotic Pakistan.

The loan will immediately boost Pakistan's foreign currency reserves, which have seen a rapid decline that has seen the value of the rupee fall some 20 percent since March, and enable it to pay off foreign-denominated debt due to mature soon.
The currency has clawed back some ground in recent weeks as it became clear that the IMF would step in.
T
he country is also wracked by power cuts, the costs of essential goods are soaring and the stock market has plummeted amid waning investor confidence.
Pakistan is one of a number of countries including Hungary and Ukraine that has sought IMF assistance in the wake of the global credit crunch. However, its strategic importance in the U.S.-led war against terrorism makes its financial and political stability particularly critical for the international community.

U.S. officials say that militants sheltering in its lawless northwest are behind much of the violence in Afghanistan, where a resurgent Taliban threaten the success of the U.S.-led mission there seven years after the invasion.

CARMAKERS TO CUT SPORTS SPONSORSHIP

Singapore - Carmakers are the driving force behind some of the world's most lucrative golf tournaments but nose-diving demand and anaemic earnings amid the global financial crisis has put the brakes on sponsorship spending.

Car sales have plunged and the 'Big Three' car makers in the United States, General Motors , Ford and Chrysler LLC, may need a financial lifeline from the Federal Reserve to weather the storm.

GM, which has warned it will run desperately short of cash by early next year without support, spends heavily in golf mostly through its Buick brand but deep cuts in its advertising and promotional budgets means that money could soon dry up."Everything is fair game right now and we're taking a hard look at it all," Larry Peck, Buick and Pontiac promotions manager for GM, said in a telephone interview."Obviously, we are looking to reduce our overall marketing expenses and our advertising and promotional budgets have been reduced, and there's continual pressure on that."GM is the title sponsor of two PGA Tour events, the Buick Open and Buick Invitational. Both tournaments are on the schedule for 2009 and their contracts run through 2010."We're certainly trying to spend our money more efficiently there. In particular the Buick Invitational that's upcoming in February, really we've trimmed back all the back-of-the-house kind of stuff... no dealer contests, no hospitality, all that is cut back," said Peck."You'll still see products on television and advertising that will promote the products through the broadcast, but any of the entertainment, hospitality type of activities have been cancelled."Peck said that despite the current hardships, the car maker was still committed to promoting itself through golf."We have still a very large involvement in the sport of golf from a General Motors standpoint, specifically from a Buick standpoint."America's world number three Phil Mickelson acknowledged that car makers' woes could have a trickle down impact on sponsorship."I think the biggest impact for the US PGA tours is more with the auto manufacturers.

As we have seen, General Motors has been hurting and has reported that they may run out of cash by the end of the year," he said ahead of last weekend's Singapore Open."We have so many sponsors in the automotive industry, that we will start feeling it shortly. Certainly when our next contract is up, we will have to find new sponsors unless there's a turnaround fairly quickly."BMW, which pumps millions of dollars into golf tours worldwide, has slashed production and scrapped earnings forecasts this month as quarterly profits tanked 60%.

The carmaker sponsors several big-money events in the United States and Europe but the BMW Asian Open, which was founded in 2001 and co-sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours, is a notable absentee from the 2009 schedule.Japanese carmakers, also heavy hitters in the sponsorship world, appear set on a prudent approach.Shares of Toyota plunged this month after the carmaker warned its profits this year would hit a 13-year low amid the global economic downturn, while Honda is also suffering as wild fluctuations in the Japanese yen make business extremely volatile.

A Toyota spokeswoman said that given the current financial climate, sports sponsorship would be under review. Toyota spends millions of dollars to support the Lexus Cup, an annual ladies event between Asian and International teams.Chris Higgs, senior vice president of the US women's tour, told Reuters he was unsure whether Lexus would be continuing their sponsorship of the event after the current contract expires.

Honda, which sponsors the Honda Classic on the PGA Tour, said sponsorships were determined on a region-by-region basis and they did not have a system under which headquarters would put out a blanket directive to cut back spending.