Gay condemns Bolt to first defeat in two years

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AFP) -- World record holder and Olympic champion Usain Bolt crashed to his first defeat in two years on Friday when America's Tyson Gay won their eagerly-awaited 100m clash at the Diamond League meeting.

Gay clocked 9.84sec to edge Bolt, who was second in 9.97sec, while Trinidad's Richard Thompson took third in 10.10sec.

"It feels great to beat Usain but deep down inside I know he is not 100 percent," said Gay, the second fastest man in the history of the event.

"I look forward to beating him when he is 100 percent."

Gay, celebrating his first win

New York’s Empire State Building looses to 15 Penn Plaza

The new 67 storey skyscraper will dominate the Apple’s skyline Zoom Image

The new skyscraper that has been planned for the city will be known as the 15 Penn Plaza. This building will be a 67 storey skyscraper and it will be located just two blocks away from the city’s tallest building; The Empire State building.

The building is set to be 1,190 feet tall which will be just short of the Empire State building which stands at 1,454 feet. The empire state building has been the tallest

New York’s Empire State Building looses to 15 Penn Plaza

The new 67 storey skyscraper will dominate the Apple’s skyline Zoom Image

The new skyscraper that has been planned for the city will be known as the 15 Penn Plaza. This building will be a 67 storey skyscraper and it will be located just two blocks away from the city’s tallest building; The Empire State building.

The building is set to be 1,190 feet tall which will be just short of the Empire State building which stands at 1,454 feet. The empire state building has been the tallest

CAMEROON: Soaring child malnutrition in north

Photo: Reinnier Kazé/IRIN Health workers in the Far North region of Cameroon say malnutrition cases and deaths are on the rise

KOUSSERI, 27 August 2010 (IRIN) - Northern Cameroon, as in much of Africa's western Sahel band, has unusually high child malnutrition this lean season between harvests - high even for an impoverished region where poor nutrition is common and most of the five million people lack access to safe water and sanitation.



Six children died from malnutrition in Kousseri hospital, northern Cameroon, in July alone. Tending to 23 children at the hospital's therapeutic feeding centre, centre director Fanta Abba Adam told IRIN: "We don't generally have this many deaths."



"We are overwhelmed by cases of malnutrition," Mahamat Ousman, a local Health Ministry official told IRIN. He said workers from health centres throughout the district of Kousseri generally come to the main hospital for supplies once a month, but since June

US sales of existing homes plunge 27% in July, lowest level in ten years

End of tax credits is blamed for the heavy drop in sales Zoom Image

The main reason for the drop was the end of tax credits designed to boost sales, the body said. Apprehension about weak housing figures pushed Wall Street lower in early trading and confirmation of the record low sales in the form of the NAR report sent shares down further.

The main Dow Jones index closed down 134 points, or 1.3%, at 10,040.45.

The NAR presents monthly sales figures as an annualised rate. This represents

SWAZILAND: Trade in albino body parts moving south

Photo: Mercedes Sayagues/PlusNews Albino children are being targetted

MBABANE, 25 August 2010 (IRIN) - The recent killing of two albino Swazi children within a few days of each other is raising fears that the practice of murdering people with the genetically inherited condition to sell their body parts for "muti" (medicine) is migrating southwards.



Incidents of albinos being dismembered have been well-documented in Tanzania and Burundi, among other countries, in a trade driven by the belief that those suffering from albinism - caused by the body's inability to produce the melanin pigment that helps the skin protect itself from the sun's damaging ultra violet rays - have a special potency when included in concoctions that claim to bestow almost everything from political power and wealth to curing HIV/AIDS.



Last week Banele Nxumalo, 11, was shot and carried away by a group of masked gunmen next to the Siguduma River in southern Swaziland's Shisweleni Region, in front of 20 adults and children. Her decapitated body was discovered a few hours later. The killing came a few days after another albino child of

Gay condemns Bolt to first defeat in two years

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AFP) -- World record holder and Olympic champion Usain Bolt crashed to his first defeat in two years on Friday when America's Tyson Gay won their eagerly-awaited 100m clash at the Diamond League meeting.

Gay clocked 9.84sec to edge Bolt, who was second in 9.97sec, while Trinidad's Richard Thompson took third in 10.10sec.

"It feels great to beat Usain but deep down inside I know he is not 100 percent," said Gay, the second fastest man in the history of the event.

"I look forward to beating him when he is 100 percent."

Gay, celebrating his first win

Konnie Huq talks…X-Factor!

The X-Factor returns to our screens this Saturday and to get you all in the mood we caught up with Konnie Huq – the new face of the ITV2 spin-off show the Xtra Factor!

 

You’re our new presenter of The Xtra Factor. Is it a daunting prospect or have you enjoyed the experience?

I guess the first day was quite daunting because it’s like moving to a different school where you’re the new girl and everyone knows each other. There are so many people on the team, and after getting introduced to everyone on the first day, you realise the next day you don’t have a clue who anyone is, but then slowly you make friends and a couple of weeks later, it’s like you’ve been there for years. Am totally loving every minute of the experience, it’s such a buzz! The crowds have been great too. On The Xtra Factor, we’re

SENEGAL: No mangoes, no money

Photo: Mamadou Alpha Diallo/IRIN Fruit-destroying insects and - this year - unusually high temperatures hit mango production in Casamance (file photo)

ZIGUINCHOR, 17 August 2010 (IRIN) - Families in Senegal's Casamance region have less to spend and less to eat this lean season because of a drastic drop in mango production, residents and agriculture experts say.



Mangoes are a major source of family revenue in the region and an important food in the period between harvests. Farmers depend on mango exports as well as local sales.



"This year we have seen a 70-80 percent decrease in mango production in Casamance," agriculture and rural development expert Mamadou Conté told IRIN in the main city Ziguinchor.

NIGER: Local Plumpy’nut production soars with demand

Photo: Catherine-Lune Grayson/IRIN Severely malnourished children in Tahoua, Niger, with a packet of local Plumpy'nut

NIAMEY, 20 August 2010 (IRIN) - Thousands of severely malnourished children in Niger are treated with locally produced Plumpy'nut: 40 percent of the therapeutic food used by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) comes from the capital, Niamey, rather than France.



"We had hoped to cover Niger's needs this year, but the demand is too large," said Fatima Cissé, the head of the Société de Transformation Alimentaire (STA), which produces Plumpy'nut under licence. The factory has tripled its production since the beginning of the year and is planning to

KENYA: Mohamed Barre Ali, "Our land has become a warzone"

Photo: Ann Weru/IRIN Camels are well adapted to Kenya's arid North Eastern Province

DADACHABULLA, 20 August 2010 (IRIN) - Mohamed Barre Ali lives in Dadachabulla, in the northeastern Kenya area of Wajir South. Ali, an elder and chairman of the local peace committee, told IRIN how years of instability in neighbouring Somalia are affecting his village, about 10km from the border.



"I am an old man, more than 65 years old. I was born here in Dadachabulla and spent most of my life herding, moving with livestock in search of pasture and water and engaged in a small family business.



"In the past, Dadachabulla, shared by Kenya and Somalia, was popular with livestock owners because of the availability of water and pasture - it was an active trading post, a stop-over for traders

Gay condemns Bolt to first defeat in two years

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AFP) -- World record holder and Olympic champion Usain Bolt crashed to his first defeat in two years on Friday when America's Tyson Gay won their eagerly-awaited 100m clash at the Diamond League meeting.

Gay clocked 9.84sec to edge Bolt, who was second in 9.97sec, while Trinidad's Richard Thompson took third in 10.10sec.

"It feels great to beat Usain but deep down inside I know he is not 100 percent," said Gay, the second fastest man in the history of the event.

"I look forward to beating him when he is 100 percent."

Gay, celebrating his first win

NIGER: “We drew lots to decide which children to help”

Photo: Catherine-Lune Grayson/IRIN Village chief of Bagga, Idrissa Dayabou, with two of his sons

BAGGA, 18 August 2010 (IRIN) - Like millions of Nigeriens, residents of Bagga village, in the central region of Tahoua, have been struggling to find enough food to eat. Granaries are empty and harvests are not due for another two months. IRIN spoke to some of the villagers.



Village chief Idrissa Dayabou, father of 10: "People are suffering. Some have left for neighbouring countries to look for work. About 500 people [out of a population of 5,000] have gone to Niamey [Niger's capital], Cameroon, Gabon or Nigeria. They will try to sell food or work as porters.

NIGER: Getting food in by truck, boat, camel and cart

Photo: Catherine-Lune Grayson/IRIN The Diffa-N'Guigmi road becomes nearly impassable during the rainy season

DIFFA, 17 August 2010 (IRIN) - This year again, Niger is short of food. Nearly half of the country's 15.2 million inhabitants are facing hunger due to failed harvests in 2009, according to the government.



The World Food Programme (WFP) estimates that more than 212,500 tons of food are needed between August and December to fill the food gap. But bringing food to families living in remote areas of the sandy landlocked country with few roads is an arduous task.



"During the rainy season [from June to October] there are areas such as Doro [in Diffa region] that are not accessible by road. To reach a few families, we have to use boats," said Djibo Abdou Soumaïla, WFP's assistant logistician in Diffa, one of the least populated and most isolated regions of the country, on the border with Chad.



Before reaching Doro, food spends months on the roads and high seas. It is likely to have transited through the ports of Cotonou, in Benin, or Lomé, in Togo, and the Niger towns of Diffa and N'Guigmi. It takes three

New drama season for Asian Network

A NEW drama about a young Asian girl and her experience on Big Brother will launch a new season of drama on the BBC Asian Network next month.

Written by Shai Hussain, ‘Reality Check’ features former Hollyoaks actors Lena Kaur and Junade Khan, and follows a young girl through her Big Brother experience, which she intends to use to reveal her true self to her family back home in Yorkshire.

The drama, which will air on 1 September, is part of the Network’s new drama strand titled ‘BBC Asian Network Presents...’

It replaces the stations former long running radio drama ‘Silver Street’ which ended in March this year.

The station said the new drama season will “cover a range of stories and styles”, and will “develop new talent

Dr Beat!

BHANGRA legend Kuljit Bhamra has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Music from the University of Exeter.

Kuljit joined an acclaimed list of key figures, from sporting heroes, scientists, activists, politicians and dignitaries in being awarded a Doctorate in Music.

He was joined by TV Newsreader Moira Stewart; Sir Ian Botham and Human Rights Activist Shami Chakrabarti in being presented his award.

“I am delighted that my music has reached people of all backgrounds and ages and that I have been able to share my passion and creativity with the world,” Kuljit said.

“My father had a dream that I would one day become a Doctor and now at last he can call me one!”

Kuljit has

Top Israeli Rabbi lashes out at reform movement

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (AFP)

A senior Israeli Orthodox rabbi accused adherents of less strict Reform Judaism of "sticking claws" into his followers, in an unusually harsh letter published Thursday.



Shlomo Amar, the chief Orthodox rabbi of Israel's Sephardic Jewish community, urged rabbis to pressure the government to keep followers of the Reform and Conservative movements out of religious affairs.

"They are sticking their claws into the people residing in Zion (Israel) and trying to dictate our lifestyle," he wrote in excerpts of the letter published on the Ynet news website.



"The most difficult thing is the plague of assimilation, which is

Gay condemns Bolt to first defeat in two years

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AFP) -- World record holder and Olympic champion Usain Bolt crashed to his first defeat in two years on Friday when America's Tyson Gay won their eagerly-awaited 100m clash at the Diamond League meeting.

Gay clocked 9.84sec to edge Bolt, who was second in 9.97sec, while Trinidad's Richard Thompson took third in 10.10sec.

"It feels great to beat Usain but deep down inside I know he is not 100 percent," said Gay, the second fastest man in the history of the event.

"I look forward to beating him when he is 100 percent."

Gay, celebrating his first win

Police charged with beating terror suspect

FOUR police officers have been accused of assaulting terror suspect Babar Ahmad as they arrested him in 2003 in London.

The officers, all members of the Metropolitan Police's territorial support group, will be charged with causing actual bodily harm.

The Crown Prosecution Service said Pcs Nigel Cowley, John Donohue, Roderick James-Bowen and Mark Jones will appear before magistrates on September 22.

Simon Clements, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Babar Ahmad was arrested by the officers on suspicion of terrorism offences. Mr Ahmad suffered a number of injuries during that arrest, including heavy bruising to the head, neck, wrists and feet.

"The Crown Prosecution Service received a file of evidence on how those injuries were caused from the Independent Police

First meeting for City ‘Spy Camera’ project

REPRESENTATIVES from West Midlands Police and Birmingham City Council have met with selected residents for a meeting regarding the installation of ‘spy camera’s’ in predominantly Muslim areas of the city.

The Project Board was set up following uproar over the installation of more than 200 anti-terrorist surveillance cameras in predominantly Muslim areas in Birmingham.

The spy network, which consists of 169 'ANPR' cameras capable of checking car registration numbers, and 49 CCTV cameras, were put up in the Sparkbrook, Moseley and Washwood Heath areas of Birmingham by the Safer Birmingham Partnership.

Critics have said the cameras, some of which are hidden, are being used to spy on the Muslim community after it emerged the initiative was financed through a counter-terrorism fund.

Local councillors and representatives from the community say they

Army, government deadlock ends in Turkey

An impasse over promotions to key military posts has raised accusations of judicial manipulation.

By Alexander Christie-Miller for Southeast European Times in Istanbul – 10/08/10

General Isik Kosaner was appointed as chief of the general staff. [Getty Images]

Turkey's government exploited the judicial process to win victory in a recent spat with the military over promotions, observers have claimed.

Following a weeklong deadlock in which the two sides failed to agree on appointments to top army positions, a deal was announced on Monday (August 9th) in which a compromise candidate will take up the key role of Head of Land Forces.

General Erdal Ceylanoglu was named to the post, traditionally seen as heir apparent to the top position of Chief of Staff.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had objected to the army's preferred

Albanian authorities work to improve sea quality

TIRANA, Albania -- State police are supporting the environment ministry in efforts to deal with sea pollution caused by illegal sewage systems. Despite peak tourist season, authorities in Durres started to destroy all connections Sunday (August 8th) leading directly into the sea. Beaches in the Durres area were ranked most polluted in a recent report drafted by the Health Institute and the environment ministry. The pollution levels are far above World Health Organisation standards. (Top Channel, BBC, Balkan Web, Top News - 08/08/10)

Source: SETimes.com

Fidel surprises everybody and only speaks to the Assembly for 10 minutes

His re-emergence to public life has ignited all sorts of speculation Zoom Image

In an uncharacteristically short speech of just over 10 minutes, he urged the US not to allow a war with Iran. His brother Raul, who succeeded him as president, sat at his side as he spoke. It was the first time the two had appeared together in public since Fidel Castro stepped down in 2006.

The speech was a solid, polished performance, Mr Castro's voice stronger than at any point since he re-emerged into public

Gay condemns Bolt to first defeat in two years

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AFP) -- World record holder and Olympic champion Usain Bolt crashed to his first defeat in two years on Friday when America's Tyson Gay won their eagerly-awaited 100m clash at the Diamond League meeting.

Gay clocked 9.84sec to edge Bolt, who was second in 9.97sec, while Trinidad's Richard Thompson took third in 10.10sec.

"It feels great to beat Usain but deep down inside I know he is not 100 percent," said Gay, the second fastest man in the history of the event.

"I look forward to beating him when he is 100 percent."

Gay, celebrating his first win

NIGER: Chasing after pastoralists with truckloads of aid

Photo: Catherine-Lune Grayson/IRIN Authorities estimate that more than one-third of cattle in Diffa region could be dead

DIFFA, 4 August 2010 (IRIN) - Parts of sparsely populated and arid eastern Niger, north of the city of Diffa, are strewn with putrid dead cows: Pastoralists travelled great distances to find food and water for their animals but in the end had to watch their most prized assets die.



Two years of erratic rain have led to severe shortages of fodder, cereals and water. In 2009, only a third of the required amount of hay grew, meaning there was insufficient fodder, according to a national household survey of food security by Niger's Early Warning System.



In Diffa region, more than a third of cattle might be dead by now, said the director of pastoral development at the Ministry of Livestock and Animal Husbandry, Haido Abdul Malik. This is especially dramatic in a region where, according to the authorities, 90 percent of the population relies on livestock for survival.



Pastoralists who have lived through recurrent droughts say they have never seen such a bad situation, not even during the prolonged drought of 1968-1974 which killed a third of all livestock.

NIGER: Chasing after pastoralists with truckloads of aid

Photo: Catherine-Lune Grayson/IRIN Authorities estimate that more than one-third of cattle in Diffa region could be dead

DIFFA, 4 August 2010 (IRIN) - Parts of sparsely populated and arid eastern Niger, north of the city of Diffa, are strewn with putrid dead cows: Pastoralists travelled great distances to find food and water for their animals but in the end had to watch their most prized assets die.



Two years of erratic rain have led to severe shortages of fodder, cereals and water. In 2009, only a third of the required amount of hay grew, meaning there was insufficient fodder, according to a national household survey of food security by Niger's Early Warning System.



In Diffa region, more than a third of cattle might be dead by now, said the director of pastoral development at the Ministry of Livestock and Animal Husbandry, Haido Abdul Malik. This is especially dramatic in a region where, according to the authorities, 90 percent of the population relies on livestock for survival.



Pastoralists who have lived through recurrent droughts say they have never seen such a bad situation, not even during the prolonged drought of 1968-1974 which killed a third of all livestock.

KENYA: Support groups boosting PMTCT uptake

Photo: Kenneth Odiwuor/IRIN About 56 percent of Kenyan women do not have their babies at a health facility

KAMWIMBI, 4 August 2010 (PlusNews) - When Esther and Chrispus Ireri from the remote village of Kamwimbi in Kenya's Eastern district of Mbeere lost all three children in quick succession, they had no idea it was because of HIV infections.



"I had despaired after the deaths of our children one after the other; the pressure from the deaths... and hostility from in-laws and villagers were unbearable," Esther told IRIN/PlusNews. "At one time I considered running away from the marriage... I even thought I had been bewitched."



When she fell pregnant again, she was weak and suffered health problems; an HIV test in 2006 revealed she was positive.



"I knew very little about HIV then," she remembered. "It had never occurred to me that I could get infected; I thought only other people got the virus."

Ankara & Washington hail UN flotilla probe

UNITED NATIONS/ANKARA (Agencies)

Turkey and the United States both on Monday hailed the establishment of a U.N. panel with an Israeli and a Turk among its four members to probe Israel's deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla.



U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon earlier Monday announced that the panel, to be chaired by former New Zealand prime minister Geoffrey Palmer, and with outgoing Colombian President Alvaro Uribe as vice chairman, would investigate the May 31 commando raid that left nine Turkish activists aboard the flotilla dead.



The panel is due to begin work on Aug. 10 and submit a first progress report by mid-September.

Israel's decision to back the panel was unexpected as it had for weeks insisted it would not cooperate with any international probe and instead launched two internal inquiries. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said it marked the first time that Israel had agreed to an international inquiry and showed that "all countries are accountable to international law." U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice expressed hope that the U.N. panel "can serve as a vehicle to enable Israel and Turkey to move beyond the recent strains in their relationship and repair their strong historic ties."

"Transparent and credible" She added that Washington expects that the panel will "operate in a transparent and credible manner and that its work will be the primary method for the international community to review the incident, obviating the need for any overlapping international inquiries." "We thank both governments (Israeli and Turkish) for the constructive and cooperative spirit they have shown and the Secretary General for his leadership and determination," Rice added. Last month, the Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Council named its own panel of experts to probe whether the Israeli raid on the aid flotilla breached international law. But Israel has signaled it will not cooperate with that probe because it views the Council as "biased." Ban, who held last-minute consultations with Israeli and Turkish leaders over the weekend, said the panel would give him recommendations "for the prevention of similar incidents in the future." He thanked the leaders of Israel and Turkey "for their spirit of compromise and forward-looking cooperation" which made possible what he called "an unprecedented development. "I hope that today's agreement will impact positively on the relationship between Turkey and Israel as well as the overall situation in the Middle East."

Not a criminal investigation U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky stressed the enquiry was not a criminal investigation and said Ban would announce the names of the Turkish and Israeli panelists "in the next few days." Davutoglu for his part said the Turkish panel member would be an "experienced diplomat" and noted that a candidate had already been agreed in consultations with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul. The panel, Nesirky noted, would review reports on ongoing national investigations by Israel and Turkey and would be empowered to request "clarifications and additional information" in line with international calls for a credible, impartial and independent probe. The team would also be mandated with coming up with "findings about the facts, circumstances and context of the incident" and with deciding on steps required to prevent a recurrence of such incidents. Ankara has urged the Jewish state to apologize, compensate the families of the victims and lift the blockade of Gaza to repair the relations. Israel says its commandos used force only after they were attacked with sticks and stabbed as soon as they landed on the Turkish ferry Mavi Marmara. In the wake of the incident, Israel significantly eased its blockade of Gaza, barring only arms and goods that could be used to create weapons or build fortifications, but it has maintained a naval blockade of the Strip. Israel imposed the siege in June 2006 after its soldier, Gilad Shalit, was captured by Gaza fighters and tightened it a year later when Hamas seized power in the coastal strip.

Source: Alarabiya.net | Middle East

WinAir Announces New Flight Options to Dominica

Discover Dominica Authority announced that WinAir has resumed their service between major Caribbean hubs and Dominica, making it easier for travelers to visit the destination. The regional airports servicing the flights to Dominica’s Melville Hall Airport (DOM) are St. Lucia’s George F L Charles Airport (SLU) and St. Maarten (SXM).

“We are extremely pleased that WinAir restarted their services to Dominica from St. Lucia and St. Maarten,” commented Mr. Colin Piper, CEO/Director of Discover Dominica Authority. “With these new flights being available throughout the entire day, the connecting times are ideal for US travelers to get to Dominica in one

Police probe contaminated drink

POLICE in Leicester are probing how a health drink came to be contaminated with horse tranquilliser after two women were rushed to hospital moments after drinking it.

Two women from the city developed a number of symptoms after drinking the Gayatri aloe vera drink.

Hospital tests have indicated they may have suffered from ketamine poisoning.

The powerful drug is used by veterinarians as a tranquilliser but can also be used on humans as an anaesthetic.

Police said forensic tests on the liquid were still being conducted and the final analysis of the liquid will not be known for some time.

They have recovered a number of bottles of the drink from retailers in the city and are urging anyone who possesses the drink to take it to