News

[wilbur lim]

Nearly 53,000 Chinese children sickened by milk powder

BEIJING, (AFP) - - Nearly 53,000 children in China have been sickened by milk powder contaminated by an industrial chemical, the government said Monday, dramatically ramping up its previous figures.A total of 52,857 children had been brought to hospitals after falling ill, an official in the health ministry spokesman's office told AFP.Most had received outpatient care and had "basically recovered" but 12,892 remained hospitalised, added the official, who declined to be named.

(More information.)

Let me articulate my perspective on this peculiar occurrence.My mother buys sweets chiefly manufactured from China,and we eat them as snacks,and this safe food is literally nothing to disparage China.But when these poisoned milks are given to babies,people feel chagrined.China does not take things acutely of manufacturing foods,and thereby sell in cheap price.I give my condolences to the demise of the poisoned babies and covet them to be died placidly.China now must ensure that they themselves must be liable for their products.

[pussnboots]

Australia: No residency for boy with Down syndrome
Tanalee Smith, Associated Press Writer – 5 mins ago AP –
– A German doctor hoping to gain permanent residency in Australia said Friday he will fight an immigration department decision denying his application because his son has Down syndrome. Bernhard Moeller came to Australia with his family two years ago to help fill a doctor shortage in a rural area of Victoria state.

His temporary work visa is valid until 2010, but his application for permanent residency was rejected this week. The immigration department said Moeller's 13-year-old son, Lukas, "did not meet the health requirement."

"A medical officer of the Commonwealth assessed that his son's existing medical condition was likely to result in a significant and ongoing cost to the Australian community," a departmental spokesman said in a statement issued Thursday by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.

"This is not discrimination. A disability in itself is not grounds for failing the health requirement — it is a question of the cost implications to the community," the statement said.

Moeller said he would appeal the decision.

"We like to live here, we have settled in well, we are welcomed by the community here and we don't want to give up just because the federal government doesn't welcome my son," he told reporters.

Moeller has powerful supporters. Victorian Premier John Brumby has pledged to support the family's appeal, and federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon said Friday she would speak to the immigration minister about the case.

Roxon said the case must go through proper channels — an appeal to the Migration Review Tribunal and then the immigration minister — but that "there is a valid reason for this doctor and his family to be eligible to stay here in Australia."

"As a government, we understand the importance of having doctors working in our rural and regional communities and we support them in many ways and continue to do this," Roxon said.

Don McRae, director of clinical services at Wimmera Health Care Group, said the hospital had invested a lot of time and energy in recruiting the German specialist to Horsham, about 100 miles northwest of Melbourne.

"We were very surprised by the decision," he said of the immigration department's rejection. "It's distressing for Dr. Moeller's family and distressing for the community who have welcomed him and relied on his medical services."

Immigration Minister Chris Evans has no power to intervene in the case until the review tribunal or a court upholds the department's decision.

David Tolleson, executive director of the Atlanta-based National Down Syndrome Congress, said he was disappointed by the decision.

"What is the cost implication to the community of a doctor shortage?" Tolleson asked. "I assume the son had the same costs for the last two years and they were happy to have the family and use the dad as a doctor."

Down syndrome, caused by an extra chromosome, is characterized by mental retardation of varying degrees. Those with Down syndrome also can have other problems: Nearly half will have a heart defect, some serious enough to require surgery soon after birth.

Tolleson said that people with Down syndrome have a spectrum of abilities.

"Some need more support, some go on to graduate from college with a four-year degree, and most are somewhere in between," he said.

The immigration department said it appreciates Moeller's contribution to the community but said it must follow the relevant laws in considering residency applications.

"If we did not have a health requirement, the costs to the community and health system would not be sustainable," the statement said.

More than 150,000 migrants settled in Australia in 2007-08, the department said.

Shortages of medical practitioners in rural parts of Australia have led a number of recent government initiatives to boost the numbers of doctors and nurses nationwide.

__________________________________________________ ________________________
I was upset after reading this article. In the article it says it is not discrimination but a question of the cost implications to the community. Is this one child going to bankrupt the community ? The hospital recruited the doctor and his family to come to Australia in the first place. They must have known then about his son.

[wessexgirl]

That's terrible. What on earth are they thinking? .

[Scheherazade]

Women who suffer regular migraines may have the comfort of knowing they face a much lower risk of breast cancer, say US researchers.

The discovery points to the potential importance of hormone levels in both.

The study of 3,412 women suggests a 30% lower risk for people with a history of disabling headaches.

However, the researchers, from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, warned more work was needed to confirm the link.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7710674.stm

[Scheherazade]

A manhunt is under way in western Germany for a convicted drug dealer who escaped by mailing himself out of jail.

The 42-year-old Turkish citizen - who was serving a seven-year sentence - had been making stationery with other prisoners destined for the shops.

At the end of his shift, the inmate climbed into a cardboard box and was taken out of prison by express courier. His whereabouts are still unknown.

The chief warden of the jail told the BBC this was an embarrassing incident.

The prison authorities in Willich, near Duesseldorf, said the man, who was tall and broad-shouldered, had hidden in a box that was about 150cm by 120cm.

When the weekly express courier arrived to pick up several boxes of merchandise, the one containing the prisoner was also loaded into the back of the lorry.

Shortly after it had passed through the prison gates, the inmate made his dash for freedom by cutting a big hole in the tarpaulin of the lorry and jumping off.

The driver alerted the police after he noticed the tarpaulin flapping in the breeze.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7730018.stm

[pussnboots]

Search starts for Kansas boy now missing 10 years

marks Print By ROXANA HEGEMAN, Associated Press Writer Roxana Hegeman, Associated Press Writer – Mon Jan 5, 8:42 pm ETEL DORADO, Kan. – The Kansas parents who failed to report their 11-year-old adopted son missing nearly a decade ago are "people of interest" as authorities search for him nationwide, a sheriff said Monday.

Investigators only recently learned Adam Herrman was missing and are focused on finding him, Butler County Sheriff Craig Murphy said. Adam was 11 when he disappeared in 1999 from a mobile home park in Towanda where he lived.

Authorities would not say whether they believed Adam, who would now be 21, is alive. "We are working it as if it is a death — but we are not leaning one way or the other," Murphy said.

Doug and Valerie Herrman adopted Adam at 2 1/2 years old, and he had been in foster care before that. The parents have not been arrested or charged with any crime, and Murphy said no charges would be filed while investigators focused on the search.

The family's attorney, Warner Eisenbise, said his clients did not harm the child. He said the Herrmans are innocent of any wrongdoing other than not reporting their son missing, which is against Kansas law.

"He was a problem child. He ran away frequently to the point of exasperation," Eisenbise said. "My clients feel very guilty that the last time he left they didn't make an attempt to locate him. Every other time, the police were called or he wandered back. They assumed he found one of his siblings or went back to his biological parents."

Murphy said investigators have not confirmed whether Adam had a history of running away. The family has cooperated with investigators, he said.

The Herrmans now live in the Wichita suburb of Derby, in neighboring Sedgwick County.

Adam was homeschooled when he disappeared, Eisenbise said.

Murphy said a search of the empty lot where the family's mobile home once stood gave investigators one answer they sought, but he did not elaborate other than to say no human remains were found.

Murphy's office did not receive a missing persons report until contacted recently by Sedgwick County's exploited and missing children's unit. He declined to say who tipped them off. It was not clear exactly when they learned of the boy's disappearance.

Investigators have not found any confirmed data on Adam's whereabouts since 1999.

Murphy asked the public for help and issued a plea to the missing boy himself: "If Adam Herrman is alive out there — and he would see this — I would ask him to contact us immediately."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++

I was shocked after reading this article. What parents in their right mind would not notify the police if their child was missing ? The article states that the boy ran away constatntly but one would think the parents would still want to know if child is ok and would do anything in their power to find the child. The article also states that the parents have not been arrested or charged with any crime . The only thing they are accused of at this point is not notifying authorities.

[Virgil]

I was shocked after reading this article. What parents in their right mind would not notify the police if their child was missing ? The article states that the boy ran away constatntly but one would think the parents would still want to know if child is ok and would do anything in their power to find the child. The article also states that the parents have not been arrested or charged with any crime . The only thing they are accused of at this point is not notifying authorities.

My guess is that they have something to do with it, like his death, and are covering up. Police probably can't find enough evidence to nail them.

[Joreads]

Women who suffer regular migraines may have the comfort of knowing they face a much lower risk of breast cancer, say US researchers.

The discovery points to the potential importance of hormone levels in both.

The study of 3,412 women suggests a 30% lower risk for people with a history of disabling headaches.

However, the researchers, from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, warned more work was needed to confirm the link.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7710674.stm

Wow I would never have believed that was an upside to the damn things.

[Scheherazade]

As winter gloom settles in across the UK, Tourism Queensland has cannily cast a wide net in its search for someone to take the caretaker job. The indigo skies and rolling golden sandy beaches of Hamilton Island couldn't look more appealing to your average Briton at the moment. As if these weren't enough, the job comes with a pay packet of nearly £70,000 and a rent-free three-bedroom villa, complete with pool.

In return, the successful applicant will be expected to spend the six-month contract exploring the idyllic surroundings, filing weekly blog, photo diary and video updates and conducting "ongoing media interviews". A geography background, any experience of wildlife management, a role as a forest warden, some kind of outdoor role involved in monitoring and observing - that's going to put you ahead of 75% of the other applicants

Interested? The first step in securing this role is to send a 60-second video application explaining why you are the ideal person for it. But what do you need to do, and to emphasise, to put your application near the top of the pile?

MORE

[kilted exile]

Creator of Morph dies

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7836112.stm

[Niamh]

My guess is that they have something to do with it, like his death, and are covering up. Police probably can't find enough evidence to nail them.

Its still rediculous though!
I think they are hiding something. Why did they move away?

[kilted exile]

See this is why glasgow is messed up - we cant even have a snowball fight without it turning into a racial incident (fyi grew up in the area mentioned)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/s...st/7879596.stm

[Niamh]

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/5/20090225/...h-3fd0ae9.html

[Niamh]

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/blog/editor...article/18968/

[weltanschauung]

this one was almost nice
spacecraft to blast off in search of "earths", CNN

this one was horrible, because when parents are relying on television characters to educate their children...
dora's "makeover" or whatever the heck, CNN

i dont know if we have a similar kind of thread..

rape row sparks excommunications, BBC NEWS

hahahaha
u2 robbing the world's poor, yahoo news