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A compilation of brief news reports for Tuesday, January 13, 2009.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the termination of a natural gas contract between Egypt and Israel is a business matter and not a political issue between the two counties. Netanyahu’s statement on Monday backs away from other officials’ earlier responses to the action.

Egyptian Natural Gas Company announced Sunday, April 22 that it will stop supplying Israel with natural gas over a disagreement about payments. The company’s leader claims the other side is in “breach of contract” as Gasco has not been paid for what has already been delivered.

In 2005, Israel and Egypt, under former president Hosni Mubarak, signed a 15-year trade deal whereby Egypt would supply natual gas at a discounted rate to the Israelis. Tensions between the two countries have made Israel cautious about relying on Egypt for its energy. Since the 2011 Egyptian revolution, the pipelines for transporting natural gas from Egypt to Israel have been damaged up to 14 times.

When this decision was broadcast on Sunday night in Egypt, commentators for Egyptian news services discussed whether this decision was a blatant contractual infringement, a necessary commercial move, or an attack on the original peace treaty between Egypt and Israel made at Camp David in 1978.

In Israel, Yuval Steinitz, the finance minister, said, “This is a dangerous precedent that diminishes the peace treaty [between the two countries].”

Avigdor Lieberman, foreign affairs minister, had called on Egypt to reverse the decision and prevent the contractual dispute from escalating into a political issue. Since Netanyahu’s more recent comment, Lieberman has also backed away from characterizing the issue as a political dispute.

Egypt’s natural gas exports once made up 40 percent of Israel’s natural gas reserves, but Israel has looked for other options as the political atmosphere in Egypt changed. Israel is developing its own offshore fields, and it has begun to import other types of “dirty fuels,” like gas and diesel. As a result, Israeli consumers have seen a nine percent increase in electricity costs and Israel is preparing for the possibility of blackouts.

Saturday, November 4, 2006

An advertisement for Dove beauty products has been viewed by well over three million people, without ever being on television. A copywriter from Ogilvy Toronto, the advertising agency that created a spot named “evolution”, uploaded the advertisement to video sharing website YouTube.

While the official upload of the ad itself has been viewed 1,119,262 times, there are dozens of copies of the ad on YouTube, adding to a minimum of 3,059,546 views. The official copy of the video is the website’s 12th most viewed this month, 53rd of all time.

Unofficial uploads have each received high levels of viewership, with 449595, 445322, 207906, 201670, 195265, 116501, and 102634 plays.

The agency did not originally intend to upload the video to YouTube, only display it on the company’s homepage. Staff member Tim Piper uploaded it to his account on October 6, about a week before it first got media coverage on Good Morning America.

The ad begins with a woman walking into a photo shoot. From there, she is primped and plucked by hair and makeup artists, then tweaked on a Photoshop-like program. The photo-manipulation is then posted on a billboard for the fictional “Easel Foundation Makeup” brand. Two young, teenage girls walk past, glancing at the board. “No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted” ends the ad in text, “Every girl deserves to feel beautiful just the way she is.”

The creative team for the ad included Tim Piper, Mike Kirkland, Janet Kestin, Nancy Vonk, directors T Piper (treatment and post production) and Yael Staav (live action) from Reginald Pike, Soho post production, Rogue editing, Vapor music, Gabor Jurina and Make-up: Diana Carreiro, and Reginald Pike.

The official French copy of the ad has only received 132 views, although it was only uploaded on November 2, 2006.

Thursday, August 17, 2006

The discovery of a suspect bottle of fluid in a passengers carry-on luggage has prompted the evacuation of Tri-State Airport, located near Huntington, West Virginia.

The bottle was identified by a security screener as a woman passenger attempted to board a flight to Charlotte, North Carolina. Since the discovery of an alleged plot to destroy US flights departing from British airports last week using liquid explosives, authorities in the US and UK have banned transportation of liquids in carry-on luggage.

A machine used by security officers to test for the presence of explosives was trigged by two of four bottles carried by the woman. This positive result was subsequently confirmed by a sniffer dog. The bottles reportedly contained drinking water and a face wash with a drop of bleach.

Both bomb sniffing dogs and explosive detecting equipment detect chlorine among other chemicals. Chlorine is the major ingredient in bleach and a common disinfectant.

Airport officials report that the woman, Rima Qayyum, is an American from Jackson West Virginia. She is of Pakistani origin and was travelling on a one way ticket to Charlotte, North Carolina. She is four months pregnant.

Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Amy von Walter issued the following statements to press. “The bomb squad is on site and the woman is being interviewed by the FBI,” “It looks like there were four items containing liquids … two of those containers tested positive.”

The bottles were later found to be harmless and the woman was released.

Sunday, January 13, 2013

The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered a review Friday into the design and manufacture of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, following five incidents in five days involving the aircraft and two Japanese airlines.

On Monday, an electrical fire broke out aboard a Japan Airlines 787 at Boston’s Logan International Airport, when a battery pack which powers the auxiliary power unit, for when the plane is on the ground, caught fire. The fire was discovered by maintenance workers after passengers and crew disembarked following their flight from Tokyo’s Narita Airport.

The next day, a separate Japan Airlines 787, also at Logan International Airport, heading to Tokyo, suffered a fuel leak that spilled around 40 gallons, which was spotted by the crew of the aircraft taxiing behind them. “That Japan Air may know it, but they’ve got fuel or something spilling out the outboard left wing. Quite a bit,” said the pilot of aircraft behind them on local air traffic control frequencies.

Wednesday, in Japan, an All Nippon Airways 787, the launch customer for the aircraft, cancelled a flight after a brake problem was reported.

Earlier Friday, two All Nippon Airways suffered separate incidents in Japan. An oil leak was noticed in the engine after one aircraft had landed in Miyazaki, coming from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. Another flight, flying between Haneda Airport and Matsuyama said the pilot’s side window in the cockpit suffered a crack.

The FAA in a statement said “In light of a series of recent events, the FAA will conduct a comprehensive review of the Boeing 787 critical systems, including the design, manufacture and assembly.” Further adding, “The purpose of the review is to validate the work conducted during the certification process and further ensure that the aircraft meets the FAA’s high level of safety.”

According to the statement, “The review will also examine how the electrical and mechanical systems interact with each other.” The Boeing 787 relies more on electrical, as opposed to mechanical, systems than past aircraft from the manufacturer including having electronics operate hydraulic pumps and using electric brakes. Large portions of the plane’s structure use lightweight carbon fiber composite instead of more traditional metal airframe.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said, “The safety of the traveling public is our top priority […] This review will help us look at the root causes and do everything we can to safeguard against similar events in the future.”

“We are confident that the aircraft is safe. But we need to have a complete understanding of what is happening,” said newly sworn-in FAA Administrator Michael P. Huerta. “We are conducting the review to further ensure that the aircraft meets our high safety standards.”

Boeing released a statement saying, “[The company] is confident in the design and performance of the 787. It is a safe and efficient airplane. The airplane has logged 50,000 hours of flight and there are more than 150 flights occurring daily.”

Friday, March 16, 2007

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) issued a health hazard alert, March 14, 2007, regarding Ark Land brand of bottled water, Naturally Carbonated Mineral Water. It is warning the public not to consume the product, as it may contain arsenic.

Although there have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of this product, Arsenic is a toxic substance and a human carcinogen.

The CFIA did not indicate, in the Alert, what levels of arsenic were found in the product.

The mineral water was sold in Ontario and Quebec, but may have also been distributed throughout Canada. The product, produced by Arzni Source, was imported from Armenia by Klukva Pure Inc., of Toronto.

The importer, Klukva Pure Inc., has begun the removal of product from store shelves, under the direction of the CFIA.

The product recall affects the following Ark Land brand Naturally Carbonated Mineral Water:

Size: 330 mL, UPC: 7 85000 12033 9

Size: 500 mL, UPC: 7 85000 12050 6

Both sizes show a “Best Before” date of 09.05.07

For more information, consumers and industry are encouraged to call the CFIA at 1-800-442-2342.

Saturday, March 8, 2014

With the home-crowd Russian fans on the side of the Italians, the United States defeated Italy in sledge hockey by a score of 5–1 today in both teams’ opening game at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia.

The United States started the first period with possession, but much of this was on their own third of the ice. Both teams did a full line change within the first minute of play following an Italian penalty by Bruno Balossetti that resulted in a United States power player. While the USA got possession on the penalty, it was after a few seconds where who had possession was questionable. The puck then changed possession several times. Both goalies had to work in the opening minutes of the game. With 12:20 left in the first, Italy had a fast break down the ice. In defending his goal, the Team USA goalie fell over and there was a mob in front of the goal trying to move the puck. The USA managed to prevent the Italians from scoring. Following this, there was a line change and a similar pile up in front of the Team USA net at 12:13. After a penalty that saw Andy Yohe get 2 minutes for roughing, the United States got possession.

Both sides had their fans in arena, with several large Italian flags behind their team’s bench. There were a pair of United States flags. When the Italians had the puck and looked likely to score, the multitude of Russian flags were waved and the fans cheered in support of the team. The United States allowed Italy to get possession after two players crashed into each other and had to untangle their sledges. At 10:20 left, Italy managed to get a shot on goal, which the USA goalie stopped. With 10:09, both teams were to full strength. There was another pile up, this time in front of the Italian net, at 9:12 left. The United States had problems passing during much of this time, and with keeping the puck out of their third. A United States fan was screaming at the team at one point shouting, “Get it out.” Italy had several good chances but they were not able to capitalize on them. At 2:30 left, the United States and Italy were about equal with shots on goal: 4 for USA, 5 for Italy. At 2:30 left in the first, Valerio Corvino of Italy got 2 minutes in the penalty box for roughing. With 1:15, good passes by Nikko Landeros and Taylor Chance lead to a goal by Declan Farmer on a power player opportunity. Immediately following the goal, Italian Werner Winkler got a 2 minute penalty for roughing. The pace of the game slowed down in the final minutes, and there were fewer hits. The occasional United States fan chanted “USA, USA, USA.” The first period ended 1–0 in favour of the United States.

The second period started with lots of Italian cheering from the stands, while the Americans possessed the puck on the Italian third of the ice. Both teams were shorthanded, each with a player in the penalty box. The penalties were over and both teams were at full strength by 14:10 left in the second. Early in the period, Italy got a two minute penalty for too many players on the ice. The United States also addressed possession problems they had in the first period and kept the puck in front of the Italian goal. Team USA still had problems with executing passes though. Whenever the Italians got possession of the puck and looked like they might have a remote chance of scoring, the Russian fans started cheering loudly. With 3:48 left in the second, Brody Roybal scored with an assist from Declan Farmer. With 1:18 left in the second, Guiseppe Condello got a 2 minute penalty for teeing when he rammed the front of his sledge into a USA player’s sledge. The period ended 2–0 in favour of the the United States.

During the intermission, a Paralympic presenter went into the audience to talk to Team USA fans in the stands for the screens found on display in the arena. Following a little patter, she asked the fans to do the Team USA chant, which they did. In response to the requested, “USA! USA! USA!” chant, a number of people inside the arena booed.

The third period started with Team USA possession. Early in the period, Taylor Chase had a 2 minute penalty for teeing, and both teams were shorthanded with 14:38 left in the third. Italy was back at full strength by 14:17. Despite the teeing penalty, the number of collisions appeared down from earlier in the game. Both teams were at full strength with 12:33 left in the third period. With 11:56 left in the third, Joshua Sweeney got the puck, moved it down the ice and then slid it past the Italian goalkeeper to score an unassisted goal. Midway through the third period, and most of the puck possession took place on the Italian third of the ice. With 4:42 left in the third, with assists from Joshua Pauls and Nikko Landeros, Brody Roybal scored on the Italians to little applause from people in the arena. The score was 4–0. Following the goal, Team USA took a timeout and made a goalkeeper change, with Steve Cash out and Jen Lee in. With 3:26 left in the third, Team USA player Paul Schaus earned a 2 minute penalty for roughing. The Team USA goalie made a fantastic above-the-head glove save with 3:05 left in the third. With 1:26 left in the game, Italian Florian Planker scored off an assist from Gianluca Cavaliere. The stadium erupted into loud chanting, and lots of waving of Russian flags. Adam Page was injured with 1:08 left in the game, and left the ice to a round of applause from the fans. The United States’s Paul Schaus scored off an assist from Nikko Landeros with just under 5 seconds left in the game, bringing the final score to 5–1.

The United States comes into Sochi as previous Paralympic gold medalists, having won it at all at the 2010 Winter Paralympics in Vancouver, Canada. Steve Cash started for Team USA. He did not let in a single goal during the 2010 Winter Paralympics.

Saturday, January 5, 2008

An eight-month old boy, Andrew, was attacked and killed by a Doberman pinscher in Brooklyn, New York. The dog was a three-year old named Mackabee, who is also neutered.

The grandmother was babysitting the boy. While she was in the kitchen she heard the boy scream and ran next door to a neighbor for help. The neighbor took the dog off the boy, rescued him and brought him to his house to try and perform CPR on the boy, while he called 911 for help.

Police said the baby’s head was in bad shape and the dog broke the boy’s skull. Andrew was sent to Kings County Medical.

The doctors tried to save his life by working on him for nearly an hour, but the boy died at 3:06 pm local time. The parents of the child were not home at the time of the incident. The dog was shot with a tranquilizer and was sent to a care center. The city Department of Health is investigating. The dog may have to be put down because of the incident.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control, the Doberman Pinscher is not frequently involved in fatal attacks on humans in comparison to several other dog breeds such as German Shepherd Dogs, Rottweilers and others.