Monday, September 29, 2008

news

The Asia-Pacific regional management of the British-based firm told the Hong Kong government that the recall was a precautionary step.

The government announcement did not specify whether the products had indeed been contaminated by the chemical.

Tens of thousands of babies have been sickened and at least four killed by Chinese milk tainted by melamine.

Cadbury Asia-Pacific said the 11 products were manufactured at their Beijing plant and distributed in Hong Kong.

The products include Cadbury Eclairs, dark and milk chocolate, hazelnut and praline chocolate, dark Chocettes, and products made specially for the Chinese New Year (in February).

Cadbury's Asia Pacific region includes Australia, New Zealand, India, Japan, Thailand, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines and South Korea. The recall order was so far only registered in Hong Kong.

"We appeal to the public to stop consuming the chocolate products concerned," said a spokesman for the government's Centre for Food Safety.

"We would alert the trade to stop selling the affected products," he added.

news

The move comes after talks between the European Central Bank and the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.

Ministers from the three countries agreed to pour almost £9bn into the bank to save it from possible collapse.

Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme said the bail-out showed Fortis would not be allowed to fail, after its share price plunged in recent days.

Under the deal, Fortis will have to sell its stake in Dutch bank ABN Amro which it partially took over last year. The Dutch government has not named any potential buyers.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

news

In a damning report, the agencies say the Quartet - Russia, the US, the EU and the UN - is failing in its mission.

Conditions for Palestinians, which it was meant to improve, have worsened since peace talks recommenced under US sponsorship in 2007, the agencies say.

In the West Bank there was an increase in Israeli settlement and travel curbs.

The report was issued ahead of a Quartet meeting in New York on Friday.

"The Annapolis process [launched by the US in November 2007] was meant to herald a new dawn for the Middle East peace process," said Christian Aid director Daleep Mukarji.

news

The entire economy was in danger, he said in a live TV speech, and failure to act now would cost more later.

He has invited presidential rivals John McCain and Barack Obama to the White House on Thursday to discuss the $700bn (£378bn) rescue package.

The rivals have disagreed on delaying a TV debate over the economic turmoil.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Is air matter? Why or why not?

Yes it is. because it can't get through the other matter. and the air can't blend with the other matter. the matter can't blend with the other matter, so air is the matter.

Monday, September 22, 2008

news

Miners in Lesotho have discovered a huge gem stone which may become the largest ever polished round diamond.

The stone weighs 478 carats and is the 20th largest rough diamond ever found, said Gem Diamonds.

The company said the uncut rock was recovered recently from the Letseng mine, owned by the company in Lesotho.

The diamond, which is as yet unnamed, has the potential to yield a 150 carat cut stone, and could sell for tens of millions of dollars, the company said.

Clarity

"Preliminary examination of this remarkable diamond indicates it will yield a record-breaking polished stone of the very best colour and clarity," said the company's chief executive Clifford Elphick.

It would be bigger than the 105 carat round-cut Koh-i-Noor diamond, which is part of the British Crown Jewels.

It would still be dwarfed by the Cullinan diamond discovered in 1905, which was 3,106 carats uncut and yielded a teardrop shaped diamond of 530 carats called the Great Star of Africa.

The Letseng mine is owned by a mining company of which Gem Diamonds controls 70% and the Lesotho government 30%.

news

Archaeologists have pinpointed the construction of Stonehenge to 2300 BC - a key step to discovering how and why the mysterious edifice was built.

The radiocarbon date is said to be the most accurate yet and means the ring's original bluestones were put up 300 years later than previously thought.

The dating is the major finding from an excavation inside the henge by Profs Tim Darvill and Geoff Wainwright.

The duo found evidence suggesting Stonehenge was a centre of healing.

Others have argued that the monument was a shrine to worship ancestors, or a calendar to mark the solstices.

A documentary following the progress of the recent dig has been recorded by the BBC Timewatch series. It will be broadcast on Saturday 27 September.

Date demand

For centuries, archaeologists have marvelled at the construction of Stonehenge, which lies on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire.

Mineral analysis indicates that the original circle of bluestones was transported to the plain from a site 240km (150 miles) away, in the Preseli hills, South Wales.

This extraordinary feat suggests the stones were thought to harbour great powers.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

news

A large study is to examine near-death experiences in heart attack patients.

Doctors at 25 UK and US hospitals will study 1,500 survivors to see if people with no heartbeat or brain activity can have "out of body" experiences.

Some people report seeing a tunnel or bright light, others recall looking down from the ceiling at medical staff.

The study, due to take three years and co-ordinated by Southampton University, will include placing on shelves images that could only be seen from above.

To test this, the researchers have set up special shelving in resuscitation areas. The shelves hold pictures - but they're visible only from the ceiling.

Dr Sam Parnia, who is heading the study, said: "If you can demonstrate that consciousness continues after the brain switches off, it allows for the possibility that the consciousness is a separate entity.

"It is unlikely that we will find many cases where this happens, but we have to be open-minded.

"And if no one sees the pictures, it shows these experiences are illusions or false memories.

news

A car bomb and rocket attack on the US embassy in Yemen has killed at least 16 people, including civilians and Yemeni security guards, Yemen officials said.

The bomb targeted the main security gate as staff were arriving for work.

An exchange of gun and rocket fire followed between embassy security guards and militants, whom eyewitnesses said were dressed as policemen.

Hundreds of heavily armed troops have now surrounded the embassy building, which is strafed with bullet holes.

Security sources said six members of the Yemeni security forces, six attackers, and four bystanders were killed in the attack, which occurred at about 0830 (0530 GMT).

US spokesman Ryan Gliha described the atmosphere inside the embassy as calm, adding that arrangements were being made so staff could "go about their business in a safe manner".

It is the second attack on the embassy in six months.

Mr Gliha said the US was "very aware that there is a continuing threat" and all measures were taken to try to ensure the safety of the embassy and its staff.

Monday, September 15, 2008

news

At least 21 people have been killed and several others have been injured in a stampede in Indonesia, according to local officials and media reports.

The crush happened as people waited for charity handouts from a wealthy family in the East Javan town of Pasuruan.

The cash handouts, of up to $4 per person, are a tradition during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan.

Television footage showed women screaming as they were pushed into a fence by the crowd.

Annual event

Under a system known as Zakat, wealthy muslims are required to give away a portion of their money to the poor every year.

There were several thousand people in the crowd waiting to be given money from a rich family.

news

The streets of Sadr City are slowly coming back to life.

Within minutes of getting out of a heavily armoured vehicle, we are surrounded by laughing children.

Some are playing table football on the pavement. Others are trying to jump into every shot we film for our television report.

A public swimming pool has just re-opened - the first in this neighbourhood of the Iraqi capital. It is for boys only, but at least they get the chance to cool off.

Screaming with delight, they dive, jump and splash into the water. This is a side of Baghdad you rarely get to see.

Business grants

Violence has left its scars all over Sadr City. On the main streets, there are bullet holes and burnt-out buildings everywhere.

Security has, though, improved dramatically in recent months.


Monday, September 8, 2008

Hurricane Ike battered northern Cuba overnight with giant waves and torrential rain, but has weakened slightly as it moves over the island.

The Category Two storm's maximum sustained winds are still more than 165km/h (105mph).

Some homes along the coast, where some 800,000 people have been evacuated, have been damaged beyond repair.

Earlier, Ike killed 61 people in Haiti and reportedly damaged 80% of homes on the main Turks and Caicos islands.

The Cuban Meteorology Institute said the eye of the hurricane came ashore near Punta Lucrecia in the state of Holguin about 510 miles (823km) south-east of the capital Havana.

I don't like typhoon, because if it has the typhoon I can't go out to my house. And the typhoon will heart people. it's very bad.

blog

I think the blog is good. If the students write the blog it can help the students to learn English. And it can tell teacher and the other students know how is your English.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Wolves prefer fishing to hunting

Scientists studied the eating habits of wolf packs in British Columbia.

Deer is the staple food of the wolves in the spring and summer but they often injure themselves hunting them.

When Pacific salmon return to the region's rivers to spawn in the autumn, the wolves prefer the taste of the more nutritious and easier to catch fish.

The researchers studied the droppings and hair of eight wolf groups over four years to discover what they ate.

I think this is very cool I don't know the wolves can catch the fishes. It's very funny.

Monday, September 1, 2008

PE class

i think this game need team work. we need to cooperation. But in some team they didn't have cooperation.