Arizona man dies in Air Conditioning Duct
July 31, 2008
A man from Tucson, Arizona, has died while trying to fix an air conditioning unit. The man slipped and fell head first into the unit. The man had been hired to close the air conditioning return pipe in a private residence at Ahwatukee, Tucson.
The man hasn’t been identified, only that he was thirty-seven-years-old and was of Hispanic nationality. He climbed into the twenty-four inch wide pipe, some thirty feet under the house. The Fire Brigade said the man hadn’t been heard from for three quarters of an hour after climbing into the air conditioning duct. It was then that the contractor checked on the worker, only to find him motionless on the air conditioning unit. He toed a rope around his legs and pulled him out of the pipe.
Despite calling 911, emergency crews were not able to revive the man, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
UK parents to face music if their wards are found engaged in piracy
July 30, 2008
As part of the UK government’s reforms to curb and combat internet piracy, parents are likely to face punishments for their children’s internet piracy act, as it amounts to breach of copyright. According to the law in UK, stringent measures provide that the households ignoring the warning will be blacklisted and will be under online surveillance
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Fergal Sharkey, the chief executive of British Music Rights, the body that represents musicians, said “This is stepping into the unknown for the internet providers, music and ministers. But we can’t go on without it. No business can survive after losing as much revenue as the music industry has.”
Baroness Vadera, who was responsible for bringing internet service providers and Ofcom, will outline the new measures to combat internet piracy. According to the plans, warning letters will be sent to such households informing them that they are being monitored. The second stage requires Ofcom, the telecoms body, to go ahead in leading the negotiations between service providers and the film and music industries regarding means to deal with blatant offenders.
According to the reports, Britain’s six largest service providers- BT Vergin Media, Orange, Tiscali, BSkyB and Carphone Warehouse have already signed, giving their ascent to the scheme.
An effort to help out forced marriage victims
July 28, 2008
British government in its effort to prevent forced marriages has raised the minimum age limit from 18 to 21 at which a married person can apply to join a spouse in Britain. Statistics revealed that 30 per cent of the cases dealt with by the government’s Forced Marriage Unit involved victims aged between 18 and 21. Many of them happened to be women from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
According to the Home Secretary, forced marriage leads to victims suffering years of physical and mental abuse and – in extreme cases unlawful imprisonment and rape. This is why we are raising the age limit for visas, checking anyone entering into a marriage does so of their own free will, and demanding that those coming to UK learn English.”
The minister added “Any British citizen applying to ` sponsor` someone to come to the UK as their spouse will have to declare their intentions before they leave the country and marry abroad.” In the UK, every year, almost 3000 complaints are brought to the notice of the government. The new amended law is meant to minimise the sufferings of brides, mostly South Asians.
Co-op takes over Somerfield for £1.6 billion
July 27, 2008
Co-op has joined the league of big 4 to become the fifth biggest retailer of food in the UK. It took over Somerfield through the biggest deal of £1.6 billion in the history of food retailers. Co-op will now enjoy market share of 8 per cent with the biggest chain of 3,000 outlets spread all over the UK. Tesco still leads the market with share of 31 per cent, followed by Asda and Sainsbury’s 16 per cent and Morrison’s 11 per cent.
Co-op chief executive Peter Marks, after the acquisition of Somerfield, expects people to start referring retailers as “big five” instead of “big four”. He considers this deal as ‘rocket fuel’ for the group’s growth and is confident of winning out-of-town customers of its rivals who would prefer to shop locally than to waste money for shopping out of town.
Mr. Marks added that time and cost-conscious people will prefer to go down the road and buy from local Co-op shop rather than driving 5 miles to a superstore for shopping. He believes that in terms of convenience market, its growth is much faster than the grocery market.
Rolls-Royce creating a unit to exploit nuclear renaissance in the UK
July 26, 2008
Owing to the increasing concern about pollution of environment by the existing power sources, nuclear power as an environment friendly alternative is gradually getting wide spread acceptance. Rolls-Royce is gearing up to exploit the future civil nuclear market expected to be worth £50bn in next 15 years. It has initiated dialogue with global vendors of reactors and utilities which are specifically engaged in designing of next-generation reactors. It has created a new unit of 450 professionals and plans to employ several thousand more. Rolls-Royce is keen to make best use of its experience with the long-running nuclear programme of Royal Navy.
Company’s business development director, Jonathan Hale is sees a nuclear renaissance and states that the company will no longer keep a low profile in this business. He claims that Rolls-Royce has more skills and higher capacity than any other company in the UK.
The group has been involved in nuclear engineering since 1950 when pressurised water reactor (PWR) technology was transferred from the US to the UK. Half of its 2,000 nuclear specialists are engineers and the company has expertise in design, maintenance, and safety testing, apart from manufacturing of all reactor components.
Spy dogs in war zones to cut down casualty rates
July 26, 2008
British Army Special Air Service team (SAS) is planning to parachute German Shepherds in Iraq and Afghanistan with the aim to curtail casualty rates. Dogs are trained to leap from planes at as high altitudes as high as 25,000 feet. The dogs will be wearing their own oxygen masks and will be strapped to SAS teams.
Once in the war zone, the dogs with masks fixed to their heads, will be sent ahead to seek out revolutionaries hide outs. Live TV pictures, beamed by the cameras back to the troops, showing ambushers, or showing enemy leader’s locations, will warn the troops of possible ambush enabling them to take timely actions. ‘Who Dares Wins’ regiment’s, scaling casualties will come down considerably due to the implementation of the amazing tactic.
According to SAS source, “The dogs will be exposed to very high levels of danger on these operations.” The operation requires the dogs to be used in a technique known as High Altitude Opening, requiring the dogs to jump as much as 35 kilometers from their targets and gliding towards them for up to 30 minutes. Hats off to the `jumping dogs` who stand and justify by the saying, `a dog is man’s best friend!`
Hero on the prowl to nab illegal migrants
July 25, 2008
Illegal migrants, trying to cross the border and enter the country, will have to be literally on their toes. Briefcase sized robots are let loose by the UK Border Agency to nab the culprits trying to cross the border illegally. Aptly the Robot is named `Hero`.
Our Hero Robot wander carries out detailed searches of the undesirables, lorries- trucks and coaches. He is equipped with powerful search lights and high- resolution video camera, and four wheel drive. Battery is the power source. The four-wheel drive is very handy as it guides and helps the `Hero` to scramble over obstacles while searching for the `Villains` concealed in the vehicles.
According to a report, in the Sunday Telegraph, apart from the duty of snuffing out illegal migrants, the Hero can be used to identify chemical, radiological, biological, or even nuclear materials being smuggled in to Britain, once the robot is fitted with heart beat detectors as well as sensors.
The robot, tested by British border guard at Calais, will be now introduced at other ports by the senior officials. As per a spokesman for the UK Border Agency said: “Last year over one million lorries were searched and we stopped a record 18,000 people. New technology is crucial in the fight against illegal immigrants.”
God willing, if all goes well, UK troops will enjoy New Year at home
July 25, 2008
Prime Minister Gordon Brown indicated, as a result of improved security situation in the war-torn country, that British troops in Iraq might be withdrawn as early as next year
Brown, who was recently on a one day visit to Iraq, said, “Iraqi forces would soon take over the Basra airport, the main British military headquarters.”
According to Gordon’s plans, training and strengthening the Iraqi troops, will go a long way in achieving ultimate withdrawal of British forces. As per the promise made by Gordon Brown in last October, that by spring, troops will be cut down to 2500. About 4100 troops were stationed at Basra airport.
As per the report in The Observer, Brown however, made it clear that he would not “set any artificial timetable.” Surely not only the family of the troops but also all the British people will pray for early return of the troops, perhaps before the year end.
Doctors in the UK face annual assessments
July 24, 2008
All doctors in the UK face annual assessments that could result in licences removed from poor performers. The proposals mean GPs, private practitioners and hospital consultants would be required to renew their licences once in five years. The plans are to be outlined by Sir Liam Donaldson, the Chief Medical Officer, who is slated to summon senior doctors for assessing others who are presently practising in their area. He will build on proposals first set out in a government White Paper released last year.
The annual assessments will include examination of prescribing habits, any personal issues that might affect their work like drug or alcohol abuse and adequate assessment of a patient’s condition. Patients will also be asked to give their feedback as part of the assessment process.
The report entitled ‘Medical Revalidation: Principle and Next Steps’ will also come up with measures to make sure that doctors are updated with medical advances. It is expected to point out that regular assessment would enhance standards among the 150,000 doctors currently practising in the UK, rather than just being a method for discipline.
‘Urgent action is vital to prevent villages dying’, states a report
July 23, 2008
The Lib Dem MP, Matthew Taylor, whose report had been commissioned by the prime minister, stated many people find the countryside life very ‘challenging’, adding that ‘some urgent action is vital to prevent villages dying and also our market towns being wrecked by unsympathetic development.’
He noted: “If we fail in building the affordable homes to enable the people working in the countryside to live there we will risk turning our villages into gated communities of only wealthy commuters and the retired.”
He also touched upon the aspect of community ‘lifeblood’. Mr Taylor stated, in many cases, “only a handful of well designed homes – kept affordable in perpetuity for local people – will make all the key difference to the sustainability of a village and its services”.
It said the creation of small businesses and home-based working practices need to be encouraged in the countryside through the purposeful adoption of flexible planning policies – especially where work-based extensions to rural homes are concerned. It also concluded housing associations should consider ending bans on those setting up a home-based business unit in social and affordable homes.
