Scientists searching for the origin of HIV, the global pandemic infecting more than 40 million people, believe they have finally tracked its original source to two colonies of chimpanzees in a corner of Cameroon.The finding represents the culmination of a 10-year hunt for the source of the pandemic and provides a crucial link between HIV, which causes Aids in humans, and the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), a strikingly similar virus that infects monkeys and chimpanzees. Researchers believe that south-east Cameroon is where the virus first jumped from chimpanzees to humans before HIV infection began spreading among people as far back as the 1930s. At the time, HIV, which destroys the immune system leaving those infected vulnerable to myriad diseases, was difficult to diagnose. Carried by people travelling along the rivers, it spread unnoticed to Kinshasa, where the first human epidemic began to grow.... http://www.guardian.co.uk censor News |
Editor - 11:47:00 05-26-06 |
In Iran, Nuclear Standoff Leaves Clerics on the Sidelines As Those With Expertise Speak Up |
Iran's most senior clerics filled a lecture hall this month to hear government-picked nuclear experts give a layman's tutorial on reactors, uranium enrichment and what it means for Iran. It also was a lesson in who is advising and guiding Iran's theocrats at one the most critical periods since the 1979 Islamic revolution. The ranks of ayatollahs and lesser clerics the unofficial brain trust of the Islamic regime find themselves increasingly sidelined as Iran's priorities shift from internal confrontations with pro-reform groups to geopolitical brinksmanship. The theocracy is now tuned to other voices, who speak the language of technology and strategy: nuclear engineers, international negotiators and military planners led by the Revolutionary Guard. "It is no longer just about religion, culture and Islamic identity," said Issa Saharkhiz, a Tehran-based analyst and activist for press freedoms. "The nuclear crisis is forcing the leaders to think and act differently." ... http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2008891
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Editor - 11:35:00 05-26-06 |
Missouri Couple Charged With Raping and Killing a Woman and Capturing It on Video |
A couple accused of videotaping the rape of a woman and killing her were arrested when they called 911 after a car accident and told a deputy they planned to hurt themselves, authorities said Friday. Richard Davis and Dena Riley, who lived together in Independence, Mo., were arrested Thursday evening after having dinner with a 5-year-old relative of Davis' in Pittsburg, Kan. The girl's parents reported her missing when she was not returned home after several hours, police said. Riley placed a 911 call when the truck they were driving was involved in a crash, and told a deputy she and Davis planned to hurt themselves, Barton County Sheriff Shannon Higgins said. Authorities offered no further details and would not immediately release a transcript of the call. Both suspects were transported to hospitals, authorities said, but the extent of their injuries was unclear. ... http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2008863
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Editor - 11:26:00 05-26-06 |
Storms wash away 6 people in Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee |
Storms with harsh rain, hail and winds rushed across a region from Tennessee to Michigan, and rising waters swept away 6 people. A 15-year-old was found dead in Tennessee Friday and 5 others remained missing. Rescuers in Indiana were looking for a 4-year-old boy, his father and grandfather, whose pickup was carried off Thur night. A hunt also continued in Kentucky for another 4-year-old washed away in a vehicle after two adults managed to get out. In Tennessee, Clarksville Police Officer Andy Bechtold said rescuers early Friday found the body of one of 2 15-year-olds who went missing while swimming in a creek. Two rescue workers were injured, one critically, when their small boat tipped over in the rushing water. In central Kentucky, a 68-year-old woman was found dead early Fri on the sidewalk in front of her Lexington home. It appeared she was placing her yard waste container by the curb for pickup when she was struck by lightning, the Fayette County coroner's office said... http://www.cnn.com/2006/WEATHER/05/26/indiana.storm.ap/index.html?section=cnn_us
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Editor - 11:25:00 05-26-06 |
Judge rejects reporter CIA leak case subpoena |
A judge rejected a request by former White House aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby on Friday to force ex-New York Times reporter Judith Miller to turn over all her notes, telephone records and appointment calendar. After reviewing the documents in private, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton granted a request by Miller's attorneys to throw out Libby's subpoena.He ruled the requests for Miller's appointment calendar and her telephone records from June 7 to July 14 in 2003 "appear to be nothing more than a fishing expedition."Libby's lawyers already have parts of two notebooks that Miller gave special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald about the CIA official whose identity was disclosed, her diplomat husband and his trip to Africa.But Libby's lawyers wanted the entire notebooks, without any deletions.Walton said he examined every page in the notebooks and agreed with Miller's lawyers that the deleted parts would not be relevant to Libby's defense.... http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060526/pl_nm/bush_leak_dc
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Editor - 11:11:00 05-26-06 |
Test: Bird Flu Killed 2 Siblings Early Results Find Indonesian Brother, Sister Died From H5N1 Virus |
Preliminary tests have found that bird flu killed two more siblings in Indonesia, officials said Friday, as the country grapples with a separate outbreak involving the largest family cluster ever reported. Local tests found that a brother and sister from West Java who died earlier this week were infected by the H5N1 virus, said Nyoman Kandun, head of the Health Ministry's office of communicable disease control. The tests will be sent to a World Health Organization laboratory for further confirmation. WHO officials so far have confirmed 33 human deaths from bird flu in Indonesia, out of 124 worldwide. The latest victims, an 18-year-old boy and his 10-year-old sister, died Tuesday in the state-run Hasan Sidikin hospital in Bandung, the capital city of West Java, said Achmad, an official at the ministry's special task force post for bird flu, who uses only one name. They died within hours of each other less than a day after arriving at the hospital, he said. ... http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/05/26/health/main1658219.shtml?source=RSS&attr=World_1658219
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Editor - 11:06:00 05-26-06 |
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