Three US police officers and a state trooper have been shot and wounded during a standoff with a gunman in an apartment in Texas. The gunman is still holed up in the building in the town of Midlothian, 40km (25 miles) south-west of Dallas. Police officials said the officers had initially been called to the apartment to investigate a broken window. They realised the pane had been broken by gunfire and when they went to the flat to make inquiries, were shot at. All three police officers in attendance were wounded. One, Sgt Brian Woolery, is in a serious condition at Methodist Dallas Medical Centre Hospital. His colleague, officer Dustin Compton, is reported to be in a good condition, while the status of the third officer, who was also hospitalised, is unknown. Trooper Rick Smith rushed to the scene of the incident when he heard the report that three policemen had been hurt, and he was also fired upon. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk censor News |
Editor - 20:33:00 08-20-06 |
New Zealand Maori choose new king |
Elders from New Zealand's indigenous Maori population have named 51-year-old Tuheitia Paki as their new king. King Tuheitia, a university manager and cultural adviser, was chosen at a secret meeting in Ngaruawahia village. He is the eldest son of the previous monarch, Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu, who died last week. Dame Te Ata held the throne for 40 years, making her the longest-serving monarch in the 150 years since the Maori began choosing their leaders. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5269822.stm
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Editor - 20:28:00 08-20-06 |
Human Bird Flu Cases Found This Year Equal 2005 Level |
Bird flu killed a 35-year-old woman in Indonesia, raising the number of cases worldwide this year to 95, the same number reported in the whole of 2005, as health authorities study whether the virus is spreading between humans. Tests on the woman were positive for the H5N1 strain of avian influenza, I Nyoman Kandun, a director general at the Ministry of Health, said late yesterday. Indonesia, with the most H5N1 deaths, confirmed two other cases from the village where the woman lived. Officials are checking for signs of human-to-human transmission, Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari said last week. ``The cases have occurred in a remote, mountainous area where there are a lot of other diseases,'' Georg Petersen, the World Health Organization's Indonesia representative, said in a telephone interview today. ``It's important to identify illnesses caused by bird flu and illnesses caused by the other diseases.'' ... http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a7tFDCDftmjw&refer=worldwide_news
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Editor - 20:24:00 08-20-06 |
Calif. Woman's Gas Survey a Bellwether 'Prophet of the Pumps' Trilby Lundberg Has the Nation's Attention With Gas-Price Survey |
Trilby Lundberg, the nation's guru of gasoline prices, has no idea how many miles her new Mercedes-Benz gets per gallon. When she has to fill the tank, she's more concerned with convenience than price. Yet for decades, the nation has turned to the assertive, 57-year-old cat lover and her twice-monthly Lundberg Survey of gas stations to keep track of the fluctuating price of gasoline. Lately, the news hasn't been good. On Aug. 13, Lundberg reported the nationwide price for self-serve regular hit another record, jumping to nearly $3.03 a gallon. Lundberg said the cost of crude oil isn't the only reason for the skyrocketing prices. Demand, taxes, weather and government regulations all figure into the complex equation, she said. Are there five oil industry executives someplace deciding the price of gas? "That would be tragic because that would wreck the market," she said. "And it would be a comedy because it is impossible." ... http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2336365
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Editor - 20:21:00 08-20-06 |
Grass fire destroys western Texas home; many others burning in West |
Drought-parched grass and gusting winds fueled wildfires in western Texas on Saturday that destroyed at least one home, threatened several others and burned a swath of land more than five miles long.Authorities said no injuries have been reported from the fires, which began Friday and have engulfed more than 4,300 acres in Palo Pinto and Stephens counties, about 85 miles west of Fort Worth.A hunter's cabin was destroyed, but firefighters saved six homes, Texas Forest Service spokeswoman Traci Weaver said. No evacuations were ordered.Parts of Stephens County lost power early Saturday, and firefighters were still protecting the town of Caddo, which has about 40 residents."When conditions are this dry, it is very difficult," Weaver said. "A simple wind shift or something like that, and they may have to ready to evacuate right away."... http://www.usatoday.com/weather/news/2006-08-20-western-wildfires_x.htm?csp=34
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Editor - 12:35:00 08-20-06 |
Grim search for bodies enters second day |
Officers were being briefed Sunday in the search for human remains in a rural Missouri yard, a day after authorities announced that bone fragments from at least two people were found there.Sheriff's officials said the bodies of as many as six people could have been dumped on the three-acre wooded property northeast of Drexel in western Missouri."They have not started digging at all so far," Cass County Sheriff's Cpl. Kevin Tieman said Saturday. "What's on the surface is what they have found so far."The deaths appeared to be drug-related and were not "random acts," Tieman said. He estimated the deaths occurred over five years and said the most recent remains were several months old.... http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/08/20/bodies.found.ap/index.html?section=cnn_us
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Editor - 10:55:00 08-20-06 |
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