Ahmadinejad slapped by top Revolutionary Guard: WikiLeaks
December 31, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
The chief of the Revolutionary Guard angrily slapped Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in early 2010, as Tehran was still dealing with the fallout from last year”s election, according to a leaked US diplomatic cable.
The cable, written in February, said Revolutionary Guard Chief of Staff Mohammed Ali Jafari blamed Ahmadinejad for the post-election “mess” in 2009, which saw the country roundly criticized by the West amid allegations of fraud and tough crackdowns on large-scale protests in Tehran.
The guard was founded after the Islamic revolution in 1979 to prevent dissident activity and is a strong internal force within the country, with economic and military wings.
Jafari is seen as close to the most conservative Iranian elements, but Ahmedinejad himself is also deemed a stalwart hawk.
The cable, titled “He who got slapped,” quotes an Iran watcher in Baku, Azerbaijan, who related that Ahmedinejad felt that in the aftermath of the post-election street protests, which turned violent, “people feel suffocated.”
In a meeting with his national security council, the president “mused that to defuse the situation it may be necessary to allow more personal and social freedoms, including more freedom of the press,” according to the source.
This provoked an angry retort from Jafari, according to the cable:
“You are wrong! (In fact) it is YOU who created this mess! And now you say give more freedom to the press?!”
The top guard then slapped the president in the face “causing an uproar and an immediate call for a break in the meeting” which did not resume for another two weeks, the cable said.
It took the intervention of Ayatollah Ahmad Janati, a senior member of the top oversight body, the Guardian Council, to get Jafari and Ahmedinejad back to the table, according to the cable.
The source cited in the cable released by WikiLeaks “predicted that events are trending towards major developments and a new phases” during 2010.
Survey begins to gauge losses after flood
PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti said a survey has been kick-started to estimate the losses in the aftermath of flooding across the province, Geo News reported Tuesday.
Talking to media while visiting a relief camp established at a school here, he said the world community as well as the federal government has been approached to extend aid for the rehabilitation of the adversely affected people.
The CM Hoti said the devastations caused by the flash floods in the province, are beyond any calculation, adding he issued directives to conduct a survey to assess the losses in the wake of mass scale destructions and devastations by the flash floods.
Amir Hyder Khan Hoti said the medical teams are rendering services in the affected areas including relief camps and the affectees are being provided with free medicines.
Wars raised terror threat to UK: Ex-MI5 chief
July 21, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
LONDON: The invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan led to a huge surge in the terrorist threat to the United Kingdom, the former head of MI5 said.
Giving evidence to the official inquiry into the war, Baroness Manningham-Buller said the service struggled to cope with the number of plots in the aftermath of the invasion in 2003.
She added: “Our involvement in Iraq radicalised a whole generation of young people not a whole generation, a few among a generation who saw our involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan as being an attack on Islam.”
She said many UK-born individuals were attracted to the ideology of al Qaeda after the invasion and added that the number of Britons who became involved in terrorist plots took MI5 by surprise.
Manningham-Buller said the toppling of Saddam Hussein had enabled al Qaeda to establish a foothold in Iraq which it had never managed before.
Manningham-Buller said there was clear evidence that Britain’s involvement in the Iraq war was a motivating factor in terrorist attacks on the UK.
Manningham-Buller said MI5 was given a budget increase after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US and again in 2002, but still needed far greater resources as a result of the Iraq invasion.
She suggested that the threat to the UK might have been reduced if there had been better plans for post-invasion Iraq.
alli
May 26, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has asked the makers of weight loss drugs Alli and Xenical to show a liver injury warning.
Xenical and Alli are the two popular weight loss drugs all over the world. Both of them are in the business from very long time and this particular decision of FDA would have surprised many, especially the people from America’s own billion dollars weight loss industry. FDA took this decision on Xenical and Alli depending upon the aftermath reports collected from many people.
According to FDA, 12 Xenical and Alli users were reported severe liver injuries. And the interesting point is, 10 out of 11 members are not US citizens. Only one patient from US has a liver injury using these weight loss pills.
Keeping this possible adverse effect in mind, the FDA has asked both the manufactures to show a liver injury warning on the drug. According to FDA, the main intention behind this decision is to educate the public about the possible livery injury with these drugs.
There is no official statement yet from Xenical or Alli.
According to FDA reports, as many as 40 million people has used Xenical and Alli for their weight loss needs.
j.m. barrie logos
May 9, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
Today is Mother’s Day in the U.S. but it is also J.M. Barrie’s 150th birthday. To celebrate the day, Google has a mother’s day logo in the countries celebrating mother’s day today and J.M. Barrie doodles in other countries. Here are the logos: Here are some other Mother’s Day Logos from around the web yahoo.
Today May 9 the 150th anniversary of the birth date of author J. M Barrie (Sir James Matthew Barrie), is being celebrated. The Google doodle for today especially commemorates Barrie and depicts scenes from his most popular work, known throughout the world, Peter Pan.
What though do you know about the great man himself apart from the fact that he wrote Peter Pan of course? I’ll give you a top ten of interesting things to know about the man who was born on May 9 1860 and died on 19 June 1937.
EU ministers to draw up financial defense plan
May 9, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
BRUSSELS – The chair of a meeting of European Union finance ministers promised to do “whatever is necessary” to set up a rescue mechanism for the embattled euro and keep speculators at bay before markets open Monday.
Spanish Finance Minister Elena Salgado said Sunday the ministers would use an emergency meeting to work out plans to improve the stability of the euro after the currency was rocked over the past weeks by of the Greek financial meltdown.
“We are going to defend the euro,” said Salgado, who presided over the ministerial meeting. “We have to give more stability to our currency … We will do whatever is necessary” to reach agreement among the 27 ministers, she said.
So far, the finance ministers have been tightlipped what the measures will be.
They could involve balance of payment support that has already been available to some EU nations outside of the eurozone. There is also talk about specific loan guarantees, which countries like Britain could well oppose since it could be seen as a bailout fund.
The measures will have to be cleared and specific enough by the time markets open because vague promises have been unable to calm markets over the past weeks.
Underscoring the urgency, the European Commission is already working out the details of the deal.
“This is an important moment for both the Europeans and the others,” said French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde.
Financial markets have continued to sell off the euro and Greek bonds even as EU leaders have insisted for days that the Greek financial implosion is a unique combination of bad management, free spending and statistical cheating that doesn’t apply to other euro-zone nations.
Many economists think Greece will eventually default anyway, which could deal a sharp blow to the euro and lead to sharply higher borrowing costs for other indebted countries in Europe.
Default, or market contagion to other countries could lead to panic, intimidating consumers from spending and making banks fearful to lend money to businesses and consumers.
The vow to push budget shortfalls below the euro’s 3 percent limit echoes promises that have been regularly broken ever since governments in 1999 set a three-year deadline for achieving balanced budgets. The euro region’s overall deficit is forecast at 6.6 percent of gross domestic product in 2010 and 6.1 percent in 2011.
Plans for a European credit-rating authority are already under consideration at the European Commission, the bloc’s Brussels-based executive agency. It also is investigating whether ratings companies such as Standard & Poor’s wield too much power over investors’ perceptions of governments.
Asked whether steps to stem speculation against government bonds would include restrictions on short sales or credit default swaps, European Commission President Jose Barroso said “some of the points you have mentioned will be contemplated.”
google maps
May 9, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
Google Earth has been used for many purposes including those needed for the media, and most recently for showing the aftermath of earthquakes, which helps rescue teams find people by comparing before and after Google maps.
In this latest story, Google Earth’s software was used to find the world’s biggest Beaver Dam in Canada. This dam can be seen from space and according to the Telegraph, is over “twice the length of the Hoover dam” and measures 2,790ft.
It’s pretty amazing what the mammals did to make this dam over many months. 
Stone, mud, and trees were used to build a type of moat. One researcher – Jeane Thie – used Google Earth maps and satellite imagery to find the dam, and study it.
Beavers: Wetland and Wildlife biologist, Sharon Brown, said that the Beavers wanted a good habitat, and other animals would also use this and it’s great for the environment.
source:product-reviews
tere jo duperrault
May 7, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
erry Jo Duperrault was 11 when her family was murdered at sea aboard a chartered sailboat off the coast of Florida. She jumped overboard just in time to escape.
Surviving four days on a cork float in the middle of the ocean, Terry Jo’s rescue pictures graced LIFE Magazine soon after she was found.
This is the first time Terry Jo, now known as Tere Duperrault Fassbender, has been able to fully tell her story. In September 1988 Oprah Winfrey reunited her with the freighter captain who saved her but, even then, she was not healed enough to reveal what it took to survive for four days adrift and alone at sea.
Co-authored by psychologist and survival expert Richard Logan, readers delve into the details of how a little girl survived the murder of her family; the gradual collapse of the small cork float she used to keep afloat while guarded by a small pod of whales; and the aftermath and the reclamation of life.
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Tiger Woods accident rumors
Tiger Woods accident rumors, Tiger Woods has finally released early Friday morning.
Woods says the crash that sent him to the hospital was his fault and has been an embarrassing situation for him and his family. He goes on to rip the tabloid rumors that are circulating in the aftermath.
“This is a private matter and I want to keep it that way,” Woods says. “Although I understand there is curiosity, the many false, unfounded and malicious rumors that are currently circulating about my family and me are irresponsible.”
Tiger Woods accident rumors was first posted on November 30, 2009 at 7:43 pm.
