Obama chides Illinois governor’s decision to fill Senate seat
Posted by agung | Filed under General, World News
President-elect Barack Obama said Tuesday it is disappointing that Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich ignored warnings from Senate Democrats about appointing a successor to his Senate seat.
On Tuesday, Blagojevich, a Democrat, named former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to serve the last two years of Obama’s Senate term.
Senate Democratic leaders have said they will block the appointment and are urging the governor to step down after his arrest on corruption charges ̵ More >>
Tags: Chide, Decision, Governor, Obama
NASA faults equipment in Columbia shuttle disaster
Posted by agung | Filed under General, World News
A NASA report on the last minutes of Space Shuttle Columbia cited problems with the crew’s helmets, spacesuits and restraints, which resulted in “lethal trauma” to the seven astronauts aboard.
But the report also acknowledged that R More >>
Tags: Columbia, Disaster, Faults, NASA, Shuttle
Four executives on trial in China milk scandal
Posted by agung | Filed under General, World News
Four executives working for the Sanlu Group, the major dairy at the heart of a contaminated milk scandal in China that sickened nearly 300,000 infants, went on trial Wednesday in the country’s north, state More >>
Air New Zealand Tests Biofuel Blend in Boeing 747
Posted by agung | Filed under General
Air New Zealand, the nation’s biggest airline, said a test flight in one of the company’s Boeing Co. 747-400 jetliners proved the commercial viability of jatropha oil as an alternative fuel.
The trial, a joint program with the aircraft maker More >>
Tags: air new zealand, biofuel, boeing 747
Queenslanders offered cash bonuses not to kill koalas or destroy their habitat
Posted by agung | Filed under General
CASH incentives of up to $12,500 are being offered so as to encourage people not to kill koalas or destroy their habitat.
Queensland’s Redland City Council, as part of their new koala program, aims to reward residents who have koa More >>
Tags: destroy, habitat, kill, Koalas
Large number of man-eating sharks in Australian waters is growing: EXPERTS
Posted by agung | Filed under General
THE number of man-eating sharks in Australian waters is growing, according to experts, who blame the surging numbers on a ban on killing the predators.
Marine biologist Adam Smith said initial research and accounts from fishermen and More >>
Tags: Australian waters, eating, Sharks
Australia Jobless heading for 1 million
Posted by agung | Filed under General
THE global financial crisis could force unemployment towards the one-million mark next financial year, despite further expected dramatic interest rate cuts by the Reserve Bank.
In a gloomy new year outlook, economists are predicting unemployment could rise More >>
Tags: 1 million, Australia, Jobless
British couple in second shark scare off Western Australia
Posted by agung | Filed under General
A British couple had what they described as a “Jaws” encounter with a great white shark yesterday when it nudged their dinghy as they fished in the same spot where an Australian man More >>
Tags: British, Couple, Scare, Shark, Western Australia
Australia accused over anti-whaling ship ‘crimes’
Posted by agung | Filed under General, World News
AUSTRALIA has been accused of breaching its international obligations by allowing the “criminal” anti-whaling vessel Steve Irwin to use its ports, after the boat’s high-seas collision wit More >>
Tags: Anti- whaling, Australia, Crimes, ship, Whaling
Australia, New Zealand Dollars Decline on Weaker U.S. Equities
Posted by agung | Filed under General, World News
The Australian and New Zealand dollars fell as declines in U.S. equities prompted speculation investors will cut holdings of higher-yielding assets.
New Zealand’s dollar also dropped after Fonterra Cooperative Group Ltd., the world’s largest dairy exporter, said it may have to cut payouts to the nation’s farmers as prices and demand soften. The currencies pared losses after regional stocks rallied, led by energy companies, as fighting between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza strip helpe More >>
Tags: Australia, Dollars, New Zealand, U.S, Weaker
