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[C. Breezy]

Boy born with 24 fingers and toes

A baby boy has been born in California with 24 perfectly formed fingers and toes - six on each hand and foot.



Being born with additional digits - or being a "polydactyl" - is not wholly uncommon, but it is unusual to see the condition on every extremity.
The Bay Area hospital said staff did not notice the extra digits on ultrasound scans - and did not even spot it when Kamani Hubbard was born.
It was his father, Kris, who realised his son had some unusual features.
Polydactylism is genetic and the father said there was a family history of the condition. However he added his son's case was unique.
"Some family members have had six fingers, not completely developed. But not the toes."
A paediatrician at St Luke's hospital, Dr Michael Treece, said: "It's merely an interesting and beautiful variation rather than a worrisome thing.
"Imagine what sort of a pianist a 12-fingered person would be. Imagine what sort of flamenco guitarist. Think of their typing skills."
Famous polydactyls have reputedly included the English music hall entertainer Little Tich and Anne Boleyn - although the latter is still disputed by historians.
Cricketer Sir Garfield Sobers was also born with an extra finger on each hand.

Source:

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[unartig]

The country is braced for more snow this week, as parts of the country recorded temperatures overnight as low as -18C

Aviemore recorded its lowest February temperature in 23 years at -18C while Aberdeen was shivering today at -12C
Forecasters warned that heavy rain sweeping in from the south west during the day could turn to snow over parts of Wales, the Midlands and the North
.This would further increase pressure on stocks of salt needed to keep the roads safe

The Government has widened the search for salt abroad, while one local council has started using table salt to grit its roads

Tom Tobler, a forecaster with MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: "We can expect strong winds and heavy rain from the south west during the morning, and it could well turn to snow as it heads north over parts of Wales, the Midlands and the North."
Salt is heading to Britain from Spain and Germany as UK stocks dwindle

Chaos: Drivers are preparing for more snow problems

Communities Secretary Hazel Blears told Sky News: "We are now buying in from abroad. I have just heard that we are getting some salt from Italy and there is a boat from Tunisia on its way.
"These are once in 20-year occurrences, so obviously we are not going to keep these stocks all the time, it would be a waste of taxpayers' money."
A spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government added: "Following a Government request a number of European countries have made salt supplies available to us.

Roads were sent into mayhem after snow started last Sunday

"We also understand that the key private sector salt suppliers in the UK, and some councils, have already arranged for their own overseas shipments which will be arriving in the UK in the coming days

[unartig]

by JO STEELE - Sunday, February 8, 2009

Chips: ironing board-alicious

.You know what it's like. Someone gets a bag of chips, the aroma gets around and everyone wants one

Now experts think they have discovered what is behind the alluring smell of chips - and it is a mixture of butterscotch, onion and, erm, ironing boards
Food scientists at Leeds University unravelled the smell of chips in the laboratory, as well as using human noses

They broke down the smell into components using a process known as gas chromatography mass spectrometry. The results showed chip aroma is made up of butterscotch, cocoa, onion, flowers, cheese and ironing boards
The research, commissioned by the Potato Council, was led by Dr Graham Clayton. He said: 'Lightly cooked or undercooked chips were found to contain three simple aromas, including bitter cocoa. A little extra cooking produced a more complex aroma profile, with up to nine different aromatic notes

[C. Breezy]

UK set for more winter disruption

Further disruption is expected across the UK later with the arrival of a winter storm bringing rain and snow.



Further salt supplies are being shipped from Europe

Heavy rain is expected in south-western and southern England, while more snow is also to arrive in Wales and the Midlands, creating blizzard conditions.
It follows a week which saw the heaviest snowfall in the UK for 18 years, closing schools and crippling transport networks.
Some councils have begun to run out of supplies of salt for gritting.
Overnight, some snow fell in Northern Ireland, southern and central Scotland, and parts of the Midlands and the north west of England.
In Aviemore the temperature dropped to -18C overnight.





Container ship

The storm is due to arrive in southern England and Wales on Monday afternoon, spread to the Midlands and continue overnight into Tuesday, the BBC Weather Centre said.
It could bring up to eight inches of snow (20cm) in some areas, and 30 to 40 millimetres of rain in others.
Where the rain falls it will be on areas that already have snowed, meaning it will add to the potential for flooding.
Gale force winds will cause drifting where snow is falling and exacerbate already freezing temperatures.
Some councils in England have already been running out of road salt, with the Highways Agency saying supplies were "very limited".
A container ship is travelling from Spain with 40,000 tonnes of salt, and another ship is also heading to the UK with salt from Germany. Both are expected to dock on Wednesday.

برای مشاهده محتوا ، لطفا وارد شوید یا ثبت نام کنید

[C. Breezy]

Islamic Iran celebrates 30 years

Iran is marking the 30th anniversary of its Islamic revolution.

It will be celebrated in a big rally in central Tehran expected to be addressed by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
On this day three decades ago, the last resistance of the Shah's regime collapsed. Iranians spilled out on to streets to celebrate their new freedom.





Iran has been marking the anniversary with 10 days of celebrations

But three decades on, Iran is still suffering major economic problems, international isolation, and complaints about the lack of political freedom.
There will be plenty of celebrations on Tuesday, but also - less openly - plenty of criticisms as well.
Iran has certainly achieved full independence, but at the expense of continued international isolation.
Political and personal freedom is restricted. The economy is in a mess, through a combination of mismanagement and sanctions.
Many Iranians struggle to survive.
The new administration in Washington offers the possibility of a new beginning.
But President Ahmadinejad's government has so far been reluctant to move away from the reassuring rhetoric of "Death to America".

[C. Breezy]

Iranian lawmaker hopes 'Americans change their strategy'

MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- Iran's powerful parliament speaker said Monday the Islamic nation hopes the United States changes its approach to the Middle East, and called the Obama administration "an exceptional opportunity for Americans."

"I don't want to be pessimistic. I hope the Americans change their strategy and respect the nations," said Ali Larijani in a wide-ranging interview with CNN affiliate Cuatro TV in Spain. "That doesn't just depend on us."
The conversation took place as Iran prepared to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the overthrow of the shah, whom Larijani called a dictator. Larijani made the stop in Spain after attending a global security conference in Munich, Germany, over the weekend.
Since taking office, President Barack Obama has created "some small windows of light toward the East," he said.



Ali Larijani says the United States' new president has created "some small windows of light toward the East."


This is an exceptional opportunity for the Americans," Larijani said, adding that if the United States eased embargoes against Iran, it would be a positive step. "Although the window of opportunity is the narrowest possible, they could change their strategy."

Later Monday, Obama said the United States is looking for opportunities for "face-to-face" talks with Iran after an absence of diplomatic ties for nearly three decades.

"There's been a lot of mistrust built up over the years, so it's not going to happen overnight," Obama said during his first prime time news conference Monday night.





Obama said his administration is reviewing existing U.S. policy toward Iran.

The United States and other Western nations believe Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapons program, but Iran says it is developing nuclear capability to produce energy. Iran has also been accused of sponsoring terrorists.

Still, in recent days, Tehran also has indicated it is ready to work alongside Obama to establish better relations with Washington.

Asked Monday whether Iran could have a civil, direct discussion of its nuclear program with the United States, Larijani -- once Iran's chief nuclear envoy -- said the government is open to the idea.

"It depends on the circumstances and the benefits of having that conversation," he said. "We don't want to be taken advantage of. But we're not against constructive dialogue."

Last week, Vice President Joe Biden told delegates at a security conference in Germany that the United States under the Obama administration will continue to develop a missile defense to counter the nuclear threat posed by Iran, but only in consultation with Russia.

Larijani also said Iran will continue to support the militant group Hezbollah -- considered a terrorist organization by Israel and the United States -- in Lebanon, as well as Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel and Hamas, the Islamic militant group that has ruled Gaza since 2007, declared separate, tentative cease-fires last month after more than three weeks of fighting in Gaza. Israel launched the attack on Hamas in Gaza on December 27 with the stated aim of ending rocket attacks on southern Israel.

Larijani said Israel should accept the Hamas leadership voted into government.

"Israel has to accept that Palestinians decide their own future with voting," he said. "We can't kick people out of their own territory and bring outsiders to occupy that place."

On a separate issue, asked whether he'd run in Iran's presidential election in June, Larijani dodged the question: "Thank God, there are many people on the stage."

Source:

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[C. Breezy]

Arsonists start new bushfires in Australia

KINGLAKE, Australia (CNN) -- New fires blamed on arsonists hit Australia Wednesday as the toll from deadly blazes was likely to rise on the macabre discovery that charred remains initially identified as single bodies were in fact couples fused together by the heat.


Bushfires have destroyed huge tracts of the Australian countryside.




The latest fires broke out Tuesday night, even as emergency workers were struggling with the aftermath of bushfires that have so far killed 181 people and burned huge tracts of the countryside in southeastern Australia.

John Brumby, the premier of the hard-hit state of Victoria, said many of 20 fires burning Wednesday were suspected to have been started by arsonists -- an act described earlier by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd as "mass murder."

"There seems little doubt these were deliberately lit -- a number of them last night," Brumby said on national television.

"I think words escape us all when it comes to describing deliberate arson."

Seven Network reporter Sarah Cumming said two major fires blazing west of Melbourne at Healesville and Bunyip State Park were in danger of joining up despite being 18 kilometers apart. Video Watch firefighters continue to struggle in tackling the blazes

Several fires started by lightning between the two blaze fronts were exacerbating the situaion, she said.

The toll of the past week's fires stands at more than 500 people injured, nearly 1,000 homes destroyed, thousands left homeless and at least 365,000 hectares (901,935 acres) of the Australian countryside burned black, authorities said.

Fires, thought to have been started by arsonists have devastated the towns of Marysville and Kinglake. As many as half the homes in Kinglake have burned to the ground, police say. iReport.com: 'Thank God we were spared'

The death toll is expected to rise. In Marysville, officials warned that as many as 100 people, or one-fifth of the town's population, might be dead, with many bodies believed to be still buried under debris. Photo Photos: Bushfires leave path of destruction »

Likely to add to the fatality figure was the discovery by forensic scientists that some skeletal remains initially thought to be single bodies were actually two people fused together by searing temperatures.

As efforts to help those affected by the wildfires gather pace, tent cities have sprung up in Whittlesea, just north of Melbourne. Relief agencies have pitched camps for those forced out of their homes.

Many fire victims have grown increasingly frustrated, kept from returning home -- or to what is left of their homes -- by authorities because of safety concerns.
Fires were Wednesday threatening a gas plant and a reservoir supplying Melbourne, Cummings added. She said firefighters were counting on three days of relative calm weather before high winds were expected to fan flames again.

[mohammad.clergyman]

I, myself, translated the following piece of news

it may have lots of mistakes and punctuation errors

hope it will be revised by you

------------

عمل جراحي همسر رهبر انقلاب در بيمارستان دولتي
The recent statements by the reporters reveal that the Iranian supreme leader’s wife has been in surgery in a governmental public hospital lately.

It’s said that this affair, although being against the surgeon’s advice to perform that in a private hospital and under the special care, is done in a governmental public hospital.

According to this report, the supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei was in this hospital last week to visit his wife.

The hospital chief was unaware of Ayatollah Khomeini’s presence in the hospital and was informed by a phone call after the supreme leader’s arrival.

It’s also being said that the relevant surgeon of the supreme leader’s wife advised that the operation would be informed In a private hospital, but Ayatollah Khamenei disagreed and expressed that his wife’s surgery, like other people’s, should be operated in a governmental hospital.

برای مشاهده محتوا ، لطفا وارد شوید یا ثبت نام کنید

[C. Breezy]

I, myself, translated the following piece of news

it may have lots of mistakes and punctuation errors

hope it will be revised by you

I pick them from english sites and check all of them , if there is an mistakes , that's not my indolence
that's my grammatical problems , I try to avoid from doing it anymore

[unartig]

Thursday, February 12, 2009

aResidents of Madrid get a surprise, as German artist and illusionist Johan Lorbeer floats several feet off the ground, leaning casually against a wall

The caption supplied with this picture notes that Lorbeer 'stands in mid-air "leaning" against a wall with one hand remains in various public places.' So, um make of that what you will.
Secretly, we suspect it's some kind of trick