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Monday, August 22, 2005

The Central Applications Office in Ireland has released the first round of offers for places on third level courses to over 60,000 Irish Leaving Certificate students (graduating secondary school students).

The offers are given out based on a highly competitive points system whereby students receive from

• 100 points for an A1 to 45 points for a D3 at higher level.
• 60 points for an A1 to 5 points for a D3 on lower level.

Points from a student’s best six subjects are added up to make his or her total points. This year 145 students achieved the maximum 600 points. Students achieveing this are generally regarded as the top students academically in the country.

Points required for courses in medicine and nursing have risen again leaving many candidates disappointed. Due to the huge popularity of medicine and the low supply of courses, points for entry into medicine are in the region of 580 points. Points for arts, engineering and commerce have fallen marginally.

While the points system is often attacked for placing too much pressure on students, it has avoided the problem of grade inflation that has occurred in the UK and USA. The Leaving Certificate exam has remained largely unchanged since its inception in 1924. It is often joked that the same questions reappear on the papers every 30 or 40 years.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

In an exclusive report, Wikinews has obtained documents via Wikileaks that state al-Qaeda, Hezbollah and or single interest groups is planning to attack the United States homeland within three years, this according to a 27-page internally distributed memo circulated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on the threat of al-Qaeda. The document also details al-Qaeda’s threat in other parts of the world including Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa and Pakistan. Wikileaks claims that the report was published on October 22, 2007.

“Al-Qaeda is intent in striking the U.S. homeland and the U.S. will face a persistent and evolving terrorist threat over the next three years. Al-Qaeda homeland plotting is likely to continue to focus on prominent political, economic, and infrastructure targets. Lebanese Hezbollah may (also) attempt to attack the Homeland and non-muslim, ‘single-issue’ groups will probably conduct attacks,” stated the report which also said that likely targets include the “mass transit sector and the aviation sectors.”

The alleged attacks include “mass casualties, visually dramatic destruction, significant economic aftershocks and fear amongst the U.S. population” using “improvised explosives, carried or vehicle borne. Existence of radical, self-generating cells suggest that the U.S. is not immune to what we judge as an expanding radical and violent segment in the west,” added the report.

Retailers across the U.S. have also reported to law enforcement agencies that customers purchasing cellular phones “visited multiple locations and purchased hundreds or thousands of phones, attempted to conceal their identity, were described as Middle Eastern and used gift cards or cash.”

“DHS and FBI assessed that most individuals engaged in such purchases were taking advantage of discounted prices in the U.S.and reselling the phones for profit overseas. DHS and the FBI also determined some buyers were associated to terrorist networks. The suspected motive was fundraising.” Some of these activities were recorded as far back as 2006.

In regards to Iraq, al-Qaeda “is committed to removing U.S. and Coalition troops and returning Iraq to an Islamic state governed with Shari’a law. In Africa they “sought mergers with groups in to further its agenda and has made frequent statements on the importance of Sudan and Somalia as fronts in the global jihad. And in Afghanistan is their “former safehaven and a key component of their strategy in promoting a global jihad.”

The report also states that the DHS has investigated a “serious” claim that the Fort Peck Dam will “be attacked by an improvised explosive device (IED) in January 2008.” It also investigated a claim that “10,000 lbs. of ammonium nitrate was reportedly stolen from a truck driver,” but the DHS states that both claims “were found to be not terrorism related.”

The report also adds that the DHS “lacks credible information to indicate planning for an attack against the Food and Agriculture sector,” but also states that they will continue to investigate the possibility of a threat.

To conclude the report, the DHS states that there is no current information to suggest an imminent attack on the U.S..

“[There has been an] interesting convergence of incidents; but no definite terrorism nexus” and there is no “discernable patterns or trends emerged to date to suggest preoperational activity.”

Friday, October 10, 2008

Stock markets across the world have fallen sharply with several seeing the biggest drop in their history.

Asian markets saw the biggest sell-off. The Nikkei dropped 9.62% to reach a 20 year low. Japan also saw a collapse of a mid-size insurance company, Yamato Life Insurance Company, which declared bankruptcy. The Hang Seng, which was one of the few markets that was positive yesterday, fell 7.19%. Australia dropped by 8.4% and South Korea saw a 9% fall.

In Europe, markets dropped at the open with the FTSE losing 11%. They have recovered only sightly with all European markets losing more than 5%. The European sell off was more about the Asian lows then any specific news. European banks and financial institutes saw the most selling. Also, oil related companies saw large drops as an result of an expected decrease in oil consumption.

The U.S. markets opened lower with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling below 8,000, before recovering slightly. President George W. Bush made an address on the economy and said markets were being “driven by uncertainty and fear.”

Oil has seen losses of more than US$6 in trading with the current price of a barrel of oil less than $80. This is a year low for oil. News also came out that OPEC will hold an emergency meeting on November 18 to discuss the falling price of oil.

Charities, such as Cats Protection, today said that they have lost much of their funds in collapsing banks. Cats Protection had a total of £11.2 million saved in the now-collapsed Kaupthing bank.

The British National Council for Voluntary Organisations said that 60 of its 6,500 have lost money due to the collapse of banks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell to its lowest level in five years at 8,579.19, falling 679 points in one day. This, at 7.3%, is the eleventh largest percentage fall in the history of the index. The growth then continued, with the index being up over 150 points on the start of the day at one point.

The index, did however, recover, and as of 19:30 UTC was up 17.68 points, or 0.21%, pushing the index up to almost 8600.

Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners, commented on these massive falls. “What we’ve seen here was one big margin call that just kept feeding on itself, so the opposite could happen. But you need a catalyst,” he said. “I’m more convinced now than ever that this market has made a bottom. The capitulation came when we breached 8,000,” he continued. “It doesn’t mean we can’t go back and revisit that level.”

The UK’s FTSE 100 index fell dramatically to close below 4000, in the index’s worst week in history. This is despite the fact that just a few days ago the index was above 5000, and the index peaked above 5500 in September.The FTSE 100 index has fallen by 41% this year.

Barclays Wealth analyst Henk Potts commented on this massive fall. “We are drowning in a sea of red numbers,” he claimed. “Investors are concerned about the exacerbation of the credit crunch and the gloomy forecasts for economic growth. The reality is that most investors have been spooked by the sheer pressure that the credit crunch is putting on the global economy.”

The Japanese Nikkei 225 has recorded it’s third biggest drop in history with a massive sell-off in the exchange that has resulted in USD 250 billion being knocked of the index’s value.

Toyota, which is the second largest carmaker in the world, fell by the largest amount in 21 years, while Elpida Memory, the world’s largest manufacturer of computer memory, dropped in value to a record low.

Masafumi Oshiden, a fund manager in Toyota commented on the drop.”It’s capitulation,” he said. “There are lots of forced sellers. If you’re a fund that’s going bust you need to close out all your positions.”

George W. Bush commented on the financial situation earlier today. “Over the past few days, we have witnessed a startling drop in the stock market — much of it driven by uncertainty and fear,” he said. “This has been a deeply unsettling period for the American people. Many of our citizens have serious concerns about their retirement accounts, their investments, and their economic well-being.”

Bush then continued by promoting the government’s plan’s to get through the crises. “Here’s what the American people need to know: that the United States government is acting; we will continue to act to resolve this crisis and restore stability to our markets. We are a prosperous nation with immense resources and a wide range of tools at our disposal. We’re using these tools aggressively.”

Gordon Brown, the UK Prime Minister, also spoke on the economy. “I think we quickly realised that we cannot solve the problems we have got as a result of the sub-prime market collapse simply by improving liquidity,” he said speaking in Birmingham to business leaders earlier today. “That would simply not be enough to deal with the bigger problem of rebuilding the banking system for the future and restoring trust is a fundamental element of that.”

Jim Flaherty, the Canadian minister for finance, also commented today on the recent incidents in the economy. “It is important to underline that Canada’s banks and other financial institutions are sound, well capitalized and less leveraged than their international peers,” he claimed. “Our mortgage system is sound. Canadian households have smaller mortgages relative both to the value of their homes and to their disposable incomes than in the U.S.”

“”However, it is becoming increasingly clear that the continuing disruption of global credit markets, which has been severe and protracted, is making it difficult for our financial institutions to raise long-term funding. This is beginning to affect the availability of mortgage loans and other types of credit in Canada,” he continued. “The Government has therefore decided to act to address the current scarcity of private sector lending to Canadian mortgage markets and lending markets overall. This is going to make loans and mortgages more available and more affordable for ordinary Canadians and businesses.”

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

At UCLA, a team of researchers has developed a harmless version of HIV that is designed to seek out, and potentially destroy, cancer cells.

In a laboratory-mouse experiment, the treated cells headed directly for melonoma and lung cancer cells, clustering around them with a surprising level of intuitiveness. Gene therapy for cancer has been at an impasse for the last 20 years, said the team, but now an effective carrier has been found in the most unlikely of sources. Essentially, one of the world’s largest health threats is now being considered to fight another.

Says Dr. Irvin Chen, from UCLA’s AIDS Institute, “The disarmed AIDS virus acts like a Trojan horse, transporting therapeutic agents to a targeted part of the body, such as the lungs, where tumors often spread.”

First the virus’s coating is removed and the virus is reprogrammed so that it recognizes and attaches to the p-lipoproteins of a cancer cell, one of cancer’s primary defenses. The retro-virus was also altered with a fluorescent protein for easy tracking within the lab mice. The next step will be to graft a cancer-killing gene onto the modified AIDS virus’s genetic structure.

Currently, a case of melanoma skin cancer spreading to the lungs is a confirmed death sentence. Should this method of treatment improve into a workable treatment, both life-threatening cancers and the AIDS retro-virus could be effectively neutered. But the team cautions that the treatment is in the very early stages and will take several more years to develop.

Friday, February 2, 2018

On Wednesday, English football club Arsenal FC announced signing Gabonese striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from German club Borussia Dortmund (BVB) on “a long-term contract” which runs until 2021. The deal is worth about £56 million, making Aubameyang the costliest player in the history of the club.

The 28-year-old striker joined Borussia in 2013 from French club Saint-Etienne, and since then, scored 141 goals in 213 matches for BVB. In German Bundesliga, he scored 98 goals, scoring one goal in 116 minutes on average. During his tenure at the Signal Iduna Park, the Gabonese captain won the 2017 DFB-Pokal (German Cup).

Aubameyang scored 31 goals in Bundesliga last season. Aubameyang was named 2016 Bundesliga player of the year. A year earlier, in 2015, he won African Footballer of the Year award. He has 56 international caps with Gabon and has netted 23 goals.

Via their official website, Arsenal announced Aubameyang is to wear jersey number 14, previously worn by Theo Walcott until last month when he moved to Everton FC. The Gabonese, who has already scored 21 goals in 24 games this season, reunites with Armenian midfielder Henrick Mkhitaryan. They were teammates at Dortmund until 2016, when Mkhitaryan moved to Manchester United. Mkhitaryan’s transfer to the London club came in exchange of Chilean forward Alexis Sanchez moving from Arsenal to their rivals Manchester in a swap deal.

Dortmund had signed Belgian footballer Michy Batshuayi from Chelsea on loan before Aubameyang’s deal was agreed upon. With Aubameyang’s arrival, French forward Olivier Giroud moved to Arsenal’s cross-town rivals Chelsea. In summer, Arsenal had signed Alexandre Lacazette for a then-club record fee of around £46.5 million.

Monday, May 11, 2009

On May 9, Moscow heralded its celebrations of Victory Day with one of the largest military parades seen since the fall of the Soviet Union through the Red Square and the streets of Moscow. Signifying the defeat over Nazi Germany in 1945 in World War 2, Victory Day continues to be one of the most poignant and emotional celebrations and national holidays in Russia. Estimates of more than 27 million lost lives during the war continues to leave a vein of sadness in Russia.

Victory day began early in Moscow with inner city streets being closed from 6am and the major entrance of Tverskaya Ulitsa completely locked down with all access to non-military blocked until the end of the parade. Tens of thousands of people lined the upper parts of Tverskaya to see the exit of the military as well as the air force fly-over on their entrance to Red Square. In total more than 9,000 troops, 69 planes and a huge collection of armored vehicles, tanks, and massive anti-aircraft missile defense systems ensured that Moscovites and the rest of Russia will remember Victory Day 2009.

In scenes reminiscent of the end of the war military bands played around the city until all hours of the night. At Leningradsky station departing veterans and widows danced and celebrated with younger generations whilst loudly singing the national anthem. As trains departed, staff handed out flowers in recognition of the contributions made and loud cheers were heard across the many platforms. In a touching event it seemed to bond the generations of yesterday and today.

Preparations for the military parade began months ago with regular rehearsals in Alabino including the erection of a mock Red Square and Kremlin to ensure authenticity. Final dress rehearsals took place in Moscow on May 7 including a full practice of the air show. On display for the first time was the S-400 air defense system which is capable of intercepting airborne targets at ranges up to 400 kilometers (249 mi).

Following the official parades and ceremonies, Red Square and the the inner city was opened to the public, albeit under extreme security and an ever watching eye from Interior Ministry troops. During the afternoon there was an estimated crowed of over 100,000 which entered Red Square to admire the parade ground and decorations, including the official stand for the dignitaries.

Closing the festivities was a series of fireworks in fourteen different locations throughout Moscow including the grand display over the Kremlin and Red Square.

Friday, March 10, 2006

On February 8, the same day Super Size Me opened in Prague, a Czech film company’s volunteer known as Karel Gustav Bozan began a 1 month diet of Czech pub food and beer in a Czech version called “Super Spek Me”; which translates loosely as “Super Flab Me”.

Zuzana Pudilova of Aerofilms described the volunteer at that time: “He is a well-built man between 45 and 50. He is almost 2 metres tall, he is not exactly thin but until now he has had quite a healthy lifestyle.”

Karel ate typical Czech pub food for an entire month with three rules: no vegetables or fresh fruit (unless they came with a meal) no exercise, and lots of beer.

Karel’s menu consisted entirely of typical Czech dishes. Obesity therapist, Iva Malkova, had warned at the beginning of the project: “People in the Czech Republic eat much more fat, especially animal fat than is recommended.” Pub meals in the Czech Republic often consist of such fatty items as goose with dumplings or sausages.

Yesterday the results were announced; Karel lost six kilos, his cholesterol went down and so did his liver enzymes, triglyceride and uric acid levels. His blood pressure did not change. At his interview with Radio Prague he said: “I feel good, great! The food was varied and there were even enough greens in the garnish. As for beer, I tried to alternate brands but I always settled it with Pilsner. I liked the experiment, it was all paid for by the distributor, Aerofilms. I would do it again, maybe they will propose it to me!”

Zuzana Pudilova of Aerofilms said: “The result of the experiment is surprising – both for us and the experts who monitored it. The medical report says our volunteer has lost weight and his blood sugar has dropped. So we have come to the conclusion that fatty Czech pub grub is not all that bad for you – which I guess wasn’t meant to be the result of the experiment at all.”