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Leah Durant
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Posts by Leah Durant
US Attends 65th Atomic Bomb Memorial
Aug 6th
Hiroshima Peace Memorial
August 6. marks the 65th anniversary of the worlds first atomic bomb attack. On this day the Japanese remember the victims of that tragic event when Hiroshima was bombed at the end of World War II. Representatives from 75 nations attended, most notably the US, who dropped the bomb on Hiroshima and later Nagasaki, attended for the first time.
Thousands of spectators gathered at Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park to hear the temple bell toll. They remember the 140,000 people who died instantly or within a short period of time after the bomb attack on Hiroshima and the 70,000 who died with the bomb attack on Nagasaki.
John Roos, the U.S. Ambassador to Japan was in attendance as well as the first U.N. Secretary-General to attend Ban Ki-moon. Ban had lived through the Korean war as a child and said it motivated him to seek peace. He said “Let us realize our dream of a world free of nuclear weapons so that our children and all succeeding generations can live in freedom, security and peace.” Ban will convene a conference on nuclear disarmament and will push for a nuclear test ban treaty in New York in September.
U.S President at the time Harry Truman seemed convinced dropping the bombs was a last resort in order to end the war. Debate has raged since that time as to whether or not an atomic bomb was necessary to end the war. Japan had already suffered major losses prior to the bombing of Hiroshima. Incediary bombs had been dropped across most major Japanese cities causing widespread damage and residential housing to go up in flames. Some think Japan was on the verge of surrender before the 6th August attack on Hiroshima.
Hip-hop Star Wyclef Jean Runs For Haitian Presidency
Aug 4th
Hip-hop star Wyclef Jean has confirmed he will be running for the presidency of Haiti. The vote for presidency takes place on Nov. 28 with Wyclef expected to be popular among young voters.
After the earthquake in January 2010 Wyclef Jean helped fund relief aid for the country. He told Time Magazine “If I can’t take five years out to serve my country as president, then everything I’ve been singing about, like equal rights, doesn’t mean anything.”
Wyclef Jean has his own charity, the Yéle Haiti Foundation, which has come under scrutiny lately due to accusations he has been misusing funds. Jean has denied the charges.
Jean doesn’t expect instant improvement if he becomes president but he does plan on creating changes that will turn the country around. “Well, I think the reality of it, to rebuild Haiti is going to take 25-30 years. But I think there are issues we can start tackling—the education, the literacy problem, the job creation problem, the agricultural component,” he told the Wall Street Journal.
The current president, Rene Preval, is ineligible to run for a third term. Time will tell whether Jean’s support among the young voters will be enough to see him the leader of Haiti in November.
Obama Talks With Young African Leaders At White House
Aug 3rd
Obama held the first Young African Leaders Forum at the White House yesterday. He spent an hour with the African activists as he encouraged them to use their talents and creativity.
“We want this to be the beginning of a new partnership,” Obama said to the 115 members who had come from over 40 countries. He spoke to them about the HIB/AIDS epidemic and concerns about human rights abuses. The President said “I think Mugabe is an example of a leader who came in as a liberation fighter, and – I am just going to be very blunt – I do not see him serving his people well.”
Obama was asked a question about the support the U.S. will give the Somalian people as they risk their lives to make it a better place. The president responded saying “I think you will have enormous support from the people of the United States when it comes to trying to create a structure and framework in Somalia that works for the Somali people.”
Obama said that the interests of African nations and the U.S. intersect. That as the African nations mature it will increase jobs and exports from the U.S.
The President also answered a number of questions from young leaders of other African nations such as Mali and Liberia.
BP To Plug Gulf Oil Well In Two Phase Approach
Aug 2nd
BP are making another attempt to plug the well. This time it’s a two pronged attack that will begin by pumping mud and possibly cement into the top of the wellhead. The second part of the process, which BP COO Doug Stuttles said should be completed around mid August, involves a second shot of mud and cement to the lower part of the well.
Doug Suttles also mentioned that the process has been delayed due to the recent tropical storm and the need to remove debris.
Federal, State and local officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, will be reviewing the oil spill on Monday.
Doug Suttles has defended BP’s use of dispersants saying that they were necessary in order to prevent the oil from reaching shore and that BP had reduced the amount of dispersant by 70%. He also mentioned that BP has worked with the EPA and coast guard since the oil spill began and that BP has spent $500,000 researching the effects of the dispersant.
Toxiologists are concerned about the impact the oil and dispersant will have on the ecology of the gulf and say no-one really understands what the long-term affects will be.
Death Toll In Pakistan Floods Continues To Rise
Jul 31st
Recent floods in Pakistan caused by three days of heavy monsoon rains have killed over 400 people. The northwest of Pakistan was the worst hit with rivers bursting, bridges being washed away and hundreds of villages cut off or under water.
This is the deadliest flooding in the region since 1929. Due to poor infrastructure rescue workers are struggling to reach the affected areas. Mian Iftikhar Hussain, the information minister for Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa province said “we will do whatever is possible to reach the flood-affected people and to help them.” He then makes an appeal to the world community to provide assistance.
Military helicopters are dropping supplies to the affected areas and helping to evacuate people. Rain is expected to continue in the region over the coming days.
Pakistan has had a bad week with 152 dying in a plane that crashed earlier this week just out of Islmabad due to bad weather.
Pakistani Plane Crash Kills 152
Jul 29th
All passengers died aboard a plane crash in Islamabad, Pakistan, including two Americans who were among the 152 passengers on board. Officials say this is the countries deadliest domestic air crash.
The Airbus A321, operated by Airblue, was on its way from Karachi to Islamabad when it crashed just 9 miles from the airport in the Magalla Hills area of Islamabad.
Low clouds hung over the ridges of the Magalla Hills area when the plane hit a rocky outcropping at 9:45am. Due to the difficult location it took rescue workers a few hours to determine that all 146 passengers and 6 crew members had been killed.
The cause of the crash is not yet known although the plane was trying to land in bad weather and monsoon rains. Airblue spokesman Raheel Ahmed told reporters yesterday “The weather was bad but not below parameters,” and the pilot had 35 years of flying experience.Witnesses have said the A321 was flying low just before crashing but according to Airblue no emergency signals were sent.
U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon is deeply saddened by the event and has extended his condolences to the Pakistani people and Government.
Surge In German Business Confidence
Jul 23rd
German business confidence has surged to its highest level in three years with a record jump that shows the German economy is in recovery.
Consumer spending during the World Cup may have contributed to the rise. The German Ifo index rose to 106.2 points, up from 101.8 points in June. This is its biggest jump since German reunification in 1990.
The Ifo index is based on a monthly survey of 7,000 German business executives. The sudden jump in sentiment shows they are more optimistic about the coming six months than they were in June.
The rise was well ahead of market forecasts and runs contrary to concerns about an economic slowdown.
The Euro rose to a high of $1.2939 after the data was published and continued its climb to $1.2947 by 1045 GMT.
Hans-Werner Sinn commented “The German economy is in a party mood,” and analysts are expected to improve their forecasts for the coming months.
Other signs of improved confidence have been coming out of the eurozone such as the Italian consumer confidence index which rose to 105.6 compared with forecasts of 103.9.
Mexican Government Reports Rising Health Concerns
Jul 17th
Health concerns such as ageing, obesity, diabetes, hypertension and poor nourishment are rising according to the Mexican government. The pressure on public health resources created by treating these ailments has forced the government and congress to take concrete actions by urging the population to lead healthier lifestyles and eat more balanced diets. By early 2010, the congress began passing some initiatives to limit the consumption of foods rich in sugar and fat in schools.
Euromonitor International’s Health and Wellness in Mexico report tracks the developments of health-associated product types and the healthy-option positioning of competing brands across different food sectors. It provides the latest retail sales data 2005-2009, allowing you to compare health and wellness categories with each other or in the context of the total market for a sector. It identifies the leading companies, the leading brands and offers strategic analysis of key factors influencing the market- be they new product developments, legislative context or lifestyle influences. Forecasts to 2014 illustrate how the market is set to change.
New Office Premises For Logo Design New Zealand
Jul 3rd
Epsom, Auckland, — Logo Design Zealand (LDNZ) has opened its new office premises on 57 Buckley Road Epsom.After a success launch of the LDNZ website, new office will bring the interaction with clients on a personal face to face level.
We are on top of Google being the Number 1 Logo Design Company in New Zealand. Logo Design New Zealand wants to bring our graphic design work from confine of virtual atmosphere to a more personal level.
The LDNZ invites you to come and share a cup of coffee with us and discuss your branding and advertising needs.
Our graphic design team will advice you on how to organize and develop your branding and advertising campaigns so that we can promote your company or business in a successful manner.
Logo Design New Zealand specializes in creating custom made logo print web designs. Our main motto is to assist you to get most suitable and successful branding.
We are introducing further programs to help you in SEO for your website.We have developed our SEO skills over last 3 years to ensure that our website is on top of google.
LDNZ can help to coach, guide and help you with SEO consultation to get you a good search engine ranking which will in turn fetch excellent business for your company.