‘State television reports that Iran has successfully launched its first space rocket. Fars news agency quotes the deputy head of Iran’s aerospace research centre, Ali Akbar Golrou, as saying the rocket reached an altitude of 150 kilometres, but did not stay in orbit. [..]
Bahrami, told state television that the rocket was carrying “material intended for research created by the ministries of science and defense.” Bahrami added, “All the tests [prior to the launch] have been carried out in the country’s industrial facilities in line with international regulations.” [..]
The announcement of the rocket launch comes at a time of growing tension between Iran and the West over Tehran’s nuclear program. [..]’
‘The newest fashion among schoolgirls is getting knocked up, according to one pregnant 14-year-old whose four friends are also expecting.
British teen Kizzy Neal says she’s been approached for advice from other pregnant girls her age ever since she conceived, reported London’s Daily Mail.
“When my friends see my bump they say they wish they could have a baby, then three weeks later they’re pregnant and don’t know what to do,” Neal said.’
Some pretty interesting facts about technology and the future.
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‘At a preliminary hearing yesterday, Allegheny County homicide Detective Robert Opferman testified that Mr. Page confessed that he became angry with Nyia because she kept taking off her diaper. Although Mr. Page initially said he backhanded her, Detective Opferman said Mr. Page later said in a tape-recorded statement that he kicked her between the legs, while wearing Timberland boots, and then put his hand “in there” to stop the bleeding.
He then took her outside, still crying, intending to put her in a sewer, the detective said. Instead, Mr. Page left her on the ground in an old playground less than a mile from the house.’
‘Most US intelligence on Iran shared with the International Atomic Energy Agency has proved to be inaccurate and failed to lead to discoveries of a smoking gun inside the Islamic Republic, The Los Angeles Times reported on its website on Saturday.
Citing unnamed diplomats working in Vienna, the newspaper said the CIA and other Western intelligence services have been providing sensitive information to the IAEA since 2002.
But none of the tips about Iran’s suspected secret weapons sites provided clear evidence that the Islamic Republic is developing a nuclear arms arsenal, the report said.
“Since 2002, pretty much all the intelligence that’s come to us has proved to be wrong,” the paper quotes a senior IAEA diplomat as saying.
Another official described the agency’s intelligence stream as “very cold now” because “so little panned out,” The Times reported.’
‘Indonesia’s government has grounded budget carrier Adam Air’s six Boeing 737-300 planes for safety checks after one of its aircraft cracked during a hard landing, officials said on Thursday.
The Boeings, almost a third of the airline’s fleet, will not fly until they have passed the safety inspection from the government, Adam Air safety director Hartono said.
The Indonesian government has stepped up safety investigations since an Adam Air plane carrying 102 people disappeared in January.’
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‘Brace yourself. James Cameron, the man who brought you ‘The Titanic’ is back with another blockbuster. This time, the ship he’s sinking is Christianity. [..]
Let’s go back 27 years, when Israeli construction workers were gouging out the foundations for a new building in the industrial park in the Talpiyot, a Jerusalem suburb. of Jerusalem. The earth gave way, revealing a 2,000 year old cave with 10 stone caskets. Archologists were summoned, and the stone caskets carted away for examination. It took 20 years for experts to decipher the names on the ten tombs. They were: Jesua, son of Joseph, Mary, Mary, Mathew, Jofa and Judah, son of Jesua.’
‘A prankster handcuffed herself to HUGH GRANT at the Dutch premiere of his new movie MUSIC + LYRICS last night (23FEB07). The actor was left stunned when CIELKE SIJBEN, a journalist working for Dutch TV network 101 TV, leaped forward as he walked the red carpet at the Amsterdam Pathe and clamped a metal handcuff on his wrist, attaching herself to him. The confused star had to stand for 10 minutes while police detained Sijben and fire fighters were summoned to free him from his captor. After the cuffs were cut off, the calm 46-year-old returned to his red-carpet duties, promoting the film – in which he stars alongside DREW BARRYMORE – while Sijben was arrested by police.’
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‘A middle school teacher trying to buy pot was arrested after she sent text messages to state trooper instead of a dealer, police said.
Trooper Trevor Pervine was at dinner with his wife and parents celebrating a birthday when his phone started buzzing with messages about a marijuana purchase.
At first, Pervine thought the messages were from friends playing a joke, Kentucky State Police spokesman Barry Meadows said. But a couple of phone calls put that idea to rest, and Pervine responded to set up a meeting, Meadows said.
Authorities say Ann Greenfield, 34, arrived at the meeting point and found Pervine and other law enforcement officers waiting for her.
“She learned her lesson. Program your dealers into your phone,” Meadows said.’
‘Next Friday, substitute teacher Julie Amero of Norwich, Connecticut, will receive her sentence — up to 40 years in prison, the press repeats with a mixture of horror and glee — for exposing children to pornography in the classroom.
It could be worse. Had some charges not been dropped, she could have faced 10 felony charges instead of four.
The prosecution claims she deliberately visited porn sites from the class computer and allowed the 12- and 13-year-olds to view the content. She claims — and evidence proves — the school computer got hit with a pop-up frenzy she didn’t know how to stop.’
‘Astronomers say an exploding Russian rocket satellite may have caused a mysterious glow in the night sky over southern Queensland.
Tuesday’s spectacle was described as being twice the size of a full moon, with a bright centre.
Mark Rigby from the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium says the Russian launch went wrong almost a year ago.
“Unfortunately the rocket boost didn’t quite work, the satellite, the Arab satellite, re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere about a month later,” he said.
“But this rocket stage, the upper stage was still up and is still orbiting the Earth.
“And for some strange reason the fuel tanks have ruptured and it’s exploded.”‘
This is how you turn a car into a space shuttle. Absolutely hilarious. 🙂
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‘Welcome to the new world of border security. Unsuspecting Americans are turning up at the Canadian border expecting clear sailing, only to find that their past — sometimes their distant past — is suddenly an issue.
While Canada officially has barred travelers convicted of criminal offenses for years, attorneys say post-9/11 information-gathering, combined with a sweeping agreement between Canada and the United States to share data, has resulted in a spike in phone calls from concerned travelers.
They are shocked to hear that the sins of their youth might keep them out of Canada. But what they don’t know is that this is just the beginning. Soon other nations will be able to look into your past when you want to travel there.’
‘Thousands of Melbourne commuters were last night sent a chilling SMS from Connex telling them that ticket inspectors loved killing people and would help bomb a train.
Connex says it will prosecute those who hacked into its computer system and texted the message. The rail operator was swamped by calls from subscribers to its SMS which usually informs them when trains are cancelled or delayed. They were surprised to get the message: “ALLAHU AKBR FROM CONNEX!” which flashed across their phone screens about 9.45pm.
This was followed by: “Our inspectors love killing people – if you see one coming, run. Want to bomb a train? They will gladly help! See you in hell!”‘
‘A cab driver arrived home to find his 12-year-old son’s body in a courtyard below their fifth-floor apartment, wrapped in blankets tied together like a rope.
Police said Jonathan Batista’s injuries were consistent with a fall and that the death was not suspicious. The boy had learning disabilities.
Teodoro Batista, 42, had just finished an overnight shift driving a cab on Wednesday when he discovered that Jonathan was missing from the Manhattan apartment where they live with Jonathan’s stepmother.
Jonathan’s bedroom window was open, and the window’s air conditioning unit was gone.’
‘If you ever thought car security wasn’t dramatic enough, this Tesla-coil automobile protector should satisfy your desire for spectacle. Attaching a 4-inch coil to a boom on the roof of his car, Australian Peter Terren created what is no doubt the coolest-looking theft deterrent to ever be built into a motor vehice. Terren captured the photo above, showing the coil’s ring of electricity (which he calls the Eye of Sauron, after the character in The Lord of the Rings), with time-lapse photography.’
‘What would happen if an astronaut became mentally unstable in space and, say, destroyed the ship’s oxygen system or tried to open the hatch and kill everyone aboard?
That was the question after the apparent breakdown of Lisa Nowak, arrested this month on charges she tried to kidnap and kill a woman she regarded as her rival for another astronaut’s affections.
It turns out NASA has detailed, written procedures for dealing with a suicidal or psychotic astronaut in space. The documents, obtained this week by The Associated Press, say the astronaut’s crewmates should bind his wrists and ankles with duct tape, tie him down with a bungee cord and inject him with tranquilizers if necessary.’
‘As a child going to the circus, you might expect the clown to throw a bucket of confetti at you, or squirt you with water from the flower on his lapel.
You certainly wouldn’t be prepared for him to grab you by the scruff of the neck, punch and kick you and leave you needing hospital treatment for cuts and bruises.
As these astonishing pictures show, that’s what happened when 12-year-old Amos Lutz met Kaspar the Clown at a circus in Leipzig, Germany.’
‘A giant sinkhole opened before dawn Friday, swallowing several homes and a truck and leaving a father and two teenagers missing in Guatemala City.
Officials said the 100-meter-deep (330-foot-deep) sinkhole in a crowded neighborhood of poor, concrete homes was caused by recent rains and an underground sewage flow from a ruptured main.
National disaster coordinator Hugo Hernandez identified the missing as Domingo, Irma and David Sosyos, ages 53, 18 and 15, respectively. A body appeared in a river of sewage near the sinkhole, but it was unclear whether the corpse was a victim. [..]
The pit was emitting foul odors, loud noises and tremors, and a rush of water could be heard from its depths. Authorities feared it could widen or others could open up.’
‘Planned Parenthood Wireless is a new choice for your cell phone service. By signing up for this service, you will help preserve reproductive rights, and ensure access to comprehensive family planning and medically accurate sex education for women and families around the world. You’ll do something you do every day – talk on your cell phone – and you’ll be helping Planned Parenthood as 10% of all monthly charges goes to Planned Parenthood Federation of America, at no extra cost to you.’
‘If lorry drivers can tear their eyes away from the satellite navigation system while approaching the village of Exton, they could well save themselves hours of trouble.
There at the side of the road are the first signs in the country specifically warning them to ignore the satnav.
Owing to a fault in the electronic information system, many drivers are sent through the Hampshire hamlet only to find the lane narrows to 6ft and they get stuck. [..]
The 49-year-old company director said: ‘The problem mushroomed overnight with the advent of satnav.’
The wrong house to go to the toilet in.
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‘An American senior citizen aboard a tour bus killed an alleged mugger by breaking his neck with his bare hands while his traveling companions fended off two other assailants in the Atlantic coast city of Limon, police said.
The American, who is about 70 years old and retired from the Marines, put the 20-year-old in a head lock and broke his neck after the suspect and two other men armed with a knife and .38 caliber gun held up the tour bus, said Luis Hernandez, the police chief of Limon, 80 miles east of San Jose.
“His neck was completely snapped,” Hernandez said.’
‘An “epidemic” of counterfeit therapeutic drugs is sweeping south-east Asia, costing hundreds of thousands of lives as victims take them under the mistaken belief that they are receiving vital treatment for their illnesses. A British doctor working in the Laotian capital, Vientiane, found that most of the anti-malarial medicines tested in a sample were sophisticated fakes, often displaying holograms on the packaging, originally aimed at making counterfeiting difficult.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 200,000 of the 1m malaria deaths each year would be prevented if all the drugs taken were genuine.
But the epidemic goes far beyond anti-malarials. [..]
Up to 50% of the drugs sold in Asia and Africa are fakes, in a trade estimated by the US Food and Drug Administration to be worth between $35bn and $44bn (£18.5bn-£23.1bn) annually. [..]’
