News briefs:August 02, 2010
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Pakistani parliament passes bill for transgender rights
Friday, May 11, 2018 On Tuesday, Pakistan’s parliament passed a bill at Islamabad’s National Assembly which granted transgender people various civil rights. The bill, “Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act”, which was presented by Pakistan Peoples Party’s lawmaker Naveed Qamar, was approved by the senate in March, and now awaits …
Bat for Lashes plays the Bowery Ballroom: an Interview with Natasha Khan
Friday, September 28, 2007 Bat for Lashes is the doppelgänger band ego of one of the leading millennial lights in British music, Natasha Khan. Caroline Weeks, Abi Fry and Lizzy Carey comprise the aurora borealis that backs this haunting, shimmering zither and glockenspiel peacock, and the only complaint coming from …
Strong earthquake near Solomon Islands, tsunami reported
Sunday, April 1, 2007 A magnitude 8.1 undersea earthquake triggered a tsunami that has killed at least fifteen people, including six children, in the Solomon Islands. Tsunami warnings have been issued for parts of Australia as well. According to the US Geological Survey, the magnitude 8.0 quake struck Sunday, April …
John Reed on Orwell, God, self-destruction and the future of writing
Thursday, October 18, 2007 It can be difficult to be John Reed. Christopher Hitchens called him a “Bin Ladenist” and Cathy Young editorialized in The Boston Globe that he “blames the victims of terrorism” when he puts out a novel like Snowball’s Chance, a biting send-up of George Orwell‘s Animal …
Tanker crash kills driver, spills diesel fuel in Vermont, US
Thursday, May 31, 2007 A tanker truck travelling Northbound on Route 30 with 2,500 gallons of diesel fuel hit a guardrail, veered off the road and overturned into the West River near Newfane, Vermont. The West River is a tributary of the Connecticut River. The driver was ejected and killed, …
Bathurst, Australia’s new hospital to be almost doubled in size
Thursday, February 2, 2006 Bathurst Regional Council, the local government responsible for the city of Bathurst and its surrounds in Central Western New South Wales, Australia yesterday revealed it had received a development application for the new Bathurst Base Hospital. The new hospital is to be built behind the current …
Controversy erupts over German Anarchist Pogo Party’s campaign ad
Thursday, September 8, 2005 The German Anarchist Pogo Party ran a campaign ad (Download here — NSFW) which, instead of discussing the party’s politics, featured various party scenes set to a heavy metal soundtrack. The spot included revellers smashing furniture, pouring beer down each other’s throats, and women dancing topless. …
Two nuclear submarines collide in the Atlantic Ocean
Wednesday, February 18, 2009 The Nuclear ballistic missile submarines Triomphant, from France, and HMS Vanguard, of the British Royal Navy, collided deep under the middle of the Atlantic Ocean in the middle of the night between February 3 and 4, despite both vessels being equipped with sonar. The collision caused …
Sunflower oil saves at-risk newborns from infection
Saturday, March 5, 2005Simply massaging low birth weight babies with sunflower seed oil can protect them from potentially fatal infections. Infections and complications from preterm birth cause more than half of all neonatal deaths, and very low birth weight babies are particularly vulnerable. Preterm babies have immature skin that lacks …