INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Global-- Maladies of Michael Jackson

The Montreal-born author first gained worldwide attention for his new book on Michael Jackson in January 2009 when a London tabloid published his prediction that the pop star would be dead in 6 months. He claimed that Jackson was dying from a rare protein disorder called alpha-1-antitrypsine deficiency: a genetic disorder which can seriously damage the lungs, liver and in some cases cause blindness but cardiac arrest is not normally associated with this disease! He declared in London's Daily Mail days before his death on June 25, 2009 that his health had deteriorated gravely. The author also alleged that the singer suffered from emphysema and gastrointestinal bleeding. The author has previous books about Celine Dion, James Taylor and Kurt Kobain. Throughout his life, there was speculation about his medical conditions which were offered to explain his peculiar manifestations. One of these is the skin disorder vitiligo universalis which causes a discoloration of the skin. To add to the drama, multiple sources close to Jackson claimed that his two children from his second marriage to nurse Debbie Rowe are not his biological children. Some rumours claim that the the biological father of Jackson's first two children is his dermatologist Arnie Klein. In other reports, Jackson appeared to have developed an addiction to pain-killers for what is said to be for his chronic backpain--including Demerol and Oxycontin. Jackson's family believe that his death involved foul-play and demanded another autopsy to challenge claims in the media.  

USA - Nancy Reagan and her husband's bronze statue

An emotional 87-year-old Nancy Reagan, the widow of the 40th U.S. President Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) who died at age 93 in 2004, reached out for the bronze statue of her husband at the unveiling ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda. Mrs. Reagan touched the right leg of the 3.1-metre figure placed alongside statues of other American luminaries, and that was designed by North Carolina artist, Chas Fagan. The statue weighs 227-kgs and is mounted on a one-metre high marble pedestal that contains the seal of the California governor on one side and the presidential seal on the other. Pieces of the Berlin Wall have been included in the stone cap of the base in recognition of Mr. Reagan's contributions to the fall of communism.

Cuba--Island Medicine Goes Global

At a time of economic crisis where the world is gripped with the market recession, free-market nations are turning to the Caribbean island of Cuba for tips on how to develop a medical system on the cheap. US-filmmaker Michael Moore's film Sicko highlighted the communist country's advanced, albeit isolated, medical system and how it deals with its patients. American President Obama has also pledged to reform the bloated health care system in his country that doesn't account for 47 million uninsured citizens. So at a time when all eyes are on the Cuban health care model, a new book from Cuba expert John M. Kirk professor of Latin American Studies at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada. Entitled "Cuban Medical Internationalism: Origins, Evolution, and Goals" (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009), the book discusses Cuba's success in creating the largest medical school in the world  with an enrolment of 8,000 students from the Third World and exporting its medical expertise throughout Latin America and other global locales of greatest need. Today, 38,000 medical staffers from Cuba are engaged in providing training and expertise around the world. Kirk, who founded and organizes annual exchange programs with Havana University for students of political science, international development and Spanish is the author of seven books about Cuba. His latest is authored H. Michael Erisman of Indiana State University.
 

Global - Dionne identical quintuplets after 75 years

Last May, people celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Dionne quintuplets' birth at the place where it all began near North Ray, Ontario, known as "Quintland". Many have travelled to be there and to collect pieces of memorabilia ranging from spoons, postcards, pictures, calendars, books and even high-chair tables - all made with the image of the five identical little girls.  The probability of the Dionnes twins occurring is 1 in 57,000,000 births. They were born in an Ontario farmhouse on May 28, 1934 and instantly became media darlings. Annette, Cecile, Emilie, Marie, and Yvonne quickly became household names and hundreds of products were made in their likeness. In 1998, the three surviving sisters were awarded $4 million in compensation from the Ontario Government for their improper treatment by provincial officials, who removed them from their family and put them on display for more than nine years. The Dionne Quint Collectors Too Club, with nearly 400 members, reconnected every five years, but this year is extra special because of the 75th birthday, and since it is being held in Canada for the first time. The Dionne sisters, Annette and Cecile, are still living, and the Dionne Quints Museum attracts about four thousand people annually. Seventy-five years after the Dionne sisters literally became a tourist attraction, multiple births continue to fascinate the public. Earlier this year, a California woman named Nadya Suleman gave birth to octuplets. Tabloids have crowded over the bizarre antics of the "Octo-Mom." Television shows have also focused on the challenge of raising children of multiple births including the Learning Channel hit show Jon and Kate Plus 8.
 

Canada - Polygamy charges in bountiful

After 20 years of debate and several investigations, British Columbia police believe they have finally collected sufficient evidence to obtain convictions against religious leaders, Winston Blackmore and James Oler, who openly spoke about having married several young brides. The British Columbia government has been debating for years whether polygamy charges would be laid against members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a closely knit community in a remote valley in the southeast corner of the province that encourages multiple marriages as an article of faith. The Criminal Code prohibits polygamous practices. If that section is invalid by virtue of freedom of religion, a court should be left to decide that. In the photo seen here, Mr. Blackmore, who was arrested in January 2009, is shown with six of his daughters and some grandchildren.

USA - Parental 60th Wedding Anniversary

Surrounded by friends and family in the White House's Red Room, former President George W. Bush and his First Lady posed with his father President George H.W. Bush and mother Barbara, who were celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary on January 5, 2005. The US Presidency has been a family affair at times: John Adams and son John Quincy, William Henry Harrison and grandson Benjamin, the Roosevelts (who were distant cousins), and the Bushes (father and son). Only the rise of Barack Obama may have kept Hillary Clinton from being added to the list. A new book written by a political historian who lectures at the University of Pennsylvania Prof. Elvin S. Felzenberg entitled, The Leaders We Deserve (And a Few We Didn't) was published last year assessing the love and hate relationships that Americans have with past presidents.

Norway - The princess and the angels

The 36-years-old Princess Martha Louise, the forth in line to Norway's throne, is seeking to halt the publication of a book which will exploit her belief in supernatural beings. She became the first member of the Norwegian Royal family to appear in a court of law, as she sought to hold publication of a book about angels that she argues exploits her image. The book is a Norwegian translation of a British book, Seeing Angels. She announced plans to start a "healing" school that would teach people to get in contact with their angels and to touch the divine universe. She wrote on the website of the Astarte Education School, that she had learned how to communicate with horses and talk to angels. She is the daughter of King Harald V and Queen Sonja and older sister of Prince Haakon. She renounced most of her official duties and title of her royal highness after marrying Norwegian writer, Ari Behn, a commoner in 2002.

USA - Larry King's Seven Wives

In his new memoirs, My Remarkable Journey, Larry King writes about his eight marriages to seven women. Next year, he will celebrate his 25th anniversary working with CNN, and he is defending his romantic reputation. He was born Larry Zeigler in Brooklyn, NY, 75 years ago. He writes of his prodigious romantic skill, and reveals that Jessica Hahn, a former church secretary, made a pass at him by poking her toe into his crotch. Uninterested in school after his father died suddenly when he was nine, he had no prospect of attending college. To break into radio broadcasting, he headed to Miami and knocked on doors, and changed his name into "King" five-minutes before going on air for the first time. In his early 50's, he had a heart attack and later underwent quintuple bypass surgery. His current wife of 12 years, Shawn Southwick is a blonde beauty 26 years his junior with he has two boys. The book discusses the story of the making of the "King" of TV news talk shows.
 

Kuwait--First Arab Author with Down Syndrome

Omar Al-Awadi, a 33-year old gentleman with Trisomy 21, is the author of the first Arabic book to be written by someone afflicted with this condition. Entitled "Days of My Life" the book is comprised of two sections--the first constitutes his journey in 10 chapters and the second brings together a collection of photos from his journey.  Omar is the son of HE Dr. Abdul Rahman A. Al-Awadi the former Kuwaiti Minister of Health and Planning and Dr. Sadika Al-Awadi, the director of the Kuwait Medical Genetics Center, with many published studies about Down Syndrome . Interestingly, the incidence of this condition was noticed to be higher in Kuwait than that in the western world.  The book was born on 21 March, 2009 during a celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the discovery of the first chromosomal abnormality among those were then called "Mongols." Today this term is no longer in usage as people with this condition referred to as either Trisomy 21 or Downs Syndrome. Omar Al-Awadi is the Goodwill Ambassador for International Educators Without Borders (Canada) and the Director of the Kuwaiti Down Syndrome Club in Al-Khaldia.

India - Rubina Ali in "Slumdog Millionaire"

Rubina Ali Qureshi, the 10-year-old poor Indian girl living in a Mumbai slum, decorated her hands before departing for the airport to participate in the Oscar's ceremony in Los Angeles. She played the youngest version of Latika in Slumdog Millionaire. Her beautiful large dark eyes offered her an extraordinary journey from Asia's largest slum to sudden international stardom. She was chosen by British film producers to play the young female in a story about three orphans, one of whom beats all the odds to win India's version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? The film won a whopping 8 Oscars and drew attention to the marginalized status of homeless street children in India's largest cities!

Canada - The beautiful precocious Samaritans

Hannah Taylor was five when she first wondered aloud why a homeless person did not have somewhere to live. Now 13, the 8th grader from Winnipeg, Manitoba, has raised more than $1 million to help the homeless, with support from her parents. Through her charitable organization, The Ladybug Foundation, she received numerous humanitarian awards and has met with Prime Minister Stephen Harper and with Sir Bob Geldof. The Ladybug Foundation supports Hannah’s efforts to spread awareness and raise funds to assist operating charitable organizations which provide food, shelter, and other needs of the homeless and near homeless in Canada, without judgement, so they can find dignity, security, hope and refuge. In 2007, Hannah received Canada’s Most Powerful Woman Award - Future Leaders category. The National Film Board of Canada has produced a “Hannah’s Story” (Juanita Peters, Producer) in 2007, documenting some of the work she has done with the homeless.

Afghanistan - Will Prince Abdul Ali Seraj be the next President?!

The 60-year-old retired businessman who was born and raised in Kabul and graduated from University of Connecticut in the late 1960s, returned to his country when the Taliban were rooted in 2001. Prince Abdul Ali Seraj, who was working on construction projects, until the tribes, which he has known all his life, came calling with their leadership request, believing that he can unite Afghanistan as one since he was acceptable to everyone. This big, blunt nationalist, with ten kings in his family tree, has a tough message for his fellow Afghans: Stop selling your country down the river. Stand up and fight for it instead. He is a nephew of Afghanistan's most revered leader, King Amanullah. Weeping tribal elders who remember the king, have been known to stop the prince in the street and try to kiss his eyes. He is the presidential choice for a growing number of tribal elders, after 30 years of war. Five years ago, the elders created the National Coalition for Dialogue with the Tribes of Afghanistan, and chose him as their leader. Many Afghans believe that his family has proved that they can unite the country as one, and that he is acceptable to everyone.
 

New York, USA - Inverted postal stamps

An auction of 3,000 misprinted stamps is expected to fetch $4-million. These are the rare variety produced when part of a postage stamp is printed upside down. The collection amassed by Pittsburgh stockbroker Robert Cunliffe, who died last year at the age of 83, was put up for auction by Dallas-based Spink Shreves Galleries in New York. The auction has drawn worldwide attention. Mr. Cunliffe's collection from around the world includes an “inverted Jenny” from 1918 featuring an upside-down biplane, and a strip of four U.S. stamps from 1901 featuring an upside-down electric automobile. “He's literally got basically one of every centre-inverted stamps in the world,” said Rick Miller, senior editor of Linn's Stamp News. Mr. Cunliffe, a Second World War pilot, started collecting revenue stamps when he was a child and then began collecting inverts in the 1960s, said his son, Frank Cunliffe, 50, of Philadelphia. Interestingly, Robert Cunliffe's revenue stamps sold last June for almost $2-million.

Global - The Unexpected U-turn!

The Associated Press reported that the gunman who shot Pope John Paul II said that he would like to convert to Christianity. In comments relayed by his lawyer, Mehmet Ali Agca expressed his intention to participate in the baptism ceremony at the Vatican following his release from prison in Turkey in January 18, 2010. Mr. Agca shot and seriously wounded Pope John Paul II on May 13, 1981. The late pope met with him in an Italian prison in 1983 and forgave him for the shooting. After the his release, Mr. Agca expressed that he wished to visit the grave of Pope John Paul II and meet with Pope Benedict. Mr. Agca served 19 years in Italy for the attack and is currently serving a prison term near Ankara, Turkey for killing journalist Abdi Ipekci.

Paris - The released Colombian politician

The 46-years-old former Colombian presidential candidate, Ingrid Betancourt, received a hero's welcome in Paris after her six year hostage ordeal. She arrived at an airbase west of Paris on a French presidential flight from Bogota, accompanied by her daughter, Melanie, 22, and son Lorenzo, 19. She walked down the steps of the plane to embrace President Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni. She called her release "a miracle of the Virgin Mary" and mentioned "I am so happy to breath the air of France. I owe France everything." Her release from detainment by Colombian militia FARC was negotiated by the French government.
 

Pakistan - Bhutto's daughter grieves with hip-hop eulogy

Benazhir Bhutto's teenage daughter, Bakhtawar, has released a rap song, breaking her silence about the assassination of her legendary mother in December 2007 during her campaign for a third term as prime minister. Some of the lyrics say "Why did you have to go? Why did you have to leave?" An accompanying video shows clips of her mother's political life and scenes from her funeral, ending with pictures from the family album. The song, I Would Take the Pain Away, has been airing on Pakistani state TV, and posted on video sharing website YouTube. In addition to her mother, her grandfather and two uncles were also murdered.
 

Canada - Man Booker Prize to Alice Munro

The 77-year-old short story writer, Alice Munro, added another laurel to her extensive collection of awards. She was chosen from a field of 14 writers to win the Man Booker International Award and to earn $100,000 for her depth, wisdom, and precision in writing. The annual award is well-known and is given to a writer within the British Commonwealth. She is mostly known as a short story writer, like the Russian Antony Chekov, Egyptian Youssef Adris. and American Jonathan Franzen. Her new collection is due to be released in August 2009, entitled Too Much Happiness.

USA - The extraordinary gathering

On January 7, 2009, former US President George W. Bush invited president-elect Barack Obama and the three living former presidents; George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, for a gathering in the Oval Office of the White House to wish success to the new president for his new job. This gathering marked the first time since October 1981 - when then-president Ronald Reagan and ex-presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter gathered in advance of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's funeral.

Canada - Mythic beasts

The Canadian Museum of Civilizations in Gatineau, Quebec is presenting a special exhibition about mythical beasts. One of the interactive displays explains that sailors may have mistaken manatees for mermaids, however true it leaves plenty of room for doubt. It is hard not to see the Loch Ness Monster and all her mystic. The exhibition is a co-production led by New York's Museum of Natural History, with the Museum of Civilization, Chicago's Field Museum, Atlanta's Fernbank Museum of Natural History, and the Australian National Maritime Museum. The exhibition boasts 125 pieces, including statues, paintings, sculptures, fossils, dinosaur bones, embroidered clothing, and reproductions of literary texts. With a separate section for dragons. Canadian mythological creatures feature prominently, most notably in a extensive display about Sedna, a powerful Inuit sea goddess (photo) and the sandstone statue of St. George and the Dragon dating from 1500, taken from the Canadian War Museum's collection. Elsewhere in the exhibition are dinosaur skulls, mammoth bones, and the skull of a dwarf elephant. Another artefact shows the pitfalls of believing too literally in the creatures and their powers - a rhinoceros horn was once believed to have magical healing properties, sits clipped at its tip having once been administered to the ailing Pope Gregory XIV in 1591 to which effect he died soon after!

Australia - Tattooed body art

The 65-years-old, Geoff Osteling, will donate his tattooed skin to the National Gallery in Canberra after his death. He got his first tattoo in his 40's and is now covered in body art by eX de Merci, who has engraved his skin with flowers and plants found in a Sydney garden. "To donate skin is not the most amazing thing in the world but the tattoos are revolutionary," said Geoff. The concept of donating his skin was followed in an Australian documentary Anatomy, which has already won international acclaim. He will also be donating his organs to medicine. "It has never been done as a whole body before and not in a gallery," he said, adding that "portraits painted on human skin hang in galleries around the world... they don't tell you that, of course..."

UK - The Royal dog and the RCMP horses

Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex, presented the 16-months-old yellow Labrador named, Suzanna, to the Canadian RCMP at Fort Calgary, as a gift from Queen Elizabeth II. Suzanna is now an RCMP mascot and service dog. She was born at Sandringham Estate, the Norfolk home of four generations of British monarchs since 1862, and the beloved country retreat of the Queen. The dog's name was picked by the Queen, due to her fondness for the popular 1936 book, Susannah of the Mounties, by Canadian author Muriel Denison. Over the years, the RCMP has given the Queen four horses. In 2002, to mark her Golden Jubilee, the Queen gave the RCMP a horse named "Golden Jubilee", and now for the first time, she has bestowed a dog. Suzanna is training at the RCMP's Police Dog Service Training Centre in Innisfail, Alberta.

Global - The 47-million-year-old fossil

The scientists unveiled the well preserved fossilized remains found in a disused quarry southeast of Frankfurt, Germany in 1983 of a primate from 47-million-years ago, that may have been a close relative of the common ancestor of monkeys, apes, and humans and could shed light on an early stage of primate evolution. The Norwegian palaeontologist and works at the University of Oslo, Jorn Hurum, who led the team of scientists believe it represents one of the earliest ancestors to humans, but not likely to have been a direct one. The primate, is 58cms from the tip of its nose to the end of its tail and was a female that died before its first birthday, and was called Darwinius masillae in honour of Charles Darwin, but nicknamed Ida.

Israel - Chronic polygamist "messiah"!!

The chronic polygamist with his 32 wives and 89 children, Goel Ratzon, has his wives tattoo his image on their arms and give their 89 children versions of his name: Saviour! At night, his wives wait to be chosen by him to share his bed at one of the four apartment buildings in Tel Aviv where they live together. The 60-years-old man has special powers and can hypnotize young women, who kiss and cuddle him in front of the camera, comb his hair and drive him from house to house. His wives call him "messiah" and prepared a video of him with his image titled, "Ruler of the World". Among his wives are two sisters as well as cousins and good friends with his extended family being well-known to the authorities, mainly because they receive so much money through welfare services. None of the children are registered in his name, so that the women are able to be registered as single mothers and hence be able to receive a larger stipend for every child.

China - The Economic Beast in the East

Last June, a Chinese company bought the Hummer division of troubled General Motors Corporation. The Chinese, who possess immense manufacturing and financial clout, purchased a powerful symbol and a famous automotive brand from the Americans, who own great labels but now lack the money to sustain them. The Chinese ambition of becoming fully-integrated automobile players, owners, and marketers of their own vehicles to be shipped to all corners of the world, is a sign of the rise and spread of China's economic muscle. As the photo shows, Chinese school children walk past a Hummer SUV at a luxury goods exhibition in Shanghai.

Global - Van Gogh's lost ear!

A self-portrait by Vincent van Gogh, who had a stormy friendship with French artist Paul Gauguin, and his fame may owe as much to a legendary act of self harm as it does to his self-portrait. However, 119 years after the Dutch painter's death, his bloody ear is at the centre of a new controversy, after two German art historians suggested that the painter did not hack off his own lobe, but was attacked by his friend Paul Gauguin in 1888. In their recent book, In Van Gogh's Ear: Paul Gauguin and the Fact of Science, published by Hamburg-based Academics, the German historians Hans Kaufmann and Rita Wildegan argued that most likely van Gogh's left ear was sliced off with Gauguin's sword during a fight, and the two artists agreed to hush up the truth. Curators of Van Gogh's Museum in Amsterdam stand by the theory of self-mutilation.

USA - Malia and Sasha dolls

Last January, a doll-manufacturing company named Ty's TyGirlz, produced two 12-inch dolls, "Marvellous Malia" and "Sweet Sasha", which sell for $10 each. The company, best known as the maker of Beanie Babies, said that the brown-skinned brunette dolls are not based on President Obama's daughters Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7. The dolls are the first African-American dolls added to the collection, which includes Bubbly Britney (Spears), Lucky Lindsay (Lohan) and Precious Paris (Hilton). First Lady Michelle Obama issued a statement about Ty's newest dolls, stating "We believe it is inappropriate to use young, private citizens for marketing purposes." The company has decided to rename them from Marvellous Malia and Sweet Sasha to Marvellous Mariah and Sweet Sydney.

Italy - Eye test for Galileo

Scientists, historians and doctors are interested to exhume the body of 16th-century father of astronomy, Galileo (1564-1642), for DNA tests to determine if his severe vision problems may have affected some of his findings. It is known that Galileo had intermittent eye problems for the second half of his life, and was totally blind for his last two years. Dr. Peter Watson, the President of the Academia Epthalmologica Internationalis, suspects that Galileo may have had one of three possible conditions: unilateral myopia, inflammation of the eye's middle layer (uveitis), or a condition called creeping angle closure glaucoma. One of the errors in his observations, which has been attributed to his bad eyesight, is that he believed Saturn was not perfectly round but may have had an irregular inflated side. Galileo had been condemned by the Vatican for teaching that the Earth revolves around the sun. Galileo was buried in Florence's Santa Croce Basilica about 100 years after his death. Before, his remains were hidden in a bell tower room, because the church had opposed his proper burial. The United Nations has proclaimed 2009 the International Year of Astronomy in tribute to the 400th anniversary of Galileo's observations.

France - Prestigious Legion of Honour to Harry Potter author

French President Nicholas Sarkozy bestowed J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter 7-part children's series, the honorary title of "Knight" in the legion during a ceremony in a gilded hall in Elysée Presidential Palace last February. The British writer shot to worldwide fame with 1997 publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Her seven books have sold more than 400 million copies and have been translated into 67 languages, including French. The Legion d'honneur is France's elite national merit society, and foreigners can be made honorary recipients.

North America - Shifting to a nomadic lifestyle

Curtis Robinson and his wife Kim sell their 2,500-square-foot Vancouver Island home to free themselves of their mortgage, and to gain more time with their kids. They purchased an RV and strike out for California and New Mexico with their four children who are being road-schooled along the way. Their kids range from 21-m`onths to 6-years-old. They found a way to work less and travel more, and live debt-free. In British Columbia and throughout the United States, a small but determined group of parents with school-age children are selling their heavily mortgaged homes to buy RVs and hit the highway. Their shift to a nomadic lifestyle may seem drastic, but in today's economic climate, it is less radical than it would once have been.

Afghanistan - The granddaughter of the former King

Masoda Younasy, 22, was forced to flee her country where her grandfather ruled as king for 40 years. She arrived in Toronto, last January from Islamabad, Pakistan, after obtaining an exceptional three-year permit to live and work in Canada. Masoda had established her own construction company in Kandahar, and an agency that teaches people how to read and to use computers. She has also setup a clinic for drug addicts, in her country where the economy is sustained by the poppy trade. She is interested one day, to run for the presidency of her country. She is interested to attend a Canadian university and obtain a political science degree. In the meantime, her brother and a friend will manage her construction company, while another will run her agency for the poor.

USA - Warning to chronic marijuana users

Dr. Stephen Schwartz of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in Seattle said that marijuana has a possible association with testicular cancer, and chronic users may have decreased sperm quality affecting their fertility. He studied 369 men with testicular cancer aged 18-44, and 979 men in the same age bracket without the disease. He found that current marijuana users were 70% more likely to develop the disease compared to non-users. The study found that the increased risk appeared to be in the form called non-seminoma testicular cancer. The American Cancer Society mentioned that the disease usually responds well to treatment, with a 5-year survival rate of 96%.
 

Mozambique - Aga Khan Foundation Canada

In 1980, the Aga Khan Foundation Canada (AKFC), was born as a non-denominational international development agency committed to promoting equitable and sustainable development in some of the most impoverished parts of Africa and Asia. In the northern most province of Mozambique, most families live on the equivalent of $0.30 a day and approximately 75% of the population is illiterate with an average life expectancy of 38 years. There are also poor roads, unreliable electricity, and little communications' infrastructure. However, the region is rich in natural resources, and AKFC is doing a great effort to revitalize its rural economy under a Canadian-supported program, through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). Since 2001, AKFC has been working with communities in five particularly poor and isolated districts to help them become less vulnerable to crop failure, and to earn money from their own produce, so they can invest in the education and care of their children. The Foundation is taking a long-term perspective, focussing on building the skills and abilities and local people to drive development in the area. Dozen of new village organizations have become hubs for a complementary set of development initiatives - from health and education to agriculture and enterprise development. Results have been impressive: 100% of children in the program area have been vaccinated; 67% are enrolled in primary school (up from 13 % in 2003); 69% are sleeping under malaria-preventing bed nets (up from 7%). In the photo, Sifa Roderigues, was selected to attend the Agrarian School of Bilibiza in Cabo Delgado. Now she works with a group of farmers to help improve food security and fight chronic malnutrition.
 

USA - The Hero of the Hudson

The New York media called Captain Chesley Sullenberger, 58, "The Hero of the Hudson". The man who has logged 19,000 hours of flying time over nearly three decades with US Airways saved all 155 passengers on board the carrier's flight 1549 from a catastrophe on January 15. He landed safely in the waters of New York's Hudson River. In the photo, the passengers are seen in rafts after walking on the wings of the jet. New York governor, David Patterson, called this crash landing, "Miracle on the Hudson."

Global - Vaccines don't cause autism

Judges at the US "Vaccine Court" ruled last February on three test cases in which it was claimed that the standard childhood vaccine for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR), caused autism, and they were unequivocal in their findings. The vaccine-autism connection was very wrong. Special master, Denise Vowell, who heard a case alleging that a mercury-based preservation called, thimerosal, can trigger autism, said that there is no link between autism and vaccines. The rulings from the "Vaccine Court", which was setup as part of a US program to compensate people who suffer the occasional side effects from vaccines, effectively puts an end to the cases of about 4,800 families claiming their children's autism was caused by MMR vaccines. The vaccine-autism scare dates back a decade, when in 1998 British gastroenterologist, Andrew Wakefield and his colleagues published an article in The Lancet suggesting a jab of MMR could trigger bowel conditions in children that led to autism. In Britain, about 25% of children do not receive the MMR vaccine, and as a result, there has been a resurgence of childhood illnesses such as measles, and has further fuelled an international anti-vaccine movement. It is worth noting that since the 1970s, more than half a billion doses of MMR have been administered around the world, and international research has concluded that there have been no deaths and no permanent damage caused by the vaccine.
 

Global - Interpol fights trades of stolen art and antiquities

Some paintings have been stolen and recovered more than once. Rembrandt's Jacob de Gheyn III has been stolen four times and ranks as the world's most stolen painting. The Interpol held a conference in France to increase cooperation among its 186 member nations in the fight to retrieve stolen cultural property. Of the missing art objects now on Interpol's list, 516 were taken from Canadian collections. In 2004, five ivory statuettes from the Art Gallery of Ontario, were stolen in the daylight, and the gallery's insurer offered a $150,000 reward for its return. Worldwide, the illegal art and antiquities trade ranks third in value after legal arms and drugs smuggling. Each year, the trade in illegal antiquities is thought to be in the range of $8 billion. A growing percentage of this business is perpetuated by organized criminal gangs who also deal in illicit drugs and arms.

India - The UNICEF's Children Ambassador

Bilaal Rajan, 12, who cites Gandhi and Aga Khan as his heroes, is an activist, UNICEF's Children Ambassador and motivational speaker. He raised nearly $5 million for causes that range from the victims of hurricane-ravaged Haiti to HIV/AIDS orphans. He has just written a book, Making Change: Tips from an Underage Overachiever last April. He convinced thousands to go barefoot with him for National Volunteer Week, to raise awareness of the suffering of children around the world. He intends to become an astronaut, activist, and a neuroscientist. He started fundraising eight years ago, when he was 4, for the earthquake victims in Gujrat, India. UNICEF Canada named him international child representative, spending a summer volunteering in rural Tanzania teaching children about HIV/AIDS, and travelled to Ecuador to help build schools. Fundraising had always been his passion, and his Barefoot Challenge was an attempt to build empathy with underprivileged children around the world.

Iraq - The controversial unveiled monument!

Last January, a monument was unveiled in honour of Iraqi journalist, Muntazer al-Zaidi, who threw his shoes at former US President George W. Bush during a news conference in Baghdad, during his farewell visit to Iraq on December 14, 2008. The bronze shoe structure, the work of Iraqi artist, Laith al-Ameri, has been erected in tribute to the Iraqi journalist, in which a tree has been planted, stands three metres high and sits a top a white pedestal in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown. The 29-years-old Iraqi journalist for Al-Baghdadia TV station, insulted the US President shouting "This is your farewell kiss, you dog," as he threw his shoes. The Ambassadors Research Association dedicated an Editorial about the journalist's behaviour. Interesting the Iraqi government condemned the statue and forced the removal of the monument.

Global - Swimming across the Atlantic Ocean

The first person to swim across the Atlantic is Frenchman, Benoit Lecomte, who took 73 days to travel 3,716 miles from France to Massachusetts, USA in 1998. Recently, a 56-years-old US endurance athlete, Jennifer Figge, has become the first women to swim the Atlantic. She ran across South America, Chile and Argentina, 576 miles, 21 days (1993); Ran across Mexico, 180 miles, 8 days (1995); Swam Aruba to Venezuela, 18 miles (1996), and her last accomplishment in February, she swam in a cage from Cape Verde in Africa to Trinidad, 2100 miles, and then continued to swim to the British Virgin Islands where she chose to end her odyssey at the Bitter End Yacht Club. Figge had planned to swim 3,380km (2,100 miles), but she was blown off course and reached Trinidad rather than the Bahamas. She had spent more than two months in the water, around her Pilot whales, several turtles, dozens of dolphins, and plenty of dangerous Portuguese man-of-war, the blue ocean organisms whose stings can cause cardiac arrest. The absence of shark encounters from that list is due largely to the netted predator protection cage that was custom-built which Figge swam inside.

China - 107-year-old Bride-to-be!

Wang Guiying, a 107-year-old woman from Beijing was afraid to marry when she was young. She has decided to look for her first husband, and hopes to find a partner so that they have something to talk about. She is worried that she is becoming a burden to her aging nieces and nephews since breaking her leg when she was 102. The Chongqing Commercial Times quoted her saying, "What will happen if I don't hurry up and find a husband?" She was born in southern Guizhou province, the daughter of a salt merchant. After the death of her parents and older sister, she moved to the countryside, and survived as a farmer until she was 74 years old. The youngest of her nephews is 60-years-old. Local officials said that they are happy to help her search for a 100-year-old groom, and suggested her family get in touch with senior homes to find an appropriate candidate.

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