You may not be considered “crazy” or “mentally ill” today, but under the new guidelines experts say half of us will be diagnosed with a psychiatric condition in the future. … Read More
Famed physicist Stephen Hawking joins Israel boycott
Professor Hawking’s announcement that he has declined an invitation to headline the fifth annual Presidential Conference, hosted by Israeli President Shimon Peres, comes on the occasion of Peres’s 90th birthday.Initially the theoretical physicist and Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge had accepted the invitation, but came to reconsider once campaigners for Palestinian rights, who make up a vocal segment of the Cambridge academic community, pressured Hawking to skip the event.Cambridge University first claimed that Hawking’s decision to avoid the conference was due to his ill health – he has lived with motor neurone disease for 50 years, a condition which confines him to a wheelchair and requires him to communicate with the use of a computer terminal.On Wednesday, though, Cambridge conceded that the professor’s decision was based on his politics, rather than his medical condition, once it was presented by The Guardian with the text of a letter sent by Hawking to organizers of the conference in Jerusalem.The British university issued a statement, saying: “We have now received confirmation from Prof Hawking’s office that a letter was sent on Friday to the Israeli president’s office regarding his decision not to attend … based on advice from Palestinian academics that he should respect the boycott.”Palestinian academics such as Samia al-Botmeh of Birzeit University in the West Bank welcomed the news.”We tried to communicate two points to him. First, that Israel is a colonial entity that involves violations of the rights of the Palestinians, including academic freedom, and then asking him to stand in solidarity with Palestinian academic colleagues who have called for solidarity from international academics in the form of boycotting Israeli academia and academic institutions,” al-Botmeh told The Guardian.Daniel Taub, Israeli’s Ambassador to London, unsurprisingly expressed dissapointment with Hawking’s decision.”It is a great shame that Professor Hawking has withdrawn from the president’s conference … Rather than caving into pressure from political extremists, active participation in such events is a far more constructive way to promote progress and peace.”This year’s Presidential Conference is expected to attract 5,000 attendees from around the world, including academics, artists and former heads of state. Former US president Bill Clinton, former UK prime minister Tony Blair, former Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev, Prince Albert of Monaco and Barbra Streisand have accepted invitations, according to organizers.In April the Teachers’ Union of Ireland became the first lecturers’ association in Europe to join in the boycott, following actions by several individual universities and students’ associations around the world. A wider Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement has seen general success in recent years with the academic world, actors like Bruce Willis and Jean-Claude Van Damme and touring musicians including Stevie Wonder and Roger Waters.Hawking has visited Israel several times in the past, though he became critical of the country’s treatment of the Palestinians during the 2008-2009 Gaza Massacre, known in Israel as IDF Operation Cast Lead. … Read More
Bangladesh – Reporters attacked by rioting Islamists during clashes with police
Around ten journalists covering Islamist rioting in the central Dhaka district of Paltan on 5 May were injured in attacks by protesters and two were hospitalized in a critical condition. The rioting was followed early yesterday morning by the closure of two Islamist TV stations. “We condemn the violent attacks on journalists covering Islamist demonstrations that led to clashes with the police,” Reporters Without Borders said. “Journalists act as neutral observers of political events and, as (…) … Read More
Donors of ‘risky’ blood must be revealed: court
A Swedish court has ruled that a county in northern Sweden must share its blood-donor registry in order for researchers to track down donors whose blood may be linked to an often-times fatal lung condition. … Read More
2 dead, 10 injured in France building collapse (PHOTOS)
The blast destroyed 10 apartments in the four-story building at around 11:15am local time. The area was evacuated over fears of a second explosion.One of the injured remains in critical condition, France 3 reported. The explosion at the four-story building was probably caused by a gas leak, Mayor Adeline Hazan told BFM TV, adding that the blast was “very strong” and had shattered windows in other buildings.”There are many victims… We have very little information on the state of the victims,” a firefighter told AFP, without disclosing the cause of the accident in the heart of the Champagne region.There are fears some are trapped in the wreckage, an AFP photographer at the scene quoted rescue workers as saying.A local rescue official stated that more than 100 rescue workers – including firefighters and bomb and gas experts – have arrived at the site, AP reported.Images show that an entire corner of the building has collapsed. The apartment building that collapsed was the oldest in the area, and had been renovated several years ago, according to AFP.A security perimeter was set up at the site for relief operations. This is the second explosion in Reims in the past month. On April 3, four people died in a building blast.The four victims of the explosion were from the same family as the people affected by Sunday’s blast, AFP reported. The event shocked neighbors; the father, who was injured by the blast, helped rescuers find his wife and child trapped underneath the debris, before dying in an ambulance. … Read More
Victims start suing owners of West, Texas fertilizer plant
The first two lawsuits accuse Adair Grain Inc., the company that owned the West, Texas fertilizer plant that exploded April 17, of negligence.One of the lawsuits was filed by Andrea Jones Gutierrez, a single working mother who claims that she and her 14-year-old son “lost all of their worldly possessions”. The two lived in the apartment building next to the West Fertilizer plant, which was completely destroyed during the explosion.Gutierrez had stepped out of the complex when she first heard the explosions, and her son was at church during the deadly blasts. Two other residents who remained in the apartment complex died during the explosion. While the Gutierrez family survived, they lost their homes and belongings and the woman suffered multiple injuries.“Everything she and her child owned was completely destroyed,” Randy Roberts, the woman’s attorney, told NBC News. “She has physical and emotional injuries, but I’m more concerned about her emotional injuries.”She is now seeking $500,000 to $1 million in relief from Adair Grain Inc.A second lawsuit against Adair Grain was filed by a group of insurance companies, which claim that the plant’s parent company“was negligent in the operation of its facility, creating an unreasonably dangerous condition, which led to the fire and explosion.”The suit was filed jointly by Acadia Insurance Company, Union Standard Lloyds, Continental Western Insurance Company, and Union Standard Insurance Company – all of which sued on behalf of the residents, churches and businesses in the town of Waco.“Defendant’s negligent acts and omissions were the proximate cause of the explosion that resulted in damages to the plaintiffs, including the destruction [of] real and personal property and lost profits,” the insurers’ lawsuit states. The suit accuses Adair’s employees of being unqualified, incompetent and improperly licensed for their jobs maintaining or operating the plant.Investigators have not yet determined the cause of the explosion, but have ruled out natural causes. The lawsuit filed by the insurers does not list a specific demand for damages, since many homeowners and businesses do not yet know the value of what they have lost, Dallas lawyer Paul Grinke told Reuters.Some of the victims lost nearly all of their possessions, and have nothing besides the clothes they were wearing on the day of the explosions, Grinke explained.“This is just to get the legal process initiated,” he said in regards to the lawsuit. “Most of my clients and the folks I’m representing have not been able to get back to their property to see what’s left of it. I have gotten pretty close, and it is true devastation.”Daniel Kenney, a spokesman representing Adair Grain, told media sources that the company would not comment on the lawsuits at this time.“Our focus is on the fact-finding and on assisting the investigating agencies in any way we can,” he told Reuters. … Read More
Massive fuel barge explosions force evacuations in Alabama
At least three people were critical condition on Thursday after two fuel barges containing natural gas exploded in Mobile, Alabama. Steve Huffman with Mobile Fire and Rescue said that emergency crews were forced to let the fires burn out on their own due to volatile conditions. A one-mile safety…
