Lifestyle

Six people are confirmed dead after Tuesday's heavy rains in Slovenia. Up to 300 mm of rain fell in just a few hours across the country, with swollen rivers, torrential streams and landslides sweeping away cars, houses, bridges, and whole sections of roads. In some areas, public services have not yet been restored, and healthcare and drinking water are being provided by mobile units. Some major roads are still closed. The damage includes the destruction of the resistance Hospital Franja, a museum site from the Second World war. Worst hit was t

This September 15, 2007, being the birthday of Lord Ganesha, marks the important festival of Ganesh Chaturthi for Hindus in India and world wide. Lord Ganesha occupies a special god status in Hindu tradition, and is considered as the bestower of all auspiciousness and destroyer of all negativity. Typically these festive celebrations last from one to 11 days, concluding with a Nimajjan ceremony (immersing the deity in the waters of lake/pond/river/sea/ocean etc). These celebrations are splendidly carried out in India amidst strict security as

The European Commission (EU) is considering the imposition of an embargo on Chinese toys and consumer products. The EU Commissioner for Consumer Protection, Meglena Kuneva, said the aim is to increase pressure on the Chinese government to intensify its quality control in the manufacture of toys, toothpaste and certain food items. Mattel, the world's largest toy producer, recently launched a massive product recall of Chinese-made products because their paint may contain excessive amounts of lead. China has until October to respond with a detai

An innovative "Children helping Children" project has been launched by local volunteers and students of a school in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand. Named the Chiang Mai Charity Calendar 2008 it serves the dual purpose of promoting their 700-year-old city, and supporting disadvantaged children. Self-financed with no advertising, and produced by schoolchildren for a charitable cause, it is probably the first of its kind to surface in the travel industry, and something normally only in the domain of National Tourism Organizations. The object

Four young girls were killed and six more people injured when a brick wall collapsed on top of them in Zambia. The victims had been trying to reach a free mosquito net handout when a stampede erupted, causing the collapse. The accident occurred in the town of Mpika, where the Ministry of Health was conducting the handout as part of an anti-malaria initiative. As people flocked to the community hall where the event was taking place, people outside the premises began climbing the walls in an effort to get in, initiating the collapse. The four g

Syria has fired on Israeli fighter jets after they claim that the planes entered Syrian territory "dropping ammunition" and traveling at the speed of sound. "Air defense units confronted them and forced them to leave after they dropped some ammunition in deserted areas without causing any human or material damage. We warn the Israeli enemy government against this flagrant aggressive act, and retain the right to respond in an appropriate way," said a spokesman for the Syrian military force. Israel has neither confirmed or denied the reports, s

The source of a recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Surrey, UK has been discovered by investigators at the Pirbright laboratory where investigations began in August. The Health and Safety Executive informed the BBC that they had pinpointed the source to possible biosecurity lapses in a pipe near the laboratory. It is thought that the pipe, which runs between the site and a government-run laboratory, may have been damaged by tree roots. Recent flooding in the area may have brought the virus to the surface, but it is not yet known how t

World-famous opera singer Luciano Pavarotti's health has gotten worse and is in a "very serious" condition, according to AGI, one of the Italian news agencies, the Associated Press and the BBC. Pavarotti currently has pancreatic cancer, and was previously released from the hospital on August 25 after being treated for pneumonia.

Two pilots were killed Saturday, September 1st, 2007, in an accident at the Radom Air Show in Poland. The accident occurred on the first day of the two-day show, which had begun that morning. Four Zlin Z-50s from the Zelazny air team were performing aerobatic maneuvers in front of a crowd consisting of thousands of spectators when two of them collided head on in mid-air. Both planes were traveling at 300km/h when they collided, and disintegrated on impact. The pilots, both of whom came from Zielona Góra in western Poland, were killed in the

Nineteen South Korean Christians are released from insurgents after being held captive for six weeks. The 19 South Koreans return to a nation that is glad the hostage situation has been resolved and is over. However, they also face a country that is angry with their decision to travel to Afghanistan despite the Afghan government advising them not to. One South Korean man was reportedly stopped by the police when he attempted to hurl eggs at the freed Christians. The South Korean people are demanding to know who is to blame for the crisis and d

The World Health Organization (WHO) is investigating an outbreak of an, as yet, unidentified illness in the central region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). To date, the illness has killed more than 100 people. The illness, first thought to be typhoid fever but now more likely a haemorrhagic fever, was first noticed in early June in Kasai Occidental province in the DRC. There have been 103 reported deaths from a total of 217 patients, for a mortality rate of nearly 50 percent. Health authorities are, however, unsure of the full ex

State officials say Vermont's first case of West Nile virus has been confirmed in Brattleboro, Vermont. State officials said that nine birds tested positive for West Nile virus in 2006, and there have been no human cases of the West Nile virus since 2003. "This is the seventh year of our surveillance program and a good time to remind people that West Nile Virus reaches its peak late in the summer, when the virus has had time to develop in the mosquito population," said state Health Department Epidemiologist Patsy Tassler. "Before a long holid