As Post-9/11 Security Increases Pressure on the Undocumented, Emerald Isle Offers Haven The green is draining out of the Irish immigration boom that revitalized neighborhoods across New York over the past two decades. Fear of getting caught in a post-Sept. 11 net coupled with the booming economy in Ireland is drawing thousands of Irish back to the Emerald Isle. Numbers vary on how many have left: The Irish government estimates that about 14,000 Irish returned from the United States since 2001, with more than half of them coming from New York. The Census Bureau reported that between 2000 and 2004, the Irish population throughout the United States shrank by 28,500 people, to 128,000. A more vivid picture of the exodus is the Gaelic downtown of the northern Bronx, on the border with Yonkers, where green signs and shamrocks decorate store windows. The Padded Wagon, a popular moving company among the Irish, shipped 30 containers to Ireland in the past three months, each containing the possessions of an Irish family. The Irish games -- Gaelic football and hurling -- have suffered losses. More than 200 players returned to Ireland in the past year, said Seamus Dooley, president of the Gaelic Athletic Association, which has its games at Gaelic Park in the Bronx. Last month, the Irish minister for social affairs visited New York, to unveil "Returning to Ireland," a guide for Irish preparing for a permanent return trip. "A travel agent was saying they had sold 1,700 one-way tickets to Ireland," said Geraldine McNabb, an Irish-born naturalized citizen, while she sipped a cranberry cocktail at a pub. "They're not coming back."
The green is draining out of the Irish immigration boom that revitalized neighborhoods across New York over the past two decades. Fear of getting caught in a post-Sept. 11 net coupled with the booming economy in Ireland is drawing thousands of Irish back to the Emerald Isle. Numbers vary on how many have left: The Irish government estimates that about 14,000 Irish returned from the United States since 2001, with more than half of them coming from New York. The Census Bureau reported that between 2000 and 2004, the Irish population throughout the United States shrank by 28,500 people, to 128,000.
A more vivid picture of the exodus is the Gaelic downtown of the northern Bronx, on the border with Yonkers, where green signs and shamrocks decorate store windows.
The Padded Wagon, a popular moving company among the Irish, shipped 30 containers to Ireland in the past three months, each containing the possessions of an Irish family. The Irish games -- Gaelic football and hurling -- have suffered losses. More than 200 players returned to Ireland in the past year, said Seamus Dooley, president of the Gaelic Athletic Association, which has its games at Gaelic Park in the Bronx.
Last month, the Irish minister for social affairs visited New York, to unveil "Returning to Ireland," a guide for Irish preparing for a permanent return trip.
"A travel agent was saying they had sold 1,700 one-way tickets to Ireland," said Geraldine McNabb, an Irish-born naturalized citizen, while she sipped a cranberry cocktail at a pub. "They're not coming back."
Sweden's foreign aid agency said yesterday it will give 50 million kronor (5.3 million euro, $6.4 million) in humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. The announcement follows an appeal by the United Nations for continued humanitarian support to aid efforts in the occupied Palestinian areas.Sida, the agency that distributes Swedish foreign aid, said in a press release that the aid will be channeled through the UN relief agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, the UN children's agency UNICEF and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA. The Swedish money will mainly go to health care, food and education, Sida said. Last year, Sida distributed 92 million kronor (9.8 million euro, $11.7 million) in humanitarian aid to the Palestinians. Israel branded the Palestinian government a "terrorist authority" Sunday and halted the transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars in tax money after Hamas took control of the Palestinian parliament.
The announcement follows an appeal by the United Nations for continued humanitarian support to aid efforts in the occupied Palestinian areas.Sida, the agency that distributes Swedish foreign aid, said in a press release that the aid will be channeled through the UN relief agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, the UN children's agency UNICEF and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA.
The Swedish money will mainly go to health care, food and education, Sida said. Last year, Sida distributed 92 million kronor (9.8 million euro, $11.7 million) in humanitarian aid to the Palestinians.
Israel branded the Palestinian government a "terrorist authority" Sunday and halted the transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars in tax money after Hamas took control of the Palestinian parliament.
NEW DELHI -- India and France yesterday decided to sign nine key agreements that extraordinarily includes a declaration on strategic bilateral civilian and defence nuclear cooperation. This formal signing of declaration even before New Delhi and Washington sort out their differences over their nuclear deal has paved way for a joint defence convention between India and France days before United States President George Bush arrives. Both India and France are also working on a joint agreement on space science technology. The visiting French President Jacques Chirac stressed France's cooperation with India in this sector stating that the bilateral ties with India was set to prosper. French President met Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh here before the two sides penned a series of agreements on nuclear energy cooperation and defence contracts. While the 'Declaration on the Development of Nuclear Energy for Peaceful Purposes' was signed by Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar and French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste Blazy, the agreement on defence cooperation was signed by French Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie and her Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee. The deals were signed in the presence of the Dr Singh and President Chirac. The joint statement later released stated that the agreement was an important element of the strategic partnership between the two nations and was aimed at building upon and expanding cooperation in defence and military fields.
This formal signing of declaration even before New Delhi and Washington sort out their differences over their nuclear deal has paved way for a joint defence convention between India and France days before United States President George Bush arrives. Both India and France are also working on a joint agreement on space science technology.
The visiting French President Jacques Chirac stressed France's cooperation with India in this sector stating that the bilateral ties with India was set to prosper. French President met Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh here before the two sides penned a series of agreements on nuclear energy cooperation and defence contracts.
While the 'Declaration on the Development of Nuclear Energy for Peaceful Purposes' was signed by Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar and French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste Blazy, the agreement on defence cooperation was signed by French Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie and her Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee.
The deals were signed in the presence of the Dr Singh and President Chirac. The joint statement later released stated that the agreement was an important element of the strategic partnership between the two nations and was aimed at building upon and expanding cooperation in defence and military fields.
:-) *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
Of course, you still have the big commercial rivalries in airplanes and nuclear energy, but that trip is not about being "alternative to America" (not this time, anyway) In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
The Olympics are many things: a global television festival, a crucible for national pride and the ultimate test of an individual's sporting prowess. But the current winter games in Turin have served another extraordinary purpose: as a possible re-uniter of a top American skier with his long-lost birth-parents living half a world away. Last week, Toby Dawson, a Korean-American with Elvis-sized sideburns and daredevil skills to match, won the bronze medal in the men's freestyle moguls. His heroics made headlines in the US. In distant Busan, South Korea, they created a sensation. After watching the event, friends and relatives of Kim Jae-su called him to say that Dawson looked exactly like the son Kim had lost in 1981, when the two-year-old boy became separated from his mother in the town's market. His father never set eyes on him again. Until, perhaps, now. "I looked at the pictures in the papers and confirmed it myself, the 52-year-old told the Chosun Ilbo newspaper. "There is no doubt this is the son I lost 25 years ago." And the circumstantial evidence cannot lightly be set aside.
But the current winter games in Turin have served another extraordinary purpose: as a possible re-uniter of a top American skier with his long-lost birth-parents living half a world away.
Last week, Toby Dawson, a Korean-American with Elvis-sized sideburns and daredevil skills to match, won the bronze medal in the men's freestyle moguls. His heroics made headlines in the US. In distant Busan, South Korea, they created a sensation.
After watching the event, friends and relatives of Kim Jae-su called him to say that Dawson looked exactly like the son Kim had lost in 1981, when the two-year-old boy became separated from his mother in the town's market. His father never set eyes on him again. Until, perhaps, now.
"I looked at the pictures in the papers and confirmed it myself, the 52-year-old told the Chosun Ilbo newspaper. "There is no doubt this is the son I lost 25 years ago." And the circumstantial evidence cannot lightly be set aside.
I just got done watching the skating, btw. I have a post half-way written and should have it up by this evening your time.
Hope everyone has a good day. I'm off to bed. Maybe we can eventually make language a complete impediment to understanding. -Hobbes
PRAGUE -- A twin baby girl has become the first child to be left in one of the two "baby boxes" installed last year in the Czech Republic for mothers to abandon their children without risk, the local Press reported yesterday. The two kilogramme girl, named Sonya, was left with a birth certificate and letter from her mother explaining that she is a single parent who had given birth to twins and could not take care of them both, the daily Dnes reported.
The two kilogramme girl, named Sonya, was left with a birth certificate and letter from her mother explaining that she is a single parent who had given birth to twins and could not take care of them both, the daily Dnes reported.
Europe's urban sprawl increased by an area three times the size of Luxembourg in the 1990s, highlighting the continent's failure to protect the environment, a report warned yesterday. Experts at a biodiversity conference in Croatia this week will be told Europe is performing poorly in eight of nine biodiversity targets set in Kiev in 2003. "It is clear that achieving the 2010 biodiversity target in Europe requires not only a redoubling of efforts ... but a firm commitment by the parties to act," it says. The report, by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Council of Europe, says there are 800,000 hectares (2m acres) of built-up areas on the continent. The impact of urban areas on the environment is highlighted by the example of London, whose "ecological footprint" - the standard measure of environmental impact - is two times the size of Britain. "Humanity continues to use resources at an unsustainable level," the report says, warning that Europe's failure to protect the environment is threatening wildlife species. The numbers of Iberian Lynx and British moths are said to be declining at an alarming rate.
"It is clear that achieving the 2010 biodiversity target in Europe requires not only a redoubling of efforts ... but a firm commitment by the parties to act," it says.
The report, by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Council of Europe, says there are 800,000 hectares (2m acres) of built-up areas on the continent. The impact of urban areas on the environment is highlighted by the example of London, whose "ecological footprint" - the standard measure of environmental impact - is two times the size of Britain.
"Humanity continues to use resources at an unsustainable level," the report says, warning that Europe's failure to protect the environment is threatening wildlife species. The numbers of Iberian Lynx and British moths are said to be declining at an alarming rate.
LONDON: Britain's largest Hindu group launched a campaign on Monday targeting a major Hollywood studio over a French comedy film which, it alleges, mocks a revered Hindu god. In a statement, the Hindu Forum of Britain said "Les Bronzes 3: Amis Pour La Vie" (The Sun-Tanned Ones 3: Friends for Life) shows the main characters swearing, laughing and tearing up images of Lord Shiva. It appealed to Britain's large Hindu community to complain in writing or by e-mail to the London office of Warner Brothers, the Hollywood studio that is distributing the summer holiday farce, directed by Patrice Leconte.
In a statement, the Hindu Forum of Britain said "Les Bronzes 3: Amis Pour La Vie" (The Sun-Tanned Ones 3: Friends for Life) shows the main characters swearing, laughing and tearing up images of Lord Shiva.
It appealed to Britain's large Hindu community to complain in writing or by e-mail to the London office of Warner Brothers, the Hollywood studio that is distributing the summer holiday farce, directed by Patrice Leconte.
Press Release: United Nations Secretary-General welcomes Moscow talks on Iran's uranium enrichment Secretary-General Kofi Annan today welcomed reports confirming that Iran will hold talks in Moscow on 20 February on a Russian proposal on uranium enrichment, according to a statement released by his spokesman today. "As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, Russia's contribution to bringing all sides back to the negotiating table is vital," said the spokesman, Stephane Dujarric. Mr. Dujarric said that the Secretary-General trusts that Iran will use the talks in Moscow and the period between now and early March to take the necessary steps to rebuild confidence that Iran's nuclear programme is exclusively for peaceful purposes. "He hopes that Iran will respond positively to the resolutions adopted by the IAEA Board of Governors on the implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said. "It is time for all those Governments who support and rely on this regime for their own and our collective security to help resolve this crisis in a way that maintains the regime's integrity and effectiveness," concluded Mr. Dujarric's statement.
Secretary-General welcomes Moscow talks on Iran's uranium enrichment
Secretary-General Kofi Annan today welcomed reports confirming that Iran will hold talks in Moscow on 20 February on a Russian proposal on uranium enrichment, according to a statement released by his spokesman today.
"As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, Russia's contribution to bringing all sides back to the negotiating table is vital," said the spokesman, Stephane Dujarric.
Mr. Dujarric said that the Secretary-General trusts that Iran will use the talks in Moscow and the period between now and early March to take the necessary steps to rebuild confidence that Iran's nuclear programme is exclusively for peaceful purposes.
"He hopes that Iran will respond positively to the resolutions adopted by the IAEA Board of Governors on the implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
"It is time for all those Governments who support and rely on this regime for their own and our collective security to help resolve this crisis in a way that maintains the regime's integrity and effectiveness," concluded Mr. Dujarric's statement.
French battery hens marketed as 'hygienic' Battery cages have never seemed an obvious ploy for marketing poultry, but they are since bird flu hit France. Duc, one of two publicly quoted poultry companies in Europe's biggest poultry producing country, has begun to attach photographs of its chickens' accommodation to distinguish them from free-range counterparts that are more susceptible to contagion from wild birds.
Battery cages have never seemed an obvious ploy for marketing poultry, but they are since bird flu hit France.
Duc, one of two publicly quoted poultry companies in Europe's biggest poultry producing country, has begun to attach photographs of its chickens' accommodation to distinguish them from free-range counterparts that are more susceptible to contagion from wild birds.
Most of the next generation of medical and science students could well be creationists, according to a biology teacher at a leading London sixth-form college. "The vast majority of my students now believe in creationism," she said, "and these are thinking young people who are able and articulate and not at the dim end at all. They have extensive booklets on creationism which they put in my pigeon-hole ... it's a bit like the southern states of America." Many of them came from Muslim, Pentecostal or Baptist family backgrounds, she said, and were intending to become pharmacists, doctors, geneticists and neuro-scientists. (Guardian)
Cash-rich German utility E.ON <EONG.DE> launched a bid on Tuesday for Spanish peer Endesa <ELE.MC> at 27.50 euros per share in cash, trumping an offer from rival Gas Natural <GAS.MC>. E.ON said it could create the world's top gas and power company with its bid of around 29.1 billion euros ($35 billion), which tops an unsolicited 22 billion-euro offer from Gas Natural <GAS.MC>. Endesa has been fighting the Gas Natural offer which it says is too low.
E.ON said it could create the world's top gas and power company with its bid of around 29.1 billion euros ($35 billion), which tops an unsolicited 22 billion-euro offer from Gas Natural <GAS.MC>. Endesa has been fighting the Gas Natural offer which it says is too low.
Energy for the future
