Wednesday, March 3, 2010 General Motors (GM) announced on Tuesday a recall of 1.3 million Chevrolet and Pontiac cars in the US, Mexico, and Canada over problems with the power steering system. Recalling these vehicles is the right thing to do for our customers’ peace of mind The models, the 2005–2010 Chevrolet Cobalt and 2007–2010…
Bush requests $80bn to pay for on-going military operations
Wednesday, January 26, 2005U.S. President George W. Bush has asked the U.S. Congress for an additional $80bn to pay for the on-going military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is on top of $25bn approved by Congress last summer in the fiscal defense appropriations bill for 2005. Bush states that this money is to provide…
Australian health workers to close intensive care units in Victoria next week
Thursday, March 13, 2008 Members of Australia’s Health Services Union (HSU) will go on strike in Victoria next week in a dispute over stalled wage and career structure negotiations. Over 5000 physiotherapists, speech pathologists and radiation therapists will walk off the job next week, effectively closing the state’s 68 largest health services. The strike will…
Toothpaste fills cavities without drilling
Thursday, February 24, 2005 A paste containing synthetic tooth enamel can seal small cavities without drilling. Kazue Yamagishi and colleagues at the FAP Dental Institute in Tokyo say that the paste can repair small cavities in 15 minutes. Currently, fillers don’t stick to such small cavities so dentists must drill bigger holes. Hydroxyapatite crystals, of…
Apes and birds are able to plan ahead: psychologists
Friday, May 19, 2006 According to psychologists in Leipzig, Germany, apes and some birds are able to plan their actions ahead of time. Psychologists Nicholas Mulcahy and Josep Call at Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology say that apes are able to save tools to use at a later time, that will assist them in…
Dairy cattle with names produce more milk, according to new study
Thursday, January 29, 2009 Giving a cow a name and treating her as an individual with “more personal touch” can increase milk production, so says a scientific research published in the online “Anthrozoos,” which is described as a “multidisciplinary journal of the interactions of people and animals”. The Newcastle University‘s School of Agriculture, Food and…
Micro-loans to US poor from Bangladesh’s Grameen Bank
Sunday, February 17, 2008 Grameen Bank of Bangladesh has made the first loans to U.S. citizens who do not have a bank account. Grameen Bank is experienced in micro-financing in its home country, lending money to poor women that want to start small businesses. Since the start of the mortgage-crisis more people in the U.S.…
IMF and EU approve aid for Georgia
Tuesday, September 16, 2008 The International Monetary Fund and the European Union approved aid packages to help Georgia recover from its conflict with Russia, which occurred in early August. The IMF approved a US$750 million loan which will allow Georgia to rebuild its currency reserves. The European Union also approved an aid package of €500…
SpaceX delays Falcon 1 launch again
Tuesday, February 21, 2006 SpaceX Corporation has postponed the launch of the maiden flight of their Falcon 1 rocket again at their Kwajalein launch facility. Although not as damaging as the previous delay on November 11, this is certainly a significant set back for Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of SpaceX. A full engine…
Polish mine explosion kills 8
Wednesday, November 22, 2006 Methane gas was blamed for the explosion deaths of 8 miners in southern Polish‘s Halemba coal mine Tuesday, November 21. Officials say at least 15 are missing. Rescue efforts were halted because dangerously high levels of methane gas returned, according to Zbigniew Madej, spokesman for state-owned Coal Co., which operates the…