Agence France-Press – All samples of adeadly fluvirus that were mistakenly sent abroad by a US institutehave now been accounted for, according to the World HealthOrganization. The H2N2 strain is similar to the 1957 fluvirus that killed up to four million people around the worldin the late 1950s, and should not have been sent out inroutine test kits for pathogens, according WHO. Lebanesehealth authorities found the missing sample at Beirutairport and it will be destroyed or removed soon.Authorities in South Korea reported that the missing sampleswere found to have been destroyed after initial”administrative confusion.”
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Newswise – There are plenty of things that go on in Europe that most UScitizens don’t want to happen here. Among them are hightaxes (for a correspondingly high level of social programs) andID cards that must be carried at all times and shown upondemand (our drivers licenses serve that purpose, but manymore Europeans do not drive). Another one is the camerasthat have been set up at intersections to take quick flashphotos of cars that are breaking the law (the cars areidentified by their license plates and the drivers arecontacted later by traffic authorities). In London,especially, citizens are on camera a good deal of the time,since video cameras have been set up in many busy areas tophotograph pedestrians. This is a technique that began inthe days of IRA terrorism.read more

A paralyzed US man has become the first person in the worldto have an brain implant that can read his mind. 25-year-oldMatthew Nagle, who was paralyzed from the neck down afterbeing attacked with a knife four years ago, can now controlobjects by thought alone. His implant reads his mind andsends the thoughts to a computer. For example, he can turnhis TV on and off, as well as change the volume andchannels, with a robotic arm that is controlled by hisimplant, reacting to signals, sent to a computer directlyfrom his brain.
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Germany’s Joseph Ratzinger was electedthe 265th pope of the Roman Catholic Church on Tuesday andwill take the name Benedict XVI, the Vatican announced.The name of the 78-year-old Ratzinger was announced to acrowd of around 100,000 pilgrims by Cardinal Jorge MedinaEstevez of Chile, the senior cardinal deacon, from thebalcony of St Peter’s Basilica.

When the name of the new pope was announced, some members ofthe crowd cheered, but others were disappointed. In ahopeful note, Benedict XV was known as a pope ofreconciliation in the early part of the 20th Century,because of his ability to balance the needs of both liberaland conservative Catholics.
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