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Friday, July 7, 2017

On Wednesday, automobile company Volvo announced all of its cars to be released in 2019 onwards are to use some form of battery-powered engine, leaving conventional petrol-only vehicles altogether. The decision comes after Volvo announced in May their intent to cease production of diesel vehicles.

The chief executive of Volvo Cars, Håkan Samuelsson, said, “People increasingly demand electrified cars”. Volvo aims to release five new electric vehicle models between 2019 and 2021. While little has yet been revealed about them, the company has stated two of them are to be high-performance electric vehicles, branded as Polestars.

Other car models from 2019 may be plug-in hybrid or 48-volt “mild hybrid” systems. Audi and Mercedes-Benz are also releasing mild hybrid cars for the European market.

“This announcement marks the end of the solely combustion engine-powered car. Volvo Cars has stated that it plans to have sold a total of 1m electrified cars by 2025. When we said it we meant it. This is how we are going to do it,” Samuelsson said. Volvo is owned by Chinese automotive giant Geely, and China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has said by 2025 they want new vehicle sales to be 20 percent “new energy vehicles”.

Saturday, February 4, 2006

On Friday the 3rd, the Portuguese Air Force started to operate eight EH101 Merlin helicopters, replacing the old French made Puma helicopters; which have had more than 30 years of service, first used during the Portuguese Colonial War.

After the war, the Puma were used in missions of search and rescue,transport of patients and evacuation missions, and also assisted the USAF in recovery of NASA‘s Space Shuttles.

Twelve Merlin have been purchased; in three different models: six SAR (for use with Search & Rescue), four in CSAR (for deployment of troops to zones out of the country) and two in SIFICAP (for Fisheries Control).

The Merlin is capable of carrying more than 3 tons, its maximum speed is 309 km/h and it has a range of 1390 km. The Merlin is the helicopter used for the transportation of the president of the United States George W. Bush and other VIP’s.

Four Puma operating in the Azores and in Madeira will continue in service, for the next few months, until the last four Merlin CSAR helicopters are delivered. The air force is currently considering using these four onboard a future logistic support ship. (LPD)

A ceremony was held at the Air Base of Montijo, attending was Portuguese minister of National Defence, Luís Amado. He said during the ceremony that the old Puma might be converted for civilian protection missions, such as fire fighting.

“The Government will decide the future of the Puma helicopters on the board of appreciation that is being done with other sectors of the Government, namely the Ministry of Internal Administration, in the possibility of the Puma being adapted for other missions, for example on the scope of the civilian protection”.

The Merlin, was purchased in 2001 by the Government of António Guterres. The two first helicopters arrived in February 11 of last year, being held in February 24 an official ceremony in the Montijo Air Base, attending both the president of the Portuguese Republic, Jorge Sampaio, and the then minister of National Defense, Paulo Portas.

They have cost the Portuguese Government €446 million, (approximately US$536 million). This deal has given €60 million in counterparts, relatively in orders of production in the workshops of OGMA. It’s expected that this sum will grow to almost a total of €315 million.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd faced intense scrutiny in federal parliament on Tuesday following days of speculation that he was considering scrapping cash bonuses to recipients of carer and seniors payments. Questions by the opposition during question time were dominated by the cash bonuses, with leader of the opposition, Brendan Nelson moving to censure the Prime Minister.

It was the first censure motion moved against the Prime Minister since his election last year.

For the past four years, the previous Howard government had made one-off payments to seniors of up to $500 and $1,600 to carers.

Facing repeated questions, the Prime Minister said “I guarantee that carers will not be onedollar worse off as a consequence of the budget”.

Mr Rudd said that the government was also looking at “the challenges of carers and pensioners in the long term” instead of through one-time bonus payments as the previous government had. Mr Rudd then called the opposition the “new party of compassion” and told the house that the Howard government had never committed to the payments in the long term, as they were not in forward budget estimates.

Brendan Nelson then moved a motion to censure the Prime Minister over his plans. During his motion, Dr Nelson called upon the Prime Minister to “get up, for God’s sake, get up, stand in front of that microphone and say to the carers of this country, ‘I, the Prime Minister of Australia, believe in you and will deliver you a lump sum payment in the budget.”

Dr Nelson also accused the Prime Minister of not seeing the significance of the bonus payments for those who receive them. “For someone earning $250,000 a year, a lump sum payment of $1,600 would probablymake them think: ‘What’s that? It’s my credit card payment or whatever.’” said Dr Nelson.

The opposition leader told the House of Representatives that many people had been budgeting for the bonus payment and it was unfair for it to be taken from them. “If you are hanging out for that lump sum payment, it is absolutely essential for your budgeting,” said Dr Nelson.

When the Prime Minister spoke against the motion, he reminded the opposition that a Liberal party document said “A re-elected Coalition Government will consider continuingto pay these bonuses, depending on the economic circumstances at the time.”

Mr Rudd then drew attention to his $500 utilities allowance, which will be paid to aged and disability pensioners as well as carers to counter the rise in the cost of living.

Speaking for the motion, opposition community services spokesman Tony Abbott accused the Rudd government of “compassion fatigue” and said that the cardboard cutout of the Prime Minister which appeared in parliament on the previous sitting day had “more heart than this Prime Minister”.

The censure motion was defeated along party lines.

Friday, September 29, 2006

Diamond Brownridge, a 5-year old girl from Chicago, Illinois, has died after a visit to the dentist. Children’s Memorial Hospital officials say that the girl was rushed to the hospital when she never woke up after being sedated for a dental procedure. She had been in a coma, on life support, since being admitted to the hospital early in the weekend.

“She passed very peacefully and beautifully,” said the hospital in a statement that the family issued.

Ommettress Travis, the mother of the girl, was asked not to remain inside the room while dentists were operating on the girl to repair two cavities and to have at least two caps replaced. Travis says after thirty minutes she was asked to come back in and found Brownridge not breathing, in the dentist chair.

Hicham Riba, a specialist and professional in anesthesia, who was also licensed, was the dentist in charge of the procedure.

“My family and I are so sad. May God bless Diamond and her family. Every time you have a tragedy like this, you pray more. I don’t think I will ever go back to a normal life after an experience like this,” Riba said in a statement on Wednesday, September 28.

According to the family, the girl had been given at least a triple dose of medicine that sedated her. Those drugs include: nitrous oxide gas, a single dose of an “oral agent” and an IV.

A judge has ordered that all equipment and materials used during the operation be protected and examined. The girl’s medical records have also been ordered to be examined.

There is no word on whether or not any charges will be filed against Riba or any of the dentist’s staff.

Monday, July 4, 2005

NASA’s Deep Impact probe collided with the comet Tempel 1 on Monday, as intended by scientists. The collision took place at 5:45 UTC and NASA held a press briefing shortly after at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, NASA’s non-manned space flight control center. A full-fledged press conference by NASA is scheduled to be at JPL on Monday afternoon at 2 p.m. PDT (9:00 UTC).

The experiment, intending to provide more information about the make up of comets, consisted of a 370 kg projectile being fired at the comet in order to observe and analyse the resultant impact. With information gleaned from the impact, the comet’s general make-up can be established and more accurate hypotheses regarding how the Solar system and the universe came to be.

Friday, January 29, 2010

According to official data, the US economy grew by an annualised rate of 5.7% in the last quarter of last year.

The figure is still an initial estimate, but was higher than the 2.2% annualised growth recorded in the third quarter of the year. Economic analysts polled by the Reuters news agency had predicted a 4.6% rise.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis, which releases the economy growth reports, noted that the figures were based on estimates and incomplete data, and might be revised later.

Christina Romer, an economist for the White House, described the growth as being “the most positive news to date on the economy”, saying: “It is important not to read too much into a single report, positive or negative. There will surely be bumps in the road ahead. Nonetheless, today’s report is a welcome piece of encouraging news.”

Jack Ablin, chief investment officer for Harris Private Bank in Chicago, Illinois, remarked that “it’s [the number] very solid and gives us a running start into the second half of the year when we can’t rely on government stimulus. That’s part of the plan, to get us moving as fast as possible so when life support is removed we’ll have a pulse.”