आज.com: May 24, 2009

U.S. GDP sees worst drop in five decades

The United States Gross Domestic Product (GDP) plunged at an annualised 6.1%, after shrinking by 6.3% in the last three months of last year, according to a report released by the US Commerce Department, making the ongoing recession the worst in at least fifty years.

The report was released just hours before Federal Reserve officials were scheduled to convene to decide how much money to insert into the economy.

The GDP has now fallen for three quarters in a row for the first time in almost forty years. The decline is worse than the average 4.7% drop forecast by economists.

“We are likely to emerge from this recession very slowly and the recovery will be very weak. The aggressive policy response we have gotten will take time to work, but it will counter the still-strong headwinds holding the economy back,” said the chief economist at Morgan Stanley in New York, Richard Berner.

Stock market shares went up on Wednesday, following an analyst's report suggesting that non-performing assets will reach their height in 2009. As of noon, the Standard & Poor's 500 index had gained 2.2%, reaching a level of 873,59 points.

Wikinews

Avsim 'destroyed' by hackers

The flight simulation website Avsim has recently been "destroyed" after an attack by hackers. The website was used for all types of computer flight simulation, but it was mainly devoted to Flight Simulator X. It was launched thirteen years ago, in 1996.

"The method of the hack makes recovery difficult, if not impossible, to recover from," said Tom Allensworth, the founder of Avsim. "AVSIM is totally offline at this time and we expect to be so for some time to come. We are not able to predict when we will be back online, if we can come back at all." The attack destroyed both of the site's servers.

"Some have asked whether or not we had back ups. Yes, we dutifully backed up our servers every day. Unfortunately, we backed up the servers between our two servers," said Allensworth. "The hacker took out both servers, destroying our ability to use one or the other back up to remedy the situation."

"It looks like 13 years of hard work on Tom's part could have been wiped out. Avsim is an important site, because it services the whole community as a source of community developed terrains, skins, and mods - its contribution has been immeasurable," the editor of PC Magazine, Derek Davis, told the BBC news agency.

source : Wikinews

German GDP drops by 3.8%, largest decline in 40 years

According to official figures, Germany's economy contracted by 3.8% in the first quarter of this year, the worst decline in four decades. This is the fourth consecutive time the quarterly GDP has fallen. The plunge was larger than the 3.2% decline predicted by economists.

The Federal Statistics Office reports that the decline was lead by a large slide in exports and investments.

"This is a dramatic plunge and a worse start to the year than we could have imagined," said Juergen Michels, an economist for Citigroup in London.

Other European countries also reported declines in their GDPs. Italy reported a 2.4% decline in GDP in the first three months of 2009, the fastest plunge since 1980, while France reported a 1.2% fall in output.

The eurozone, consisting of sixteen countries, saw its economy contract by 2.5% last quarter, the worst slump since 1995.

source : http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2009/05/20095159330282415.html

Jenson Button wins 2009 Spanish Grand Prix

On Sunday, Brawn-Mercedes driver Jenson Button won the FIA Formula One 2009 Spanish Grand Prix at Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló, Spain. This marks his fourth win this season.

His teammate Rubens Barrichello finished second, who used a more efficient three-stop fuel strategy than Sebastian Vettel from Red Bull, who finished fourth. Australian Mark Webber also benefited from an earlier pit-stop to overtake his teammate Vettel.

Sebastien Vettel too chased down the Ferrari car of Felipe Massa, who unsuccessfully defended his position using his optional KERS regenerative brake. Massa was short on fuel and needed to slow on the dying laps of the race.
Circuit de Catalunya

Both of Red Bull's cars finished after the two Ross Brawn team cars. Renault driver Fernando Alonso also slipped passed Massa on the last lap to secure 5th.

The top eight were closed out by two Germans: Nick Heidfeld racing for BMW Sauber and Nico Rosberg, representing Williams.

The drivers' championship leader is Jenson Button, who is 14 points ahead of his teammate and 18 ahead of Vettel. The constructors' standings are dominated by BrawnGP drivers with nearly 30 points lead over Red Bull.

source : Wikinews

Man convicted for keeping Overwieight Dog

A British man, Ronald West, has been convicted of animal neglect after authorities received complaints about his five-year-old dog being severely overweight. Authorities discovered the case of neglect in December 2008 after a neighbor complained that West's Border Collie Taz appeared to be too fat.When authorities arrived at West's residence, they found Taz's feces scattered around the house and in every room. Authorities made several more visits to West's home until March 2009, at which point they determined that there had been no improvements in living conditions, and so they seized the dog. Taz weighed 88lbs (40kg) when authorities seized him.

West had said that he had been ill with the flu and was unable to clean up after Taz or take him for walks. He admits that he and his friends overfed Taz which led to his obesity, but West says it was not intentional.

"I'll put my hands up and say I'm guilty of [Taz] being overweight, but it wasn't deliberate. You can be cruel with kindness," said West in March, according to the police report.

West's sentencing has been postponed because he failed to appear at today's hearing. When sentenced, West could face a fine of up to £5,000 (US$7,581), six months in prison, and may be forbidden from owning any pets.

source : http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/may/13/obese-dog-brighton-taz

Swine flu reported in more countries; WHO warns of possible pandemic risk

Sunday, May 24, 2009

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