Google shaves seconds from searches

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Sept. 8 (UPI) -- U.S. Internet giant Google said Wednesday it was launching a faster approach to searching the World Wide Web, saving users seconds per search.

Google said the new system, Google Instant, directs its search engine to offer options to users with a minimum of keystrokes.

Typing in one letter in the search box will cause a drop down menu to appear that offers a variety of possible responses to the search. With each additional letter type, the responses become more focused on what the user is looking for.

When the appropriate option appears in the drop down menu, users can quit typing and click on the option of their choice.

The system shaves two to five seconds off of the average search, The Wall Street Journal reported.

That's not a shabby advancement for the digital world, where searches are measured in milliseconds, and the seconds saved around the world can add up, Google said.

UPI

Miners watch Chile-Ukraine soccer match

Copiapo, Chile (CNN) -- The 33 workers trapped in a Chilean mine got a rare treat Tuesday night: they got to watch their national soccer team compete against Ukraine in the European Cup live via a small projector wired down to their safety chamber on a fiber optic cable.

Chile lost, 2-1.

But it was a diversion, nonetheless, as the miners try to distract themselves while rescue crews continue drilling down to save them on Day 34 of their ordeal.

Ximena Matas, a spokeswoman for the Chilean minerals ministry, told reporters Wednesday that the drill being used in what's called rescue Plan A has driven through 28 more meters (about 31 yards) of earth since Tuesday for a total distance of 141 meters (154 yards). The Plan B drill plunged 145 meters (158 yards) more, to reach a total of 268 meters (293 yards), she said, and equipment for the Plan C drill will begin arriving Wednesday evening.

Plan A could take up to four months to reach the men, officials have said. The Plan B operation could get to them in two months, while the Plan C option -- which could turn out to be the fastest -- may not be ready to put into action until late September, authorities have said.

The workers are trapped at a depth of 2,300 feet inside of a chamber in the mine. When rescuers first found them, the men told officials they had survived for more than 17 days by sharing a jar of peaches and small amounts of tuna and mackerel that were in their shelter.

CNN

Siberian village destroyed by wildfires, others threatened

(CNN) -- An entire village in southern Siberia was burned to ashes by a new wave of wildfires Wednesday, leaving more than a thousand homeless, authorities said.

Nobody was injured and all people were evacuated, the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry told CNN.

Fire destroyed all 433 homes in the village of Nikolayevka, in which 1,166 people lived, the ministry said. The village is in the Russian Altai region, which borders Kazakhstan.

The villagers have been evacuated to social welfare institutions, rest homes and holiday centers, according to the ministry.

The houses in Nikolayevka were almost instantly swept by flames coming from the Kazakh territory, with temperatures as high as 30 degrees Centigrade (86 degrees Fahrenheit) and winds reaching up to 28 meters a second (more than 60 mph), the ministry said.

New fires from Kazakhstan are approaching at least three other villages with a total population of almost 1,500 living in more than 500 houses. Several houses on the outskirts of the village of Bastan have already caught fire and people are being evacuated, the ministry said.

CNN

Cyrus and son to star in Syfy show

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- U.S. singer, musician and actor Billy Ray Cyrus has signed on to develop and star in a reality series called "UFO: Unbelievably Freakin' Obvious," Syfy said.

The Syfy and NBC's Peacock Productions program will feature Cyrus and his 21-year-old son, Trace, investigating the conspiracy theories surrounding unexplained activity and paranormal phenomena. The project pairs the skeptical Cyrus with his conspiracy-theorist son, and together the two amateur sleuths journey to uncover hidden secrets and obtain untold firsthand accounts, the network said in a synopsis of the show.

"Our audience craves authentic, compelling and informative storytelling that pushes the boundaries of our normal world," Mark Stern, executive vice president of original programming for Syfy and co-head of content for Universal Cable Productions, said in a statement Tuesday. "Allegations of coverup and conspiracy around unexplained phenomena have inspired heated debate for decades, and it will be interesting to see what truth Billy Ray and Trace may discover".

UPI

Cancer mom who used in vitro dies

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Sept. 8 (UPI) -- A Florida woman who was a medical first when she had a child conceived from an egg frozen after she was diagnosed with cancer has died of the disease.

Jennifer Verstandig Rutansky, 39, of Jacksonville survived for 13 years with Hodgkin's lymphoma, the Florida Times-Union reported. During that time, she married, adopted a daughter and gave birth to a son.

She died Sunday.

Rutansky was still single when she learned she had cancer. She was reluctant to get chemotherapy because she hoped to have children, and her sister, a pediatrician, suggested harvesting eggs and storing them.

Jacob Evan Rutansky was born in 2005. While he was biologically his parents' child, he was carried by a surrogate because cancer treatments had damaged his mother's uterus.

UPI

Pa. teen arrested in stabbing of boyfriend

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- A Pennsylvania teenager has been arrested and charged with murder for allegedly stabbing her boyfriend during an argument in her home, authorities say.

Former cheerleader Paige Pfefferle, 19, told investigators she was angry and took a knife from a kitchen counter to "scare" Matthew Hus. When Hus turned to face her, "he turned into the knife," Pfefferle told police.

Officials said an autopsy revealed that Hus, 21, was stabbed once in the chest in a thrusting, downward motion that punctured his aorta, the Philadelphia Daily News reported Wednesday.

Authorities said there was no apparent evidence of Pfefferle being assaulted before the stabbing.

A longtime friend of Hus said Pfefferle was confrontational in the relationship.

UPI

German bank sanctioned for ties to Iran

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- A German bank is contributing to the proliferation of weapons by handling billions of dollars for Iranian banks, the U.S. Treasury Department said.

The Treasury Department announced that it was sanctioning German bank Europaisch -Iranische Handelsbank for "actively facilitating" business with Iranian banks that Washington says are connected to arms exporters in Iran.

The Hamburg bank is accused of working with Iranian financial institutions Bank Mellat, Persia International Bank, the Export Development Bank of Iran and Post Bank of Iran, all of which are the subject of Washington and European sanctions.

Stuart Levey, the U.S. undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement that EIH was acting as a "financial lifeline" for Iran.

"As one of Iran's few remaining access points to the European financial system, EIH has facilitated a tremendous volume of transactions for Iranian banks previously designated for proliferation," he said in his statement.

UPI

'Asylum' No. 1 on the U.S. album chart

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- Disturbed's "Asylum" is No. 1 on the U.S. album chart, Billboard.com reported Wednesday.

Coming in at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 is the "Now 35" compilation CD, followed by Eminem's "Recovery" at No. 3, Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" at No. 4 and Fantasia's "Back To Me" at No. 5.

Rounding out the top tier are Lyfe Jennings' "I Still Believe" at No. 6, the Goo Goo Dolls' "Something For the Rest Of Us" at No. 7, Justin Bieber's "My World 2.0" at No. 8, "Camp Rock 2: the Final Jam" at No. 9 and Heart's "Red Velvet Car" at No. 10.

UPI

Gang member pleads guilty in HIV case

VICTORVILLE, Calif., Sept. 8 (UPI) -- A Southern California man pleaded guilty to a charge of knowingly exposing a woman to the HIV virus, but authorities say there may be more victims.

San Bernardino County sheriff's investigators say it is likely some of Dennis Rios' sexual partners over the past 10 years haven't come forward because they are either embarrassed or feel intimidated by his association with a gang.

The Victorville (Calif.) Daily Press said Wednesday that deputies are also concerned that Rios spread the virus by giving other people tattoos using needles he had also used on himself.

The 41-year-old Apple Valley resident is expected to get three years in prison when he is sentenced Oct. 22.

UPI

European police in pirate raids

Police have arrested 10 people in a series of raids across Europe designed to crack down on file-sharing.

Police targeted 48 sites in countries including Britain, the Netherlands, Czech Republic and Hungary.

Five of the arrests were in Belgium and the others were made in Norway and Sweden.

The suspects are the alleged leaders of four illegal file-sharing networks and they have been charged with hacking, piracy and computer fraud.

In Sweden, seven premises were raided including PRQ, which is believed to host Pirate Bay and whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks.

Police made clear that the raids were unconnected to WikiLeaks.

Co-ordinated by Belgian police, the operation was the culmination of a two-year investigation.

BBC News

Asteroid buzzes Earth; another one coming

(CNN) -- A small asteroid passed within the moon's distance from the Earth on Wednesday morning, and another will do likewise later in the day, space watchers say.

The double encounter is an unusual event that shows the need for closer monitoring of near space for Earth-threatening encounters, according to NASA.

The objects don't pose a threat to Earth, and they will not be visible to the naked eye, said Donald Yeomans, manager of NASA's Near Earth Program, which tracks potentially hazardous asteroids and comets within 28 million miles of Earth.

The objects are visible from Earth as tiny specks of light with the help of moderately sized amateur telescopes, he said.

Near-Earth asteroid 2010 RX30, which is estimated to be 32 to 65 feet in diameter, passed within 154,000 miles of Earth at 5:51 a.m. ET Wednesday, the website PopFi.com confirmed.

The second object, 2010 RF12, estimated to be 20 to 46 feet in diameter, will pass within 49,088 miles of Earth at 5:12 pm ET.

In case you were wondering, that means the two asteroids will pass within 0.6 and 0.2 lunar distances from the Earth, respectively.

Roughly 50 million objects pass through near-Earth space each day, Yeomans said. But what makes this situation noteworthy is that these two asteroids are passing so close to Earth on the same day and that NASA spotted them so far in advance.

CNN

Piers Morgan to take over 'Larry King Live'

(CNN) -- British TV host Piers Morgan will take over Larry King's prime-time hour with "a candid, in-depth newsmaker interview program" starting in January, CNN announced Wednesday.

Morgan, best known to American viewers as a judge on NBC's "America's Got Talent," has most recently hosted "Piers Morgan's Life Stories" on television in the United Kingdom.

"Piers has made his name posing tough questions to public figures, holding them accountable for their words and deeds," said CNN-US President Jon Klein. "He is able to look at all aspects of the news with style and humor with an occasional good laugh in the process".

Morgan's show, which was not named in the CNN news release, will air live on CNN-US at 9 p.m. ET and will air worldwide on CNN-International in more than 200 countries, the network said. Morgan will be based in New York, but also will work from Los Angeles and London, CNN said.

King announced this summer that he was stepping aside from CNN's "Larry King Live," a show he began hosting in 1985.

"I have watched 'Larry King Live' for much of the last 25 years, and dreamed of one day filling the legendary suspenders of the man I consider to be the greatest TV interviewer of them all," Morgan said.

Morgan, 45, began his journalism career as a newspaper reporter in the United Kingdom for The Wimbledon News. In 1994, when he was 28, Morgan became the youngest editor ever at Rupert Murdoch's News of the World. He moved to the Daily Mirror as editor-in-chief in 1995, a post he held for nine years.

Morgan went on to become a television personality, hosting interview programs on the BBC and ITV. Simon Cowell hired Morgan as on a judge on the top-rated "Britain's Got Talent".

His print journalism career continued beyond the Mirror, including a monthly interview column for GQ magazine.

CNN

Russia should boost exhibit activity - ex-Prime Minister Primakov

The transition to an innovative economy in Russia should be followed by an increase in Russia’s exhibition activities, Yevgeny Primakov, head of Russia’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry said.

“I believe that more attention should be given to exhibitions,” Primakov told journalists during his visit to the Russian pavilion at the EXPO-2010 exhibition in Shanghai.

“This is extremely important while we are making a transition to an innovative economy,” Primakov said, adding: “Innovation, promotion of innovation, promotion of everything related to the structural shift in [Russia’s] economy, all of this should and must be shown,” Primakov said.

“The connection between exhibitions and the economy is multidimensional, and exhibitions are a kind of promoter for the development of the entire economy,” Vladislav Malkevich, Chairman of the EXPO club’s board of trustees, said.

Russia constructed a pavilion at the exhibition for the first time in 30 years. The sun-shaped building comprises 12 white-and-gold towers symbolizing the 12 months of the year, and occupies an area of 6,000 square meters.

RIA Novosti

Transdnestr rejects Moldova's accusations of peacekeeping inefficiency

The foreign minister of Moldova's breakaway region of Transdnestr rejected on Wednesday accusations by the Moldovan authorities that the peacekeeping operation in the region is inefficient.

On Monday, Moldova's deputy premier on reintegration Viktor Osipov said the peacekeeping operation, that has been ongoing since 1992, was inefficient as the Moldovan authorities were unable to open a polling station for the Moldovan constitutional referendum on September 5 in the disputed area in Korzhevo due to local protestors.

"I would like to stress that it is not the function of the peacekeeping operation to ensure interaction between the power bodies of the two parties. Involving peacekeepers in what is not meant to be their field of activity means shattering the peacekeeping operation," Vladimir Yastrebchak told journalists.

The Russian-speaking province of Transdnestr has maintained de facto independence from Moldova since a brief war in 1992, which erupted from a buildup of tensions following the breakup of the Soviet Union.

The peacekeeping operation in the region is carried out by the Collective Peacekeeping Forces (CPF), comprising 402 Russian, 492 Transdnestrian, 355 Moldovan troops and 10 Ukrainian observers.

Russia has had peacekeepers in the region since July 1992, and the negotiation process has been frozen since February 2006. Russia, Ukraine and the OSCE are mediators in the conflict, and the European Union and the United States are observers.

RIA Novosti

Russia reports 4 mln illegal migrant workers

Four million foreign nationals work illegally in Russia, the head of the Federal Migration Service said on Wednesday.

More than 10 million foreigners entered Russia in 2010, Konstantin Romodanovsky said at a meeting with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Of this number, 5 million are employed but only 1 million foreigners are working legally.

"One million work legally but 4 million are in the shadows. These individuals have entered the country legally, but are working in violation of the law," Romodanovsky said.

RIA Novosti

Russia starts train service between Moscow, France's Nice

Russian Railways (RZhD) will launch a regular train service between Moscow and the French city of Nice from September 23, the company's vice-president said on Wednesday.

The average journey time of the service, which will reach speeds of up to 75km/h, will be around 50 hours, Mikhail Akulov said.

"We are not exactly happy with the speed, but we agreed to the proposals that were made to us by the European railway companies," Akulov said.

He said he hoped the journey time would be reduced as the service can potentially go as fast as 200 km/h.

The service will operate once a week from central Moscow's Belorussky Railway Station. Adult fares will range from 306 to 1,050 euros.

Nice, situated on the Mediterranean coast in southern France, is one of the country's most popular tourist destinations, second only to Paris.

RIA Novosti

Russia should bid to host World Expo, official says

Russia should join the bidding to host the World Expo no matter how difficult a job to organize the event is, a deputy general director of the All-Russia Exhibition Center (VVC) said on Wednesday.

“Despite all the difficulties, it would be right if Russia bid to host an Expo,” Nikolai Bugayev said.

The 2010 World Expo is being held in Shanghai from May 1 to October 31, 2010. Over 200 countries, corporations and international organizations are taking part in the Expo. Over 48 million people have visited the event since its opening.

Moscow was among other cities vying for the honor to become the event’s host city.

“The World Universal Exhibition is an important political, economic and cultural event… It is not an ordinary commercial exhibition where a product is presented, it is public opinion, appeal of the countries to the world community and declaration of their positions on a certain subject,” Bugayev said. 

The Russian pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo is one of the most popular among the visitors, he said. The number of those who visited the pavilion has exceeded 5 million.

RIA Novosti

Dubai Police to ensure accident-free Eid

Dozens of officers will be stationed in different areas of Dubai to ensure that no traffic laws are broken, said Acting Traffic Police Chief Saif Al Mazroui.

He urged motorists to obey the laws and not to speed. Speeding is the main cause of traffic fatalities especially amongst young men, he said.

“These young men are usually in a rush to finish their errands. Instead of speeding they should take time to organise themselves rather than endangering their lives and those of others,” he added.

Dubai Traffic Police have urged motorists to follow traffic rules and to respect the rights of other drivers during the Eid holidays. The number of traffic accidents increase during any major holiday and police are hoping that this will not be the case this year.

Emirates 24|7

Mabrook on your engagement, now go to jail

An Indian couple that physically consummated their marriage-to-be in their car in Deira City Centre parking lot will now have to delay their wedding by a further three months.

That is the period of the sentence awarded by the Dubai Misdemeanour Court to AK and his fiancé RA for consensual sex between two unmarried people.

The jail term is followed by deportation.

The two were arrested in a compromising position in their car on August 6.

They confessed to the accusation and the girl told Judge Zakariya Abdul Aziz Othman that the man she was arrested with is her fiancé.

 The judge looked then said “mabrook”, meaning congratulations. And gave the sentence.

Sources close to the case confirmed to Emirates 24|7 that the two are indeed engaged and the two families had planned for the marriage to be celebrated in December in India.

Emirates 24|7

Two-day Eid Al Fitr holiday for private sector

A moon-sighting committee in the UAE is to meet on Wednesday night to determine whether Eid Al-Fitr will start on Thursday or Friday.

 

The Eid Al Fitr holiday (paid holiday) for private sector will be on the first and second of Shawwal 1431 Hijri year, according to a ministerial circular issued by the Minister of Labour, Saqr Ghobash.

UAE private sector workers should get bonus and in-lieu holiday from their employers if they are made to work during the upcoming Eid Al Fitr, Alittihad newspaper said on Monday, quoting Labour Ministry sources.

Those getting in-lieu days off must get a bonus of 50 per cent of their salary while those who do not want in-lieu holiday must be paid a bonus of 150 per cent of their salary per each work day during Eid, the paper said.

Emirates 24|7

Sharjah residences can be used commercially

Landlords in Sharjah can turn their residential buildings into commercial and professional facilities as per certain conditions under a new resolution issued by the Sharjah Executive Council.

The meeting was chaired by Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah.

Under the new real estate measures, a committee will be set up to examine applications for commercial and professional use of buildings in view of technical criteria.

The move aims at regulating the use of buildings at the permissible leaseable residential districts.

Emirates 24|7