UN Global Disasters Forum Opens With Condolences For Oklahoma City Tornado Victims
May 22, 2013 9:25 am | by The United Nations | Comments“Our thoughts and hearts go to the people of Oklahoma and we hope that help will reach those in need soon,” Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson told participants at the opening of the 4th Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, which is on the theme: “Invest Today for a Safer Tomorrow.”
UN: Private Sector Must Engage In Disaster Risk Reduction To Avoid Economic Losses
May 22, 2013 9:23 am | by The United Nations | Comments“The beginnings of changing attitudes in the private sector now need to transform into a more systematic approach to disaster risk management in partnership with the public sector to make the world a safer place,” Ms. Wahlström said, adding that this will be a major focus of the Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction to be held in Geneva next week.
Help Oklahoma Tornado Victims By Donating To The Red Cross
May 21, 2013 11:19 am | CommentsPeople who wish to make a donation can support American Red Cross Disaster Relief, which helps provide food, shelter and emotional support to those affected by disasters like the recent tornadoes in Oklahoma and Texas as well as disasters big and small throughout the United States. You can donate today by visiting www.redcross.org.
Tornadoes Slam Plains, Midwest
May 20, 2013 12:07 pm | by SEAN MURPHY,Associated Press | CommentsForecasters had been warning of bad weather since Wednesday and on Sunday said conditions had ripened for powerful tornadoes. Wall-to-wall broadcasts of storm information spread the word Sunday, leaving Pottawatomie County Sheriff Mike Booth grateful.
Smartphones Increasingly Targeted By Hackers
May 20, 2013 11:48 am | by TONY WINTON,Associated Press | CommentsResearch involved 20 computer servers that were used to send out more than 100,000 "phishing" emails. About 2,200 of the 3,000 responses the scam artists received came from smartphones. Doug Johnson, vice president of risk management for the American Bankers Association, said he expects those numbers to get worse.
UN Reports $2.5 Trillion In Disaster Losses Since 2000
May 20, 2013 11:31 am | by EDITH M. LEDERER,Associated Press | CommentsThe U.N. Office for Disaster Risk Reduction warned in the 246-page report that economic losses from floods, earthquakes and drought will continue to escalate unless businesses take action to reduce their exposure to disaster risks. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched the report saying the review of disaster losses in 56 countries clearly demonstrates that "economic losses from disasters are out of control."
Swine Flu Found In Elephant Seals Off California
May 20, 2013 11:27 am | CommentsResearchers have detected swine flu in elephant seals off the Central California coast, saying it was the first time a human pandemic strain has been found in marine mammals. The researchers raised the possibility that seabirds may have passed on the virus.
Mutare Vital Link™ Smart Notification Platform Tackles $8 Billion Healthcare Communication Problem
May 20, 2013 10:44 am | CommentsMutare has announced the General Availability of Vital Link 2.0, the game-changing smart notification system that supports 2-way secure communication, mass/group notification and patient engagement messaging in a single closed loop platform.
Two New Diseases Could Spark Global Outbreaks
May 13, 2013 10:30 am | by MARIA CHENG,AP Medical Writer | CommentsTwo respiratory viruses in different parts of the world have captured the attention of global health officials — a novel coronavirus in the Middle East and a new bird flu spreading in China. Last week, the coronavirus related to SARS spread to France, where one patient who probably caught the disease in Dubai infected his hospital roommate.
Mexico Sets Shelters As Volcano Shakes, Spews Ash
May 13, 2013 9:53 am | CommentsSeismic activity has increased at the Popocatepetl volcano near Mexico City, leading authorities to alert towns in two central states and the capital. Mexico's National Disaster Prevention Center says the white-capped volcano spewed a plume of steam more than a half mile into the sky.
Police Vow To Solve Shootings Of 19 In New Orleans
May 13, 2013 9:38 am | by CHEVEL JOHNSON,Associated Press | CommentsVideo released early Monday by New Orleans police shows a possible suspect in the Mother's Day gunfire that wounded 19 people during a neighborhood parade. Shootings at parades and neighborhood celebrations have become more common in recent years as the city has struggled with street crime, sometimes gang-related.
Three Suspected Cases Of SARS-Related Virus In France
May 10, 2013 1:26 pm | by GREG KELLER,Associated Press | CommentsFrench health officials said Friday they are investigating three suspected cases of a deadly new respiratory virus related to SARS, in people who had close contact in the hospital with France's only confirmed case. A nurse at the hospital where the man was hospitalized in late April has herself been under watch at the hospital in Douai since Thursday night.
Canada Not Planning H7N9 Vaccine Studies; Will Watch U.S. Result
May 10, 2013 10:51 am | by Helen Branswell, The Canadian Press | CommentsCanada currently has no plans to ask its pandemic flu vaccine manufacturers to make trial batches of vaccine to protect against the new H7N9 bird flu, senior officials of the Public Health Agency of Canada have revealed. While the U.S. government has said it will ask several flu vaccine manufacturers to start growing up batches of serum against the new virus this summer, Canada will watch, wait and learn from the work the U.S.
Boston Cop: Never Saw Russia Warning About Suspect
May 10, 2013 10:47 am | by ALICIA A. CALDWELL,Associated Press | CommentsThe Boston police commissioner says three city police officers were working with the U.S. terrorism task force but didn't know about vague warnings by Russia's government about one of the bombing suspects delivered nearly two years before the attacks.
Courts Office Hacked; Judicial Data Security Reviewed
May 10, 2013 9:46 am | by RACHEL LA CORTE,Associated press | CommentsThe Washington state Administrative Office of the Courts was hacked sometime between last fall and February, and up to 160,000 Social Security numbers and 1 million driver's license numbers may have been accessed during the data breach of its public website, officials said. The broader information "just happened to be on a server in an area that was accessed," said Veronica Diseth, director of the courts' information services division.



