Mainstream News

Bribery keeps Chinese public hospitals running

"China is an appealing market for pharmaceutical firms and medical-equipment makers, with spending in the industry expected to nearly triple to $1 trillion by 2020 from $357 billion in 2011, according to consulting firm McKinsey. The corruption stems largely from doctors’ low base salaries, which are set in line with a pay scale for government workers. Hospitals can pay bonuses but, given public hospitals are strapped for cash, compensation is usually low, say doctors and industry experts. A doctor fresh out of medical school in Beijing earns about 3,000 yuan ($490) a month including bonuses — roughly the same as a taxi driver." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBribery keeps Chinese public hospitals running

Chinese airline passengers face worst travel delays

"Air passengers in China experience the world’s most disrupted travel plans, according to a report which names two of the country’s major airports and its leading airlines among the most delayed. Beijing International Airport is the world’s most delayed airport, with just 18.3 percent of commercial passenger flights leaving on schedule, the report claims. Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport reported the second worst departure record with 23.5 percent leaving on time, according to the study by FlightStats, a US-based air travel information service. About 42 percent of flights from Beijing and 40 percent of flights from Shanghai suffered delays of 45 minutes or longer." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChinese airline passengers face worst travel delays

Chinese man kills two ‘one-child’ policy officials

"A knife-wielding man stormed an office enforcing China’s one-child policy on Tuesday, stabbing two officials to death and injuring four people after a row over his offspring, state media said. Bureau staff had earlier refused to give the man, surnamed He, the papers he needed to obtain a residency permit for his fourth child, the official Xinhua news agency said, as he had not paid a 'social compensation fee' for having it in violation of the family planning policy. Outrage spread online last year after a woman who had been forced to undergo an abortion seven months into her pregnancy was pictured alongside the bloody foetus." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChinese man kills two ‘one-child’ policy officials

A Black Box for Car Crashes

"Fourteen states have passed laws that say that, even though the data belongs to the vehicle’s owner, law enforcement officials and those involved in civil litigation can gain access to the black boxes with a court order. In these states, lawyers may subpoena the data for criminal investigations and civil lawsuits, making the information accessible to third parties, including law enforcement or insurance companies that could cancel a driver’s policy or raise a driver’s premium. Privacy advocates have expressed concern that the data collected will only grow to include a wider time frame and other elements like GPS and location-based services." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA Black Box for Car Crashes

Snooping Fears: German Firms Race to Shield Secrets

"Edward Snowden's revelations about data surveillance have left German firms feeling acutely vulnerable to industrial espionage. In the medium-sized business sector, which contains a host of world leaders in high-tech fields, the race is on to shield vital know-how. Be it Prism, Tempora or XKeyscore, reports about mass electronic surveillance and tapped Internet hubs and trans-Atlantic data lines have alarmed German companies. Many firms are now worried that the intelligence services aren't just trying to pinpoint terrorists but to get at German industrial secrets as well. They fear that their lead over US, British and French competitors could be at risk." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSnooping Fears: German Firms Race to Shield Secrets

U.S. General: US military intervention in Syria would create ‘unintended consequences’

"The top US military officer warned senators on Monday that taking military action to stop the bloodshed in Syria was likely to escalate quickly and result in 'unintended consequences', representing the most explicit uniformed opposition to deeper involvement in another war in the Middle East. Dempsey's letter came after McCain announced he would block the general's reappointment to chair the joint chiefs of staff, the most senior position in the US military, until Dempsey provided the Senate with his assessment of the merits of US military action in Syria." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. General: US military intervention in Syria would create ‘unintended consequences’

Colorado Springs bans recreational marijuana shops

"Officials in Colorado’s second-largest city voted on Tuesday to ban recreational marijuana shops, becoming the largest community in the state to utilize an opt-out provision of a law that legalized the non-medical use of pot. Colorado Springs has a population of about 420,000 with a large military and evangelical Christian presence and is one of the most conservative and Republican areas in a state which in recent election cycles has turned leftward. The federal government lists cannabis as a dangerous narcotic and considers it illegal for any purpose, a point underscored by Colorado Springs residents who spoke on Tuesday in favor of the ban." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingColorado Springs bans recreational marijuana shops

Brazil becomes world’s 7th most violent country with 1 million murders in 30 years

"More than one million people were murdered in Brazil between 1980 and 2011, making it the world’s seventh most violent country, a survey showed Thursday. During the period, homicides soared 132 percent to claim 1,145,208 lives, from a rate of 11.5 murders for 100,000 inhabitants in 1980 to 27 per 100,000 in 2011, according to the Map of Violence report, In 2011, Brazil, now home to 194 million people, recorded 51,198 homicides, ranked seventh among the world’s most violent nations after El Salvador, the US Virgin Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, Colombia and Guatemala." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBrazil becomes world’s 7th most violent country with 1 million murders in 30 years

Al-Qaeda claims Iraq prison raids, says 500 inmates freed

"Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for simultaneous raids on two Iraqi prisons and said more than 500 inmates had been set free, in a statement posted on militant forums on Tuesday. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which was formed earlier this year through a merger between al Qaeda’s affiliates in Syria and Iraq, said it had carried out the attacks on Abu Ghraib and Taji jails after months of preparation. Sunni Islamist militants have in recent months been regaining momentum in their insurgency against Iraq‘s Shi’ite-led government, which came to power after the U.S. invasion to oust Saddam Hussein." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAl-Qaeda claims Iraq prison raids, says 500 inmates freed