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TRANSATLANTIC TIMES: World News Report
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Washington, DC, USA
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A. German Navy Captures Somali Pirates
B. World Oil Prices falls
C. Cignet Health List Their Top Hospitals, Doctors for 2008
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D. The Mugabe Menace, US Top Envoy
German Navy Captures Somali Pirates
TTimes World Report
The German navy says it has foiled an attempt by pirates to hijack an Egyptian cargo vessel off Somalia.
Six Somali pirates were captured by sailors of the frigate Karlsruhe in the Gulf of Aden.
However, the pirates were immediately released on the orders of the German government, officials told the BBC.
Separately, three Chinese naval ships were due to leave their home port of Sanya on Thursday to protect Chinese ships off Somalia.
There have been more than 100 pirate attacks this year in the Gulf of Aden and several countries have deployed warships there.
Confiscated
The Karlsruhe sent a helicopter to protect the Egyptian cargo ship Wadi al-Arab from the pirates, who shot and injured a member of its crew as they tried to board the vessel.
A German navy spokesperson based in Djibouti told the BBC's Greg Morsbach the Somali attackers were disarmed by German sailors and their weapons confiscated.
"We had forces on board the frigate, and they used fast small boats, and together with the helicopter we were able to surround the pirates and disarm them," he said.
He said the decision not to detain or arrest them was taken by the German government in Berlin.
A spokesman for the EU's mission off Somalia, Cdr Achim Winkler, told the BBC's Europe Today programme that Germany would only bring pirates to justice where German interests were hurt.
This would be the case if a German ship was attacked or German citizens were killed or injured, he said.
The injured crewman is being treated on the Karlsruhe.
The UN Security Council recently passed a resolution giving members states extra powers to deal with pirates on the High Seas, including the power of detention and arrest.
The Chinese ships - two destroyers and a supply ship - aim to defend Chinese shipping from pirates, the ministry of defence said.
The BBC's Chris Hogg in Beijing says China has followed a doctrine of non-interference in other nations' affairs and despite this new type of deployment the ministry insists this has not changed.
World Oil Prices falls
By Andrew Horowitz
Investors expecting more evidence of slowing United States energy demand got a bit of a surprise as the Energy Department reported crude inventories dropped last week.
But Americans continue to cut back on driving amid the worst recession in a generation, leading to growing stockpiles of gasoline and eroding demand for motor fuel.
Gasoline futures plummeted below 80 cents a gallon.
"I don't see anything out of this report that's really going to change this downward move. Things are going to remain under downside pressure through the balance of this year and probably into the new year," said Jim Ritterbusch, President of energy consultancy Ritterbusch and Associates.
A steady stream of dismal US economic and corporate data during the past few months has hammered investor confidence and sent oil prices reeling 74 percent since July.
More bad news emerged yesterday with consumer spending falling for a fifth straight month in November, the longest weak stretch in a half century, while incomes declined under the weight of massive job layoffs.
Separately, new claims for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, as layoffs spread throughout the economy, more evidence the labor market is weakening as the recession deepens. The Labor Department reported initial requests for jobless benefits rose to a seasonally adjusted 586,000 in the week ending Dec. 20, from an upwardly revised figure of 556,000 the previous week. That's much more than the 560,000 economists had expected.
Manufacturers are slashing energy use as well. Orders at U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods fell again in November, reflecting further setbacks in the battered auto industry and a big drop in demand for commercial aircraft.
For the week ended December 19 crude inventories fell by 3.1 million barrels, or one per cent to 318.2 million barrels, which is 9.1 per cent above year-ago levels, the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report.
Analysts had expected a boost of 1.5 million barrels, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.
Gasoline inventories rose by 3.3 million barrels, or 1.6 percent, to 207.3 million barrels, which is 2.4 percent below year-ago levels. Analysts expected stockpiles of the motor fuel to rise by 900,000 barrels.
OPEC may meet in Kuwait City on January 19, 2009 to discuss further production cuts. The group's next official meeting is March 15 in Vienna.
The fall of benchmark crude on the Nymex has been paralleled by steep declines in Brent futures traded on London's ICE exchange.
Trader and analyst Stephen Schork noted that Brent crude has dropped "in 79 of the last 123 sessions by a total of $108.05 a barrel" - a 73 percentage point loss.
Cignet Health List Their Top Hospitals, Doctors for 2008
TTimes World New Report
Cignet Health Plan the USA based HMO with membership in UK and Nigeria announces their top rating for its network health care hospitals and doctors facilities in their three main countries of operations. In the end of year message to their members, Cignet Health named Southern Maryland Hospital a Washington DC suburb hospital just ahead of their parent company owned Cignet Health Center as top facility provider in the USA, and Queen Elizabeth Hospital, London topping the UK, while Uplift Medical Center, a Cignet Health affiliate hospital in Victoria Island Lagos, topping the list in Nigeria. See the full list below.
1. Southern Maryland Hospital, Clinton Maryland USA, Queen Elizabeth, NHS Hospital, London for UK and Uplift Medical Center, Lekki Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria tops list for Nigeria.
Other top hospitals includes Cignet Health Centers in Maryland USA, Fort Washington Hospital in Fort Washington, Maryland, George Washington University Hospital, Washington DC. For the southern regions in USA, topping the list was Reston Hospital in Reston, Virginia, Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. Other top hospitals include The Harley Clinic for women in London, England and for Nigeria Uplift Medical Center, and Eko Hospital, Lagos. See full list below.
SOUTH REGION USA
1. Reston Hospital, Reston
Virginia
2. Emory University Hospital
Atlanta, Georgia
3. Lab Corp. of America
Burlington, North Carolina
NORTH EAST REGION USA
1. University Hospital, UMDNJ
Newark, New Jersey
2. Newark Beth Isreal Hospital
Newark, New Jersey
3. Albert Einstein Medical Center
New York, New York
4. Yale New Haven Hospital
New Haven, Connecticut
5. Nassau Medical Center
Long Island, New York
6. Good Samaritan Hospital
Suffern, New York
7. Thomas Jefferson Hospital,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
8. Boston University Hospital,
Boston, Massachusetts
CENTRAL AND WEST USA
1. University of Chicago Hospital
Chicago, Illinois
2. West Houston Medical Center
Houston, Texas
3. West Houston Ob/Gyn Associates
Houston, Texas
4. Mesquite Community Hospital
Mesquite, Texas
5. Diamond Reference Lab
Los Angeles, California
UK TOP FACILITEIS
1. Queen Elizabeth NHS Hospital, London
2. The Harley Clinic for Women, London
NIGERIA TOP FACILITIES BY REGIONS
VICTORIA ISLAND/IKOYI/LEKKI/LAGOS
1. Uplift Medical Center, Lekki, VI
2. Eko Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos
3. All Souls Clinic, Lagos
SOUTHERN REGIONS OF NIGERIA
1. Ponyx Clinic Hospital, Port Harcourt
2. Imperial Specialist Hospital, Enugu
3. Cici Gyde Clinic Center, Benin City
4. Fairview Hospital Center, Warri, Delta State
5. Austin-Grace Hospital, Aba, Abia State
6. Skyline Hospital Center, Ibadan
NORTHERN REGION NIGERIA
1. Alba Clinic Hospital, Kaduna
2. Manerk Hospital Center, Kaduna
3. International Clinic, Kano
4. Sauki Clinic, Jos, Plateau
Please remember to eat healthy and to prevent yourself from transmitting infections, wash your hands always. Most infections are transmitted in hand shakes, counting and exchanging currencies. Avoid enclosure in areas with large numbers of persons without fresh source of ventilation and keep your environment tidy, avoid water logged areas in your environment as much as possible. Just a few tips to keep you healthy during this holiday season and beyond. For more health care informations please visit Cignet Health
at http://www.cignethealth.com/ on the world wide web, or send them an email cignethealth@cignetcard.com.
In USA Call - 1800-7305914 or 301-4234551
In Nigeria - 01-2706697
As you enjoy the holiday season remember to always carry your Health card or Cignet Card every where you go, you never know when you may need it for services. You may contact Transatlantic Times directly at sales@transatlantictimes.com for more information on this story.
The Mugabe Menace, US Top Envoy
TTime Africa Report
The United States says the power-sharing deal in Zimbabwe will not work with Robert Mugabe as president.
The US would not reverse sanctions policy while Mr Mugabe remained in power as he had "lost touch with reality", said its top envoy to Africa.
As well as suffering economic collapse, Zimbabwe is suffering from a cholera epidemic charities say is critical.
Talks on a power-sharing deal with the opposition following disputed elections in March have been stalled.
Progress has also stalled over who should control key ministries.
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party accuses Mr Mugabe of breaking the deal to form a coalition government and of abducting its members.
The US had supported the deal that was signed in September and promised to lift sanctions if it was implemented. Zimbabwe is mine, I am a Zimbabwean. Zimbabwe for Zimbabweans
Robert Mugabe
But US Assistant Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Jendayi Frazer said it could no longer fulfil either of those pledges, and that Mr Mugabe had "reneged on the principle of power sharing".
"We have lost confidence in the power-sharing deal being a success with Mugabe in power. He has lost touch with reality," she said during a visit to South Africa.
"We were prepared to use the American influence to negotiate with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to clear the $1.2bn Zimbabwe debt, but now we are no longer prepared to do that."
Mugabe's time is over, says Jendayi Frazer
Ms Frazer also called on African leaders to unite against Mr Mugabe, saying that if they were to "go to Mugabe and tell him to go, I do think he would go".
But neighbouring South Africa has again insisted that a power-sharing deal is the only option for Zimbabwe.
"We believe in that agreement as the way for Zimbabwe to deal with its problems," said Thabo Masebe, a spokesman for South African President Kgalema Motlanthe.
Cholera fears
Mr Mugabe has said he is not to blame for Zimbabwe's situation and has rejected calls from African and Western leaders to stand down.
On Friday, he told delegates of his ruling Zanu-PF at their annual conference that he would "never, never, never surrender".
Charity warns on Zimbabwe cholera
"Zimbabwe is mine, I am a Zimbabwean. Zimbabwe for Zimbabweans," he said.
Mr Mugabe has said that the cholera crisis is over and was being used by the West as an excuse to invade Zimbabwe.
However, aid agencies have warned that the disease, which has already claimed 1,123 lives, could infect more than 60,000 unless its spread is halted.
Manuel Lopez, head of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), said the epidemic remained at a critical level and would not subside until the rains end in March next year.
Opposition threat
Mr Mugabe signed a power-sharing deal with his rival, Morgan Tsvangirai, in September, under which Mr Tsvangirai would have become prime minister and headed a new council of ministers.
But the two leaders have been unable to agree on the distribution of key ministries.
Mr Tsvangirai has said that more than 40 members of his MDC party have since gone missing, presumed abducted.
He has threatened to suspend all contact with Zanu-PF unless there is an end to the abductions, saying there can be no meaningful talks while a campaign of terror is being waged.
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