The next edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, the word reference bible of the English language, may never appear in print and instead be accessible only online, its publisher said Tuesday.
A team of 80 lexicographers are preparing the third edition of the OED, but with more than a decade of work ahead of them and digital books fast gaining popularity, the publishers are hedging their bets on what format it will take.
“The first edition of the multi-volume Oxford English Dictionary was fully published in 1928, and the second edition in 1989,” a spokeswoman for Oxford University Press said Tuesday.
“No decision has yet been made on the format of the third edition.
“It is likely to be more than a decade before the full edition is published, and a decision on format will be taken at that point.”
Revised and new entries are published online every three months on OED Online, with the next version due to be published in December. Sales of digital books are fast catching up with print copies — online retail giant Amazon announced last month that sales of electronic books for the Kindle e-reader had overtaken hardcover book sales for the first time.
However, Oxford University Press said it was confident that “large numbers of people continue to purchase dictionaries in printed form and we have no plans to stop publishing print dictionaries”.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
China's flood toll rises to 4,200 dead or missing
Agence France-Presse
First Posted 06:06:00 09/01/2010
Filed Under: Flood, Disasters (general), Landslide
BEIJING—More than 4,200 people have died or are missing in floods in China so far this year, the worst to hit the country in more than a decade, the government said Tuesday.
Torrential rains triggering floods and related natural disasters have affected 230 million people and resulted in the evacuation of 15.18 million people as of August 31, the monthly toll report said.
A total of 3,185 people have been killed, while 1,050 are listed as missing in flood-related natural disasters in China so far this year, it said.
The central government has allocated more than two billion yuan in relief funds to the eight provinces hardest hit, which include Gansu in the northwest which was hit by a massive mudslide and neighbouring Sichuan and Shaanxi.
Direct economic losses stood at more than 350 billion yuan ($51.4 billion) as over two million homes have collapsed while over five million buildings have been damaged, the report said.
A devastating mudslide in Gansu in August was the worst flood-related disaster so far this year, leaving at least 1,467 dead and 298 missing.
The overall situation has triggered a repeat of disastrous flooding in 1998, when heavy rain swelled the Yangtze, China's longest river, and many tributaries, leading to devastating levee collapses.
At least 4,150 people are thought to have died, 18 million were evacuated and millions of homes were destroyed in those floods, the country's worst in recent memory.
First Posted 06:06:00 09/01/2010
Filed Under: Flood, Disasters (general), Landslide
BEIJING—More than 4,200 people have died or are missing in floods in China so far this year, the worst to hit the country in more than a decade, the government said Tuesday.
Torrential rains triggering floods and related natural disasters have affected 230 million people and resulted in the evacuation of 15.18 million people as of August 31, the monthly toll report said.
A total of 3,185 people have been killed, while 1,050 are listed as missing in flood-related natural disasters in China so far this year, it said.
The central government has allocated more than two billion yuan in relief funds to the eight provinces hardest hit, which include Gansu in the northwest which was hit by a massive mudslide and neighbouring Sichuan and Shaanxi.
Direct economic losses stood at more than 350 billion yuan ($51.4 billion) as over two million homes have collapsed while over five million buildings have been damaged, the report said.
A devastating mudslide in Gansu in August was the worst flood-related disaster so far this year, leaving at least 1,467 dead and 298 missing.
The overall situation has triggered a repeat of disastrous flooding in 1998, when heavy rain swelled the Yangtze, China's longest river, and many tributaries, leading to devastating levee collapses.
At least 4,150 people are thought to have died, 18 million were evacuated and millions of homes were destroyed in those floods, the country's worst in recent memory.
Obama announces end of U.S. combat mission in Iraq
President Barack Obama speaks after addressing the nation about the end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq from the Oval Office of the White House on Aug. 31,2010.(Xinhua/AFP)
WASHINGTON, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday announced the end of combat operations in Iraq, saying the United States has met its responsibility, and "it is time to turn the page."
"Tonight, I am announcing that the American combat mission in Iraq has ended. Operation Iraqi Freedom is over, and the Iraqi people now have lead responsibility for the security of their country," Obama said in an Oval Office address to the nation.
According to agreements between the two governments, U.S. troops are due to end combat mission in Iraq on Aug. 31, and will transition into a mission to mainly advise and assist Iraqi security forces. The Pentagon said the remaining 50,000 U.S. troops will also support Iraqi troops in targeted counter-terrorism missions, and protect U.S. civilians.
While announcing the U.S. combat mission is ending, Obama said the U.S."commitment to Iraq's future is not," as U.S. diplomats, aid workers, and advisors are "moving into the lead to support Iraq as it strengthens its government, resolves political disputes, resettles those displaced by war, and builds ties with the region and the world."
The president's speech came at a time when Iraq's future seems very much in doubt.
Besides lacking a fully capable national army, Iraqis was unable to form a government months after the March 7 parliamentary elections.Militants exploited the political vacuum, mounting deadly attacks all over the country.
Even a stable, friendly Iraq "will take a minimum of another five years, and probably ten" of intense nation building efforts, said Anthony Cordesman, a defense and security expert with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
No wonder Obama used the speech to renew his call for Iraqi leaders to form an inclusive government "with a sense of urgency."
Reflecting on the huge costs of the war, Obama said ending it is not only in Iraq's interest, it is also in the Unites State's own.
"We have sent our young men and women to make enormous sacrifices in Iraq, and spent vast resources abroad at a time of tight budgets at home."
United States has spent over 7,000 billion U.S. dollars in the war, with more than 4,400 troops killed and more than 30,000 others wounded. Overall costs of the war could amount to three trillion dollars if medical expenses for injured veterans are counted.
The United States is also fighting another war in Afghanistan. Obama said because of the drawdown in Iraq, the administration "is now able to apply the resources necessary to go on offense." He has ordered additional deployment of 30,000 troops to Afghanistan late last year.
Obama has set next July as the beginning of the troop drawdown in Afghanistan, though "the pace of our troop reductions will be determined by conditions on the ground."
"Make no mistake: this transition will begin," Obama said, noting open-ended war serves neither U.S. nor Afghan interests.
As the country begin to wind down the Iraq war and setting sight on an end to the Afghanistan war, Obama said U.S. influence around the world should not be a function of military force alone, but also a projection of the country's diplomacy and economic strength.
Burdened by two unpopular wars, the U.S. economy is slow to recover from a deep recession.
"We have spent over a trillion dollars at war...This, in turn, has short-changed investments in our own people, and contributed to record deficits," Obama said, vowing to restore the economy, and "put the millions of Americans who have lost their jobs back to work," Obama said.
"In the days to come," reviving the economy "must be our central mission as a people, and my central responsibility as president," Obama said.
He promised to strengthen the middle class, improve education, jumpstart industries, end dependence on foreign oil, as well as unleash innovation.
This is the second Oval Office speech Obama made as president. He used his last one to address the BP oil spill. This time, he steered clear of a "victory lap," and called former president George W. Bush, who started the Iraq war, before the speech.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday announced the end of combat operations in Iraq, saying the United States has met its responsibility, and "it is time to turn the page."
"Tonight, I am announcing that the American combat mission in Iraq has ended. Operation Iraqi Freedom is over, and the Iraqi people now have lead responsibility for the security of their country," Obama said in an Oval Office address to the nation.
According to agreements between the two governments, U.S. troops are due to end combat mission in Iraq on Aug. 31, and will transition into a mission to mainly advise and assist Iraqi security forces. The Pentagon said the remaining 50,000 U.S. troops will also support Iraqi troops in targeted counter-terrorism missions, and protect U.S. civilians.
While announcing the U.S. combat mission is ending, Obama said the U.S."commitment to Iraq's future is not," as U.S. diplomats, aid workers, and advisors are "moving into the lead to support Iraq as it strengthens its government, resolves political disputes, resettles those displaced by war, and builds ties with the region and the world."
The president's speech came at a time when Iraq's future seems very much in doubt.
Besides lacking a fully capable national army, Iraqis was unable to form a government months after the March 7 parliamentary elections.Militants exploited the political vacuum, mounting deadly attacks all over the country.
Even a stable, friendly Iraq "will take a minimum of another five years, and probably ten" of intense nation building efforts, said Anthony Cordesman, a defense and security expert with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
No wonder Obama used the speech to renew his call for Iraqi leaders to form an inclusive government "with a sense of urgency."
Reflecting on the huge costs of the war, Obama said ending it is not only in Iraq's interest, it is also in the Unites State's own.
"We have sent our young men and women to make enormous sacrifices in Iraq, and spent vast resources abroad at a time of tight budgets at home."
United States has spent over 7,000 billion U.S. dollars in the war, with more than 4,400 troops killed and more than 30,000 others wounded. Overall costs of the war could amount to three trillion dollars if medical expenses for injured veterans are counted.
The United States is also fighting another war in Afghanistan. Obama said because of the drawdown in Iraq, the administration "is now able to apply the resources necessary to go on offense." He has ordered additional deployment of 30,000 troops to Afghanistan late last year.
Obama has set next July as the beginning of the troop drawdown in Afghanistan, though "the pace of our troop reductions will be determined by conditions on the ground."
"Make no mistake: this transition will begin," Obama said, noting open-ended war serves neither U.S. nor Afghan interests.
As the country begin to wind down the Iraq war and setting sight on an end to the Afghanistan war, Obama said U.S. influence around the world should not be a function of military force alone, but also a projection of the country's diplomacy and economic strength.
Burdened by two unpopular wars, the U.S. economy is slow to recover from a deep recession.
"We have spent over a trillion dollars at war...This, in turn, has short-changed investments in our own people, and contributed to record deficits," Obama said, vowing to restore the economy, and "put the millions of Americans who have lost their jobs back to work," Obama said.
"In the days to come," reviving the economy "must be our central mission as a people, and my central responsibility as president," Obama said.
He promised to strengthen the middle class, improve education, jumpstart industries, end dependence on foreign oil, as well as unleash innovation.
This is the second Oval Office speech Obama made as president. He used his last one to address the BP oil spill. This time, he steered clear of a "victory lap," and called former president George W. Bush, who started the Iraq war, before the speech.
leave the front seats for womens in bus
please leave the front seats of the bus for women s, because they have problems like
menses, pregnancy, and so on. if they sit on the back of the bus, they will get over flow of menses, and and abortion due to sake of the bus.
and also leave the seats near to the door to the handicapped person. because it will helpful to them, to easily get up and get down from the bus.
thanks in advance for your helping minds.
menses, pregnancy, and so on. if they sit on the back of the bus, they will get over flow of menses, and and abortion due to sake of the bus.
and also leave the seats near to the door to the handicapped person. because it will helpful to them, to easily get up and get down from the bus.
thanks in advance for your helping minds.
Monday, August 30, 2010
antiretroviral drug- prevent 99 percent of the mothers from transmitting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to their babies.
AIDS-combating combination's administered to pregnant and breastfeeding women in Botswana, Africa, helped prevent 99 percent of the mothers from transmitting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to their babies.
The result came from an international clinical trial led by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH).
"This is the lowest rate of mother-to-child transmission recorded in a study from Africa, or among breastfeeding infants," said lead author Roger Shapiro, Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health.
The mother-to-child transmission rate in the study was 1.1 percent when the infants were breastfed to age 6 months.
"Previous interventions using shorter or less comprehensive drug treatment regimens have been unable to get rates below 5 percent, and without any intervention, the infection rate would be at least 25 percent by 6 months," said Shapiro.
The study was also the first randomized clinical trial to compare highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) regimens used during pregnancy or breastfeeding.
The article appears in the June 17 edition of The New England Journal of Medicine.
The result came from an international clinical trial led by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH).
"This is the lowest rate of mother-to-child transmission recorded in a study from Africa, or among breastfeeding infants," said lead author Roger Shapiro, Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health.
The mother-to-child transmission rate in the study was 1.1 percent when the infants were breastfed to age 6 months.
"Previous interventions using shorter or less comprehensive drug treatment regimens have been unable to get rates below 5 percent, and without any intervention, the infection rate would be at least 25 percent by 6 months," said Shapiro.
The study was also the first randomized clinical trial to compare highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) regimens used during pregnancy or breastfeeding.
The article appears in the June 17 edition of The New England Journal of Medicine.
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