Four Rare White Rhinos Die Sudeenly in Australian Zoo

Sydney - Four rare white rhinoceroses have died in recent weeks at an Australian zoo after displaying mysterious neurological problems such as stumbling, officials said Wednesday.

The Taronga Western Plains Zoo near the New South Wales state city of Dubbo said in a statement that it had begun a veterinary investigation to pinpoint the cause of the deaths and is working with rhino specialists in Africa and North America.

The four rhinos — Izizi, Aluka, Intombi and her daughter Amira — began showing signs of neurological problems two weeks ago, an unnamed zoo official told Australian Associated Press.

The first rhino died soon after the symptoms became apparent and the fourth died over the weekend, the official said.

Three other rhinos survived, zoo spokesman Mark Williams said. Williams declined to answer further questions.

The zoo's general manager, Matt Fuller, said bacterial infections, snake venom, toxins and many types of viruses have been ruled out as possible causes.

Fuller said in a statement that no other species at the zoo had been affected by the illness and the surviving rhinos, which have been placed in quarantine, are healthy.

"The rhino keepers and veterinary staff know and care for every individual in the herd, so this has been a huge shock, and we're all very sad and supporting each other through this difficult time," Fuller said.

Fuller said results of a microscopic examination of tissue from the rhino carcasses may be available next week, but he added that it could take several weeks to get results from virology cultures.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, white rhinos are classified as near endangered with an estimated 20,000 in the wild in Africa. The zoo's rhinos are from the southern white subspecies found in South Africa and Kenya.

Intombi and Aluka were brought to the zoo from the Kruger National Park in South Africa in 2003. Amira and Izizi were born in captivity.

Their ages ranged from around 7 to 16 years.

Fuller was not immediately available for comment on Wednesday.

Global Media Watchdog Names Enemies of Internet

Paris - The Arab Spring is changing the face of Internet freedom, according to Reporters Without Borders, which released its latest "Enemies of the Internet" list Monday.

The annual report classifies as "enemies" countries that severely curtail freedom of expression on and access to the Web. It also draws up a list of states "under surveillance."

The group added Bahrain to its enemies list, citing a news blackout and harassment of bloggers in an attempt to quell a yearlong Shiite-led rebellion against the Sunni monarchy.

The country had previously been under surveillance.

"Bahrain offers a perfect example of successful crackdowns, with an information blackout achieved through an impressive arsenal of repressive measures: exclusion of the foreign media, harassment of human rights defenders, arrests of bloggers and netizens (one of whom died behind bars), prosecutions and defamation campaigns against free expression activists, disruption of communications," the Paris-based group's report said.

But the Arab Spring — the name given to a cascade of revolts across the Arab world — has also led to the opening up of some regimes.

Libya, where the repressive rule of Moammar Gadhafi was thrown off in a violent revolt, was removed from the list of countries under surveillance.

"In Libya, many challenges remain but the overthrow of the Gadhafi regime has ended an era of censorship," the report said.

The group said that the Arab Spring had also highlighted the importance of the Internet — and therefore the importance of protecting access to and expression on it.

"The Internet and social networks have been conclusively established as tools for protest, campaigning and circulating information, and as vehicles for freedom," the group said. "More than ever before, online freedom of expression is now a major foreign and domestic policy issue."

The enemies list contains countries that are well known for blocking Internet content, like China, Myanmar and North Korea.

But the list of those under surveillance contains some surprises like Australia and France.

Reporters Without Borders criticized Australia for persuading Internet service providers to create a national content-filtering system, which blocks access to child pornography sites and others deemed inappropriate. 

The group is concerned that the government is still also pursuing a system of mandatory content-filtering whose criteria are "very broad."

France landed on the surveillance list last year for a series of criminal indictments of journalists for stories they wrote. It remains on the list this year because of a law that could punish people who repeatedly illegally download content by cutting off their Internet access.

Australian's Bungie Cord Snaps

Victoria Falls, Africa - What wasn't mentioned is that she fell into crocodile-infested waters.

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Ambien Helps Man in Coma Awaken.

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Mysterious Ball Drops From Space

Nambia - NASA and European space agencies are being contacted after what appears to be a metal ball fell out of the sky and into a patch of grassland near a village

The ball is said to be hollow, a diameter of 14 inches and a circumference of 43 inches.  Its surface, made of a metal alloy, is rough and looks like its two halves were wielded together.  It weighs 13 pounds.

In the days before the mysterious ball appeared, the locals say they heard several small explosions.  This isn't the only time these types of balls were found.  In the last 20 years several others appeared in southern Africa, Australia, and Latin America.  Despite all the testing done, including this one when it first appeared in November, nothing explains them.

“It is not an explosive device, but rather hollow, but we had to investigate all this first,” said police deputy inspector general Vilho Hifindaka.

Health Inequality in the World

Chicago – Americans with chronic illnesses struggle more to pay their medical bills or need more help than their counterparts in other high-income countries, according to a survey by the Commonwealth Fund.


The survey studied 18-thousand adults not in the United States, but in ten other countries around the world. Past reports by the nonpartisan group have been used by politicians and policymakers who advocate for healthcare reform. Chances are this one will be touted as a strong argument it.


“Despite spending far more on health care than any other country, the United States practically stands alone when it comes to people with illness or chronic conditions having difficulty affording health care and paying medical bills,” says Commonwealth Fund president Karen Davis.


The survey, which took place over the telephone, included those who were in fair or good health, had surgery in the recent years, or treated for a serious illness or injury in the past year.


Forty-two percent of the 1,200 U.S. adults in the survey went without care, visiting a doctor, or not getting a prescription filled, as a result of costs. and more than a quarter (27%) said they couldn't pay, the study found. The comparison with countries like Australia, Great Britain, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland, reveals at the most a 41-point gap. Those countries had between one and 14 percent.


More than seven out of ten people in Britain, Switzerland, France, New Zealand, and the Netherlands were found to be able to get an appointment for their illnesses on the same day or the next. Half of the Canadian and Swiss patients are able to get the same speedy care.


Adults under the age of 65, 51 percent, didn't have care because of the costs when compared to those older than 65, who were under Medicare.


For more information about health inequality, visit the CommonWealthFund website.