A government primary girls' school has been blown up by suspected Taliban insurgents in Shabqadar region of North West Pakistan.
Sources said the five-room school was completely destroyed in the bomb blast, which was triggered off by the Taliban.
Senior Police official Mohammad Riaz Khan confirmed the blast and told a foreign news agency that a nearby house was also damaged.
There were no casualties in the blast, The Dawn reports.
The militants efforts to deter girls from attending school in Pakistan are darkly reminiscent of the former Taliban regime in Afghanistan, which banned education for girls and forced most working women to return to their homes.
In recent months, militants have blown up or burned down some 170 schools, most of them for girls, in the region where the Pakistani security forces are battling the extremists.
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Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Gulf`s first awake brain surgery performed on Indian
A 38-year-old Indian has undergone a complicated surgery at an Abu Dhabi hospital where doctors successfully removed a tumour from his brain while he was awake, making him the first person on whom such a procedure was performed in the Gulf region.
A multi-disciplinary team at Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC) carried out the surgery recently which included removal of a tumour located near the patient's brain cells responsible for vocalisation and speech, the hospital said.
"The surgery for this patient was conditioned by the risk of post-op aphasia (inability to speak). For that reason, it was decided to do this procedure with the patient awake to assess him while we do electrical stimulation on the region.
We wanted to ensure that no cells from the normal brain are removed," said Dr Maher Mansour, Consultant Neurosurgeon who performed the surgery.
During the surgery, the patient's speech was assessed through tests for each stimulated area (gyrus) thrice by the speech therapy team. Technical assistance for cortical stimulation was also provided.
"The patient tolerated the 6-hour procedure and he was speaking and moving on the OR table after the last suture," Dr Mansour said.
The Indian, whose name has not been revealed, was admitted with several epileptic fits, post-critical transient aphasia and hemiparesis.
Investigations including CT scan and MRI of the brain of the Indian showed a left frontal cortico-subcortical tumour, which is in the brain area responsible for the speech.
A biopsy was done on the lesion and the histopathology report showed an Astrocytoma which is an intermediate tumour between benign and malignant.
The hospital authorities said the post-operative images of the patient's brain showed that the tumour was totally removed and the brain was under normal pressure.
However, the histopathology analysis of the tumour showed Grade 3 Astrocytoma, indicating that the patient needed complementary radiation therapy which he decided to have in his home country India.
The first line treatment of this kind of tumours is the surgical excision or at least partial excision of the lesion to reduce its volume and the mass effect on the brain.
AgenciesFind the Meanings of the English Words?.. Visit.. http://thesmsboss.com
A multi-disciplinary team at Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC) carried out the surgery recently which included removal of a tumour located near the patient's brain cells responsible for vocalisation and speech, the hospital said.
"The surgery for this patient was conditioned by the risk of post-op aphasia (inability to speak). For that reason, it was decided to do this procedure with the patient awake to assess him while we do electrical stimulation on the region.
We wanted to ensure that no cells from the normal brain are removed," said Dr Maher Mansour, Consultant Neurosurgeon who performed the surgery.
During the surgery, the patient's speech was assessed through tests for each stimulated area (gyrus) thrice by the speech therapy team. Technical assistance for cortical stimulation was also provided.
"The patient tolerated the 6-hour procedure and he was speaking and moving on the OR table after the last suture," Dr Mansour said.
The Indian, whose name has not been revealed, was admitted with several epileptic fits, post-critical transient aphasia and hemiparesis.
Investigations including CT scan and MRI of the brain of the Indian showed a left frontal cortico-subcortical tumour, which is in the brain area responsible for the speech.
A biopsy was done on the lesion and the histopathology report showed an Astrocytoma which is an intermediate tumour between benign and malignant.
The hospital authorities said the post-operative images of the patient's brain showed that the tumour was totally removed and the brain was under normal pressure.
However, the histopathology analysis of the tumour showed Grade 3 Astrocytoma, indicating that the patient needed complementary radiation therapy which he decided to have in his home country India.
The first line treatment of this kind of tumours is the surgical excision or at least partial excision of the lesion to reduce its volume and the mass effect on the brain.
AgenciesFind the Meanings of the English Words?.. Visit.. http://thesmsboss.com
Russia needs new arms to counter US shield: Putin
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said US plans for a missile defense system were hindering talks on a new nuclear arms reduction treaty.
Speaking to reporters in the Russian Far Eastern city of Vladivostok, Putin said US plans for the missile shield in Europe would destroy the strategic balance between the United States and Russia.
"In order to preserve balance... we need to develop offensive weapons systems," Putin said. He added that Russia wanted access to more information on US missile defense plans and would link such a demand with the new nuclear treaty.
The two largest nuclear powers have been trying to find a replacement for the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I), which led to the biggest reduction in nuclear weapons in history, but have so far failed to reach a deal.
US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev failed to clinch a deal when they met on the sidelines of the UN climate conference in Copenhagen earlier this month. No reason was given, although they said they were close to an agreement.
Moscow has already expressed concern about a new generation of US non-nuclear weapons with the destructive capability of some atomic weapons and has voiced reservations about the latest US plans to develop a ship-based anti-missile shield.
Putin criticized the original US plans to install interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar system in the Czech Republic, but has not previously made an explicit link between the ongoing START talks and the revised shield plans.
ReutersFind the Meanings of the English Words?.. Visit.. http://thesmsboss.com
Speaking to reporters in the Russian Far Eastern city of Vladivostok, Putin said US plans for the missile shield in Europe would destroy the strategic balance between the United States and Russia.
"In order to preserve balance... we need to develop offensive weapons systems," Putin said. He added that Russia wanted access to more information on US missile defense plans and would link such a demand with the new nuclear treaty.
The two largest nuclear powers have been trying to find a replacement for the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I), which led to the biggest reduction in nuclear weapons in history, but have so far failed to reach a deal.
US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev failed to clinch a deal when they met on the sidelines of the UN climate conference in Copenhagen earlier this month. No reason was given, although they said they were close to an agreement.
Moscow has already expressed concern about a new generation of US non-nuclear weapons with the destructive capability of some atomic weapons and has voiced reservations about the latest US plans to develop a ship-based anti-missile shield.
Putin criticized the original US plans to install interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar system in the Czech Republic, but has not previously made an explicit link between the ongoing START talks and the revised shield plans.
ReutersFind the Meanings of the English Words?.. Visit.. http://thesmsboss.com
Indian-origin barrister appointed to key UK judicial post
Kalyani Kaul, a prominent barrister of Indian-origin who has handled high-profile cases in the UK, has been appointed a Recorder by Queen Elizabeth II and will soon preside over hearings in county courts.
Kalyani, 49, who was the third highest paid barrister in terms of legal aid payments in 2005, has been practising law in Britain for the last 26 years. She studied Law from the London School of Economics (LSE).
Major cases handled by her include Government of Rwanda vs Munyaneza, an extradition case against the Government of Rwanda earlier this year relating to charges of genocide.
Kalyani, who specialises in serious crime has also handled the case relating to the Chohan murders in 2005, when five members of the same family were kidnapped and murdered. It was the longest murder trial at the Old Bailey, and went on for nearly 9 months.
Kalyani, is the daughter of well-known British journalists Mahendra Kaul and Rajni Kaul, both of whom worked for long years with the Voice of America (VoA) and British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
Mahendra Kaul was the first Asian to be honoured with the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1975.
The post of Recorder is a fee paid post and there is no minimum sitting requirement. As a Recorder, Kalyani will prepare cases for trial and preside over hearings in county courts.
The order confirming Kalyani's appointment have been signed by Queen Elizabeth.
A Recorder is also considered for authorisation to sit as Deputy High Court Judges in the Chancery and Queen's Bench Divisions of the High Court and sit in the Royal Courts of Justice or county courts (specialist civil jurisdiction).
Kalyani also represented Bachan Kaur Athwal, the oldest woman to be tried for murder in the UK, relating to an 'honour killing' in which she (aged 70) was supposed to have taken her daughter in law to the Punjab and had her murdered.
In another case, she represented Anthony Sawoniuk in relation to his trial for Second World War Crimes (multiple murders), tried in the UK in 1999 in relation to offences in Belarus in 1942.
That was the first case in which a British Jury was flown abroad to see the scene of the alleged crimes.
Kalyani also specialises in the prosecution of cases involving the sexual abuse of children and sexual offences generally.
Kalyani is the vice-president of the Association of Women Barristers.
AgenciesFind the Meanings of the English Words?.. Visit.. http://thesmsboss.com
Kalyani, 49, who was the third highest paid barrister in terms of legal aid payments in 2005, has been practising law in Britain for the last 26 years. She studied Law from the London School of Economics (LSE).
Major cases handled by her include Government of Rwanda vs Munyaneza, an extradition case against the Government of Rwanda earlier this year relating to charges of genocide.
Kalyani, who specialises in serious crime has also handled the case relating to the Chohan murders in 2005, when five members of the same family were kidnapped and murdered. It was the longest murder trial at the Old Bailey, and went on for nearly 9 months.
Kalyani, is the daughter of well-known British journalists Mahendra Kaul and Rajni Kaul, both of whom worked for long years with the Voice of America (VoA) and British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
Mahendra Kaul was the first Asian to be honoured with the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1975.
The post of Recorder is a fee paid post and there is no minimum sitting requirement. As a Recorder, Kalyani will prepare cases for trial and preside over hearings in county courts.
The order confirming Kalyani's appointment have been signed by Queen Elizabeth.
A Recorder is also considered for authorisation to sit as Deputy High Court Judges in the Chancery and Queen's Bench Divisions of the High Court and sit in the Royal Courts of Justice or county courts (specialist civil jurisdiction).
Kalyani also represented Bachan Kaur Athwal, the oldest woman to be tried for murder in the UK, relating to an 'honour killing' in which she (aged 70) was supposed to have taken her daughter in law to the Punjab and had her murdered.
In another case, she represented Anthony Sawoniuk in relation to his trial for Second World War Crimes (multiple murders), tried in the UK in 1999 in relation to offences in Belarus in 1942.
That was the first case in which a British Jury was flown abroad to see the scene of the alleged crimes.
Kalyani also specialises in the prosecution of cases involving the sexual abuse of children and sexual offences generally.
Kalyani is the vice-president of the Association of Women Barristers.
AgenciesFind the Meanings of the English Words?.. Visit.. http://thesmsboss.com
Hugo Chavez's Domestic Crisis: A Plague of Kidnappings (Time.com)
December is usually a festive month in Caracas. But this year, beneath the Christmas tree at a private school in the affluent Caracas neighborhood of Los Palos Grandes, the topic among parents is dread. December is probably the worst month for kidnapping in Venezuela, and a 10-year-old Palos Grandes girl was recently snatched from her chauffeur-driven car and held for 10 hours until her family paid a ransom of more than $25 million. "Very few people I know have not been in a robbery or kidnap situation," says one Venezuelan businessman as he and the other parents greet two security experts the school has invited to counsel them. "Even my own mother was victim of a kidnapping."
As part of their presentation, David Rappe and Andy Chelini of the security firm Beyond Risk play excerpts from Secuestro Express (Kidnap Express), a 2005 film about a Caracas couple`s abduction that has since become the highest grossing film in Venezuelan history. The movie is an effective teaching tool, the men say, because its story breaks a kidnapping down into its several stages. They also play a real recording of a frightening exchange between a kidnapper and a negotiator. "They are going to come at you with the threat of violence and death," Rappe warns his audience. But he points out that 98% of abductions result in a release, and most deaths usually result from pre-existing medical conditions. (See why Colombians are leaving their country for Venezuela.)
Sessions like these are becoming increasingly common in Venezuela, which now has the western hemisphere`s highest kidnapping rate to add to its exploding violent-crime epidemic. (Caracas suffers some 40 murders each weekend.) There are as many as five abductions each day in the capital alone - and an estimated 4 out of 10 kidnapping cases across the country are never reported because, as in so many other Latin American countries, locals fear their corrupt police forces themselves are often involved in the crimes. Sources inside Venezuela`s federal crime-investigation agency, known as the CICPC, concede that police have been involved in kidnappings, adding that even two officers from the CICPC`s anti-extortion and -kidnapping unit are under investigation. (Read "Ch[a {a}]vez and the Latin Left: Muzzling the Media?")
A recent survey by the independent Venezuelan Observatory of Violence in Caracas estimates the country sees up to 9,000 kidnappings each year. Even some security experts have had enough: "I`m getting the hell out" of Venezuela, says Marshal Valentine, a Caracas security consultant whose girlfriend was kidnapped two years ago. "She took a [bullet] in the back, then this year they tried to grab her again." There were 518 officially reported kidnappings between September 2008 and September 2009 in Venezuela according to the local human-rights NGO Provea, a rise of 41% on the previous year. Analysts and law-enforcement officials believe these figures are far below the actual numbers.
Venezuelan President Hugo ChÁvez has hurled strong criticism at Secuestro Express and what he calls its exaggerated portrayal of life`s perils in Caracas. But even ChÁvez this year acknowledged Venezuela`s security meltdown, one of his left-wing revolution`s biggest failings despite its poverty-reduction successes. Insurance companies now guarantee ransoms of up to $10 million, and firms specializing in armor-plating cars are sprouting up around Caracas.
The Chavista-controlled National Assembly passed a law this year that forbids private ransom negotiation and requires families to report kidnappings so authorities can then freeze their assets and prevent ransom payment. A federal detective source in Venezuela says that while private negotiators may be good at reducing ransoms, the law`s purpose is to deter abductions in the first place. "As long as kidnappers keep being paid," says the source, "they will keep kidnapping." But while the law may be based on sound crime-prevention theory, in practice it may well compel kidnap-victim families to be even more secretive because of their lack of trust in the Venezuelan judicial system. As a result, law-enforcement sources say privately that the new measure is being lightly enforced, if at all.
To experts like Rappe, a former U.S. Army commando from Oregon who settled in Venezuela in 1996, the best kidnapping deterrent is avoidance. That means breaking up daily routines, being vigilant, reducing visibility and monitoring those who work for you. (For example, police say the family chauffeur is under investigation for involvement in the 10-year-old girl`s abduction.) Venezuela`s kidnappers have gotten increasingly sophisticated about researching potential prey - studying Facebook accounts or even creating phony ones to learn more about intended victims` assets and habits. Rappe adds that "it`s not being rich that makes us a target - it`s the appearance of being rich." And there he`s hit on a big problem in Venezuela - a country awash with oil money and ostentatious lifestyles, even among leftist Chavistas known as "Boli-bourgeoisie" (for SimÓn BolÍvar, the namesake of ChÁvez`s revolution).
Most Venezuelan kidnappings are, like the movie`s title, express abductions because of their rapid nature. They usually last fewer than 48 hours, thus reducing the kidnappers` risk of being tracked down. And victims are hardly confined to the rich: residents of lower-income barrios, like those that ring the mountainsides around Caracas, are just as likely to be targeted, albeit for smaller ransoms.
Back at the Palos Grandes school, a woman confesses that she "did not know what to do" when her own 24-year-old daughter was abducted recently. (She decided not to tell the police and paid the ransom instead.) But Rappe says the good news is that kidnappings like hers, as well as that of the young girl, are still rare in Venezuela. Kidnappers there, he notes, mainly target males ages 20 to 40. "Fortunately," says Rappe, "in Venezuela we have nice malandros," or thugs. "Old men, women and children are still sacred here." The challenge for ChÁvez`s government now is to make sure it at least stays that way.
See "Venezuela vs. Colombia: The Top 10 Everything of 2009."
See TIME`s Pictures of the Week.
View this article on Time.com
Related articles on Time.com: Challenging Chavez in the Streets ChÁvez: A Mixed Victory in Venezuela Elections Hugo Chavez to Iran: How About Some Uranium? What Chávez Win Means for Latin American Democracy Chávez Beats Down His Student Opposition
Find the Meanings of the English Words?.. Visit.. http://thesmsboss.com
As part of their presentation, David Rappe and Andy Chelini of the security firm Beyond Risk play excerpts from Secuestro Express (Kidnap Express), a 2005 film about a Caracas couple`s abduction that has since become the highest grossing film in Venezuelan history. The movie is an effective teaching tool, the men say, because its story breaks a kidnapping down into its several stages. They also play a real recording of a frightening exchange between a kidnapper and a negotiator. "They are going to come at you with the threat of violence and death," Rappe warns his audience. But he points out that 98% of abductions result in a release, and most deaths usually result from pre-existing medical conditions. (See why Colombians are leaving their country for Venezuela.)
Sessions like these are becoming increasingly common in Venezuela, which now has the western hemisphere`s highest kidnapping rate to add to its exploding violent-crime epidemic. (Caracas suffers some 40 murders each weekend.) There are as many as five abductions each day in the capital alone - and an estimated 4 out of 10 kidnapping cases across the country are never reported because, as in so many other Latin American countries, locals fear their corrupt police forces themselves are often involved in the crimes. Sources inside Venezuela`s federal crime-investigation agency, known as the CICPC, concede that police have been involved in kidnappings, adding that even two officers from the CICPC`s anti-extortion and -kidnapping unit are under investigation. (Read "Ch[a {a}]vez and the Latin Left: Muzzling the Media?")
A recent survey by the independent Venezuelan Observatory of Violence in Caracas estimates the country sees up to 9,000 kidnappings each year. Even some security experts have had enough: "I`m getting the hell out" of Venezuela, says Marshal Valentine, a Caracas security consultant whose girlfriend was kidnapped two years ago. "She took a [bullet] in the back, then this year they tried to grab her again." There were 518 officially reported kidnappings between September 2008 and September 2009 in Venezuela according to the local human-rights NGO Provea, a rise of 41% on the previous year. Analysts and law-enforcement officials believe these figures are far below the actual numbers.
Venezuelan President Hugo ChÁvez has hurled strong criticism at Secuestro Express and what he calls its exaggerated portrayal of life`s perils in Caracas. But even ChÁvez this year acknowledged Venezuela`s security meltdown, one of his left-wing revolution`s biggest failings despite its poverty-reduction successes. Insurance companies now guarantee ransoms of up to $10 million, and firms specializing in armor-plating cars are sprouting up around Caracas.
The Chavista-controlled National Assembly passed a law this year that forbids private ransom negotiation and requires families to report kidnappings so authorities can then freeze their assets and prevent ransom payment. A federal detective source in Venezuela says that while private negotiators may be good at reducing ransoms, the law`s purpose is to deter abductions in the first place. "As long as kidnappers keep being paid," says the source, "they will keep kidnapping." But while the law may be based on sound crime-prevention theory, in practice it may well compel kidnap-victim families to be even more secretive because of their lack of trust in the Venezuelan judicial system. As a result, law-enforcement sources say privately that the new measure is being lightly enforced, if at all.
To experts like Rappe, a former U.S. Army commando from Oregon who settled in Venezuela in 1996, the best kidnapping deterrent is avoidance. That means breaking up daily routines, being vigilant, reducing visibility and monitoring those who work for you. (For example, police say the family chauffeur is under investigation for involvement in the 10-year-old girl`s abduction.) Venezuela`s kidnappers have gotten increasingly sophisticated about researching potential prey - studying Facebook accounts or even creating phony ones to learn more about intended victims` assets and habits. Rappe adds that "it`s not being rich that makes us a target - it`s the appearance of being rich." And there he`s hit on a big problem in Venezuela - a country awash with oil money and ostentatious lifestyles, even among leftist Chavistas known as "Boli-bourgeoisie" (for SimÓn BolÍvar, the namesake of ChÁvez`s revolution).
Most Venezuelan kidnappings are, like the movie`s title, express abductions because of their rapid nature. They usually last fewer than 48 hours, thus reducing the kidnappers` risk of being tracked down. And victims are hardly confined to the rich: residents of lower-income barrios, like those that ring the mountainsides around Caracas, are just as likely to be targeted, albeit for smaller ransoms.
Back at the Palos Grandes school, a woman confesses that she "did not know what to do" when her own 24-year-old daughter was abducted recently. (She decided not to tell the police and paid the ransom instead.) But Rappe says the good news is that kidnappings like hers, as well as that of the young girl, are still rare in Venezuela. Kidnappers there, he notes, mainly target males ages 20 to 40. "Fortunately," says Rappe, "in Venezuela we have nice malandros," or thugs. "Old men, women and children are still sacred here." The challenge for ChÁvez`s government now is to make sure it at least stays that way.
See "Venezuela vs. Colombia: The Top 10 Everything of 2009."
See TIME`s Pictures of the Week.
View this article on Time.com
Related articles on Time.com: Challenging Chavez in the Streets ChÁvez: A Mixed Victory in Venezuela Elections Hugo Chavez to Iran: How About Some Uranium? What Chávez Win Means for Latin American Democracy Chávez Beats Down His Student Opposition
Find the Meanings of the English Words?.. Visit.. http://thesmsboss.com
Party While You Pedal: Beer Biking in Amsterdam (Time.com)
On a chilly Saturday in October, Mark Hitchcock and nine of his friends from New Zealand kicked off a four-day bachelor party in Amsterdam with a bit of sightseeing. Rather than admiring the canals on a boat tour or sampling mild hallucinogens at a coffee shop, however, they opted for something a bit more active - the 10 men mounted a special 17-foot long bicycle decked out with a bar and, yes, a karaoke machine. It only took 10 minutes (and a couple beers) before they removed their shirts, relishing the attention from female tourists on the street. "How do we get on?" an American twenty-something asked. The group response? "Take off your underwear!"
Welcome aboard the Amsterdam beer bike. In recent years, the peddle-powered bar-on-wheels has become a popular draw for tourists who want to combine city cruising with daytime boozing. Ard Karsten, the Dutch founder of the company Beerbike.co.uk, says his excursions are not only about the drinking, though. He says they help to build teamwork among passengers who must squeeze through narrow streets and power themselves over steep hills. The beer bike also provides an environmentally friendly alternative to gas-guzzling bus and boat tours. "Riding a bike while having a beer is simply amazing," Karsten says as the Kiwis blast Eye of the Tiger from the karaoke machine. "It`s a new and unique way to see Amsterdam." (See a TIME video on beer-biking.)
But while tourists have certainly embraced the service - nearly 10,000 Americans, Brits and other foreigners rode Karsten`s bikes in 2009 - locals remain ambivalent about the booze bike. Those in the tourism industry understand that the city makes a lot of money from the legions of visitors who come to Amsterdam to get drunk and stoned. But as opponents point out, most tourists do so in bars or cafÉs - not on the street. "We look at it with horror," says Ton Boon, a spokesperson for the city`s Centrum Borough, the quaint, canal-lined central part of the city. "It brings in one kind of tourist and chases away another."
The bikes hold 10 to 22 people, and when the drinking starts, the noise pollution is difficult to ignore. Wanda Nikkels, a journalist who lives in the Red Light District, says that as the passengers consume more and more beer, they grow louder and peddle slower, blocking traffic. They also have a habit of verbally harassing locals, trampling flowerbeds and steering into pedestrian-only zones. "Recently there was a group of guys who parked their bike in front of some hookers and the girls made a live show and the boys kept screaming," she says. "It was just 12 o`clock in the afternoon." (See pictures of bikes.)
These days may be coming to an end, however. In January, city officials will unveil rules - months in the making - that could force the city`s three beer bike companies to provide designated drivers, cap alcohol consumption and follow pre-approved routes. The move follows a series of high-profile accidents last summer. In one incident, 11 women crashed their beer bike into a viaduct and several of them hit the pavement. One was hospitalized with a concussion, another broke several ribs and a third lost the tip of a finger. "It`s an uncontrolled projectile," says Karin Wolfs, an Amsterdam resident who broke a finger when a beer bike hit her motorcycle in June and sent her flying. "Who came up with the idea to drink beer while driving on public roads?"
That would be Karsten, whose beer bike company, founded in 2004, was the first in Amsterdam. Despite the brouhaha, he sticks by the safety of his vehicles, noting that both of these accidents involved rival companies. The cost of Karsten`s bike - two-hour tours with 30 liters of beer start at $680 - includes a tour guide and designated driver, as well as insurance "against damages to participants and third parties." (Read: "Conceptual Art`s Dutch Treat.")
Karsten also works hard to limit disruptions to local residents: he makes sure that the guide stops the bike every 20 minutes near a restaurant or hotel so customers can relieve themselves. "I hate when they pee on the street," he says. "It looks unprofessional." And, admitting that his drunken tourists block traffic when they struggle to peddle, he will add an electrical mechanism to the undercarriage in 2010 to "help push the bike forward." In a city known for its tolerance, these efforts may be enough to assuage angry residents - and keep the beer flowing, and the bike rolling, for years to come.
See TIME`s Pictures of the Week.
See the Cartoons of the Week.
View this article on Time.com
Related articles on Time.com: Amsterdam Dims the Red Lights
Find the Meanings of the English Words?.. Visit.. http://thesmsboss.com
Welcome aboard the Amsterdam beer bike. In recent years, the peddle-powered bar-on-wheels has become a popular draw for tourists who want to combine city cruising with daytime boozing. Ard Karsten, the Dutch founder of the company Beerbike.co.uk, says his excursions are not only about the drinking, though. He says they help to build teamwork among passengers who must squeeze through narrow streets and power themselves over steep hills. The beer bike also provides an environmentally friendly alternative to gas-guzzling bus and boat tours. "Riding a bike while having a beer is simply amazing," Karsten says as the Kiwis blast Eye of the Tiger from the karaoke machine. "It`s a new and unique way to see Amsterdam." (See a TIME video on beer-biking.)
But while tourists have certainly embraced the service - nearly 10,000 Americans, Brits and other foreigners rode Karsten`s bikes in 2009 - locals remain ambivalent about the booze bike. Those in the tourism industry understand that the city makes a lot of money from the legions of visitors who come to Amsterdam to get drunk and stoned. But as opponents point out, most tourists do so in bars or cafÉs - not on the street. "We look at it with horror," says Ton Boon, a spokesperson for the city`s Centrum Borough, the quaint, canal-lined central part of the city. "It brings in one kind of tourist and chases away another."
The bikes hold 10 to 22 people, and when the drinking starts, the noise pollution is difficult to ignore. Wanda Nikkels, a journalist who lives in the Red Light District, says that as the passengers consume more and more beer, they grow louder and peddle slower, blocking traffic. They also have a habit of verbally harassing locals, trampling flowerbeds and steering into pedestrian-only zones. "Recently there was a group of guys who parked their bike in front of some hookers and the girls made a live show and the boys kept screaming," she says. "It was just 12 o`clock in the afternoon." (See pictures of bikes.)
These days may be coming to an end, however. In January, city officials will unveil rules - months in the making - that could force the city`s three beer bike companies to provide designated drivers, cap alcohol consumption and follow pre-approved routes. The move follows a series of high-profile accidents last summer. In one incident, 11 women crashed their beer bike into a viaduct and several of them hit the pavement. One was hospitalized with a concussion, another broke several ribs and a third lost the tip of a finger. "It`s an uncontrolled projectile," says Karin Wolfs, an Amsterdam resident who broke a finger when a beer bike hit her motorcycle in June and sent her flying. "Who came up with the idea to drink beer while driving on public roads?"
That would be Karsten, whose beer bike company, founded in 2004, was the first in Amsterdam. Despite the brouhaha, he sticks by the safety of his vehicles, noting that both of these accidents involved rival companies. The cost of Karsten`s bike - two-hour tours with 30 liters of beer start at $680 - includes a tour guide and designated driver, as well as insurance "against damages to participants and third parties." (Read: "Conceptual Art`s Dutch Treat.")
Karsten also works hard to limit disruptions to local residents: he makes sure that the guide stops the bike every 20 minutes near a restaurant or hotel so customers can relieve themselves. "I hate when they pee on the street," he says. "It looks unprofessional." And, admitting that his drunken tourists block traffic when they struggle to peddle, he will add an electrical mechanism to the undercarriage in 2010 to "help push the bike forward." In a city known for its tolerance, these efforts may be enough to assuage angry residents - and keep the beer flowing, and the bike rolling, for years to come.
See TIME`s Pictures of the Week.
See the Cartoons of the Week.
View this article on Time.com
Related articles on Time.com: Amsterdam Dims the Red Lights
Find the Meanings of the English Words?.. Visit.. http://thesmsboss.com
Taliban blow up girls school in Pak
A government primary girls' school has been blown up by suspected Taliban insurgents in Shabqadar region of North West Pakistan.
Sources said the five-room school was completely destroyed in the bomb blast, which was triggered off by the Taliban.
Senior Police official Mohammad Riaz Khan confirmed the blast and told a foreign news agency that a nearby house was also damaged.
There were no casualties in the blast, The Dawn reports.
The militants efforts to deter girls from attending school in Pakistan are darkly reminiscent of the former Taliban regime in Afghanistan, which banned education for girls and forced most working women to return to their homes.
In recent months, militants have blown up or burned down some 170 schools, most of them for girls, in the region where the Pakistani security forces are battling the extremists.
ANIFind the Meanings of the English Words?.. Visit.. http://thesmsboss.com
Sources said the five-room school was completely destroyed in the bomb blast, which was triggered off by the Taliban.
Senior Police official Mohammad Riaz Khan confirmed the blast and told a foreign news agency that a nearby house was also damaged.
There were no casualties in the blast, The Dawn reports.
The militants efforts to deter girls from attending school in Pakistan are darkly reminiscent of the former Taliban regime in Afghanistan, which banned education for girls and forced most working women to return to their homes.
In recent months, militants have blown up or burned down some 170 schools, most of them for girls, in the region where the Pakistani security forces are battling the extremists.
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