For more than a year, Afghan police chief Rajab Mohammed and his men have worked out of a dark, cramped mud home in a remote corner of Afghanistan while waiting in vain for construction workers to finish building the U.S.-funded police station across the street.
With winter fast approaching, some of the men, who'd been sleeping in a dirt courtyard, recently took over the idle construction site and set up cots inside the half-built station after they learned that the U.S. government had fired the Afghan company responsible for the project.
Flawed projects prove costly for Afghanistan, U.S.
Creams Used to Treat Eczema Could Make It Worse, Study Suggests
The researchers, from the University's Department of Pharmacy & Pharmacology, have published a study in the British Journal of Dermatology showing that aqueous cream BP reduces the thickness of healthy skin over a period of four weeks, calling into question whether the cream should be used for treating eczema.
Originally used as a wash product, aqueous cream BP is currently the most widely prescribed emollient for the treatment of dry skin conditions. It is used to moisturise the skin, improving flexibility and preventing cracking in the protective outer layer, called the stratum corneum.
Secret Papers Detail U.S. Aid for Ex-Nazis
A secret history of the United States government’s Nazi-hunting operation concludes that American intelligence officials created a “safe haven” in the United States for Nazis and their collaborators after World War II, and it details decades of clashes, often hidden, with other nations over war criminals here and abroad.
The 600-page report, which the Justice Department has tried to keep secret for four years, provides new evidence about more than two dozen of the most notorious Nazi cases of the last three decades.
Drug expert claims David Kelly was murdered as he could not have taken overdose
Police have been urged to start a murder inquiry into Dr David Kelly’s death following further allegations that he did not commit suicide. Officers have been told the government scientist could not have taken an overdose of painkillers.
This overdose was found by the original pathologist to be one of the causes of his death. Dr Andrew Watt, an experienced clinical pharmacologist, says he has told Thames Valley Police it is not possible Dr Kelly could have swallowed more than a ‘safe’ dose of two coproxamol tablets because there was so little in his system after death.
China to play role in General Motors IPO
Among the banks helping General Motors with its initial public stock offering next week are two identified by initials only: ICBC and CICC. Americans uncomfortable with U.S. government ownership of General Motors may want to hear more:
One of those banks is the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, one of China's four big central government banks. The other, China International Capital Corp., is a joint venture run primarily by Central Huijin Investment Ltd., an arm of the state, and Morgan Stanley.
Spanish priest arrested over '21,000 child porn images'
A Catholic priest in Spain has been arrested over the alleged possession of thousands of images of child sex abuse. Police said they found 21,000 images on computers inside the 52-year-old's church in Vilafames, in the east of the country.
The priest, who has not been named, has been bailed and will appear before a judge in a fortnight, media say. The Segorbe-Castellon diocese said it had suspended the priest and was ready to clarify the facts in court.
The Hidden Hand that Shaped History
Has the course of History been directed by a small group of people with common interests? The paintings and pictures of the great men of the past centuries reveal a common thread which links them together. Is it a coincidence that many of them hid one of their hands when posing for a portrait? It seems unlikely. We’ll look at the Masonic origin of the “hidden hand” and the powerful men who used the sign in famous portraits.
Dangerous Chemicals in Food Wrappers Likely Migrating to Humans
University of Toronto scientists have found that chemicals used to line junk food wrappers and microwave popcorn bags are migrating into food and being ingested by people where they are contributing to chemical contamination observed in blood.
"This discovery is important because we would like to control human chemical exposure, but this is only possible if we understand the source of this exposure. In addition, some try to locate the blame for human exposure on environmental contamination that resulted from past chemical use rather than the chemicals that are currently in production.
Eggs with the oldest known embryos of a dinosaur found
Palaeontologists have identified the oldest known dinosaur embryos, belonging to a species that lived some 190 million years ago. The eggs of Massospondylus, containing well-perserved embryos, were unearthed in South Africa back in 1976.
The creature appears to be an ancestor of the family that includes the long-necked dino once known as Brontosaurus. The study in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology also sheds light on the dinosaurs' early development.
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