Daily News Channel
The next time you land safely in Seattle, you may want to thank Steve Osmek. He’s the wildlife biologist whose job is to make sure that birds don’t get in the way of airplanes arriving and departing Seattle Tacoma International Airport. Even though the bird strikes that recently caused US Airways Flight 1549 to lose both engines and land in New York’s Hudson River has brought greater urgency to the issue, the danger presented by avian life is nothing new to Sea-Tac.
English Premier League side Chelsea confirmed Thursday that Guus Hiddink will take charge until the end of the season following the dismissal of Luis Felipe Scolari. The veteran Dutchman currently coaches the Russian national team, which he led to the semifinals of last year’s European Championship. Chelsea said it thanked the Russian Football Union for its “understanding and cooperation.” It was unclear whether Hiddink would continue as Russian coach.
The severe storms that uprooted trees, demolished homes and killed at least eight people in central Oklahoma on Tuesday are expected to weaken Wednesday, authorities said. A tornado watch that was in effect early Wednesday for central Oklahoma was lifted, the National Weather Service said.
Interpol has issued a rare global security alert for 85 suspected al Qaeda-linked terrorists wanted by Saudi Arabia. The “orange alert,” issued on Tuesday, comes after Saudi Arabia asked for Interpol’s help last week in apprehending the 83 Saudis and two Yemenis.
Emmanuel Adebayor was Tuesday crowned African football player of the year. The Arsenal striker saw off strong competition from Al Ahly’s Egyptian playmaker Mohamed Aboutrika and Chelsea’s Ghanaian midfielder Michael Essien to become the first ever player from Togo to pick up the award.
The murders of two super-yacht staff within a fortnight have shaken the luxury yacht industry and sparked calls for crews to exercise extreme caution. Both murders occurred in popular yachting destinations in the Caribbean islands and involved violent attacks
The severe storms that uprooted trees, demolished homes and killed at least eight people in central Oklahoma on Tuesday are expected to weaken Wednesday, authorities said. A tornado watch that was in effect early Wednesday for central Oklahoma was lifted, the National Weather Service said. That was good news for people in the city of Lone Grove, who were dealing with extensive damage from the deadly storms that hit the area.
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was sworn in as prime minister of Zimbabwe Wednesday as part of a new unity government that Zimbabweans hope will signal an end to the political and economic crises that have gripped the nation for months. The unity government is the result of a power-sharing agreement reached in September between Tsvangirai — the leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) — and President Robert Mugabe after months of squabbling about the results of elections earlier in the year
New fires blamed on arsonists hit Australia Wednesday as the toll from deadly blazes was likely to rise on the macabre discovery that charred remains initially identified as single bodies were in fact couples fused together by the heat. The latest fires broke out Tuesday night, even as emergency workers were struggling with the aftermath of bushfires that have so far killed 181 people and burned huge tracts of the countryside in southeastern Australia. John Brumby, the premier of the hard-hit state of Victoria, said many of 20 fires burning Wednesday were suspected to have been started by arsonists — an act described earlier by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd as “mass murder.” “There seems little doubt these were deliberately lit — a number of them last night,” Brumby said on national television
Eight people were killed and their mutilated bodies thrown into a river over a wedding not approved by the couple’s families in eastern India, police said Wednesday.