News Bytes

World summit demonstrates closed ranks against terrorism
In his resolution against the incitement of terrorism, President George W. Bush said on the world summit of the UN security council on September 15, 2005 in New York, that they had the solemn obligation to stop terrorism in its early stages. This resolution allows the persecution of all governments worldwide that are supporting terrorism. The summit was closely related to the commemoration of the September 11 attacks that shook up Washington and New York four years ago. Apart from President Bush, many other heads of state spoke out against terrorism.

After the hurricane is before the hurricane
After Hurricane Katrina has wreaked havoc in the South of the US and destroyed a region as big as Great Britain, the East Coast has to prepare for the next hurricane by the name of Ophelia. More than 700,000 people are threatened by this. While North Carolina still has reason to worry, there are some good news from New Orleans. Mayor Ray Nagin has announced that some plans are being drawn up that will allow ca. 180,000 citizens to return home within the next 14 days. The Big Easy may have been flooded, but fortunately, it didn't sink.

Help for Vietnam
As part of the worldwide fight against the bird flu, the US have offered generous help to Vietnam. Over the next years, they will give them $2.4 million to build a nationwide control network to locate bird flu outbreaks. The US Department of Health will add an additional $500,000 to research the virus. All this is aimed at providing better protection against the quickly spreading bird flu.

100 years and still partying
While elections are held in Germany on September 18, the city of Las Vegas and the desrt surrounding it will celebrate its birthday. The most "sinful" city in the US will be 100 and is still partying. The highlight of the festivities will be concert by the world-famous rock band "Red Hot Chili Peppers."
Another rather weird, but fitting highlight will be mass wedding ceremony of more than 100 couples who will say their "I do's" simultaneously. Only one thing left to say from our side - Viva Las Vegas and congratulations!

Music becomes even smaller
One of the greatest success stories in MP3 player history becomes even smaller now. While US company Apple was still facing losses a few years ago, their iPod turned into a real success story. Now, Apple has presented the iPod Nano in the US. This will replace the iPod Mini and be even smaller than its predecessor (about the size of a pencil). Even though it is currently only available in America, it also caused prices of other manufacturers in Japan to plummet.

Karstadt - flight for a jacket
Karstadt, which is not doing too well at the moment, has thought up a rather unusual marketing strategy - starting September 26, 2005, customers buying a jacket for ca. €200 may get a free flight to New York. All they have to pay are taxes and surcharge for the flight. 20,000 tickets are said to be available. The company confirmed that they are indeed return tickets. The return flight, however, has to be on June 30,2006 at the latest. Of course, no responsibility is taken for the correctness of this information. However, anyone who is interested in a free flight to New York should consider this offer. Good luck.

Truck spills $800,000
There has been a traffic accident on a highway in northeast Alabama last week. A truck full of coins lost most of its cargo. A tire of the trailer, with 17 tons of change in it, caught fire, which passed over to the trailer. Under police protection and with the help of a front-end loader, workers have already scooped up all the change. So in case you have already booked a flight to Alabama, we are sorry to inform you that you will be disappointed. ;-)

Rising fuel prices too much for gas pumps
The increased fuel prices in the US present some gas station owners with a rather unusual problem. Roughly 15 percent of gad stations are using gas pumps from the 90s - where the price display ends at $2.99. At present, the price for one gallon (3.79 liters) in the US is higher than $3.50 (€2.80). Those gas stations now have special licenses permitting them to sell half-gallons, if they put up a sign for their customers.