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Monday, March 12, 2007 24 of 26 Swiss Cantons rejected the proposal for a single health insurance system, in which premiums would be based on income and wealth. The vote on Sunday was the latest in a series of attempts to cut rising costs and ease the financial burden on citizens. Around 71% of voters rejected the reform. Turnout was at about 46%, slightly above the Swiss average. As expected, voters in the main German-speaking part of the country turned down the planned reform, which was supported by the centre-left…

Thursday, July 3, 2014 Ian Narev, the CEO of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, this morning “unreservedly” apologised to clients who lost money in a scandal involving the bank’s financial planning services arm. Last week, a Senate enquiry found financial advisers from the Commonwealth Bank had made high-risk investments of clients’ money without the clients’ permission, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars lost. The Senate enquiry called for a Royal Commission into the bank, and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Mr Narev stated the bank’s performance in…

Friday, January 7, 2005 After two weekends of box office domination, Universal Pictures’ Meet the Fockers will be challenged for the top spot by horror film White Noise, also from Universal, which opens in wide release Friday. To be considered in wide release, a film must open or play in at least 1,000 theatres throughout the U.S. and Canada. With Noise being the only new wide release movie for the weekend, it looks to take advantage of movie goers looking from a change from holiday themed film fare. Noise is…

Saturday, September 3, 2005 Grammy award-winning rapper/producer Kanye West appeared on a live on-air telethon simulcast on NBC, MSNBC, CNBC and PAX for Hurricane Katrina victims. Live on air, West said “George Bush doesn’t care about black people,” after saying “America is set up to help the poor, the black people, the less well-off as slow as possible.” He also said “the Red Cross is doing everything they can,” and stated that he was going to see what the maximum amount of money he can donate is. West criticized government…

Sunday, October 15, 2006 Muslim groups from across the world are criticising the organisers of the 2012 Olympics in London after it was revealed that the games will take place over Ramadan. The most holy month in the Muslim calendar, which will take place from the 21 July to 20 August in 2012, involves fasting during daylight hours and will affect an estimated 3,000 athletes. Joanna Manning Cooper, spokesman for the games said: “We did know about it when we submitted our bid and we have always believed that we…

Wednesday, February 2, 2005 Eben Moglen, Columbia University Law Professor, will head the newSoftware Freedom Law Center (SFLC). An initial 4 million dollars has been provided by Open Source Development Labs (OSDL) to fund the project. The law center will provide free legal service for open source projects and developers. In 2004 OSDL established a separate $10 million Linux Legal Defense Fund providing legal support for Linus Torvalds, Linux kernel creator and end user companies subjected to Linux-related litigation by the SCO Group. The new law center will not be…

Thursday, December 6, 2018 On Tuesday, the United Kingdom Parliament started five days of debates ahead of a vote over Prime Minister Theresa May’s deal to leave the European Union. The deal being debated is a withdrawal agreement for the United Kingdom (UK)’s exit from the European Union (EU), and a political framework defining ambitions for the future of the UK–EU relationship. I have spent nearly two years negotiating this deal In a statement to the House of Commons shortly before debates began, Theresa May said “I have spent nearly…

Saturday, February 4, 2006 The IAEA board has passed a resolution to report Iran to the United Nations Security Council. The decision by the 35-nation board came on Saturday. The resolution was made without waiting for the director of the IAEA, Mohamed ElBaradei, to finish preparing a report on Iran’s civilian (and allegedly military) nuclear programs for the regular IAEA meeting scheduled for March 6. According to al-Jazeera, ElBaradei refused to accept pressure from Western states to finish his report in advance of the March 6 meeting. ElBaradei said in…

Thursday, February 24, 2005 A paste containing synthetic tooth enamel can seal small cavities without drilling. Kazue Yamagishi and colleagues at the FAP Dental Institute in Tokyo say that the paste can repair small cavities in 15 minutes. Currently, fillers don’t stick to such small cavities so dentists must drill bigger holes. Hydroxyapatite crystals, of which natural enamel is made, bond with teeth to repair tiny areas of damage. Yamagishi and colleagues have tested their paste on a lower premolar tooth that showed early signs of decay. They found that…