The Great Wall of China is disappearing due to neglect by Corina Ciubotaru

The Great Wall of China, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, is slowly fading away. It's the only man made structure that can be seen for space but the wind has eroded it so much that entire miles of it are now gone. In the regions where mud was used as primary building material, made during the Han dynasty, winds carried it away and gave birth to the greatest sandstorms in the country. Lookout towers have disappeared completely too and local authorities can do nothing much about it. The soil has eroded in the region due to massive agricultural exploitation and the only way to stop heavy winds would be to plant trees around the Wall. Large portions of it are being covered in mud, which buys more time for people trying desperately to find a solution. Locals have been using it in non-orthodox ways too; some have taken bits of it to use in pigsties, while a local mining company made a hole through it so the trucks can get through easier and built houses for workers using bricks from the Wall. The Great Wall is being visited by more than 10 million people every year and its loss would be a disaster not only for China, but to the entire cultural world. It's lasted for more than 2,000 years and it would be a shame if it wasn't saved. It's on top of the list of most endangered architectural sites and the Chinese government is just beginning to do something about that, tripling its budget for conservation of monuments.

related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070829/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_china_wall;_ylt=AmHHWMaLJbgLUuEkycS0K32s0NUE

by Corina Ciubotaru for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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165 safe after plane explodes in Japan by Delia Cruceru

A plane with 157 passengers from China Airlines exploded Monday on the airport of Naha, the capital of Okinawa, at 10:27 a.m. local time. The plane departed from Taipei and was heading to China. When the plane, a Boeing 737-800 jetline landed on Naha, passengers said that the left engine began smoking, followed by the right one. Japanese Transport Ministry official Akihiko Tamura declared: "Okinawa Airport traffic controllers had received no report from the pilot indicating anything was wrong as the plane came in to land and even as it stopped near the terminal to unload passengers." All the 157 passengers were evacuated through the emergency slides and none of them or the crew was injured. But two of the passengers a young girl of 7 and a 57 year old man were taken to a hospital after they said they felt unwell after being evacuated. The cause of fire is still unknown, but any terrorist attacks have been denied by the Japanese officials. A spokesman for China Airlines, Sun Hung-wen said: "the plane landed safely so we are still checking why there was a fire." A Boeing investigator is expected to arrive in Japan by Wednesday and according to spokesman Ted Lopatkiewicz, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board will send two investigators to Japan.

related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070820/ap_on_re_as/japan_plane_fire;_ylt=Apig4qdi9Zl.P5APGM01Lc2s0NUE

by Delia Cruceru for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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Feds fine Travelocity.com for Cuba trips by Delia Cruceru

Travelocity.com was fined by the federal regulators for booking trips between U.S. and Cuba after they violated a 45 years old embargo. It's a first time when an online travel agency is fined by the feds. They paid earlier this month about $182,750 for settling a complaint brought by the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, after the agency violated prohibition almost 1500 times between January 1998 and April 2004. U.S. Treasury Department declared that Travelocity.com "provided travel-related services in which Cuba or Cuban nationals had an interest by arranging air travel and hotel reservations to, from, with or within Cuba without an OFAC license." A spokesman for Travelocity, Joel Frey said in an e-mail Wednesday that the company hasn't applied for a license and it doesn't intend to do so. He said that the trips to Cube were unintentionally permitted to be booked by consumers online because of some technical failures from several years ago and it's just now settled with OFAC. "In no way did the company intend to allow bookings for trips to Cuba and the company has fully cooperated with OFAC and implemented corrective measures." The spokeswoman of U.S. Treasury, Molly Millerwise said that any individual or business that violates Cuban sanction will face criminal penalties, but she didn't specified if the investigation of Travelocity had been closed.

related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070815/ap_on_hi_te/travelocity_cuba;_ylt=AijdcJpkbeeN2HpJj5zF6Fis0NUE

by Delia Cruceru for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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Computer glitch fixed at LAX by Delia Cruceru

A customs computer glitch occurred in the system causing numerous delays and almost 20.000 international passengers to be stranded for several hours at the Lost Angeles International Airport. The system contained information about criminals and it was used to screen passengers that enter the country and it went down at 2 PM Saturday and lasted for 10 hours but only at 4 PM Sunday official succeeded in processing the backlog of incoming passengers. U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Mike Fleming said “a computer switch failed, which knocked down the entire communications system. A backup system was in place, but it was accessible only to customs officers in some of the lanes where passengers were being processed, creating huge bottlenecks.” Although the passengers were stranded in the planes for hours, they had access to food, water and bathrooms. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa contacted Homeland Security to request an investigation and incident reports that will provide information about changes to procedures and protocols to ensure faster and more convenient processing of passengers in the event of future systems failures. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said that the failure happened because of a malfunction on the fibre optic cables that support the system used to process international passengers.

related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/20070813/ap_tr_ge/lax_backup;_ylt=AsxxTsGEVPhnbZ8s05Nzfhus0NUE

by Delia Cruceru for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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You have to see Yellowstone park by Corina Ciubotaru

American wildlife is getting more and more accustomed to humans lately, it seems. Yellowstone has been receiving almost 10% more visitors this year than the same period in 2006, as construction work at East Entrance is over and doesn't require closing the park at night. The park, a favored destination for those passionate by winter sports, has had some problems with snowmobile regulation in the past, but it seems they are over this year as officials found the best solution to please both tourists and environmental activists. You can still take a ride in a snowmobile or snowcoach and take pictures of deer and birds or the spectacular geysers blowing up steam. Flowers and warm weather in the summer and gorgeous natural colors in the fall add up to a visit you certainly won't forget, no matter when you decide to come. It is probably the experience of a lifetime since there aren't many places left in the world where such beauty still exists. For those who can't get enough of the great outdoors and Yellowstone in particular, there's news that a man in selling his house in the West Yellowstone region for an undisclosed price. The home comes equipped with its own helipad and it overlooks Duck Creek Pond, it has six bedrooms and a guest house of three bedrooms and it just might be the thing for you if you've always wondered what nature life is all about. The owner, who now lives in Texas because of warmer days, runs a wildlife center that protects bears and wolves.

related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/20070807/ap_tr_ge/travel_brief_yellowstone_visitors;_ylt=AsufH9cjypZkDaWR7Mwfb2Cs0NUE

by Corina Ciubotaru for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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Tourists hurt by giant wave by Ioana Madalina Tantareanu

Norwegian officials reported on Thursday a number eighteen tourists, mostly British, being hurt by a huge wave while on a boat sightseeing trip. The giant wave, caused by a huge glacier braking into the sea, seriously injured 4 people, who were flown to a hospital in Tromsoe. The others were treated in a local hospital for minor injuries. "The glacier calved (split off) and a big wave washed over the boat," Elisabeth Bjoerge Loevold, acting governor of Svalbard, told Reuters. "The boat rocked back and forth and passengers fell on the deck." "We believe there was no ice from the glacier directly on to the deck but we don't have all the details," she said. Some Norwegian media reports had earlier said the boat was showered with ice from the glacier. Glaciers break apart normally as they slide downhill, but due to the greenhouse effect some of them shrink more quickly. Because of this boats are meant to stay clear of glaciers around Svalbard, in case chunks fall of and although there are no fixed rules about how far is safe, Loevold stated : "The captain and the expedition leader will be questioned about it by the police". The Alexey Maryshew, a small cruise vessel was carrying about 50 tourists and 20 russian crew members. Out of the 18 injured, 17 are believed to be British and 1 Russian, who is among the seriously hurt.

by Ioana Madalina Tantareanu for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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Plane quarantined in Glasgow by Ioana Madalina Tantareanu

A plane was quarantined Thursday upon arrival on Glasgow airport. According to a spokesman, passengers flying to Britain from the Dominican Republic started to feel sick with a stomach bug. "The aircraft was quarantined on arrival," said Donald Morrison, a spokesman for the British Airports Authority (BAA) in Scotland, after some 27 passengers of the MyTravel flight fell ill. According to Morrison, the people were diagnosed with the "winter vomiting bug". The condition also known as the Norovirus is a genus of viruses of the family Caliciviridae. Recent scientific findings reveal that the genus causes around 50% of all gastroenteritis (stomach pain, diarrhea, and vomiting) around the world.[1] It is considered the most important group of viruses associated with this condition. The prototype virus of the genus is the Norwalk virus. The passengers had all stayed at the same hotel in the Dominican Republic, one of the world's poorest countries. All affected passengers received treatment and none required hospital attention before being allowed home. Although Morrison did not say anything about where the passengers might have caught the virus, the Evening Times newspaper in Glasgow revealed that a number of people who have reported the same illness, were also stayin at the same Carribean hotel as the passengers of the flight.

by Ioana Madalina Tantareanu for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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Monkey travelling under the hat by Ioana Madalina Tantareanu

It is unclear to authorities how a man with a monkey could bypass airport security from Lima, Peru all the way to New York. It is unclear if the unnamed man wil face any criminal charges after hiding this little fist sized monkey under his hat and smuggling it on a Florida-New York fligh. The police became aware of this little incident only after a few passengers spotted the little animal climbing out of the hat and starated to play with the man's ponytail. The man was retained and questioned upon arrival on LaGuardia airport in New York. According to Spirit Airlines spokeswoman, Alison Russel, the passengers said the fist-sized marmoset, was very well behaved, and enjoyed the rest of the flight sitting in the man's seat. Ms. Russel stated it is unknown how the man could bypass Lima security, the place his journey originated, and then the several-hour stopover in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The first reaction of the passengers that noticed the little creature was to ask the man "if he knew he had a monkey on him", according to Ms. Russel. According to a report from the Associated News press agency, the New York animal control found the monkey to be quite healthy, and that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, intended to quarantine the animal for a month after which they could send it to a zoo.

by Ioana Madalina Tantareanu for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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Severe weather hits New York by Delia Cruceru

Severe weather paralyzed New York at rush hour. A torrential rain and a tornado crippled New York's subway system, highway tunnels and causing delays at Newark, JFK, and LaGuardia airports, all this happening Wednesday morning. By rush hour the pumping stations from the subway were overwhelmed thousands of commuters stranded for hours. The National Weather Service reported that a mass of tropical air dumped an extraordinary amount of rain in a short period of time. The worst was recorded between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m., with 2.5 inches falling on Central Park and almost 3.5 on Kennedy International Airport. The tornado from Brooklyn killed a woman trapped in her car that was hit by another vehicle. More than 70 buildings were damaged, 20 of them so badly they were deemed uninhabitable. In Brooklyn's Sunset Park, houses of raw brick were left without roofs, and a car dealership in Bay Ridge, along with 100-year-old trees snapped at their roots. Mayor Michael Bloomberg remarked, "I don't know that God had rush hour in mind when the storms hit." After the storm the Metropolitan Transportation Authority continued to fight with the water, commuters were still stranded and brought criticism from city officials. The storm took us by surprise because it was not predicted by the National Weather Service," said MTA Chairman Elliot "Lee" Sander.

related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070808/ap_on_re_us/severe_weather;_ylt=AniMjQLfkOVFAomV_b9ByAys0NUE

by Delia Cruceru for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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More visitors for Yellowstone by Ioana Madalina Tantareanu

Yellowstone Park saw an amazing increase of visitors this year with nearly 1.8 million tourists from January through July. Comparing with the 1.6 million people that visited the park last year in the same period, we can easily notice an increase in visits of 9.8%. Park officials say more than 808,000 people visited the park this July, which means an increase of 9.4% in visits compared to the 738,000 people who came to Yellowstone in July 2006. The park's East Entrance seems to record the biggest increase of visitors - about 31%. Park officials think this is due to the fact that the entrance is no longer blocked by construction works at night. Yellowstone National Park became the world's first national park on March 1, 1872. Located mostly in the U.S. state of Wyoming, the park that extends also into Montana and Idaho, is known for its wildlife and geothermal features, with Old Faithful Geyser being one of them. Yellowstone is the centerpiece of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the largest remaining, nearly-intact ecosystem in the Earth's northern temperate zone. Native Americans have lived in the region for at least 11,000 years. The region was bypassed during the Lewis and Clark Expedition in the early 1800s, and aside from visits by mountain men during the early to mid-1800s, organized exploration did not begin until the late 1860s.

by Ioana Madalina Tantareanu for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

PocketNews is a new real-time news broadcaster delivering the latest and hottest news right to your pocket ! With global clients who want to be kept up to date, PocketNews is everyone's way of keeping in touch with the World.

More visitors for Yellowstone by Ioana Madalina Tantareanu

Yellowstone Park saw an amazing increase of visitors this year with nearly 1.8 million tourists from January through July. Comparing with the 1.6 million people that visited the park last year in the same period, we can easily notice an increase in visits of 9.8%. Park officials say more than 808,000 people visited the park this July, which means an increase of 9.4% in visits compared to the 738,000 people who came to Yellowstone in July 2006. The park's East Entrance seems to record the biggest increase of visitors - about 31%. Park officials think this is due to the fact that the entrance is no longer blocked by construction works at night.

by Ioana Madalina Tantareanu for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

PocketNews is a new real-time news broadcaster delivering the latest and hottest news right to your pocket ! With global clients who want to be kept up to date, PocketNews is everyone's way of keeping in touch with the World.

It"s getting worst by Claudia Sonea

It is not a good idea to travel by plane anymore. David Castelveter, a spokesman for the Air Transport Association, the airlines' trade group, revealed that the situation of US flight delays are not a surprise to them and that they were expecting things to get worst. In June, nearly a third of domestic flights on major U.S. airlines were late, being the highest level of delays in at least 13 years. The reasons are the weather and the rising demand for air travel, both on major airlines and on smaller regional carriers. Complaints of lost baggage and with the government also rose. One of the problems is that U.S. carriers rely on small 40-80 seat jets that are easier to fill up, but that leads to crowded skies and runways. Airline consultant Robert Mann stated that the runways and skies were already saturated, so it may be regarded as intense traffic up there. That is why in 2007 more than 25 percent of flights on the 20 largest carriers was not on-time; Skywest Inc.'s Atlantic Southeast Airlines, a regional carrier for Delta Air Lines Inc. barely managed to score 56 percent of on-time flights, but that was below the 58 percent of AMR Corp.'s American Airlines and the 62 percent of US Airways Group Inc. The Federal Aviation Administration together with the industry is trying to introduce a modern satellite-based air traffic control system, but their actions stumbled on the intense political battle over who will foot the bill. There are too many complaints from the travelers and the problems need to be fixed soon. Good news might come to make both the travelers and the industry happy, but until then, stay connected!

related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/20070806/ap_tr_ge/travel_briefs_flight_delays;_ylt=AgZFQzXdLH9P.dl_IbpLZKOs0NUE

by Claudia Sonea for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

PocketNews is a new real-time news broadcaster delivering the latest and hottest news right to your pocket ! With global clients who want to be kept up to date, PocketNews is everyone's way of keeping in touch with the World.

DayJet wants to make travel easier by Ana Maria Ciobanu

DayJet, a startup airline that will use a new line of "very light jets" is scheduled to launch late August or early September. The company hopes its business model of "on demand" executive air travel will become popular rapidly and expand elsewhere. Voices say it's a very long road from an excellent idea to an excellent idea that works. We'll let time and future clients decide this one. Till the let's take a look at what "on demand" air travel could mean for us all. Let's assume you're flying for an important business meeting in a small town in Florida. You stand in that long security line in Fort Lauderdale or Miami, then switch to a commuter plane in Orlando or even worst in Atlanta and you have to book a room at some crummy hotel because nothing is flying till the next morning. Another alternative would be losing some good hours of your life and drive to your destination or losing some good money from your wallet and use a very expensive charter plane. DayJet will offer flights to cities where air service is lacking and places that traditionally have been driving destinations. You'll be able to get to Lakeland from Boca Raton in about 35 minutes, compared to three hours of driving. We just have to wait for them to open, check their prices and perhaps simplify our lives a little if the concept will work.

by Ana Maria Ciobanu for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

PocketNews is a new real-time news broadcaster delivering the latest and hottest news right to your pocket ! With global clients who want to be kept up to date, PocketNews is everyone's way of keeping in touch with the World.

Louisiana celebrates birth of Louis Armstrong by Ioana Madalina Tantareanu

The event touted The Satchmo Summerfest held in New Orleans this weekend is actually a celebration for one of the founding fathers of jazz music, Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong. The first Satchmo Summerfest was held in 2001, in the day that would have been the musician's 100th birthday, amd although Armstrong's exact date of birth is uncertain, the festival organizers recognize it as being on Aug.4,1901. The events held on Sunday will take place at the Old U.S. Mint and other French Quartter locales, and besides seminars on Armstrong's life and legacy, the festival includes 2 days of live music. On saturday bands such as Storyville Stompers and the Louis Armstrong Society will perform, while The Treme will hold a children's workshop and invite children along with their instruments, to play with the band. On Sunday, performers such as Rebirth will join Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue, and Kermit Ruffins and The Barbecue Swingers. Neville and others are gonna hold a tribute session and play songs by and about Armstrong. Louis Armstrong was recognized as the father of jazz, by the time he died in 1971. He had various nicknames including Satchelmouth or Satchmo for short, to describe the way he shaped his lips around his trumpet.

by Ioana Madalina Tantareanu for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

PocketNews is a new real-time news broadcaster delivering the latest and hottest news right to your pocket ! With global clients who want to be kept up to date, PocketNews is everyone's way of keeping in touch with the World.