Geo World

Obama tours flooded, storm-hit New Jersey

PATERSON: President Barack Obama on Sunday toured the flood-battered state of New Jersey to survey damage from Hurricane Irene, which last week left entire towns underwater and claimed dozens of lives along the US east coast. The president made stops in two waterlogged cities, Wayne and Paterson, where damage from Irene, which struck the state as a tropical storm, was particularly severe. "Obviously visiting Wayne, visiting Paterson, many of the surrounding communities gives you a sense of the devastation that has taken place not only here in New Jersey, but in upstate New York and Vermont and a whole range of states that were affected by Hurricane Irene," Obama said after taking an aerial tour of the damage wrought by Irene, which flooded town centers, blocked roads and forced thousands of people from their homes. "The main message that I have for all of the residents not only of New Jersey but all those communities that have been affected by flooding, by the destruction that occurred as a consequence of Hurricane Irene, is that the entire country is behind you," the president said. "And we are going to make sure that we provide all of the resources that are necessary in order to help these communities rebuild." Obama last week declared a "major" disaster area in the northeastern state, making federal funds available to those affected by the hurricane and floods, including providing temporary housing and home repairs and loans to cover property losses. He arrived a little after noon (1600 GMT) at Newark Liberty International Airport, and was met by New Jersey's Republican governor Chris Christie, and the state's two Democratic US senators, Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez. He was accompanied by Craig Fugate, the head of the US disaster response office, the Federal Emergency Management Agency. En route to New Jersey, White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters that Obama "looks forward to hearing from the federal response team and local officials." Paterson in particular experienced devastating floods after more than eight inches (20 centimeters) of rain fell during the storm, causing the Passaic River to rise to record levels. Irene made landfall last Saturday in North Carolina, with winds upwards of 85 miles (140 kilometers) an hour, careening up the US east coast in a weaker, but still potent state before petering out in Canada. Carney told reporters accompanying the president that Obama was also keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Lee which made landfall in Louisiana early Sunday. (AFP)

Geo Amazing and Interesting

Black Widow eats 183 chicken wings in NY contest

BUFFALO: The Black Widow of eating contests has scarfed down 183 chicken wings in 12 minutes to break her own world record set last year in Buffalo, N.Y. Sonya Thomas took first place Sunday at the tenth annual National Buffalo Wings Festival. She beat eating marvel Joey "Jaws" Chestnut, who came in second with 174 wings. The two won titles at the July Fourth hot dog eating contest on Coney Island. The 100-pound Thomas of Alexandria, Va., is the reigning wing-eating champion. She downed 181 wings to win the 2010 contest. Chestnut of San Jose, Calif., settled for second with 169 wings. The winner gets $1,500. The runner-up wins $750, and third place gets $300. Thomas is called the Black Widow becomes she often beats male competitors in eating contests. (AP)

Geo Entertainment

Devgan, Kajol visit Ajmer for films success

JAIPUR: Bollywood star Ajay Devgan, his wife Kajol and his mother-in-law Tanuja visited Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti dargah and prayed for the success of his movies. The couple's children Navya and Yug accompanied them. After visiting the Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti dargah, they left for Jaipur. Ajay Devgan is in Jaipur to shoot for his movie 'Bol Bachchan'.

Geo Sports

Williams and Wozniacki confront former major winners

NEW YORK: American Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki both face former grand slam title winners at the U.S. Open on Monday as the last major of the year enters the second week. Williams will play Serbia's Ana Ivanovic, the 2008 French Open champion, while Wozniacki meets Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova, who has won both the U.S. and French Open singles titles. Williams and Wozniacki are overwhelming favourites to win their fourth round matches and eventually clash in the semi-finals but neither player is taking anything for granted. Wozniacki, the current world number one, said she was expecting a tough battle against Kuznetsova. "I haven't thought about how I'd play her," said the Dane. "She's a tough competitor. She can play very aggressive. "It's a match that definitely would need me to play on my best." Novak Djokovic has been almost invincible this year, losing just two matches all season and winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles along the way. The Serbian has not dropped a set in his first three matches and is brimming with confidence ahead of his fourth round clash with Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine. Roger Federer dropped a set in his last match against Croatia's Marin Cilic but was happy just to get past a tough and experienced opponent. (Reuters)

Geo Amazing and Interesting

Germany's runaway cow finally caught

BERLIN: German animal rights activists captured a runaway dairy cow named Yvonne on Friday, three months after her escape from the farm where she was to be slaughtered captured nationwide attention. The bovine had become a media star, with helicopters and infrared used in a search across the southern state of Bavaria after she bolted in front of a police car. Authorities from Muehldorf, the town near the farm where she broke through an electric fence, had deemed Yvonne a security risk after her encounter with the squad car and had given hunters permission to gun her down. Activists from the Gut Aiderbichl animal sanctuary had tried to lure Yvonne from a forest where she was holed up with a variety of enticements -- including one of her calves at one point and a breeding bull named Ernst. Capturing the cow was not easy -- she bucked in the air and required a double dose of tranquilisers when cornered in a field on Friday by a team accompanied by a vet with a blowgun. Now she is in a pen at Gut Aiderbichl. "In the future she will be out in the fields with the other cows," said farm employee Hans Wintersteller. (Reuters)

Geo Health

9/11 firefighters more likely to get cancer: study

LONDON: Firefighters exposed to the World Trade Center attacks are more likely to get cancer, while 9/11 rescue workers still suffer high illness rates generally, according to studies published Friday. In a 10th anniversary edition of medical journal The Lancet, scientists said however that death rates among emergency staff and civilians who survived the disaster were lower than those of the wider New York City population. "The events of that day changed the historical trajectory of America and the world. They have had -- and continue to have -- profound consequences for health," the Lancet journal said in an editorial. One study showed that New York City firefighters who rushed to the doomed Twin Towers a decade ago are 19 percent more likely to have cancer than their non-exposed colleagues and a comparable section of the city's population. There were 263 cancer cases in the exposed firefighters compared with 238 expected from general population data, while from the non-exposed group there were only 135 compared with 161 expected from the general population. The study, led by David Prezant, chief medical officer of the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), and colleagues, looked at 9,853 male firefighters with health records dating back to well before 9/11. Another study in the Lancet showed a high burden of both physical and mental illness in the estimated 50,000 rescue and recovery workers involved in the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York by al Qaeda. Data gathered from more than 27,000 of those workers, who enrolled in a federally funded monitoring programme, showed that 28 percent had developed asthma, 42 percent sinusitis, and 39 percent gastrooesophageal reflux disease. Twenty-eight percent had depression, 32 percent had post traumatic stress disorder and 21 percent had panic disorder, said the study by Juan Wisnivesky, of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York state. "Our findings show a substantial burden of persistent physical and mental disorders in rescue and recovery workers who rushed to the site of the WTC and laboured there for weeks and months 10 years ago," the study said. But World Trade Center-exposed rescue workers and civilians have had lower death rates than New York City general population, a third study by researchers at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. They said the fact that most of those exposed were employed and that they had volunteered for the study -- both employed people and study volunteers are largely healthier than the overall population -- could account for the result. (AFP)

Geo Sports

Sloppy Zimbabwe fail to penalise Pakistan

BULAWAYO: Pakistan reached 357-5 in reply to the hosts' 412 all out at the close of the third day of the one-off Test at Queens Sports Club here Saturday. Zimbabwe missed a cluster of chances to pile the pressure on Pakistan, dropping five catches with a fielding fumble also costing them an easy run out. The day was also marked by two batsmen passing the 1000 Test run landmark, with Mohammed Hafeez reaching 115 and scoring his third century and Umar Akmal, when he had reached 12. However neither pair went very far afterwards. Hafeez was out at lunch for 119, which included a six and 17 fours - a career highest. Umar was out for 15 off the last ball of the day. He hit Greg Lamb hard onto a close fielder's shoulder and Brendan Taylor took the rebound. Azhar Ali moved his overnight 27 to 75 before giving a nick to Tatendo Taibu off Lamb. It was his ninth Test 50 and his third in succession. Captain Misbah ul Haq made a fluent 66, remarkably his ninth half century in his last 11 innings. Predictably remaining to fight another day in partnership with the incoming Adnan Akmal is Younis Khan, who is on 61 after securing his 24th fifty. Pakistan will be looking to these two to take them past the Zimbabwe total on Sunday. There have been two significant partnerships for the tourists - Hafeez and Ali put on 188 for the second wicket and Khan put on 100 with Ul Haq for the fourth. For Zimbabwe it was a generally successful day in difficult flat-pitch circumstances, due largely to the spinners Raymond Price and Lamb. Price was economy supreme, conceding 39 runs in 34 overs with 18 maidens but without any wickets. Lamb disposed of three tourists for 85. However the pacemen Chrisopher Mpofu and Brian Vitori drew blanks in conceding 148 runs between them. Pakistan will need another good partnership Sunday to gain the advantage while Zimbabwe will need two more wickets to get into the tail and that could give them pole position. (AFP)