Death toll in NZ quake climbs to 148

Six days after Christchurch city was struck by 6.3 magnitude earthquake, the death toll now rose to 148, NZ authorities said in a report by the New Zealand Herald.

Two more people had died according to Superintendent Dave Cliff: 38-year-old Natasha Sarah Hadfield from Kaiapoi and 40-year-old Owen Morris Wright from Lyttelton.

Filipina nurse wanted for $17-M US healthcare scam

US authorities are hunting for a Filipina nurse who figured in what is one of the biggest scams in the healthcare industry of California, in a report by ABS CBN.

Listed in America's "Most Wanted Health Care Fugitive" is Susan Bendigo-Lim, accused of stealing $17 million in an alleged Medi-Cal scam.

Filipino actor Paquito Diaz is alive, death rumor not true

In a telephone interview from dzMM, Nena Diaz, wife of Paquito Diaz, denied rumors that the 73-year old veteran Filipino actor and movie director passed away on Saturday.

Francisco Bustillos Diaz in real life, he was often seen as a villain in Philippine cinema with the late Fernando Poe, Jr.

New Zealand quake death toll reaches 123

The death toll had risen to 123 with over 200 people missing from the 6.3 magnitude earthquake that devastated Christchurch City in New Zealand early this week, according to the police, the NZ Herald said.

A total of nine aftershocks since midnight were reported.

Christchurch quake: 113 deaths, over 200 missing

District Commander Superintendent Dave Cliff told the press that the latest casualties since Tuesday's tragedy that hit Christchurch City rose to 113 with more than 200 missing. Four fatalities had been identified so far, the NZ Herald reported.

The rescue operations are made more difficult by rain fall, the report said.

International help arrives in devastated NZ city

Following Tuesday's 6.3 magnitude temblor that left more than 70 dead and 300 missing, search and rescue teams from foreign countries will arrive in the ruined Christchurch City to help in the rescue and retrieval operations in the suburbs, the New Zealand Herald said.

Australia, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, the UK, and the US have all sent manpower and medical equipments that are due to arrive in varying times today.

Christchurch death toll rises to 75, over 300 missing

At least 75 had been killed and is likely to go up while around 300 remain missing after yesterday's deadly temblor that hit New Zealand's Christchurch city of 400,000 people, said Prime Minister John Key, the Bloomberg reported.

Already named were 55 victims while 20 recovered bodies still await identification as hundreds of rescuers dig for people trapped under the ruined buildings severely damaged by the 6.3 magnitude quake--the country's deadliest in 80 years. In 1931, the earthquake in Napier killed 256.

NZ earthquake kills 65

The death toll of the earthquake that hit the city of Christchurch, New Zealand at 12:51 local time is 65, according to PM John Key, the NZ Herald reported. It was expected to rise.

The Pyne Gould Guinness building in Cambridge Terrace collapsed and fire fighters were trying to free up to 30 trapped people, Radio New Zealand reported. Others are feared trapped elsewhere.

State of emergency declared after NZ quake

A state of emergency had been declared by Christchurch mayor Bob Parker following the 6.3 magnitude earthquake that happened in New Zealand at 12:51, in a report by NZ Herald.

Eyewitness saw a score of dead bodies lying on the streets although official reports of casualties are not yet available.

Study says Gulf bottom dead, oil still present

Ten months after the spill in the Gulf of Mexico occurred, a scientist showed evidence that oil remains in the ocean floor killing many life forms, in a report by AP.

Presenting the slides and videos of her five deep water expeditions in a Washington science conference, University of Georgia's marine scientist Samantha Joye found that the oil and residue were not consumed by microorganisms designed to degrade the oil.

Helmets to be banned in Bicutan

Motorcycle riders will soon need not wear helmets once the resolution filed by a representative of the Barangay (Village) Western Bicutan, south of Metro Manila, that will ban its use were approved by village leaders, according to a report by the Manila Bulletin.

The helmet ban was proposed in the area in order to curb the rising crime.

Watch Live: Egyptian President Mubarak Expected to Address the Nation

Large Crowd Gathers in Cairo's Tahrir Square as Night Falls

Source: PBS News Hour

Cash to cut the cat population

Several weeks ago, I reported a Chinese city using cash to improve people's behavior in maintaining cleanliness by paying for each cigarette butt collected. A few weeks ago, there was a report in Allvoices that a city in Bangladesh will pay the pauper to stay away in the capital city during the World Cricket Cup in March.

This report tells of a similar story that--within limits--money is a good motivator to change people's behavior.

How is rabies transmitted?

To understand how rabies is transmitted or spread from animals to humans and animals to animals, it is important to know what rabies is and how it causes the disease.

Rabies is a deadly disease that is caused by viruses most commonly through bites from the saliva of infected animal hosts. Viruses are small microorganisms that are smaller than bacteria. They grow and multiply inside a living cell. Once the virus enters the body, they travel to the brain, infect it, resulting to a gamut of symptoms that will inevitably lead to death within days once the disease manifests.