Salon.com > Veronika Oleksyn

E. coli vegetables kill 11 in Germany

Mon, 30 May 2011 17:59:07 +0000

Austrian officials inspected supermarkets on Monday for Spanish vegetables suspected of contamination with a potentially fatal bacteria that has sickened hundreds of Europeans. In Germany, the death toll from the outbreak rose to 11.

Spain, meanwhile, went on the defensive, saying there was no proof that the E. coli outbreak has been caused by Spanish vegetables.

Spain's Secretary of State for European Affairs, Diego Lopez Garrido, said Madrid might take action against those pointing fingers at his southern European nation.

"You can't attribute the origin of this sickness to Spain," Lopez Garrido told reporters in Brussels. "There is no proof and that's why we are going to demand accountability from those who have blamed Spain for this matter."

Austrian authorities sent inspectors to 33 organic supermarkets Monday to make sure Spanish vegetables suspected of contamination have been taken off shelves. The move came after a recall and sales ban of cucumbers, tomatoes and eggplants that originated in Spain and were delivered to stores in Austria by German companies.

"If anything is found to be left over, it will be tested and taken off the market," Austrian Health Ministry spokesman Fabian Fusseis said.

Gunman kills seven, wounds 15 in Slovakia

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:44:00 +0000

A gunman went on a rampage in Slovakia's capital on Monday, killing seven people and wounding 15, then committed suicide, officials said.

Five of the fatalities were members of a Roma family who lived in an apartment where the man began his attack with a machine gun and two pistols, said Interior Minister Dusan Lipsic. Roma, also known as Gypsies, often face discrimination in eastern Europe, but Lipsic and police chief Jaroslav Spisiak said the unidentified gunman's motive was not known.

Another man shot and killed outside the building was "probably" also a member of the same family, Lipsic said.

"So far we don't know the motive ... so I will not speculate whether it did or did not have (a) racial motive," he told The Associated Press at a news conference. "I doubt it, but of course the investigation is ongoing."

The shooting took place at midmorning in the rundown Devinska Nova Ves neighborhood on the outskirts of the Slovak capital that is surrounded by fields and industrial areas.

The five Roma who died in the apartment -- four women and a man -- lived in a brown high-rise building, Spisiak said.

Clinton, Gates: Fight AIDS more efficiently

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 16:36:00 +0000

Two heavy hitters on the world health stage -- Bill Clinton and Bill Gates -- called Monday for a more efficient fight worldwide against the AIDS virus.

In separate speeches at an international AIDS conference in the Austrian capital, the former American president railed against spending too much money on reports that just sit on shelves and urged that funds directly target AIDS sufferers. Gates, the founder of Microsoft Corp., said health groups must adopt better business practices that deliver more bang for the buck.

Clinton said many countries are misspending foreign aid. He said funding should go directly to local organizations, because developing countries can deliver health services at a lower cost and less overhead than established organizations.

"In too many countries too much money goes to pay for too many people to go to too many meetings, get on too many airplanes," Clinton said. "Keep in mind that every dollar we waste today puts a life at risk."

The number of people taking crucial AIDS drugs climbed by a record 1.2 million last year to 5.2 million overall, the World Health Organization said Monday. Between 2003 and 2010, the number of patients receiving lifesaving antiretroviral treatment increased twelve-fold, according to the Geneva-based body.

UN watchdog issues warning about date-rape drugs

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 13:46:00 +0000

Governments around the world must step up their efforts to limit access to "date-rape drugs," sedatives that are secretly added to a person's drink to reduce their ability to resist sexual assault and remember it later, a watchdog said Wednesday.

Sexual predators can easily procure such date-rape drugs, despite existing efforts to curb their misuse, the International Narcotics Control Board said in its annual report.

Governments should quickly adopt measures to limit illegal access to such drugs, and increase public awareness about the risks of leaving food and drinks unattended at public events such as parties, the board said. They also must do a better job of analyzing urine samples in suspected cases and be consistent about compiling and sharing statistics.

"The 'date-rape drug' phenomenon, although fairly new, is evolving rapidly as sexual abusers attempt to circumvent stricter drug controls by using substances not restricted by international drug conventions," the Vienna-based U.N. body said in a statement accompanying the report.

The misuse of flunitrazepam -- sold under the brand name Rohypnol -- has been reduced, thanks to international efforts, but the report said criminals are now using gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid -- known as GHB -- or ketamine and gamma-Butyrolactone, commonly referred to as GBL.

Sex at the museum: Swingers in Vienna art hall

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:01:27 +0000

In the name of art, an Austrian landmark is encouraging visitors to confront their sexual inhibitions by having them walk through a swingers club to reach one of Gustav Klimt's masterpieces.

The Secession -- a world-renowned venue for contemporary art in downtown Vienna -- has temporarily incorporated a sex club named "Element6" as part of a project by Swiss artist Christoph Buechel.

The swingers are not there during the day, but their mattresses, erotic pictures, bar and whirlpool are.

Secession spokeswoman Urte Schmitt-Ulms said Buechel hoped to spark a stir reminiscent of the scandal Klimt caused when his "Beethoven Frieze" was first exhibited in 1902. Now considered one of the Austrian painter's key pieces, it was once thought of as obscene and pornographic because of the way women's bodies were depicted.

While the club only opens at night long after the art hall closes, daytime visitors aged 18 and older pass through its dimly lit rooms on their way to see the Klimt painting.

The room where the frieze is exhibited is locked at night for security reasons. But it too has its share of mattresses, surrounded by fake tropical plants and a life-size stuffed lion.