Barely three days after the final installment of the “Harry Potter” series “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” hit the international market July 21, the book’s Chinese translations appeared online.

At least three groups of volunteers were found to have translated the book and posted the translations online for free. The most influential group calls itself the International Witches and Wizards Association, and is apparently led by a 15-year-old boy only known by his nickname Wizard Harry.

The work was done meticulously, Chinese blogs quoted sources. Each chapter was proof-read three times before being posted. The translators had little sleep during the three days, and survived on instant noodles.

The local students added notices to internet editions stating that translations were not for commercial use - to avoid the threat of copyright infringement charges.

“We translated the book because we love Harry, and we do not intend to use it for commercial purposes,” the notices said.

About 11 million copies of the novel were sold in the initial 24 hours. But Chinese publishers fear it could lead to counterfeit books, in a country where piracy is rife. The official Chinese print version is due to be published in October.

Date: August 16, 2007
Article: Online translations of “Harry Potter” draw fire
Reference: BBC World News

Nokia is offering to replace 46 million batteries for its mobile phones after reports of overheating while charging.

The problems are confined to BL-5C batteries made by Matsushita between December 2005 and November 2006.

More than 250 million BL-5C batteries made for Nokia by other manufacturers are not affected, the company said.

The mobile giant said there had been 100 reports of overheating, and that the problem battery had been used inside more than 50 different phones.

In a statement, the company said: “Nokia has identified that in very rare cases the affected batteries could potentially experience over heating initiated by a short circuit while charging, causing the battery to dislodge.”

Nokia said there had been no reports of “serious injuries or property damage” as a result of the overheating.

Customers can check on the Nokia website if the battery in their mobile phone is affected.

Date: August 14, 2007
Article: Nokia admits mobile battery issue
Reference: CNN

Global warming is forecast to set in with a vengeance after 2009, with at least half of the five following years expected to be hotter than 1998, the warmest year on record, scientists reported on Thursday.

Climate experts have long predicted a general warming trend over the 21st century spurred by the greenhouse effect, but this new study gets more specific about what is likely to happen in the decade that started in 2005.

By including short-term natural events, such as El Nino, a UK team says it is able to offer 10-year projections. Models have previously focused on how the globe will warm over a century.

Writing in Science, Met Office researchers project that at least half of the years between 2009 and 2014 are likely to exceed existing records.

However, the Hadley Centre researchers said that the influence of natural climatic variations were likely to dampen the effects of emissions from human activities between now and 2009.

Currently, 1998 is the warmest year on record, when the global mean surface temperature was 14.54C (58.17F).

“The climate has already changed, and it is continuing to change; people need the best information available to help them adapt to these changes,” Doug Smith, a climate scientist at the Hadley Centre, said.

Date: August 9, 2007
Article: Ten-year climate model unveiled
Reference: Scientific American

It’s a crucial day for Dr Mohammed Haneef as his request for a review of the decision to cancel his Australian work visa, will be heard in a Brisbane court today (August 8).

Haneef’s visa was cancelled by the Australian government soon after he obtained bail — a move challenged by his lawyers. His lawyer Stephen Keim has now moved the court in Australia to defend him in this matter.

For doctor Haneef, the outcome of this case is significant as it would decide the future of his career as a doctor. If Haneef does not get this visa it could mean an end of his plans to work abroad.

27 year old Haneef, who trained at a hospital in Liverpool, UK before moving to Australia, was arrested at Brisbane airport on the July 2 on suspicion of terror-related activities.

Haneef was released when the Director of Public Prosecutions withdrew the charge on July 27. Haneef’s passport was returned to him and he left Australia for Bangalore on the July 29.

Date: August 8, 2007
Reference: Times Now

Just when things were looking good for the Chicago Cubs, they suffered a serious setback in last night’s game against the Mets. Not only did they lose the game, but they have now lost their biggest offensive weapon with an injury to Alfonso Soriano.

Soriano was trying to stretch a single into a triple during yesterday’s game. He came up short as he went around second and then tried to hop to third base. He was tagged out easily and then helped off the field.

Medical reports released today say the slugger strained his right quadriceps and may be out anywhere from two to four weeks. This is a huge blow to the team who was making a sudden and serious run for a playoff spot.

“How devastating. I mean, leadoff hitter, valuable guy, leads my team in home runs, he’s got a lot of energy,” Cubs manager Lou Piniella said today.

“It’s going to be a tough loss.”

Soriano will be replaced in left field by Cliff Floyd. Mark DeRosa will move from second base to right field and Mike Fontenot will take over at second base.

Date: August 6, 2007
Article: Soriano pulls up lame, leaves game with quad injury
Reference: ESPN
Reference: Chicago Cubs

Not that Bloc Party’s 2005 debut Silent Alarm was anything to top end-of-year lists, but its quick-paced rhythms fronted by singer/guitarist Kele Okereke’s thick Brit-lad accent was somewhat refreshing when set against the perpetual rounds of U2 followers.

But after muddling through this year’s follow-up A Weekend In The City – despite a number of applauding reviews from respectable names – its formulaic chord progressions and misplaced energy simply prove that their sound simply could not survive another go-around. Having straddled the line rather successfully between the U.S. indie and MTV crowds, accompanied by an exhaustive international tour to milk every bit of their fame, Bloc Party seems to have now laundered their music with cliche cynicism and force-fed drum loops that masquerade as avant-garde.

Juvenile lyrics about being bitten by vampires while droning Gregorian chants fill the background set to dry melodies beefed up by artificial Pro Tools tweaks, these U.K. darlings have backslid into the company of the likes of Franz Ferdinand or The Noisettes.
Okereke bemoans mid-album that “no one can be trusted over the age of 14″ on “Uniform” – well, I guess the pre-adolescents were their target audience anyway.

Reference: AllMusic album overview
Reference: Pitchfork album review

Although the moniker of this Allentown, Penn., band will be better left unsaid (just check out the links below for a better idea of what I’m talking about), their major label debut Hope For Men is one that shouldn’t go unnoticed in this collection of 2007 releases. A mushy mess of garage rock, theatrical goth vocals and thrashing punk metal, this Sub Pop release harkens back to the days of Nirvana’s Bleach that purposefully sloughed off mainstream audiences and broke pop sensibilities for noise-driven burnouts.

That’s not to say that singer Matt Korvette will hardly follow in the destined shoes of Kurt Cobain, or that they would even rightfully claim their influence – this reminds more of Henry Rollins or the Jesus Lizard. But this act has a singularly unique focus that couples sardonic condescension of a middle-class, suburban mentality in which only chocolate ice cream can salvage a doldrum day, and the ill-at-ease self-improvement of jogging, racquetball and whole foods, with a penchant for nail-on-the-chalkboard rejection of comfy pop songs.

Reference: MySpace Home Page
Reference: Treble Album Review

When the U.K. punk scene was beginning to crawl out of the dank, armpit venues of the London underground and become an accepted phenomenon – streets now littered with ripped leather jackets and shaven heads – art school act Wire tottered between their early punk roots and a spreading east European electronic influence.

While their ‘77 debut Pink Flag is still held in high regard for its stripped melodies and seemingly toss-off production, their more focussed follow-up Chairs Missing a year later was a marked evolution in sound. Still holding onto the potent brevity of most punk songs, clocking in more often than not at about two-and-a-half minutes, Wire allowed themselves to sprawl out into more experimental modes with the staccato swell of “Heartbeat” and overlong “Mercy.”

This is apparent right up front with the opener “Practice Makes Perfect” that reminds of the atmospherics laden, prog-rock acts of the coming decade, and which still surfaces in the much-influenced Sonic Youth and Spoon of today.

Reference: AllMusic “Album of the Day” album overview
Reference: Pitchfork’s “Top 100 Albums of the ’70s”

The Mozambique authorities have seized thousands of boxes of counterfeit toothpaste, which they fear may contain a potentially deadly chemical.

The seizures follow a ban on all sales of Colgate Maximum Cavity Protection toothpaste issued last week.

Colgate has denied any link with the products found in the capital, Maputo and around the country.

The boxes are labelled “Made in South Africa” but the true origin of the counterfeit products is not clear.

In June, some Chinese-made toothpaste, which also contained dangerous levels of diethylene glycol (DEG), normally used in anti-freeze and solvents was found in Canada and the US.

The chemical can cause abdominal pains, nausea, vomiting, damage to kidneys and liver and, if ingested in large amounts can be fatal.

But no cases of people falling sick have been reported in Mozambique.

Date: August 6, 2007
Reference: Maputo seizes ‘toxic toothpaste’

China has banned crude and insensitive slogans such as ‘Raise fewer babies but more piggies’ that have stoked rural anger over the country’s strict family planning policy, state media said on Sunday.

Slogans such as ‘One more baby means one more tomb’ have been forbidden, and a list of 190 acceptable slogans were issued by the National Population and Family Planning Commission, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Such slogans are often found painted on roadside buildings in rural areas.

A generation after being imposed, China’s population control policies continue to engender anger and resentment, especially among the largely rural country’s farmers.

Such anger extends beyond the slogans to the sometimes brutal methods used to enforce the policy, such as heavy fines, seizure of property and forced sterilizations or abortions.

Local authorities themselves face demotions, criticism or the loss of jobs if they fail to hit population targets.

The Chinese government contends the one-child policy has helped prevent at least 300 million births - about the size of the US population - and aided China’s recent, rapid economic development.

Date: August 5, 2007
Article: China bans insensitive one-child slogans
Reference: BBC News