(CNN) -- Skywatchers are gathering from parking lots in western India to music festivals on remote Japanese islands to witness what NASA describes as an "exceptionally long" total solar eclipse that will cross half the planet on Wednesday. People try out "solar view goggles" ahead of the eclipse on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India. "This eclipse has the potential to be observed by more people than any eclipse in all of history," said MIT astronomer Richard Binzel, who will be in Shanghai leading an expedition of observers and a group of eclipse chasers.   "Essentially, every inhabitant of all of India and China will be able to see at least part of the sun covered throughout the day," he said. The path of the total eclipse will stretch across the heart of Asia -- from India's Bay of Cambay, over the Himalayas and across China and the southern islands of Japan. The eclipse is expected to reach its peak over India at around 12:40 a.m. GMT Wednesday (8:40 p.m. ET Tuesday). Though the duration of greatest eclipse will occur over the Pacific Ocean at six minutes, 39 seconds, people in some areas of China and Japan will experience up to more than six minutes of darkness, according to predictions by Fred Espenak of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and J. Anderson of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.  Watch as eclipse-watchers head to China » The 15,150-kilometer (9,415-mile) journey of the moon's shadow across the Earth will last nearly three-and-a-half hours and be "one of the longest eclipses, if not the longest eclipse, in this century," Binzel said. Forecasters predict stormy weather for Wednesday morning in Shanghai, but this prognosis has not deterred astronomers and tourists from flooding the city. Send us your photos of the eclipse Professor Zhao Junliang of the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory said the weather could be unpredictable but staying away from such an historic event would be a mistake. "In 1987, I chased a total solar eclipse in (the western region of) Xinjiang. At the time, the sun was entirely blocked by stormy clouds. Two minutes before the eclipse began, the clouds suddenly cleared," Zhao said. "You just never know, so you have to go." Read blog on how eclipse-chasers are gambling on weather Rick Gille and his wife flew in from Atlanta, Georgia, to catch the eclipse in Shanghai. They were heading to what is known as the "centerline" -- where the eclipse will last nearly six minutes. They are armed with high resolution digital cameras and telescopes. "You'll know us when you see us," said Gille, who travels the world chasing solar eclipses. "We're all wearing beige t-shirts which read 'Eclipse 2009.'" Total eclipses happen about once a year or a little less often somewhere on the Earth's surface and are visible in a narrow band, Benzil said. "This band starts at sunrise in India and ends at sunset over the Pacific, just east of Hawaii about four hours later. The shadow path of the moon is sweeping across the surface of the Earth at about 3,000 kilometers per hour," he said. "The partial eclipse is also visible throughout Thailand and Vietnam, as far south at the top tip of Australia and as far north as Siberia." In some cultures, legends and folklore surrounds eclipses. In India, an eclipse is considered inauspicious. Women forbid pregnant daughters-in-law from going outside out of the belief that their children could be born with marks. Some temples won't offer any prayers on the day of an eclipse -- such as the one next to the planetarium in Mumbai, which said it won't even light a stick of incense. In Chinese tradition, there is a story about a heavenly dog eating the sun. As the story goes, people would make noise to scare off the dog and rescue the sun, said Bill Yeung, president of the Hong Kong Astronomical Society. "In ancient China, we shared the same impression with

Question: What does the MIT astronomer say?

Question: is any special equipment needed to see it?

Question: What does NASA say?

Question: What will strecth across the heart of Asia?

Question: What was exceptionally long?

Question: Where can people see the eclipse?

Question: when will it happen?

Question: What kind of events people watch the eclipse?

Answer: "This eclipse has the potential to be observed by more people than any eclipse in all of history,"

Answer: "solar view goggles"

Answer: an "exceptionally long" total solar eclipse that will cross half the planet on Wednesday.

Answer: The path of the total eclipse

Answer: total solar eclipse

Answer: from India's Bay of Cambay, over the Himalayas and across China and the southern islands of Japan.

Answer: 12:40 a.m. GMT Wednesday (8:40 p.m. ET Tuesday).

Answer: chasers.

Summary:
NASA says it will be "exceptionally long" total solar eclipse; will cross half the planet .
MIT astronomer says it could be seen by more people than any other eclipse .
The path of the total eclipse will stretch across the heart of Asia .
Some watching events include a cruise, plane trip and a music festival .


(CNN) -- Slavery may seem like a quaint notion in a 21st century world, but that distinction is lost on up to 40,000 Brazilians who find themselves toiling for no real wages and can't leave the distant work camps where they live.

A Brazilian government official takes notes as he talks with workers about to be freed.

Brazilian government officials and human rights activists call it slave labor, a condition they are aggressively trying to eradicate. A special government task force established in 1995 says it freed 4,634 workers last year in 133 raids on large farms and businesses that rely on workers driven to take these jobs by hunger and the empty promises of labor recruiters.

"Slavery is the tail end of a lot of abuse of poor people and workers in Brazil," said Peter Hakim, president of the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington-based policy center. "Bad treatment reaches over to abusive treatment to treatment that becomes virtual slavery."

In Brazil, it often works this way: A recruiter known as a "gato," or cat, plumbs the slums and other poor areas of the vast country and gets people to agree to jobs in distant places. Once separated from home and family, workers are vulnerable to all sorts of abuses, such as being told they owe money for transportation, food, housing and other services.

"This is known as debt bondage, which also fits official definitions of slavery," says Anti-slavery International, a lobbying group based in Great Britain. "A person is in debt bondage when their labor is demanded as the means of repayment for a loan or an advance. Once in debt they lose all control over their conditions of work and what, if anything they are paid ... often making it impossible to repay and trapping them in a cycle of debt."

The United Nations International Labour Organization estimated there were between 25,000 and 40,000 Brazilians working under such conditions in 2003, the latest year for which it offered figures.

Leonardo Sakamoto, the director of the human rights group Reporter Brasil, says he's certain there are still more than 25,000 slave laborers in Brazil.

According to Anti-slavery International, the greatest number of slave laborers is employed in ranching (43 percent). That's followed by deforestation (28 percent), agriculture (24 percent), logging (4 percent) and charcoal (1 percent). Though those figures are from 2003, Sakamoto says they still apply, with cattle ranches and sugar cane plantations among the top employers.

Anti-slavery International estimates there are 12.3 million people working under such conditions worldwide.

"Forced labor exists in Sudan, Nepal, India, Mauritania as well as many wealthier countries (including the UK), where vulnerable people are trafficked into forced labor or sexual slavery," the group says. "A similar situation to the use of forced labor on estates in Brazil can be found in the Chaco region of both Paraguay and Bolivia."

But what may set Brazil apart are the government's attempts to wipe out the practice. One of Brazil's chief tools is a "Special Mobile Inspection Group" that consists of labor inspectors, federal police and attorneys from the federal labor prosecution branch. The group often raids workplaces, looking for abuses and laborers held against their will.

In 2007, the task force freed 5,999 workers, a record number. In 2003, the agency freed 5,223 laborers.

Since the group's inception in 1995, it has freed 33,000 people.

Labor Minister Carlos Lupi vowed in a recent interview with the state-run Brazilian news agency that efforts will be stepped up this year.

"The Brazilian government is to be commended for rescuing more than 4,500 people from the nightmare of slavery during the past year," Aidan McQuade, director of Anti-Slavery International, said in a statement to CNN.

"Their commitment to step up their efforts in 2009 is even more heartening. The vocal and effective leadership we are seeing from Brazil is rare. Even India, like Brazil a democracy and a G20 member, seems content to remain the country with the

Question: What is the number of those in forced labor?

Question: How many people working under forced labor?

Question: What has task force done?

Question: where does this take place

Question: How many Brazilians may be slaves?

Question: What has the task force been working at doing?

Answer: 40,000

Answer: 12.3 million

Answer: says it freed 4,634 workers last year in 133 raids on large farms and businesses that rely on workers driven to take these jobs by hunger and the empty promises of labor recruiters.

Answer: Sudan, Nepal, India, Mauritania

Answer: 40,000

Answer: it freed 4,634 workers last year in 133 raids on large farms and businesses that rely on workers driven to take these jobs by hunger and the empty promises of labor recruiters.

Summary:
More than 12 million people worldwide estimated to be working under forced labor .
Between 25,000-40,000 Brazilians may be slave laborers, U.N. estimates .
Brazil task force has worked to eradicate slave labor .
Poverty seen by experts as primary factor leading to slave labor .


(CNN) -- Snow Leopard, the highly anticipated new operating system for the Mac, will be released ahead of schedule Friday, Apple announced Monday. "Ordered already: I'm just one of those nut cases," one Twitter user wrote about the new release. The Mac OS X Snow Leopard will be available as an upgrade to the current Leopard system for $29 and can be pre-ordered now, the company said. "Snow Leopard builds on our most successful operating system ever, and we're happy to get it to users earlier than expected," said Bertrand Serlet, Apple's senior vice president of software engineering. "For just $29, Leopard users get a smooth upgrade to the world's most advanced operating system and the only system with built-in [Microsoft] Exchange support." The company said in a news release that, for Snow Leopard, Apple engineers refined 90 percent of the 1,000 projects that currently make up its operating system. Among the anticipated features will be what Apple promises to be faster applications, including e-mail and Web browser Safari 4, while freeing up 7 GB of drive space, compared with the current system. An upgraded QuickTime system will let users more easily view, record, trim and share video, the company said, and it will include improvements to the system's iCal calendar, podcast producer and wiki server. The system had been scheduled for a September release date. But speculation in recent days had centered on an earlier release. Apple rival Microsoft is set to release Windows 7, a new version of its PC operating system, on October 22. Mac users were reporting that Apple's online stores were unavailable Monday morning, presumably to add the order page for Snow Leopard. The announcement Monday created the buzz typical of any Apple announcement among the world of devoted Mac users. Both "Snow Leopard" and "Mac OS X Snow" had become trending topics on Twitter on Monday morning -- with response mostly positive. "Ordered already: I'm just one of those nut cases," one user wrote.

Question: What was changed?

Question: What's coming out soon?

Question: What did apple promise?

Question: What are they building

Question: When is Mac snow leopard expected to be out?

Question: What is the cost of the upgrade?

Question: What is Apple promising?

Answer: An upgraded QuickTime system will let users more easily view, record, trim and share video,

Answer: Mac OS X Snow Leopard

Answer: faster applications,

Answer: operating system

Answer: Friday,

Answer: $29

Answer: faster applications,

Summary:
Mac's Snow Leopard system to be out weeks ahead of schedule .
Apple promises new and faster apps, while saving 7 GB of space .
Upgrade available for pre-order: $29 for current Leopard users .
90 percent of system's projects were changed, Apple says .


(CNN) -- Snowstorms and icy conditions on Sunday delayed flights across the northern United States, caused havoc on roads and left thousands without electricity. A worker shovels snow as the storm hits Chicago, Illinois. At least one death has been attributed to storms that hit all over the country in the past week. A 44-year-old Massachusetts man died Friday when a tree limb weighed down by snow fell on him, authorities said. Forecasters say there's more cold weather to come. Authorities urged motorists in north-central and northeast Iowa to stay off roads because of poor visibility caused by blowing snow. Authorities prohibited tow trucks from operating on U.S. Highway 20, near the border with Minnesota, because of concerns the tow trucks would get stuck. Forecasters said wind chills of 20 below and 30 below zero were possible in much of the rest of the Midwest, prompting wind chill advisories and warnings for the region into Monday morning. Blizzard warnings also were expected to be in effect into Monday for parts of Maine and western parts of Michigan's lower peninsula. In much of Maine, between 10 and 18 inches of snow was expected to fall Sunday and Monday, the weather service said. Whiteout conditions were expected at night, with wind gusts of up to 45 mph, the weather service said. The Minnesota Department of Transportation ordered snowplow drivers off the road until Sunday morning in 13 southwest counties, because of poor visibility, blowing snow and wind gusts up to 40 mph, an agency spokeswoman said Saturday. The western U.S. has also been hit with the cold blast. Parts of Washington saw 2 to 3 feet of snow last week. On Friday, two buses carrying 80 people collided on a road in Seattle and crashed through a metal railing, where they hung over a freeway for several hours before two trucks rescued them. Many roads in Walla Walla, Washington, had yet to be plowed by Saturday, and the only practical way to drive on them was to have chains on tires, iReporter Aaron Cloward said.  Watch how driving has been difficult in Walla Walla » Cloward, a native of Salt Lake City, Utah, said he had "never seen roads this bad or snow this bad." He also said he's been unable to free his car. "Everything is sold out -- snow shovels, ice melt, salt, chains ... so I don't know how to get out," he said. The storm system is expected to move eastward, where people are already dealing with air traffic delays and power outages brought on by snowfall earlier this week. "This is essentially the reincarnation of the same storm that brought the heavy snow to parts of California, southern Nevada and northern Arizona," Steve Corfidi, lead forecaster with the weather service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, told CNNRadio.

Question: What kind of warning was there in Michigan?

Question: Where have motorists been urged to stay off roads?

Question: What kind of warning is there for Maine, Michigan?

Question: Who has issued a blizzard warning?

Question: How many deaths are from the storms?

Question: Who is urging motorists to stay off roads?

Question: How many people died because of the storms in total?

Question: Who urged motorists in north-central to stay off the roads?

Question: Who has issued a blizzard warning for parts of Maine?

Question: What was attributed to one death?

Question: How many deaths have been caused by the storm?

Answer: Blizzard

Answer: north-central and northeast Iowa

Answer: Blizzard

Answer: Forecasters

Answer: At least one

Answer: Authorities

Answer: one

Answer: Authorities

Answer: Forecasters

Answer: storms

Answer: one

Summary:
Authorities urge motorists in north-central and northeast Iowa stay off roads .
National Weather Service has issued a blizzard warning for parts of Maine, Michigan .
At least one death has been attributed to storms, authorities say .


(CNN) -- Soccer mom Meleanie Hain, who made national headlines last year by having a loaded, holstered handgun at her 5-year-old daughter's soccer game, has been found shot dead in her home along with her husband, police said Thursday. Meleanie Hain was found shot dead in her home along with her husband Thursday. Information from 911 calls shows that it took a SWAT team nearly an hour and a half to gain entry to the Lebanon, Pennsylvania, home Wednesday evening. Inside, they found the bodies of Hain, 31, and her husband, Scott, 33, police Capt. Daniel Wright said. Police have avoided labeling the incident a murder-suicide. However, they do not believe that another person was involved, Wright said. A full investigation is under way, he added. "Who [Meleanie Hain] is does not change the course of this investigation," he said. The autopsies are scheduled for Friday.  Watch why Hain caused controversy » Meleanie Hain's attorney, Matthew B. Weisberg, said she told him a few months ago that she and her husband were separating. It was not immediately clear whether they were still living together. The couple's three children were unharmed and took refuge at a neighbor's house before police arrived, Wright said, and the children remain in a neighbor's care. During the incident, police told neighbor Ann DiJohnson to avoid rooms with windows in fear of a possible shootout. "It was frightening," DiJohnson said. "I'm still shaking." Thomas Shaak, who lives a block from the Hains, said the couple hardly socialized with neighbors. The avid gardener said he occasionally saw Scott Hain working on his yard, but the two did not greet each other. He said Hain worked as a security officer and often kept odd hours. Meleanie Hain became an overnight celebrity and, to some, a steward of Second Amendment rights when she carried a Glock strapped to her belt to her daughter's soccer game September 11, 2008. Days later, on September 20, her permit to carry a gun was revoked by Lebanon County Sheriff Michael DeLeo, who claimed that she showed poor judgment at the child's game. County Judge Robert Eby later reinstated the permit. Weisberg, Hain's attorney, said the sheriff's action violated Hain's First, Second, Fourth and 14th Amendment rights. A lawsuit was filed against DeLeo on Hain's behalf for compensatory damages. She sought punitive and statutory damages, Weisberg said, along with reimbursement of attorneys' fees and lost wages. Although Weisberg called the Hains a "loving" and "unified" couple, he said that about four months ago, Meleanie Hain told him that they were separating and that she wanted to remove his name from the $1 million lawsuit. Although there was no indication of abuse, Weisberg said, Meleanie Hain was contemplating getting a "stay-away order." "It's shocking," Weisberg said of the shooting. "And sadly ironic."

Question: Who were shot to death in Lebanon, Pennysylvania?

Question: Who are avoiding calling Wednesday nights shooting a murder suicide?

Answer: Meleanie Hain,

Answer: Police

Summary:
Meleanie and Scott Hain shot to death in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, home .
Meleanie Hain brought loaded gun to daughter's soccer game in 2008 .
Police are avoiding calling Wednesday night shooting a murder-suicide .
Their three children are unharmed and in neighbor's care .


(CNN) -- Soccer star John Terry's role as captain of England's national team is in jeopardy following tabloid accusations of his marital infidelity, according to a British government minister. Terry is alleged to have had an affair with the ex-partner of his former Chelsea teammate Wayne Bridge, having failed in a high court bid to prevent newspapers publishing details of his liaison with Vanessa Perroncel. The 29-year-old has two children with his wife Toni, whom he married in June 2007, and was named "2009 Dad of the Year" by a British sauce maker. He reportedly earns more than $200,000 a week. French actress and model Perroncel had a child with Terry's fellow England defender Bridge in 2006. The pair have since separated but Bridge, who is now at English club Manchester City, said on Saturday that he would not be commenting for the sake of their son. Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe said he would contact the English Football Association about the matter, the UK Press Association reported. "On the field John Terry is a fantastic player and a good England captain, but to be the captain of England you have got to have wider responsibilities for the country," Sutcliffe said. "And clearly if these allegations are proven -- and at the moment they are only allegations -- then it does call into question his role as England captain. "I speak to the FA on a regular basis, so I will be asking what their viewpoint is and we will see what comes of it." Perroncel has enlisted the services of noted celebrity publicist Max Clifford, PA reported, and he said she told him that some of the allegations were true. "She has never spoken to a single journalist and she's all over all the papers with all kinds of allegations, some of which she said were true and some of which she said aren't true," Clifford told the GMTV television program. "All I'm prepared to say is that she's known John a long time, and obviously I think during that time they've become very close friends, but anything more than that, I wouldn't want to say at this particular stage. It's really for her to decide what she wants to do." While Terry's alleged infidelity may not have the global impact as that of golf superstar Tiger Woods, it could cause big problems for England ahead of June's World Cup finals in South Africa. Bridge, who is sidelined with injury, is not guaranteed to be part of the squad but has represented his country 36 times and is the regular back-up at left-back for Chelsea's Ashley Cole. England coach Fabio Capello is out of the UK following a knee operation, but is expected to make a decision on Terry's future before the friendly international against African Nations Cup winners Egypt on March 3, PA reported. The FA has released a statement saying that Capello, known to be a strict disciplinarian, "alone will make the decision about John Terry's position." "Fabio is fully up to speed with developments regarding John Terry. He spoke with our chairman Lord Triesman and chief executive Ian Watmore today, who both backed him to make the best decision for England on footballing grounds," the FA said on its Web site on Monday evening. "Fabio is dealing with the matter in his own way using his extensive experience as a football manager." Terry was first named captain of England after the 2006 World Cup when Steve McClaren took over as manager from Sven Goran Eriksson, and retained the armband when Capello was appointed in 2008. It is not the first time that Terry has been the subject of controversy. Last year he was accused by a tabloid paper of accepting money to show fans around Chelsea's training ground, and in 2002 he was cleared by a court after being charged with assault and affray following an incident with a nightclub bouncer.

Question: who is john terry

Question: What is putting Terry's captain role in jeopardy ?

Question: what does uk minister say

Question: what is in jeopardy

Question: Who is threatening of stripping him of captaincy ?

Question: What did Terry ironically won in 2009 ?

Answer: captain of England's national team

Answer: accusations of his marital infidelity,

Answer: he would contact the English Football Association about the matter,

Answer: John Terry's role as captain of England's national team

Answer: Sutcliffe

Answer: "2009 Dad of the Year"

Summary:
John Terry's role as England soccer captain in jeopardy due to his alleged marital infidelity .
UK government minister says Terry may be stripped of role if tabloid claims are true .
Terry failed in court injunction to stop reporting of affair with teammate's ex-partner .
The 29-year-old has two children with his wife and won a parenting award in 2009 .


(CNN) -- Sodden and crumbling, the Pin Oak levee was the only thing standing between Winfield, Missouri, and the flood-swollen Mississippi River on Wednesday. James Burt sits on an embankment near a neighborhood inundated with floodwaters in Winfield, Missouri. "The currents are already doing enough to our levees, but a 2-inch wake can cause an entire levee to break," said Andy Binder, public information officer for Lincoln County Emergency Operations Command. "Right now, we are using the Missouri State Water Patrol to keep people from using their boats around the levees." On Tuesday, the 2½-mile levee was hit by a "down slide" along a 160-foot section of its northern wall. The Army Corps of Engineers rushed in with sandbags and extra dirt for the base to keep the soil from slipping further. The Army Corps of Engineers and Army National Guard announced Wednesday that the troubled section had been fixed, but a 100-foot-long slide west of the original was starting to crumble.  Watch the Mississippi's waters rise » For the 5,000 residents of Lincoln County, it is now a matter of waiting and hoping the levee holds until the Mississippi crests and begins to fall. The river level stood just above 37 feet Wednesday on its secondary crest, 11 feet above flood stage, and is expected to crest again Saturday afternoon at 37.5 feet, The Associated Press reported. At Winfield High School, halls normally dominated by teens are being shared with volunteer workers and evacuated families in the school's gymnasium, which has served as an American Red Cross rescue shelter since June 16. Floodwaters have damaged 692 homes. "Right now, I'm feeling pretty desperate and in need," said Sam Payne, who is staying at the high school with his wife and two children. Payne, who left his home June 17, watched as water rose to the roof after one of the first levee breaches. "It's positive that my family is still together," he said. "We're trying to hold back [our emotions]. The hard part -- the working part -- is going to be after the water finally recedes." About 20 Lincoln County residents are completely dependent on the emergency center at the high school, according to the American Red Cross. "What we have been doing is feeding people three times a day, even those who aren't sleeping in the gym, and giving others food and snacks to take home with them," said Dan Flippen, the shelter's manager. "Luckily, the turnout of the businesses have been outstanding up here, and the school's principal and staff have been gems for us." iReport.com: Take a flood tour of Lincoln County, MO The administration and staff memberse have been cleaning, cooking and making space inside the school for people who have been displaced by the flooding. Students have also been taking time to help. "The students here are constantly trying to help out in the gym," Flippen said. "We have to turn anyone who isn't 18 away, but most of those kids just go outside and sandbag." While the gym has been turned into a makeshift headquarters for the Red Cross and Salvation Army, the Army Corps of Engineers has created a loading depot for levee sandbags behind the school. Rescue officials were rushing to fill to 50,000 sandbags to fortify the levee. They brought in 200 tons of sand and called on anyone who wants to volunteer in the sandbagging effort to report to the high school. Their efforts have been vital to keeping the Pin Oak levee intact and protecting the southern end of Winfield. But with the river approaching its cresting level, sandbagging activities at the high school will stop Sunday afternoon, according to Binder. While they wait, officials watch the water levels and keep boats away from the levee. The Missouri State Water Patrol is also looking out for potential looters and people breaking into unattended cars. Only a few incidents have been reported, and law enforcement released a statement saying those caught looting flood victims would be prosecuted "with the utmost prejudice."

Question: What is happening at the high school?

Question: how many homes was damaged in winfield

Question: When is the river expected to crest?

Question: What is the worry in Winfield?

Question: What river is expected to crest Saturday?

Question: What city had 692 damaged homes?

Answer: an American Red Cross rescue shelter

Answer: 692

Answer: Saturday afternoon

Answer: flood-swollen Mississippi River

Answer: Mississippi

Answer: Winfield, Missouri,

Summary:
Town of Winfield, Missouri, hopes crumbling Pin Oak levee holds until river crests .
Mississippi expected to crest Saturday at more than 11 feet above flood stage .
Winfield High School becomes staging ground for relief efforts, temporary shelters .
Floodwaters have damaged 692 homes in Winfield .


(CNN) -- Software giant Microsoft is offering a $250,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of hackers behind a powerful computer virus that could lead to millions of PCs being hijacked. Experts say a single infected laptop could expose an entire network to the worm. Experts have so far been baffled by the true purpose of the Conficker or Downadup virus, but have described its spread as one of the most serious infections ever seen. The worm exploits a bug in Microsoft Windows to infect mainly corporate networks, then -- although it has yet to cause any harm -- it opens a link back to its point of origin, meaning it can receive further orders to wreak havoc. Microsoft has issued a patch to fix the bug, however if a single machine is infected in a large network, it will spread unchecked -- often reinfecting machines that have been disinfected. The threat from the virus prompted Microsoft in collaboration with other technology industry names to this week announce a $250,000 reward for information to track down those behind Conficker. "As part of Microsoft's ongoing security efforts, we constantly look for ways to use a diverse set of tools and develop methodologies to protect our customers," said George Stathakopoulos, of Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing Group. Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at anti-virus firm F-Secure says the true scope of the virus is not known, but in the past 24 hours his company monitored Conficker signals from two million Internet protocol addresses. "That's a lot," he told CNN. "And one IP address here does not mean one infected computer, it means at least one infected computer. "Many of those IP addresses are obviously company proxies or firewalls, hiding hundreds of more infections behind it. Unfortunately this also makes it impossible to estimate the total count of infected systems. "So it's still big. Very big." Microsoft has previously paid out similar rewards to informants who helped identify the creator of Sasser, another notorious worm let loose in 2004. The perpetrator was tracked to Germany, where he was sentenced a year later.

Question: What impact could the virus allow?

Question: What does the worm do according to Microsoft?

Question: What can the virus do?

Question: How much does Microsoft offer on the bounty?

Question: What price is Microsoft offering to catch the Conficker author?

Question: What could this virus allow?

Question: What company offered the $250,000 bounty?

Question: What do industry analysts say about this infection?

Answer: lead to millions of PCs being hijacked.

Answer: Windows

Answer: opens a link back to its point of origin,

Answer: $250,000

Answer: $250,000

Answer: PCs being hijacked.

Answer: Microsoft

Answer: Experts have so far been baffled by the true purpose of the Conficker or Downadup virus, but have described its spread as one of the most serious

Summary:
Software giant Microsoft offers $250,000 bounty to catch Conficker author .
Industry analysts say is one of the most serious infections they have ever seen .
The worm exploits a bug in Microsoft's ubiquitous Windows software .
Virus could allow its creators to hijack entire networks .


(CNN) -- Solid support from registered Democrats and women in New Hampshire were crucial Tuesday as Sen. Hillary Clinton rebounded from her third-place finish in last week's Iowa caucuses. Sen. Hillary Clinton has spent the past few days saying she has the experience to change Washington. She narrowly defeated Sen. Barack Obama in the New Hampshire primary, with 39 percent of the vote to Obama's 37. "Last week, I listened to you, and in the process I found my own voice," the New York senator said after her victory. "Now let's give America the kind of comeback that New Hampshire has just given me." Forty-three percent of self-styled independents said they voted for Obama, and 31 percent said they backed Clinton. Independents made up 43 percent of all voters polled. Addressing his roaring supporters after the race was called, Obama congratulated Clinton. But he was a candidate determined to draw a distinction between Clinton and himself. "But the reason our campaign has always been different, the reason we began this improbable journey almost a year ago, is because it's not just about what I will do as president," he said. "It is also about what you, the people who love this country, the citizens of the United States of America, can do to change it. That's what this election is all about." But Clinton was ahead of Obama 45 percent to 34 percent among those who said they were registered Democrats. Those voters made up a majority -- 54 percent -- of all respondents. Clinton also claimed the majority of women's votes, according to the polling. That's in contrast to last week's Iowa caucuses, in which Obama surprised observers by stealing the female vote from Clinton. Analysts say that shift among female voters was crucial to the Clinton turnaround. "If I had a single word, the word would be 'women,' " said CNN political analyst Bill Schneider. "She got the women back." And Schneider said the support of union voters that put Clinton over the top. "Union voters have her a 10 point lead," he said. CNN projected former Sen. John Edwards to finish third. College graduates, who made up 29 percent of the electorate, opted narrowly for Clinton -- 38 percent to Obama's 37 percent, according to the polling. Those polled who called themselves very liberal, and moderate, went with Clinton over Obama -- although by less than 2 percentage points in each -- and those who said they are somewhat liberal were evenly split. Pundits also were citing the role of former President Bill Clinton in helping his wife recover from what pre-primary polls were suggesting was a deficit of 9 percentage points to Obama in New Hampshire. The former president spent Tuesday in Hanover -- home to Dartmouth College -- where Obama had been expected to win handily. "They dispatched him to the area that Obama was surging," said CNN analyst Donna Brazille, who managed former Vice President Al Gore's campaign in 2000. "I think it had the effect of tamping down Obama support and giving Senator Clinton a real reason to come back in this race." New Hampshire was considered crucial to Clinton's campaign. If Obama had been able to sweep Iowa and New Hampshire -- after months of Clinton being considered the front-runner among Democrats -- it could have given him powerful momentum going into future primaries. "Age is also playing a big factor -- older voters are overwhelmingly outnumbering younger voters -- a proportion that is clearly benefiting Clinton," Schneider said. "Sixty-seven percent of Democratic primary voters are over the age of 40, and they are breaking heavily for Clinton over Obama." Over the past several days, Clinton has trumpeted her experience, saying that she has delivered change as both first lady and as a senator. After losing to Obama in last week's Iowa caucuses, it was unclear whether she could overcome what appeared to be Obama's ability to electrify American voters who had previously taken a sour and skeptical view

Question: Who electrified voters?

Question: who has electrified younger voters?

Question: Who did CNN project will finish third place?

Question: who has projected Edwards will finish in third place?

Question: Who will finish in third place?

Question: who has maintained favor with voters older than 40?

Answer: Sen. Hillary Clinton

Answer: Obama's

Answer: former Sen. John Edwards

Answer: CNN

Answer: Sen. John Edwards

Answer: Clinton

Summary:
Sen. Barack Obama has electrified younger voters .
Sen. Hillary Clinton has maintained favor with voters older than 40 .
CNN has projected Sen. John Edwards will finish in third place .


(CNN) -- Solomon Brown of San Jose, California, is one of the millions of voters who helped elect Barack Obama to be the future president. He's also one of the voters in California, Arizona and Florida who cast ballots in support of same-sex marriage bans that got considerable support in each state. Jim Smotherman, left, and Pat Wright of La Mesa, California, rushed to get married in June. His voting choices are a picture-perfect model of the paradoxical results of the 2008 U.S. presidential election. They also illustrate how Obama's inclusive strategy won over many voters who didn't necessarily toe the Democratic Party line. The war in Iraq and the economy were the main issues Brown, 18, a first-time voter, said he considered in choosing a president. But when the time came to vote on the "one man and one woman" issue, he followed his moral beliefs and voted in support of California's Proposition 8. He said he isn't at all surprised that many voters did the same. "They did that because of religion," Brown said of voters. "They wanted change for the country but weren't going to change their religion." He had no qualms about voting for Obama, either, and adds that his choice wasn't related to race. But he worries what moral beliefs will be taught in coming years. iReport.com: Read Brown's thoughts on Proposition 8 "I don't want a man and a man to be married," Brown said. "When I have kids, I don't want them to see that." Still, he says he doesn't hate gay people and has several gay friends. He emphasizes that he dislikes the fact that people are gay, but not the individuals themselves. "I can't be prejudiced against them, with me being an African-American," Brown said. "That would be hypocritical in my eyes." But Maggie Cassella of Toronto, Ontario, said she watched the U.S. elections and couldn't help but feel thankful for being in Canada. iReport.com: Watch Cassella express her disdain over the election "I'm tired of talking about it, because I live in a country where I have all my rights now," she said. "I talk about politics, but it's never gay rights because we're done." She said she felt upset by the election and couldn't help but wonder why voters would want to make the decision to elect a black man as president and then outlaw gay marriage at the same time. "I would just like someone to talk to an African-American gay person from California or any person from California and ask them what it feels like to have your rights to be an equal citizen taken away concurrent with this great day in history," she said. "My guess is it actually doesn't feel so great. After all, civil rights are civil rights. I don't care what anybody says." iReport.com: Share your story or opinion of same-sex marriage The issue hits close to home for Pat Wright of La Mesa, California, who married his partner, Jim Smotherman, in June. He says he doesn't like seeing the animosity from both sides and has personally lost friends over the issue. "A lot of ugliness and nastiness has come out. I don't know how these people have a direct connection to God," Wright said. "How can people be so badly informed, why are they qualified to vote on my marriage, and should 52 percent of the population be able to take away my rights? A very ugly situation." Wright said the couple rushed their marriage because of Proposition 8 and campaigned against it. They were saddened to see "Yes on 8" signs in nearby yards, but never expected the proposition to succeed. iReport.com: "We are still numb and in mourning" Two states away, Fred Thorne of Washington Terrace, Utah, said he was disappointed about the same-sex marriage decisions. Thorne says he comes

Question: Who voted for Obama and Proposition 8

Question: What is Maggie Cassella upset about?

Question: what Solomon Brown voted for Obama and supports?

Question: What is Solomon Brown supporting?

Question: In view of the upcoming vote who rushed into marriage

Question: What did Pat Wright rush into?

Answer: Brown,

Answer: by the election

Answer: same-sex marriage bans

Answer: same-sex marriage

Answer: Jim Smotherman, left, and Pat Wright of La Mesa, California,

Answer: get married

Summary:
Solomon Brown voted for Obama and supports Proposition 8 .
Maggie Cassella upset that black president elected, gay marriage opposed .
Pat Wright rushed marriage to partner in light of the upcoming vote .
iReport.com: What do you think? Share your thoughts on the issue .


(CNN) -- Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed said Saturday he will give in to a rebel demand that he impose Islamic law, or sharia, in an effort to halt fighting between Somali forces and Islamic insurgents.

President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed  says sharia law in Somalia will not be strict.

However, Ahmed told a news conference he won't agree to a strict interpretation of the law, which forbids girls from attending school, requires veils for women and beards for men, and bans music and television.

The president, speaking at his palace in the capital, Mogadishu, said local elders and religious leaders, acting as liaisons with the militants, brought him a message saying the rebels wanted a truce in the two-year-old fighting. He also asked African peacekeepers to stand down.

Ahmed, who was elected January 31, said he would ask the AU contingent to leave once there is a solid political solution to the conflict.

More than 40,000 Somalis have returned to abandoned neighborhoods in Mogadishu over the past six weeks, despite some of the heaviest fighting in months, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said Friday.

They are part of the more than a million residents who have been displaced by fighting in Somalia, including 100,000 who fled to neighboring countries last year alone, according to the United Nations.

Ethiopian troops entered the country at its request in December 2006. The Ethiopians ousted the Islamic Courts Union, an Islamic movement that had claimed control of Mogadishu earlier that year.

Ethiopia's action had the blessing of the United States, which accused the Islamic Courts Union of harboring fugitives from al Qaeda. But various Islamist groups -- including al-Shabab, which the United States has designated a terror organization -- rejected the presence of Ethiopian forces and mounted an insurgent campaign against the Ethiopians and the transitional government.

From Mohamed Amiin Adow for CNN

Question: Who is the president?

Question: Who is fighting in Somalia?

Question: who won't agree to a strict interpretation of Islamic law?

Question: What is the aim of the concession?

Question: who has asked African peacekeepers to stand down?

Question: What did he ask African peacekeepers to do?

Question: What will President Ahmed not agree to?

Answer: Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed

Answer: rebels

Answer: President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed

Answer: to halt fighting between Somali forces and Islamic insurgents.

Answer: The president,

Answer: stand down.

Answer: a strict interpretation of the law, which forbids girls from attending school, requires veils for women and beards for men, and bans music and television.

Summary:
Concession is attempt to halt fighting between Somali forces, Islamic insurgents .
President Ahmed says he won't agree to a strict interpretation of Islamic law .
President also has asked African peacekeepers to stand down .


(CNN) -- Somali government forces have seized control of a central town from an al Qaeda-linked Islamist militia, a spokesman for Somalia's president said Thursday. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has offered aid to Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, Somalia's president. "Bulo Burde is now under the control of government forces after our forces overran a stiff resistance at the entrance bridge of the town by Al Shabaab fighters," said Abdulkadir Mohamed Osman, communication director for Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, Somalia's transitional president. Despite the announcement, residents said heavy fighting continued Thursday and the town is still divided between pro-government forces and Al Shabaab fighters. The ongoing exchange of heavy-weapon fire between the two sides has trapped people in the town, residents said. "Everyone inside this house is scared because heavy shells are raining in the town," said one resident, Sahra Muse. Bulo Burde is about 155 miles (250 kilometers) southeast of the Somali capital of Mogadishu. The United States is supporting the Somali government's fight against the insurgents, including providing weapons to government forces. Al Shabaab is on the U.S. list of terror organizations because of its ties to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network. The United States is concerned that Somalia's weak government could fall to the Islamist insurgency, as it did in 2006 before Ethiopian forces ousted the militants from power later that year. Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Somalia's transitional president and vowed to continue U.S. support for his government. "The United States and the international community must serve as an active partner in helping the TFG [transitional federal government] and the people of Somalia confront and ultimately move beyond the conflict and poverty that have gripped their country," Clinton said at a joint news conference with Ahmed at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. The United States announced in June that it is providing weapons and ammunition to help Ahmed's government fight the militants. The weapons shipments are in accordance with U.N. Security Council resolutions, which ban some arms shipments to Somalia, said State Department spokesman Ian Kelly. Clinton warned that terrorist groups like Al Shabaab pose a threat to the broader international community. "Certainly if Al Shabaab were to obtain a haven in Somalia, which could then attract al Qaeda and other terrorist actors, it would be a threat to the United States," she said. There are growing concerns that Somalia could be the next base for al Qaeda as U.S. forces pound their positions in Afghanistan and Pakistan. CIA Director Leon Panetta recently said that the intelligence agency is keeping tabs on the region as a possible destination for fleeing al Qaeda operatives. "Our concern right now is that likely safe havens are areas in the Horn of Africa, like Somalia and Yemen, that are countries that because of their political status can be attractive to al Qaeda in order to operate there," Panetta said in June. Separately, the FBI is investigating what appears to be a massive recruiting effort by Al Shabaab in immigrant communities in the United States. More than a dozen young men of Somali descent have disappeared from the Minneapolis, Minnesota, area in recent months. At least three of them, including a suicide bomber, have been killed in Somalia. Also, Australia recently announced the arrests of four men with ties to Al Shabaab who were suspected of planning a suicide attack on a military base in the southern state of Victoria. President Ahmed is a former member of the Islamic Courts Union, which took part in the 2006 coup. His decision to renounce the bloody insurgency and try to establish peace in Somalia has put him at odds with Islamist hard-liners who are still battling for control of Somalia. It also paved the way for his election as president of Somalia's U.N.-backed transitional government in January. Journalist Mohammed Amiin Adow contributed to this report.

Question: What did troops overrun?

Question: What are U.S. officials warning about?

Question: What do officials warn?

Question: Who was resisting the troops?

Question: What does the U.S. fear could happen to Somalia's government?

Question: Which country does the U.S. warn could become a haven for al Qaeda operatives?

Question: What do residents still report?

Question: Who is backing Somalia's weak government?

Answer: a central town

Answer: terrorist groups like Al Shabaab pose a threat to the broader international community.

Answer: terrorist groups like Al Shabaab pose a threat to the broader international community.

Answer: Al Shabaab fighters,"

Answer: fall

Answer: Somalia,

Answer: heavy fighting

Answer: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

Summary:
Troops "overran a stiff resistance" from Islamist militia, spokesman says .
But residents still report heavy fighting between Al Shabaab, pro-government forces .
U.S. backs Somalia's weak government, fears it could fall to al Qaeda-linked group .
U.S. officials warn that Somalia could become haven for al Qaeda operatives .


(CNN) -- Somali pirates demanded a $7 million ransom for a British couple kidnapped aboard their yacht last week, a British agency said Friday. The British government says it won't pay. "The government will not make substantive concessions for hostage takers, including the payments of ransom," the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office said. Paul and Rachel Chandler, who were snatched last week from their yacht in the Indian Ocean, had been held aboard a Singaporean cargo ship hijacked by pirates. They have been moved to a hijacked Spanish ship that pirates have stocked with more supplies and armed men, a local journalist in contact with the pirates said Friday. The pirates moved them to the Spanish vessel after elders in the Somali town of Haradhere refused a pirate request to allow the Chandlers ashore, the journalist said. The journalist's identity is not being disclosed for security reasons. After hours of negotiation, the couple spoke with Rachel Chandler's brother, Stephen Collett, on Friday -- a phone conversation that was videotaped by CNN's British affiliate ITN. In the conversation, Rachel Chandler confirmed only that they had been moved from the Singaporean cargo ship, but not their current location, the network reported. "We're managing. They tell us that we're safe and that we shouldn't worry and that if we want anything, they will provide it in terms of food and, you know, water," an emotional Rachel Chandler told Collett. "They're very hospitable people, so don't worry. ... Physically we're fine; physically, we're healthy." Paul Chandler spoke slowly and carefully in the interview: "Rachel and I are here. We are fine," he told Collett. "We know nothing here. It is nice to speak to you. I can only say we are well and that's as far as I can say." Collett read a message to the captors, asking them to release his sister and her husband to show "your compassionate nature." ITN reporter Angus Walker noted that Paul Chandler's tone sounded more strained than during their conversation Thursday, when he laughed at one point and sounded more relaxed. In their Thursday conversation, Chandler told ITN that men with guns had boarded the couple's yacht, demanding money and taking everything of value. Paul Chandler spoke later with the BBC's Somali Service, reportedly saying, "We are well and being looked after OK." He said they were being fed and "food is OK at the moment." The pirates abandoned the Chandlers' yacht, the 38-foot Lynn Rival, which the British Royal Navy found drifting in international waters Thursday. The Chandlers set off from the Seychelles islands on October 21 bound for Tanzania, according to their blog. A distress beacon was activated on October 23, according to naval officials. Britain's Foreign Office said it has been in close contact with the couple's family. Pirates have been very active off the east coast of Africa in the past several years, operating out of lawless Somalia. Two vessels were attacked the day after the Chandlers set sail. One of them -- a cargo ship -- was successfully boarded and seized off the Seychelles, while the other fought off its attackers near the Kenyan coast. Thursday, pirates attacked and boarded a Thai-flagged fishing vessel about 200 miles north of the Seychelles, according to the European Union Naval Force. Attacks in the region have significantly increased this year, according to the International Maritime Bureau, which monitors shipping crimes. But successful attacks have gone down as a result of a strong presence of international monitors. The first nine months of this year has seen more pirate attacks than all of last year, the bureau reported October 21. From January 1 through September 30, pirates worldwide mounted 306 attacks, compared with 293 in all of 2008, it said. More than half of this year's attacks were carried out by suspected Somali pirates off the east coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden, a major shipping route between Yemen and Somalia. Out of

Question: when did they leave the Seychelles

Question: who has been kidnapped

Question: Where did the couple leave for Tanzania?

Question: What type of weapons do they have?

Question: What will the British government not do?

Question: where did they move them from?

Question: what the government say

Question: Who kidnapped a British couple?

Answer: October 21

Answer: Paul and Rachel Chandler,

Answer: Seychelles islands on October 21 bound

Answer: guns

Answer: it won't pay.

Answer: a Singaporean cargo ship hijacked by pirates.

Answer: it won't pay.

Answer: Somali

Summary:
NEW: British government says it won't pay ransom .
Pirates move kidnapped British couple to hijacked Spanish ship .
Pirate source says ship has more men and weapons on board .
British couple left Seychelles for Tanzania on October 21 .


(CNN) -- Somali pirates have turned high-seas kidnappings into a lucrative business, one that netted between $50 million and $150 million last year, a former Navy SEAL told CNN.

Attackers hijacked the Maersk Alabama, shown here, formerly known as the Alva Maersk.

Kaj Larsen spoke to CNN's Anderson Cooper Wednesday night about the changing tactics of pirates in Somalia. Below is a transcript of that interview, portions of which have been edited.

Cooper: You have spent a fair amount of time there. You have actually met with the pirates, right?

Larsen: I did. I met with some of the pirates that were operating out of Port of Mogadishu in 2006. And that was right before this current uptick in piracy that we're seeing so much of right now.

Cooper: And why the uptick? Just because now they realize it's so profitable?

Larsen: Sure, absolutely.

There's an extraordinary incentive to conduct acts of piracy. Last year, they estimate the pirates took in somewhere between $50 million and $150 million in ransom money. It's extraordinary. It's very lucrative. And, obviously, the cheap flow of weapons available in Somalia all contribute to this problem of maritime piracy.  See how pirate attacks are skyrocketing »

Cooper: And this is a different situation, because now the USS Bainbridge is on scene. This is the first time an American has been held hostage.

But, normally, a whole crew gets taken hostage, and it's basically a negotiation between the company that owns the vessel or the cargo and the pirates.

Larsen: Right Obviously, this is a very unique situation and it's developing right now as we speak. So, this is setting new standards and new precedents. My concern during this situation is that the pirates, seeing their first batch of resistance, in the future might be using more aggressive tactics now that they see that some ships are willing to fight back.

Cooper: You were a Navy SEAL. What is the procedure in something like this?

Larsen: Well, obviously, each situation is very unique, and so they have to balance the use of force with the potential threat of injury to the hostage. Again, this is a unique situation. This is the first time Americans have been taken hostage, so we could see a new precedent being set.  Watch how pirates operate off Somalia »

In the past, the U.S. Navy and the other coalition forces and the combined task force in the region has been reluctant to engage with the pirates militarily, for fear that one of the hostages will be hurt. We will see if that continues to be the case here.

Cooper: And, basically, I mean, if [pirates are] operating 350 miles offshore, and they're running around, and then they're going around in these little skiffs, do they have a larger boat nearby somewhere in the area? ... They can't go 350 miles offshore in a little skiff, can they?

Larsen: No, absolutely not, I mean, although you are seeing improved weather conditions in the Gulf of Aden, which is responsible for the increased in attacks over the past week, 350 miles is a long ways out at sea.

So, again, the pirates are becoming increasingly more sophisticated, are actually [using] mother ships in many cases, from which they send out the small speedboats out to both track and then sometimes assault these tanker and these container ships in the gulf.

Cooper: How do you think this thing is going to end? Do you have any idea?

Larsen: I don't really have any idea.

In the past, what we have seen is a classic kidnap-for-ransom hostage negotiation system, where the insurance companies end up paying sometimes millions of dollars for these pirates.

In this case, I think the very close presence of a U.S. Navy vessel might ...  provide some discomfort to the pirates in the area.

Question: How much did the pirates make?

Question: What does he say about the sophistication of the pirates?

Question: what do pirates do

Question: Who is kidnapping the Americans?

Question: How much money did the pirates make?

Answer: between $50 million and $150 million

Answer: are becoming increasingly more sophisticated,

Answer: high-seas kidnappings

Answer: Somali

Answer: between $50 million and $150 million

Summary:
Ex-Navy SEAL says kidnapping of American is change for Somali pirates .
Kaj Larsen says pirates made between $50 million to $150 million last year .
"The pirates are becoming increasingly more sophisticated," he says .


(CNN) -- Somalia is facing life-threatening food and water shortages leaving millions at risk for starvation, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Wednesday.

A growing percentage of Somalia's population has become dependent on humanitarian aid.

"The Somali people are going through unbearable hardship," said Pascal Hundt, head of the ICRC's delegation for Somalia, in a written statement. "We are witnessing the worst tragedy of the past decade in Somalia."

Somalia's last severe famine, from 1991 to 1993, devastated crops, killed between 240,000 and 280,000 people and displaced up to 2 million, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Humanitarian workers view Somalia's food crisis as one of the worst in the world. With winds ripping though the country, hundreds of thousands of Somalis are finding their crops as dry as the surrounding landscape, preventing harvests, killing livestock and leading to a mass risk of starvation.

The continual armed conflicts in central and south Somalia have aggravated the situation, hindering people from accessing shelter and medical attention.

A growing percentage of the population has become dependent on humanitarian aid. The ICRC, World Food Program and CARE plan to deliver four months worth of food to 435,000 Somalis within the next few weeks.

International donors are being asked by the ICRC to provide some of the emergency money. Aid includes giving blankets, kitchen sets and other shelter supplies to 150,000 people.

The WFP will be increasing the amount it spends in Somalia to $163 million in food assistance, the group said at a U.N. conference in Rome Wednesday.

In addition to drought and armed conflict, high inflation on food and fuel have also exacerbated the situation. Similar factors have affected other developing nations in Africa and other parts of the world.

Ethiopia's food crisis has affected 4.5 million people, said the United Nations Children's Fund.

As a result of widespread food shortages and little rainfall, an estimated 126,000 children are in need of medical assistance to combat severe malnutrition, while the WFP projects $193 million will be needed for urgent food distributions.

Question: What has exacerbated the situation in Somalia?

Question: Inflation on what products has worsened the situation?

Question: Who is facing life-threatening food, water shortages leaving millions?

Question: What has been exacerbating the situation?

Question: What is preventing harvests?

Question: What parts of Somalia have experienced a lot of armed conflicts?

Question: What items in Somalia are affected by inflation the most?

Question: What is the ICRC?

Question: What national element is leaving crops dry and preventing harvests?

Question: What tension has contributed to the problem in Somalia?

Question: What are leaving crops as dry as the landscape?

Question: What is Somalia facing according to the ICRC?

Answer: high inflation on food and fuel

Answer: food and fuel

Answer: Somalia

Answer: continual armed conflicts

Answer: winds

Answer: central and south

Answer: food and fuel

Answer: International Committee of the Red Cross

Answer: winds

Answer: continual armed conflicts

Answer: winds ripping though the country,

Answer: life-threatening food and water shortages

Summary:
ICRC: Somalia facing life-threatening food, water shortages leaving millions at risk .
Winds are leaving crops as dry as the landscape, preventing harvests .
Continual armed conflicts in central and south Somalia have aggravated the situation .
High inflation on food and fuel have also exacerbated the situation .


(CNN) -- Somalia is facing life-threatening food and water shortages leaving millions at risk for starvation, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Wednesday. A growing percentage of Somalia's population has become dependent on humanitarian aid. "The Somali people are going through unbearable hardship," said Pascal Hundt, head of the ICRC's delegation for Somalia, in a written statement. "We are witnessing the worst tragedy of the past decade in Somalia." Somalia's last severe famine, from 1991 to 1993, devastated crops, killed between 240,000 and 280,000 people and displaced up to 2 million, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Humanitarian workers view Somalia's food crisis as one of the worst in the world. With winds ripping though the country, hundreds of thousands of Somalis are finding their crops as dry as the surrounding landscape, preventing harvests, killing livestock and leading to a mass risk of starvation. The continual armed conflicts in central and south Somalia have aggravated the situation, hindering people from accessing shelter and medical attention. A growing percentage of the population has become dependent on humanitarian aid. The ICRC, World Food Program and CARE plan to deliver four months worth of food to 435,000 Somalis within the next few weeks. International donors are being asked by the ICRC to provide some of the emergency money. Aid includes giving blankets, kitchen sets and other shelter supplies to 150,000 people. The WFP will be increasing the amount it spends in Somalia to $163 million in food assistance, the group said at a U.N. conference in Rome Wednesday. In addition to drought and armed conflict, high inflation on food and fuel have also exacerbated the situation. Similar factors have affected other developing nations in Africa and other parts of the world. Ethiopia's food crisis has affected 4.5 million people, said the United Nations Children's Fund. As a result of widespread food shortages and little rainfall, an estimated 126,000 children are in need of medical assistance to combat severe malnutrition, while the WFP projects $193 million will be needed for urgent food distributions.

Question: What can be done to help?

Question: What caused the inflation?

Question: What is leaving crops dry?

Question: What is exacerbating the situation?

Question: Where are the continual armed conflicts?

Answer: deliver four months worth of food

Answer: drought and armed conflict,

Answer: is facing life-threatening food and water shortages

Answer: high inflation on food and fuel

Answer: in central and south Somalia


(CNN) -- Somalia needs international help to fight Islamist extremists battling for power in the lawless Horn of Africa nation, the country's moderate Islamist president said Monday. Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was recently appointed Somalia's transitional president. "I am calling on the international community to help Somalia defend against foreign militants who have invaded the country," President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed said. Speaking at a news conference in Somalia's capital city, Mogadishu, Ahmed called several times for international help in fighting foreign militants whom he claims are the same fighters who have fought the "international community" in Iraq and Afghanistan. "Wherever they come, they fuel violence," the president said. "The Somali people cannot and should not accept that their countries should be a launching pad for these militants to attack." Ahmed told local journalists that he feared these foreign fighters would turn Somalia into another Iraq or Afghanistan, where U.S.-led forces are fighting Islamic extremist groups. He also praised local militias in the two regions of Hiiran and Middle Shabelle for struggling against the foreign militias. Last week, al-Shabab militants advanced to the presidential palace in Mogadishu, sparking sporadic fighting and shelling in the Somali capital. The recent fighting has killed more than 40 civilians and wounded about 150 others, according to sources at the scene. Al-Shabab -- once the armed wing of the Islamic Courts Union -- has been designated as a terrorist group by the United States, which says it is affiliated with the al Qaeda terrorist network. Ahmed participated in seizing control of Mogadishu in 2006 along with the Islamic Courts Union before it was ousted by Ethiopian forces later that year. He has since split from Somali jihad movements and was recently appointed Somalia's transitional president through a process shepherded by the United Nations. Journalist Mohamed Amiin Adow contributed to this report.

Question: Where is the conference held?

Question: What is the name of the President?

Question: How many civilians were killed?

Question: Who did the U.S. say Al-Shabab militants are affiliated with?

Question: What does Ahmed fear will happen to Somalia?

Question: Where is Ahmed speaking?

Question: Who will speak at a conference in Mogadishu?

Question: Fighting in 2 days killed how many?

Question: Where will fighters turn?

Question: Who fears foreign fighters will turn Somalia into another Iraq or Afghanistan?

Question: How many has the fighting killed in the past two days?

Question: What  kills more than 40 civilians?

Question: Who are the Al-Shabab Militants affiliated to

Question: Who is speaking at a conference in Mogadishu?

Question: What does Ahmed Fear foreign fighters will do?

Question: Who are Al-Shabab militants affiliated with?

Question: where is the conference the president is speaking at?

Answer: in Somalia's capital city, Mogadishu,

Answer: Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed

Answer: 40

Answer: the al Qaeda terrorist network.

Answer: foreign fighters would turn

Answer: at a news conference in Somalia's capital city, Mogadishu,

Answer: President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed

Answer: 40 civilians

Answer: Somalia into another Iraq or

Answer: Ahmed

Answer: more than 40 civilians

Answer: The recent fighting

Answer: al Qaeda terrorist network.

Answer: Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed

Answer: Afghanistan,

Answer: al Qaeda terrorist network.

Answer: Mogadishu,

Summary:
President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed speaking at a conference in Mogadishu .
Ahmed fears foreign fighters will turn Somalia into another Iraq or Afghanistan .
Fighting in past two days kills more than 40 civilians .
U.S. says Al-Shabab militants are affiliated with al Qaeda network .


(CNN) -- Somalia's hard-line Islamic group Al-Shabab seized control of Jowhar, the president's hometown, after a battle with pro-government forces Sunday. An Islamist fighter mans a position in the streets of Mogadishu, Somalia, on Saturday. Jowhar is a major town 55 miles (88 kilometers) southeast of Mogadishu, the capital. "All businesses are closed and residents are already fleeing while Al-Shabab are roaming the streets," a local journalist said. The town had been under the control of forces backing the transitional government, which is scrambling to cope with deadly advances from Al-Shabab in Mogadishu. Al-Shabab was once the armed wing of the Islamic Courts Union, which took over most of southern Somalia in the second half of 2006. The United States says the group is affiliated with the al Qaeda terrorist network, and the U.S. backed an Ethiopian invasion that drove the ICU from power in 2006. After seizing control of Jowhar on Sunday, the rebels started conducting "search operations in the police station and the provincial headquarters of the town," the journalist added. The clashes extended into the suburbs of the town, where sporadic fighting was going on between the rebels and government forces, said the journalist, who requested anonymity for safety reasons. The town's seizure comes amid escalating tension between Somalia's transitional government and the Al-Shabab militia, which has waged days-long attacks in the capital. In the latest round of violence, one person was killed and 15 others wounded when mortars slammed into a police academy in Mogadishu on Sunday. Clashes between the rebels and the government in Mogadishu have left at least 103 people dead and 420 wounded, Somali officials said Friday. The east African nation has not had an effective government since 1991. Last week, a spokesman for the rebel group said that it had successfully recruited more fighters. "It is not only Somali jihadists that are fighting in Mogadishu against the government," said Sheikh Hassan Ya'qub, a spokesman for Al-Shabab. "There are also foreign Muslim jihadist brothers who are fighting side by side with us." The new round of fighting stems from an interpretation of sharia, or Islamic law, the spokesman said. Somalia's new president, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, recently approved implementing sharia, but the rebel group wants the country to institute a stricter form. Meanwhile, a powerful Islamist warlord defected to the government Saturday after he disagreed with rebel Islamist groups on the war against the transitional government. The warlord, Sheikh Yusuf Mohamud Siad Indha Ade, was the military commander of Hassan Dahir Aweys, who is suspected by the United States of being a terrorist.

Question: How many people were killed in clashes between rebels and government?

Question: What group is Al-Shabab affiliated with?

Question: Who is affiliated with al Qaeda?

Question: How many rebels died by government?

Question: What did Al-Shabab recently say?

Question: What do the officials say?

Question: Who does the U.S. say is affiliated with al Qaeda?

Question: How much people were killed in clashes between rebels and the government?

Question: What country is Al-Shabab in?

Question: How many were killed and wounded?

Question: What did Al-Shabab recently say?

Question: What has Al-Shabab been successful at recently?

Question: What group is affiliated with al Qaeda?

Question: What country did clashes ocur in?

Answer: 103

Answer: al Qaeda

Answer: Al-Shabab

Answer: 103

Answer: that it had successfully recruited more fighters.

Answer: Clashes between the rebels and the government in Mogadishu have left at least 103 people dead and 420 wounded,

Answer: Islamic Courts Union,

Answer: 103

Answer: Somalia

Answer: one person was

Answer: "There are also foreign Muslim jihadist brothers who are fighting side by side with us."

Answer: seized control of Jowhar,

Answer: Al-Shabab

Answer: Somalia,

Summary:
Group Al-Shabab is affiliated with al Qaeda, according to the U.S.
Clashes between rebels and government killed 103, wounded 420, officials say .
Al-Shabab recently said it has been successful at recruiting more members .


(CNN) -- Somalia's president escaped an opportunistic attack by Islamic militants Wednesday as deadly fighting erupted in the center of Mogadishu, officials said. Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was returning from a trip to Yemen when insurgents began firing mortars, resulted in a clash with African Union peacekeepers, the president's director of communications told CNN. "The Islamic insurgents were just guessing the arrival of the president so they started firing mortars, just to send a kind of their regular violent message that they are around," said Abdulkadir Barnamij. The heaviest of the fighting was centered on Maka Al Mukarama, which links the airport to the presidential palace but it is heavily guarded by forces from the African Union Mission in Somalia. Meanwhile Ali Muse, head of an emergency group in the city, confirmed to CNN that three people died and 16 others were wounded in the fighting. "The casualty (number) is small because people deserted the streets soon after the fighting started," said Ali Muse. -- Journalist Mohamed Amiin Adow contributed to this report

Question: Where did the heaviest fighting take place?

Question: Where did the fighting center?

Question: What was happening outside?

Question: How many people was left dead because of the fighting?

Question: What did they announce?

Question: Who exchanged fire?

Question: Where was the heaviest of the fighting centered?

Answer: Maka Al Mukarama,

Answer: Mogadishu,

Answer: "The Islamic insurgents were just guessing the arrival of the president so they started firing mortars,

Answer: three

Answer: three people died and 16 others were wounded

Answer: insurgents began firing mortars, resulted in a clash with African Union peacekeepers,

Answer: Maka Al Mukarama,

Summary:
President's office: Islamist insurgents, African Union peacekeepers exchanged fire .
Fighting left at least five dead, according to Shabelle Media network .
The heaviest of the fighting centered on area linking airport to the presidential palace .


(CNN) -- Somalia's president on Wednesday declared three days of national mourning for the victims of a suicide truck bomb that killed more than 70 people in Mogadishu, the nation's capital.

According to the Health Ministry, 72 were killed Tuesday and 103 remained injured, 38 of those in serious condition. A majority of the victims were students and their parents who were registering for an education program at a government complex.

Al-Shabaab, an Islamist movement that has links to al Qaeda, claimed responsibility.

President Sharif Ahmed visited the scene and some of the hospitals where the victims were, the government said in a statement. Some of the injured who cannot be treated in Somalia will be flown to other countries.

"At this time, when the country is in the midst of a worsening humanitarian crisis, the terrorists could not have attacked the Somali people at a worse time," said Abdulkadir Hussein Mohamed, the country's minister of information.

According to the government, Tuesday's bombing was the second Al-Shabaab attack in two years that specifically targeted students. In December 2009, a suicide bomber attacked a university graduation ceremony in Mogadishu, killing more than 20 people.

Al-Shabaab is a group in Somalia that was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States government in March 2008. It is waging a war against Somalia's government to implement a stricter form of Islamic law, or Sharia.

Federal and African Union forces in the impoverished and chaotic nation have battled the group for years. Many analysts believe that Al-Shabaab has been severely weakened by the African Union Mission in Somalia, targeted strikes against foreign members and the weakening of al Qaeda.

Question: whats Somalia's president visits hospitals and bombing scene, calls for three days of mourning?

Question: A suicide truck killed how many people?

Question: What does the Somalian president call for?

Question: Who claimed responsibility?

Answer: Sharif Ahmed

Answer: 72

Answer: three days of national mourning

Answer: Al-Shabaab, an Islamist movement that has links to al Qaeda,

Summary:
A suicide truck bomb killed more than 70 people Tuesday .
Somalia's president visits hospitals and bombing scene, calls for three days of mourning .
Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the blast .


(CNN) -- Somalia's transitional government has the right to request military help from its neighbors against armed militants, the African Union said Monday, but Kenya was quick to reject the idea of sending troops and suggested the AU should spearhead such a move. Islamist insurgents patrol part of Mogadishu during clashes with government forces. Somali parliament speaker Sheikh Adan Madowe on Saturday called on Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Yemen to send in their military forces to help government troops stop hardline Islamist militants from taking over. "Militants are wrestling the power from the government and so we call for military help from neighboring countries," the speaker said at a news conference in Mogadishu. "Please send your military to help in 24 hours' time." But Alfred Mutua, spokesman for the Kenyan government, told CNN that "Kenya doesn't engage in military support to our neighbors." He said that any such support would be under the umbrella of the African Union. However, he did say that "different types of support can be given, not just military, and Kenya's options are open." He said that the government should announce by Wednesday how it will move forward. Jean Ping, chairman of the African Union Commission, said in a communique issued Sunday that the transitional government, as Somalia's legitimate government, "has the right to seek support from AU Member States and the larger international community." Ping also said that the AU would "continue to do its utmost to assist the Somali people and its authorities in their lasting quest for peace and reconciliation." Somalia's call for help came hours after a third top politician was killed in ongoing fighting in the capital. Mohamed Hussein Adow, a powerful member of parliament who was leading the fight against the Islamists, was slain Friday in the north of the city. His death came two days after Islamists killed Internal Security Minister Omar Hashi Adan in a suicide attack in central Somalia. The nation's former ambassador to Ethiopia, Abdikarin Farah Laqanyo, was also killed, along with at least 11 others, government officials said. Madowe said a Pakistani militant who is a high-ranking official in al Qaeda is leading the fighting in Somalia against the government. He warned that militants will spread fighting into the rest of the region if they topple the government in Somalia. Mohammed Amiin Adow contributed to this report for CNN

Question: What did Somali parliament speaker asks Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Yemen to do ?

Question: who is battling hardline Islamist militants?

Question: Who said they would help?

Question: who did Somali parliament speaker ask?

Question: Country is battling what kind of militants ?

Question: who will help Somalia?

Question: Who is the country battling?

Question: Where did the speaker ask the tropps come from?

Answer: help government troops stop hardline Islamist militants from taking over.

Answer: government troops

Answer: that the AU

Answer: called on Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Yemen to send in their military forces to help government troops stop hardline Islamist militants from taking over.

Answer: Islamist

Answer: AU

Answer: Islamist militants

Answer: Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya

Summary:
Somali parliament speaker asks Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Yemen to send troops .
Country is battling hardline Islamist militants .
Kenya says African Union must lead such an effort .
AU says it will help Somalia .


(CNN) -- Somalia's transitional president has resigned amid a power struggle with the African nation's prime minister and parliament, sources told CNN on Monday. Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed tried to fire his PM this month but later lost a confidence vote. Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed announced his resignation Monday before parliament in Baidoa. Ahmed's resignation is the latest turn in the political crisis in Somalia, which is already struggling with an Islamist revolt, a refugee crisis and rampant lawlessness that has fueled a wave of piracy off the Horn of Africa. Somalia has been without an effective central government since 1991. The U.N.-backed transitional government has the support of Ethiopian troops that ousted an Islamist government at the end of 2006, but it controls little of the country outside the southwestern city of Baidoa. Ahmed attempted to fire his prime minister, Nur Hassan Hussein, earlier this month for being ineffective. But Hussein said the president did not have the power to fire him, and the vast majority of members of parliament backed Hussein in a vote of confidence. Kenya -- a major player in international efforts to stabilize Somalia -- warned that the government crisis endangered peace efforts and singled out Ahmed over his attempt to sack Hassan.

Question: What has Kenya warned about the Somali government?

Question: Which other country warned that Somali government crisis is endangering peace efforts?

Question: The country struggled with which religious revolt?

Question: What country's transitional president resigns?

Question: What happened to Somalias transitional president?

Question: What did Kenya do?

Question: What is the country struggling with?

Question: Which country's transitional president resigns amid power struggle with PM, parliament?

Answer: endangered peace efforts and singled out Ahmed over his attempt to sack Hassan.

Answer: Kenya

Answer: Islamist

Answer: Somalia's

Answer: resigned amid a power struggle with the African nation's

Answer: warned that the government crisis endangered peace efforts and singled out Ahmed over his attempt to sack Hassan.

Answer: an Islamist revolt, a refugee crisis and rampant lawlessness that has fueled a wave of piracy off the Horn of Africa.

Answer: Somalia's

Summary:
Somalia's transitional president resigns amid power struggle with PM, parliament .
Country struggling with Islamist revolt, refugee crisis and rampant lawlessness .
Kenya has warned that Somali government crisis is endangering peace efforts .


(CNN) -- Somalian supermodel Waris Dirie has graced the pages of glossy magazines and starred opposite 007 as a Bond Girl. Face for change: Dirie is a tireless campaigner against FGM. But her glamorous appearances on catwalks and in magazines and films belies the personal battles Dirie has had to overcome. Dirie is a leading voice against forced circumcision and female genital mutilation (FGM) and struggled to overcome her own circumcision at the age of five. The forthcoming film, "Desert Flower", based on her biography, tells her story. Yet it is through her charitable foundation that Dirie hopes that the practice still common in traditions in parts of Africa, the Middle East, South American and Asia will not create more cases similar to her own. Growing up with a nomadic family in Somalia she was one of 12 children. She fled to the London, where one of her uncles was working in the Somali embassy, to avoid an arranged marriage with an older man. She was just 13-years-old at the time. After working as a housemaid and in a McDonald's restaurant she was spotted by chance by fashion photographer Terrance Donovan and became the covergirl for the 1987 Pirelli calendar. Becoming the face of beauty products and design houses, her successful modeling career has given her a life far removed from her childhood. Yet for Dirie more importantly it has created a platform to campaign against FGM. In 2002 she created the Waris Dirie Foundation and has been given a number of honors in recognition of her work.

Question: What did she suffer from at age five?

Question: Who was the supermodel discovered by in the UK?

Question: Which year was the Waris Dirie Foundation set up?

Question: Where did she flee to from Somalia?

Question: What does the Waris Dirie Foundation do?

Question: Who is a Somalian supermodel and human rights activist?

Question: When was the Waris Dirie Foundation established?

Question: What nationality was the supermodel?

Answer: forced circumcision and female genital mutilation (FGM)

Answer: Waris Dirie

Answer: 2002

Answer: London,

Answer: campaign against FGM.

Answer: Waris Dirie

Answer: 2002

Answer: Somalian

Summary:
Somalian supermodel and human rights activist .
Campaigns against female genital mutilation; suffered circumcision age just five .
Fled from Somali to UK as a teenager; spotted by fashion photographer .
Set up Waris Dirie Foundation in 2002; received numerous award for her work .


(CNN) -- Somalis forced to flee war and drought are living in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions at home and in neighboring countries, including in Kenya and Ethiopia, an aid agency said Thursday. Somali refugees in Kenya queue to find out about a move to a displacement camp. Somalia has seen a rise in fighting between government forces and the Islamic militant group Al-Shabab, which wants to implement a stricter form of Sharia law or Islamic religious law. The clashes have left scores dead in recent months. The country in the Horn of Africa is also going through the worst drought in 10 years, international agency Oxfam said. "Somalis flee one of the world's most brutal conflicts and a desperate drought, only to end up in unimaginable conditions in camps that are barely fit for humans," said Robbert Van den Berg, a spokesman for Oxfam International in the Horn of Africa. "Hundreds of thousands of children are affected, and the world is abandoning the next generation of Somalis when they most need our help. Why does it seem like you matter less in this world if you are from Somalia?" The international community has failed the refugees, who have little access to basic services such as water and medicine, Oxfam said. About 8,000 Somali refugees flock into the Dadaab camp in northern Kenya every month, the aid agency said. The camp, which has facilities for about 90,000, has 280,000 refugees who have no access to basic necessities, including clean water, Oxfam said. "The Kenyan government has repeatedly promised to provide more land to ease the overcrowding, but has so far failed to do so," Van den Berg said. "More pressure from the international community is needed to make it happen." Kenyan officials decried the criticism. "It is wrong to say we are not doing anything," said Francis Mwaka, a federal communications official. "The Kenya government is aware of the problem and is working on a solution." Several government departments that deal with refugee issues are planning to meet next week, Mwaka said. "During this meeting, they will discuss the possibility of having another camp for refugees in the country or relocating some of the ones in Dadaab to another camp," he said. Mwaka confirmed Oxfam's report that the Dadaab camp was built to host 90,000 refugees. In Ethiopia, the Bokolmayo camp has about 10,000 people. At least 1,000 people arrive there every month, but the facilities are not adequate enough to handle the influx, Oxfam said. Meanwhile, in Somalia, insecurity has hindered international aid agencies from reaching the 485,000 people who have fled the capital, Mogadishu, to nearby Afgooye, Oxfam said. The displaced are getting help from Somalis, who do not have enough resources, it added. "In all three locations -- Afgooye, Dadaab and Bokolmayo -- the services being provided to vulnerable and desperate people are far below international standards," Van den Berg said. About 1.4 million people have been displaced in Somalia and 500,000 more have fled to countries in the region, according to Oxfam. The transitional government has been mired in chaos since 1991 when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and sparked brutal clan infighting. Government officials have struggled to establish authority amid challenges by Islamist groups that have seized control of some cities.

Question: Clashes between government forces and islamic militant group has killed how many?

Question: Who have there been clashes between?

Question: where is the drought?

Question: What do refugees live in?

Question: Where are the refugees from?

Question: What is the name of the camp in Ethiopia?

Question: who are the clashes between?

Question: How many refugees live at the camp?

Answer: scores

Answer: government forces and the Islamic militant group Al-Shabab,

Answer: the Horn of Africa

Answer: overcrowded and unsanitary conditions

Answer: Somali

Answer: Bokolmayo

Answer: government forces and the Islamic militant group Al-Shabab,

Answer: 280,000

Summary:
Somali refugees living in unsanitary conditions at home and in neighboring countries .
Clashes between government forces and Islamic militant group has killed hundreds .
Somalia also suffering from worst drought in ten years, according to Oxfam .
The Bokolmayo camp in Ethiopia is home to about 10,000 refugees .


(CNN) -- Some 220 square miles of ice has collapsed in Antarctica and an ice shelf about seven times the size of Manhattan is "hanging by a thread," the British Antarctic Survey said Tuesday, blaming global warming. Scientists say the size of the threatened shelf is about 5,282 square miles. "We are in for a lot more events like this," said professor Ted Scambos, a glaciologist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Scambos alerted the British Antarctic Survey after he noticed part of the Wilkins ice shelf disintegrating on February 28, when he was looking at NASA satellite images. Late February marks the end of summer at the South Pole and is the time when such events are most likely, he said.  Watch aerial footage of the area » "The amazing thing was, we saw it within hours of it beginning, in between the morning and the afternoon pictures of that day," Scambos said of the large chunk that broke away on February 28. The Wilkins ice shelf lost about 6 percent of its surface a decade ago, the British Antarctic Survey said in a statement on its Web site Another 220 square miles -- including the chunk that Scambos spotted -- had splintered from the ice shelf as of March 8, the group said. "As of mid-March, only a narrow strip of shelf ice was protecting several thousand kilometers of potential further breakup," the group said. Scambos' center put the size of the threatened shelf at about 5,282 square miles, comparable to the state of Connecticut, or about half the area of Scotland.  See a map and photos as the collapse progressed » Once Scambos called the British Antarctic Survey, the group sent an aircraft on a reconnaissance mission to examine the extent of the breakout. "We flew along the main crack and observed the sheer scale of movement from the breakage," said Jim Elliott, according to the group's Web site. "Big hefty chunks of ice, the size of small houses, look as though they've been thrown around like rubble -- it's like an explosion," he said. "Wilkins is the largest ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula yet to be threatened," David Vaughan of the British Antarctic Survey said, according to the Web site. "I didn't expect to see things happen this quickly. The ice shelf is hanging by a thread -- we'll know in the next few days or weeks what its fate will be." But with Antarctica's summer ending, Scambos said the "unusual show is over for this season." Ice shelves are floating ice sheets attached to the coast. Because they are already floating, their collapse does not have any effect on sea levels, according to the Cambridge-based British Antarctic Survey. Scambos said the ice shelf is not currently on the path of the increasingly popular tourist ships that travel from South America to Antarctica. But some plants and animals may have to adapt to the collapse. "Wildlife will be impacted, but they are pretty adept at dealing with a topsy-turvy world," he said. "The ecosystem is pretty resilient." Several ice shelves -- Prince Gustav Channel, Larsen Inlet, Larsen A, Larsen B, Wordie, Muller and Jones -- have collapsed in the past three decades, the British Antarctic Survey said. Larsen B, a 1,254-square-mile ice shelf, comparable in size to the U.S. state of Rhode Island, collapsed in 2002, the group said. Scientists say the western Antarctic peninsula -- the piece of the continent that stretches toward South America -- has warmed more than any other place on Earth over the past 50 years, rising by 0.9 degrees Fahrenheit each decade. Scambos said the poles will be the leading edge of what's happening in the rest of the world as global warming continues. "Even though they seem far away, changes in the polar regions could have an impact on both hemispheres, with sea level rise and changes in climate patterns," he said.

Question: What is protecting the shelf from further breakup?

Question: what are floating

Question: what did scientist say

Question: Where is the Wilkins ice shelf?

Question: what happened in antarctica

Question: What are ice shelves?

Answer: narrow strip of

Answer: Ice shelves

Answer: the size of the threatened shelf is about 5,282 square miles.

Answer: Antarctica

Answer: 220 square miles of ice has collapsed

Answer: sheets attached to the coast.

Summary:
A large chunk of the Wilkins ice shelf in Antarctica broke away last month .
Only a narrow strip of ice is protecting the shelf from further breakup .
"I didn't expect to see things happen this quickly," scientist says .
Ice shelves are floating ice sheets attached to the coast .


(CNN) -- Some 5,000 residents in eastern Pennsylvania were allowed to return to their homes Saturday afternoon, some 12 hours after they were evacuated when a tractor-trailer carrying 33,000 pounds of toxic hydrofluoric acid overturned after the driver tried to avoid a deer, authorities said. Traffic is backed up Saturday after a truck spilled hydrofluoric acid in eastern Pennsylvania. State police identified the driver as Raymond Leblanc, 54, of Harrow, Ontario, Canada. Leblanc, who initially was trapped in the truck, was taken to a hospital where he was treated and released. Police said a passenger in the truck was unhurt. No other injuries were reported. The truck flipped over on its side and slid along northbound State Road 33, which was closed in both directions from Belfast to Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, from the time of the early-morning accident until about 6 p.m. Saturday. Most of the acid in the tank was in the form of pressurized gas, but there also was some water, said Northampton County spokesman John Conklin. State and federal hazardous materials experts stopped the leak by noon. The wreck occurred at 3:30 a.m. near Wind Gap. Conklin said many evacuees -- those living within a mile of the accident site in Plainfield Township -- went to a shelter set up at nearby Pen Argyl High School in Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania. A dispatcher with the Northhampton County Division of Emergency Management said residents were allowed to begin returning to their homes about 3:45 p.m. Saturday. Hydrogen fluoride is a hazardous chemical compound used mainly for industrial purposes such as etching glass, and is extremely corrosive. It also is an ingredient in high-octane gasoline, refrigerants, aluminum and light bulbs. Contact with concentrated solutions can cause severe burns, according to medical authorities. Inhaling the gas causes respiratory irritation, severe eye damage and pulmonary edema.

Question: What type of corrosive fluid leaked?

Question: When will the evacuees be able to go home?

Question: What did a driver report trying to avoid?

Question: What caused the evacuation?

Question: Where was the location of the acid spill?

Question: What substance was leaking?

Question: What was the number of evacuees?

Question: What was leaking?

Answer: hydrofluoric acid

Answer: afternoon,

Answer: a deer,

Answer: tractor-trailer carrying 33,000 pounds of toxic hydrofluoric acid overturned

Answer: eastern Pennsylvania

Answer: toxic hydrofluoric acid

Answer: 5,000

Answer: hydrofluoric acid

Summary:
5,000 evacuees able to go home 12 hours after evacuated because of acid spill .
Canadian driver tried to avoid hitting a deer, flipped tractor-trailer .
Leak of highly corrosive hydrofluoric acid stopped .