Bush Moved Out of ICU

Former President George H. W. Bush was moved out of the ICU, on Saturday.

He will still be staying at the hospital until doctors feel he has recovered enough.

On November 7, the former President was admitted to Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas, due to bronchitis.

He was released, on November 19, only to be readmitted, November 23, when his cough flared back up.

According to a spokesman, he had several setbacks, including a high fever, which required the move to the ICU, on December 23.

At eighty-eight he is the oldest living former President of the United States.

33 Die In Pakistan From Cough Syrup

Over the past four days at least thirty-three people have died in Pakistan, from what is suspected to be bad cough syrup.

Another fifty-four have become ill after using the medicine.

All of the deaths and illnesses have occurred in and around Gujranwala.

Doctors believe that either the medicine was bad, or the people may have also consumed too much of the cough syrup, in hopes of getting high off of it.

An investigation, of the medicine, is underway to determine which it is.

So far, the investigation has shown that multiple brands of cough syrup were used, including some home made varieties.

The home made ones increase the likelihood of bad medicine, but the multiple brands raise the chances of it being misuse of the syrup.

Ronorvirus Strikes Queen Mary 2

A struck the Queen Mary 2 cruise ship, this week.

Over two hundred of the passengers and crew fell ill to the sickness.

It is believed to be ronovirus, which is highly contagious, and deadly if not treated.

The cruise had left New York, last Saturday, for a twelve day cruise through the Caribbean.

Due to the illness, the ship was quarantined once it docked at Saint Maarten.

According to Cunard Line there are 2,613 passenger, and an unlisted number of crew, aboard the vessel.

United Airline Slides Off Albany Runway

A United Airlines plane slid off a runway, Saturday night.

It happened in Albany, New York, as the plane was taxiing, before heading to Chicago.

Light snow had been falling all day and the plane slipped right off the runway, into a snow bank.

None of the sixty-five passengers or crew were injured, in the incident.

They were, however, bused back to the terminal and had to wait for a new place.

No other delays took place at the airport.

The plane has been removed from the snow bank and will be investigated, before further use.

Earlier Saturday, a Russian airliner went off a Moscow runway, killing four.

Explosion in Karachi Kills 5

Five people were killed and fifty more injured when a bomb exploded on a bus.

The explosion happened in Karachi, Pakistan, on Saturday.

Nearby buildings, vehicles, and people were all hit by the bus, which had just left the Cantonment Railway Station.

Fires burned for some time, before all of them could be extinguished.

No one has claimed responsibility for the blast, and it is not clear if it was a suicide bomber, or not.

Russian Airline Crash Kills 4

A Russian airliner skidded off it's runway and crashed into a highway, on Saturday.

As it slid, it split into three separate pieces.

Luckily there were no passengers aboard, but sadly four of it's twelve crew members were killed in the crash.

Part of the Vnukovo airport, as well as the highway, were closed while the investigation and clean up took place.

The plane was a Tu-204, about the size of 757, and was operated by Red Wings, a Russian carrier.

This was the first major accident for the Tu-204s, which were produced in the 1990s.

French Tax on Rich Deemed Discrimination

Hollande

French President Francois Hollande's plans have run into a slight problem.

Much like US President Obama, he had proposed and strongly supported a higher tax rate on the rich.

Hollande's plan would have added a seventy-five percent tax rate for those who make more than one million euros a year.

Parliament had approved the tax, in September, and it had already been calculated into the 2013 budget.

However, on Saturday, the Constitutional Council decided that such a tax "failed to recognise equality before public burdens".

According to them, because the tax singled out individuals, it was a form of discrimination.

Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault stated that the government will still go ahead with the new tax rate, adding "the government will propose a new system that conforms with the principles laid down by the decision of the Constitutional Council".

China Requires People to Visit Elderly Parents

China passed new legislation, on Friday, that requires people visit their elderly parents, "often".

Under the new law, parents who feel neglected or abandoned can sue their children, for not visiting them enough.

The law does not say just how often "often" is.

It was made as an attempt to bring back the importance that family once had, for the Chinese.

Very few assisted living and retirement home options are available, in China, leaving the elderly dependent upon family or charity.

23 Pakistani Police Missing After Taliban Attack

Twenty-three Pakistani police are believed to have been kidnapped by the Taliban, on Thursday.

Militants attacked two police outposts in the Darra Adam Khel tribal region, killing two officers.

Twenty-five officers had been stationed, between the two outposts, but only the two dead were found.

On Friday, Pakistan announced that it might punish the tribe, if the police are not rescued.

The tribe was given until Monday to accomplish their mission, or financial aid from the government may be cut off.

Under Pakistani tribal law, tribes can be held responsible for attacks which happen in their territory.

3 Officers Wounded, Gunman Killed in New Jersey

Three police officers were wounded in their own station, early Friday morning.

An as of yet unidentified man had been brought into the Gloucester Township Police station for a domestic abuse case.

While undergoing processing he began to struggle with officers, and somehow managed to get hold of one of their guns.

Officers shot the man, killing him, but not before he had shot and wounded three of their number.

One of the officers required surgery for his wounds, at Cooper University Hospital , while the other two were treated and released for minor wounds.