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Mendi, Papua New Guinea (AHN) – Police are hunting 10 women who attacked a 17-year-old schoolboy with a knife and raped him in Papua New Guinea’s Southern Highlands province over the weekend.

The incident happened on Friday outside the provincial capital of Mendi, according to provincial police chief Teddy Tei. The young victim went to a hospital for treatment after the attack, he said.

Tei fears the boy has been infected with HIV by four of the women who raped him at knifepoint. HIV is the virus that causes acquired immune-deficiency syndrome or AIDS.

There is a high incidence of HIV infection among women in the Pacific island country. Papua New Guinea also ranks among the top countries with the highest incidence of rapes, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Just last week, an Australian female tourist was raped by locals, who hijacked her car and robbed his three other companions in Madang province in the northwestern coast of the main island. The victims were taken to a secluded site and tied to trees.

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Long Beach, CA, United States (AHN) – An engine room fire on the Carnival cruise ship Splendor has left the vessel drifting powerless 150 miles south of San Diego, Calif.

Tugboats are on their way to take the vessel to Ensenada, Mexico “in an effort to get the guests home as quickly as possible,” according to a Carnival statement.

The fire, which was first detected at 6 a.m. Pacific time on Monday, is out and there are no reports of any injuries, but the ship is without air conditioning, hot food services, flushing toilets and telephones.

The Splendor was on the first leg of a seven-day Mexican Riviera cruise that left Long Beach, Calif. on Nov. 7. The normal itinerary includes stops in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas. The ship carries 3,299 passengers and 1,167 crewmembers.

Along with the tugboats, the U.S. Coast Guard has sent aircraft and cutters to the ship’s location, according to Carnival.

The ship’s crew is providing passengers with bottled water and cold food. Passengers were initially asked to leave their cabins and gather on the open upper decks of the ship, but Carnival says passengers now have access to their rooms and can move about the ship.

Carnival will give guests a full refund and reimbursement for transportation costs. The cruise line is also offering guests of the adrift ship a complimentary future cruise.

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Troy, MI, United States (AHN) – For the tenth year in a row silver is ranked as the most popular vehicle color in the world. According to PPG Industries, a leading manufacturer of transportation coatings the color is the highest it’s been since 1990 when PPG began recording its data.

In North America, the silver, grey and charcoal category saw a dramatic rise in popularity to 31 percent this year. The color accounted for 25 percent of models in 2009 and 20 percent in 2008.

“There’s clearly been a significant strengthening of silver’s popularity in recent years,” said Jane E. Harrington, PPG manager, color styling, automotive coatings.

In Europe, silver and charcoal were used on nearly a third (32 percent) of models followed by black (24 percent), white (20 percent), blue (10 percent), red (9 percent), naturals (5 percent), green (1 percent) and other/niche colors (1 percent).

In the Asia/Pacific region, silver and charcoal (33 percent) were followed by white (21 percent), black (19 percent), red (10 percent), blue (8 percent), naturals (6 percent), other/niche colors (4 percent) and green (2 percent).

“Color is an important component of how today’s carmakers can define and differentiate a vehicle or brand in the marketplace,” said Harrington. “The palette of colors being developed for the automotive market is clearly being influenced by culture, nature, fashion, movies, media, electronics and many consumer products.”

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On August 15, 2006, the US Census Bureau released its annual statistics for various communities. The data for San Diego County revealed some significant shifts from 2000 to 2005 in terms of the total population in San Diego, the percentage of males to females, percentage of people at various ages, and the racial composition of the County.

POPULATION SHIFTS

Total Population = 2,813,833 (CY 2000) vs. 2,824,259 (CY 2005) = 0.4% increase

Of the total population, there were shifts in the percentage of males to females.

Males = 1,415,097 (CY 2000) vs. 1,400,199 (CY 2005) = 1.1% decline.

Females = 1,398,736 (CY 2000) vs. 1,424,060 (CY 2005) = 1.8% increase.

AGE CHANGES

The percentage of people at various age also changed during this time period.

Median Age = 33.2 years (CY 2000) vs. 34.4 years (CY 2005) = 3.6% increase.

Population Under 5 Years of Age = 198,621 (CY 2000) vs. 221,575 (CY 2005) = 11.6% increase.

Population Under 18 Years of Age = 2,090,172 (CY 2000) vs. 2,067,282 (CY 2005) = 1.1% decline.

Population 65 or Older = 313,750 (CY 2000) vs. 310,836 (CY 2005) = 0.9% decline.

RACIAL COMPOSITION

Of individuals who defined themselves as belonging to one-race, the following statistics were provided:

Total Number of “One-Race” Individuals = 2,681,866 (CY 2000) vs. 2,730,721 (CY 2005) = 1.8% increase.

Individuals who defined themselves as belonging to one-race, were further categorized as follows:

White = 1,871,839 (CY 2000) vs. 1,927,166 (CY 2005) = 3% increase.

Black or African American = 161,480 (CY 2000) vs. 140,181 (CY 2005) = 13.2% decrease.

American Indian and Alaska Native = 24,337 (CY 2000) vs. 19,902 (CY 2005) = 18.2% decrease

Asian = 249,802 (CY 2000) vs. 295,926 (CY 2005) = 18.5% increase

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander = 13,561 (CY 2000) vs. 12,704 (CY 2005) = 6.3% decline.

Other Race = 360,847 (CY 2000) vs. 334,842 (CY 2005) = 7.2% decline.

Of those individuals who defined themselves as belonging to “two-races”, the following statistics were provided:

Total, Two -Race Individuals = 131,967 (CY 2000) vs. 93,538 (CY 2005) = 29.1% decline.

Hispanic or Latino (of any race) = 750,965 (CY 2000) vs. 843,901 (CY 2005) = 12.4% increase.

SHIFTS IN HOUSEHOLD CHARACTERISTICS

Total Household Population = 2,716,820 (CY 2000) vs. 2,824,259 (CY 2005) = 4% increase.

Average Household Size = 2.73 (CY 2000) vs. 2.71 (CY 2005) = 0.7% decrease.

Average family size = 3.29 (CY 2000) vs. 3.33 (CY 2005) = 1.2% increase.

IMPLICATIONS FOR SAN DIEGO REAL ESTATE

If you are interested in buying San Diego real estate, homes, condos or townhouses for sale, then the above information may be useful to you. The information above can help you understand demographic and population shifts that impact supply, demand, and price of real estate and homes for sale in San Diego.

San Diego is one of the most popular areas in the Country because of its moderate climate. In fact, the year-around average weather in San Diego is around 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

San Diego real estate is also popular because of its proximity to the Pacific Ocean, mountains and the US-Mexico border. Bordered by Orange County and Riverside County to the north, and the Mexico to the south, San Diego real estate has hundreds of beachfront properties for sale.

San Diego is the sixth most populated County in the Nation. With this many people, buying real estate in San Diego can be a competitive process depending on the supply and demand of real estate and homes for sale at a particular time.

While interest rates are still relatively low and supply relatively high, buyers at this time may find San Diego real estate a good value.

Those who purchase San Diego real estate enjoy year-around perfect weather, easy access to the Mexico border, a thriving job market, and the pleasures of living close to an ocean.

Whether you are interested in boating, fishing, golfing, tennis or other hobbies, residents and visitors who own San Diego real estate have access to all these activities and more.

Please visit the Census Bureau’s web site for detailed demographic information about San Diego County. The Census Bureau provides key statistics for various communities in its annual American Community Survey (ACS) report.

Everyone has dreamt of owning a house.  When that happens, for sure you will savor your new home just like you would a piece of cake, aesthetically appreciating everything that makes it special to you.  So when looking for a real estate to make it possible, it should be in a place that is equally enticing.

Carmel in Monterey, CA. is definitely one of the most-sought after town in the United States as of late.  One reason for its appeal is the majestic scenery of the location.  If your ideal real estate property is somewhere with a rich history regarding arts.Carmel certainly has class like no other.

Situated on the Pacific Coast, Carmel in Monterey, CA is home to notable artists such as actor and director Clint Eastwood, who was once the Mayor of the town for one term.  In fact, the dominance of arts in the area paved way for a full-length feature of Carmel’s artists, writers and poets in the San Francisco Call in 1906.

Buying a property in Carmel demands careful weighing of all the factors that would affect your decision.  Before anything else, you might want to consider the following aspects before settling to the idea that Carmel is the best place for you – the schools within the town, Carmel’s public services and available mortgages.  You can consult the Website of Monterey County, CA for this purpose.

Once you’re done checking the background of the mentioned factors, you can now proceed to having a free mortgage pre-qualification to know the range of your financial capabilities.  Also, it would help if you will research first the types of mortgages you can avail of before making any further deals.

The town of Carmel in Monterey, CA is one of those places one would want to settle down. Just like purchasing Carmel real estate in any other areas, it also demands careful planning.

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