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April 23, 2009

U.S. Army: Missing virus samples potentially deadly

Per CNN, the U.S. Army is investigating the apparent disappearance of three virus samples from Fort Detrick in Frederick, Md. The vials that went missing contain samples of Venezuelan Equine Encephaliti and are potentially deadly to both horses and humans.

American Twitterers welcomed the news with sarcasm.

cinebo (San Antonio, Texas) Well that's always a sentence U wanna hear...RT @cnn: Virus samples missing from lab, Army says http://tinyurl.com/dbw6pc 23 Apr 2009 from TweetDeck

JonHutson (Cambridge, Mass.) Just. Stay. Calm. DoNotPanic. Yet. US Army: 3 vials of virus samples missing from Ft. Detrick http://alturl.com/epyc (via @lsaldanamd) 23 Apr 2009 from web

firepile (Wisconsin) CNN gives the first hint of the 12 Monkeys apocalypse: "Army: 3 vials of virus samples missing from Maryland facility" Just AWESOME. 23 Apr 2009 from twhirl

chrissytinne (Washington, D.C.) I feel like the army is the type of institution that cant just be like oops! missing a deadly virus! no worries http://tiny.cc/79gVh 23 Apr 2009 from web

At least one Twitterer wondered if there's a connection between this story and the mysterious deaths of 21 horses in Florida, also being reported by CNN today.

ElChingon (San Diego, Calif.) Deadly Equine Virus missing at Army lab: http://tinyurl.com/cun4hd 21 horses died this weekend: http://tinyurl.com/da6y8n -connection?hmmm? 23 Apr 2009 from web

Strike ends for popular Tube line in London

Per BBC, the Victoria Line of London's underground railway system (the Tube) reopened on Thursday after service was halted on Wednesday due to a strike. The line is one of London's most popular, according to the article.

Some were able to simply refresh their Twitter stream to hear the news.

BBCTravelAlert #Tube - Morning faithful traveller. Let's start with the good; normal service on the Victoria line 23 Apr 2009 from web

all_tubes Victoria line has Good service 23 Apr 2009 from web

taywhit off to work and very glad that the Victoria line isn't on strike. 23 Apr 2009 from web

On Wednesday, London Twitterers noted the inconvenience of the Victoria Line strike, tweeting obscenities and personal stories.

Tyron11 victoria line suspended, it cost me four hours of my life... im gna [expletive] on the tube in protest next time im drunk 22 Apr 2009 from web

Article_Dan Balls. Forgotten the [expletive] victoria line debacle. On heaving tube going nowhere I want to go. 22 Apr 2009 from Tweetie

stustap TFL are conspiring to stop me getting home tonight. No victoria line? Balham and Tooting closed? 22 Apr 2009 from TwitterFon

Peet81 Victoria line still closed [expletive] [expletive]! 88 dont fail me now! 22 Apr 2009 from txt

geoffrebbeck Delays to Euston and no Victoria line so not home until 9.30pm. Sigh... Now to prepare for AAV. at college 22 Apr 2009 from twitterrific

m80her ... and wtf have Victoria line staff got to strike about!?! Get the [expletive] on with it and be glad you've still got a job, [expletive] unions... 22 Apr 2009 from web

April 22, 2009

Featured TwitPic: Rush hour in Lima, Peru

"Empieza la hora punta" (Rush hour begins) (Posted by @mikytorres, Lima, Peru, April 22, 2009)

IMF predicts global economy to worsen in 2009

Per BBC, global economic output will decline 1.3 percent and advanced economies will weaken 3.8 percent in 2009, according to a new report released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF says the world is currently experiencing "by far the deepest post-World War II recession."

The news quickly circulated worldwide on Twitter.

farazq (New York, N.Y.) IMF finally figures out there is a world recession. Is this seriously "breaking news"? http://twurl.nl/oibx4o 22 Apr 2009 from TweetDeck

cmail (Brisbane, Australia) More Aussie jobs to go - IMF: AUSTRALIA's jobless rate is tipped to soar to 6.8 per cent this year Â– or roughly.. http://tinyurl.com/c7zvq5 22 Apr 2009 from twitterfeed

arjunghosh (New Delhi, India) bad news again RT @ReutersIndia: TOP NEWS: World economy in severe recession, IMF says http://r.reuters.com/wef44c 22 Apr 2009 from TweetDeck

calvin141170 (West Cork, Ireland) Sounds like the IMF is saying that Ireland is basically f***ed: €24 billion to stabilise banking system, or 13.9% of GDP. Not good :-( 22 Apr 2009 from TweetDeck

yckong (Shanghai, China) IMF slashes outlook for global economy: The global economy will contract sharply this year and recover only slug.. http://tinyurl.com/ckcbdv 22 Apr 2009 from twitterfeed

Not all interpreted the report the same way, however.

englishidiot (Undisclosed) When the IMF get their sums wrong or release the wrong figures, you have to wonder if there is really anybody in charge up there. 22 Apr 2009 from web

spitzenburg (St. Louis & Sugar Grove, N.C.) The IMF sees a "shift toward recovery" - YESSS. http://bit.ly/M30zu 22 Apr 2009 from TweetDeck

One Twitterer offered a potential solution to the looming crisis.

alterquest (Queensland, Australia) IMF says "world economy is going to get worse." We say " Why not scrap the old system, get a global currency & make a new economic system?" 22 Apr 2009 from web

South Africa votes in general election

Per BBC, South Africans have begun casting ballots in what is expected to the be the "most competitive general election since the end of the apartheid in 1994." The results will determine how much ruling power the ANC will have with Jacob Zuma at the top of the ticket and an attempt to retain a majority of seats in parliament, according to the article.

Those following the South Africa election on Twitter are using #saelections in their tweets. The hashtag trended all the way up to No. 2 on Twitter.

Twitterers in Johannesburg are reporting long lines at polling places.

ExMi (Johannesburg, South Africa) I think next elections should do drive-thru voting. #saelections 22 Apr 2009 from mobile web

Lioneldp (Johannesburg, South Africa) The meze queue is very popular at the Saheti station #saelections http://twitpic.com/3rdo5 22 Apr 2009 from TwitterFon

RubyGold (Johannesburg, South Africa) Been here an hour nother to go q has slowed rather #saelections 22 Apr 2009 from TwitterFon

theclam (Johannesburg, South Africa) South Africans are an enterprising lot. Coffee muffins etc for sale in the lines... I can smell some boerie cooking.. #saelections 22 Apr 2009 from mobile web

mdegale (Johannesburg, South Africa) voting at houghton school. lots of cars, fairly long queue #saelections #fb 22 Apr 2009 from txt

hellioncat (Johannesburg, South Africa) @magependragon ah yeah, we got there 7:30, got out at 10:20, voting station was primrose, germiston. #saelections 22 Apr 2009 from TweetDeck in reply to magependragon