Oslo and Zurich clocked in as the most and second most-expensive cities, respectively, in a survey released Friday by Swiss bank UBS.
Saturday, 15 September 2012
The world's 10 most expensive cities
The world's 10 most expensive cities:
Oslo and Zurich clocked in as the most and second most-expensive cities, respectively, in a survey released Friday by Swiss bank UBS.
Oslo and Zurich clocked in as the most and second most-expensive cities, respectively, in a survey released Friday by Swiss bank UBS.
Militiamen in Benghazi attack 'may have tricked their way inside'
Militiamen in Benghazi attack 'may have tricked their way inside': The militiamen who attacked the Libyan consulate in Benghazi may have tricked their way in behind unarmed protestors demanding to deliver a letter complaining about a US-made film mocking Islam, according to a senior Libyan official.
Not your fault if someone steals porn using your Wi-Fi connection
Not your fault if someone steals porn using your Wi-Fi connection:
Is someone sneaking onto your Wi-Fi network to download pirated movies or music? Are you legally liable if they do? A judge in a federal case says you are not.
Is someone sneaking onto your Wi-Fi network to download pirated movies or music? Are you legally liable if they do? A judge in a federal case says you are not.
Protesters burn flags outside US embassy in London
Protesters burn flags outside US embassy in London: Some 200 demonstrators gathered outside the US embassy in London on Friday to vent their anger over a film that is said to insult the Prophet Mohammed.
Reported by Telegraph.co.uk 1 hour ago.
Reported by Telegraph.co.uk 1 hour ago.
Attacks on embassies spread in wake of anti-Islamic film
Attacks on embassies spread in wake of anti-Islamic film: British, German and US envoys targeted as riots erupt from north Africa to south-east Asia
A wave of anger that saw British, German and American embassies in Khartoum attacked by rioters swept across the Muslim world on Friday, with violent scenes playing out on streets from north Africa to south-east Asia.
The worst violence of the day was in the Sudanese capital, where protesters targeted the German embassy first, storming through the outer wall and setting fire to buildings and a car near the gates before they were pushed back by police firing teargas. German diplomats fled to the British embassy next door, which became the next target of the mob.
William Hague, the foreign secretary, said: "Sudanese police attended the scene, but demonstrators were able to break down a perimeter wall and cause minor damage to the compound. They did not attempt to gain access to the British embassy building." No staff had been harmed, he added. Reports said at least one of the rioters had been killed in clashes with police.
The US embassy in Khartoum, which appears to have been the next target, announced that protesters had been expelled from its compound.
Protests, mostly aimed at US embassies and galvanised by the emergence of a crude anti-Islam video made in California, were also reported in Iraq, Iran, Bahrain, Afghanistan, Yemen, Egypt, Jerusalem and the West Bank, Kashmir, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Nigerian city of Jos. In Tunis, crowds of rioters throwing stones clashed with police outside the US embassy, who responded with teargas. A fire could be seen within the embassy compound and the American school in Tunis was also reported to be ablaze. Reports said three demonstrators had been killed.
The embassy attacks in Sudan marked the first time anti-US protests over the film had mutated into a broader anti-western revolt. In his statement on the events in Khartoum, Hague said: "The neighbouring German embassy, which appeared to be the focus of the attack, was set on fire and severely damaged. We remained in close contact with the Germans throughout the incident and were able to offer shelter to German diplomats. I am pleased to say that they are also safe."
The unrest began in Tuesday in Cairo, when protesters stormed the American embassy, and then spread to the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, where the US consulate was stormed and gutted by an armed mob who killed the ambassador, Chris Stevens, and three other employees.
Two US destroyers have been deployed to the Libyan coast and Barack Obama dispatched a unit of marines trained in counterterrorist operations to the country. US drones over Benghazi were targeted by anti-aircraft fire by the extremist groups in the area who are believed to have led Tuesday's storming of the consulate. As a result, the city's airport was temporarily closed. As Washington scrambled to protect its far-flung diplomats, US marines were also reported to have arrived to bolster security at the embassy in the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, which has also been the target of rioters.
It was unclear how much the violence was spontaneous and to what extent it had been orchestrated. The film involved was apparently made last year by a Coptic Christian living in Los Angeles, using actors who have said they had no idea they were making an anti-Islam film. The offensive language about the prophet Muhammad was dubbed in later.
A 14-minute clip of the film appeared on YouTube in July but only began to generate widespread anger this week, when it was promoted by radical Islamophobic Christians in the US and then broadcast in Egypt by Islamic activists.
The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, denounced the film as "disgusting and reprehensible".
US officials have said they believe outrage over the film may have been used by an extremist Libyan group, Ansar al-Sharia, as cover and a diversion for an assault on the Benghazi consulate that had been long planned for the 11th anniversary of the 11 September attacks. The president of the Libyan assembly, Yousef al-Megariaf, agreed. During a visit to Benghazi, he described the storming of the consulate as "pre-planned to hit at the core of the relationship between Libya and the United States".
Small anti-American demonstrations in Damascus and Tehran appeared to have been facilitated by the authorities there.
A wave of anger that saw British, German and American embassies in Khartoum attacked by rioters swept across the Muslim world on Friday, with violent scenes playing out on streets from north Africa to south-east Asia.
The worst violence of the day was in the Sudanese capital, where protesters targeted the German embassy first, storming through the outer wall and setting fire to buildings and a car near the gates before they were pushed back by police firing teargas. German diplomats fled to the British embassy next door, which became the next target of the mob.
William Hague, the foreign secretary, said: "Sudanese police attended the scene, but demonstrators were able to break down a perimeter wall and cause minor damage to the compound. They did not attempt to gain access to the British embassy building." No staff had been harmed, he added. Reports said at least one of the rioters had been killed in clashes with police.
The US embassy in Khartoum, which appears to have been the next target, announced that protesters had been expelled from its compound.
Protests, mostly aimed at US embassies and galvanised by the emergence of a crude anti-Islam video made in California, were also reported in Iraq, Iran, Bahrain, Afghanistan, Yemen, Egypt, Jerusalem and the West Bank, Kashmir, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Nigerian city of Jos. In Tunis, crowds of rioters throwing stones clashed with police outside the US embassy, who responded with teargas. A fire could be seen within the embassy compound and the American school in Tunis was also reported to be ablaze. Reports said three demonstrators had been killed.
The embassy attacks in Sudan marked the first time anti-US protests over the film had mutated into a broader anti-western revolt. In his statement on the events in Khartoum, Hague said: "The neighbouring German embassy, which appeared to be the focus of the attack, was set on fire and severely damaged. We remained in close contact with the Germans throughout the incident and were able to offer shelter to German diplomats. I am pleased to say that they are also safe."
The unrest began in Tuesday in Cairo, when protesters stormed the American embassy, and then spread to the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, where the US consulate was stormed and gutted by an armed mob who killed the ambassador, Chris Stevens, and three other employees.
Two US destroyers have been deployed to the Libyan coast and Barack Obama dispatched a unit of marines trained in counterterrorist operations to the country. US drones over Benghazi were targeted by anti-aircraft fire by the extremist groups in the area who are believed to have led Tuesday's storming of the consulate. As a result, the city's airport was temporarily closed. As Washington scrambled to protect its far-flung diplomats, US marines were also reported to have arrived to bolster security at the embassy in the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, which has also been the target of rioters.
It was unclear how much the violence was spontaneous and to what extent it had been orchestrated. The film involved was apparently made last year by a Coptic Christian living in Los Angeles, using actors who have said they had no idea they were making an anti-Islam film. The offensive language about the prophet Muhammad was dubbed in later.
A 14-minute clip of the film appeared on YouTube in July but only began to generate widespread anger this week, when it was promoted by radical Islamophobic Christians in the US and then broadcast in Egypt by Islamic activists.
The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, denounced the film as "disgusting and reprehensible".
US officials have said they believe outrage over the film may have been used by an extremist Libyan group, Ansar al-Sharia, as cover and a diversion for an assault on the Benghazi consulate that had been long planned for the 11th anniversary of the 11 September attacks. The president of the Libyan assembly, Yousef al-Megariaf, agreed. During a visit to Benghazi, he described the storming of the consulate as "pre-planned to hit at the core of the relationship between Libya and the United States".
Small anti-American demonstrations in Damascus and Tehran appeared to have been facilitated by the authorities there.
Nine corpses found hanging from bridge in northern Mexico
Nine corpses found hanging from bridge in northern Mexico: MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The bodies of nine tortured and murdered men were found dangling from a bridge in northern Mexico on Friday, local security sources said, just days after one of the country's most wanted drug lords was captured in the same state.
Oregon governor in wrangle with death row inmate suing for the right to die
Oregon governor in wrangle with death row inmate suing for the right to die: Gary Haugen was convicted of murder and sentenced to die on death row before the governor imposed an injunction on capital punishment, leaving him and other inmates in a strange limbo
A convicted murderer in Oregon is suing for the right to die by lethal injection after accusing the state governor of cowardice for announcing he would not authorise any more executions but granting only a temporary reprieve to death row prisoners.
Governor John Kitzhaber this week asked for the state supreme court to force Gary Haugen, 50, who has spent almost all his adult life in prison, to accept a stay of execution until the state legislature or a public referendum decides the future of capital punishment. But Haugen said that life on death row is soul destroying and mind numbing. He won a court order last month for his execution date, originally set for last December, to be reinstated in protest at what he calls a "broken system".
Haugen was condemned for murdering a fellow inmate nine years ago while serving a life term for beating his former girlfriend's mother to death with a hammer and a baseball bat in 1981.
Kitzhaber issued a moratorium on executions last year, saying he regards the death penalty as "morally wrong". Haugen initially welcomed the move because he thought it amounted to a commutation of his sentence to life imprisonment but turned against the governor when he realised he was receiving only a temporary reprieve while the future of Oregon's death penalty is decided.
If the state does not scrap capital punishment, the reprieve would not stop the next governor from ordering the execution of Haugen or any one of the 36 other people, including a woman, on death row.
Haugen's lawyers argued that a reprieve, unlike a pardon, must be agreed by the condemned man. In August, a court agreed, setting the clock ticking again on his execution.
Haugen said it was his right to choose to die.
"This is my free will. This is my constitutional right," he told the court. "You know, we need to put this to sleep. That's probably the wrong expression."
Kitzhaber, a former doctor who favours cowboy boots at the statehouse and wore jeans to his inauguration, announced the moratorium in November just two weeks before Haugen was to be put to death. He said his authorisation of the executions of two men during a previous term as governor in the 1990s had been "the most agonising and difficult decisions" he made in office and that he no longer believed in capital punishment.
"The death penalty as practiced in Oregon is neither fair nor just, and it is not swift or certain. It is not applied equally to all," Kitzhaber said in announcing the moratorium. "It is time for Oregon to consider a different approach. I refuse to be a part of this compromised and inequitable system any longer, and I will not allow further executions while I am governor."
Kitzhaber said a particular problem is that only condemned prisoners who abandon the lengthy appeals process out of desperation are ever executed.
"It is a perversion of justice that the single best indicator of who will and will not be executed has nothing to do with the circumstances of a crime or the findings of a jury. The only factor that determines whether someone sentenced to death in Oregon is actually executed is that they volunteer," he said.
Jeff Ellis, director of Oregonians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, said that no one has been executed in the state in the past half a century who did not effectively ask to die.
"We haven't had an execution of an individual who's gone through the entire court process in over 50 years in Oregon. You get individuals who either suffer from mental illness or who get so beaten down by the conditions of enduring life on death row that every decade or so somebody gives up. Every decade or so we execute somebody who gave up along the way. That is hardly functioning system," he said.
But the governor did not commute the sentences of those on death row to life imprisonment, as he had the power to do. He said that was not his decision to make given that a referendum voted to reinstate capital punishment in 1984 and he wanted the moratorium to prod the state legislature into a "long overdue re-evaluation" of the issue.
Haugen said he agreed with the moratorium but criticised the governor for leaving death row prisoners to continue to deal with an appeals process Kitzhaber said is discredited.
"You're not going to execute people, but you're going to continue to allow people to litigate in a broken system?" he told the Statesman Journal
in Oregon's capital, Salem.
Haugen called the governor's decision to grant him a temporary reprieve rather than commute his sentence "a coward's move" that left him in a "void". The condemned man mocked the governor, saying he did not have the guts to carry out the execution.
"I feel he's a paper cowboy," he said. "He couldn't pull the trigger."
At a court hearing in July, Haugen's lawyer, Harrison Latto, said the reprieve was a form of torture.
"It could be a day, could be seven years. During that indefinite period of time, they're saying: sit tight and we'll tell you at the end of that period whether you'll be executed or not," he said.
The governor's attorney, Tim Sylwester, said Haugen cannot refuse the reprieve unless it has strings attached.
"He has a death sentence he can't challenge," Sylwester said. "Right now, you're serving a life sentence, it's unconditional. So you can't refuse it."
The judge who cleared the way for Haugen to seek execution, Tim Alexander, said he set aside his personal views in doing so.
"I agree with many of the concerns expressed by the governor, and share his hope that the legislature will be receptive to modifying and improving Oregon laws regarding sentencing for aggravated murder," he said in his judgement.
"Many Oregon judges with experience presiding over death penalty cases would concur that the current law requires spending extraordinary sums of tax dollars that could be better used for other purposes to enforce a system that rarely, if ever, result in executions."
Kitzhaber's spokesman, Tim Raphael, said the governor expects to prevail on appeal.
"We're confident the governor has the authority to issue a reprieve, and we look forward to getting clarity from the supreme court," he said.
Ellis said that although he would like to see the total abolition of capital punishment in Oregon, he understood why Kitzhaber chose the interim measure of a temporary reprieve for Haugen rather than commuting the death sentences of all those facing possible execution.
"I think the governor was attempting to balance the power that he has as the chief executive in this state to grant clemency but also wanting to keep in mind the democratic will of the people," he said. "I see his actions as completely consistent with the appropriate role of a governor in a democratic society."
Oregon has had a turbulent relationship with the death penalty. It was outlawed in the state from 1914 to 1920, and again for 14 years from 1964. It was scrapped again in 1981 but reinstated three years later in a referendum.
Ellis said he thinks attitudes are again swinging away from capital punishment.
"I think Oregonians are ready to abolish it again. The death penalty debate has turned from a relatively simple debate – the choice of do you think it's moral or do you think it's immoral? – to a much more complex choice of whether this keeps us safe and, more importantly, are there better alternatives? We now know that the cost of the death penalty is extraordinary. In Oregon, we pay these extraordinary costs and the only people we execute are folks who give up their appeal," he said.
It costs about $20m a year for the state to fund the legal process, including the mandatory 10 stages of appeal, as well as maintain death row – a significant amount at a time when the state is forcing deep cuts to education and other public services.
A convicted murderer in Oregon is suing for the right to die by lethal injection after accusing the state governor of cowardice for announcing he would not authorise any more executions but granting only a temporary reprieve to death row prisoners.
Governor John Kitzhaber this week asked for the state supreme court to force Gary Haugen, 50, who has spent almost all his adult life in prison, to accept a stay of execution until the state legislature or a public referendum decides the future of capital punishment. But Haugen said that life on death row is soul destroying and mind numbing. He won a court order last month for his execution date, originally set for last December, to be reinstated in protest at what he calls a "broken system".
Haugen was condemned for murdering a fellow inmate nine years ago while serving a life term for beating his former girlfriend's mother to death with a hammer and a baseball bat in 1981.
Kitzhaber issued a moratorium on executions last year, saying he regards the death penalty as "morally wrong". Haugen initially welcomed the move because he thought it amounted to a commutation of his sentence to life imprisonment but turned against the governor when he realised he was receiving only a temporary reprieve while the future of Oregon's death penalty is decided.
If the state does not scrap capital punishment, the reprieve would not stop the next governor from ordering the execution of Haugen or any one of the 36 other people, including a woman, on death row.
Haugen's lawyers argued that a reprieve, unlike a pardon, must be agreed by the condemned man. In August, a court agreed, setting the clock ticking again on his execution.
Haugen said it was his right to choose to die.
"This is my free will. This is my constitutional right," he told the court. "You know, we need to put this to sleep. That's probably the wrong expression."
Kitzhaber, a former doctor who favours cowboy boots at the statehouse and wore jeans to his inauguration, announced the moratorium in November just two weeks before Haugen was to be put to death. He said his authorisation of the executions of two men during a previous term as governor in the 1990s had been "the most agonising and difficult decisions" he made in office and that he no longer believed in capital punishment.
"The death penalty as practiced in Oregon is neither fair nor just, and it is not swift or certain. It is not applied equally to all," Kitzhaber said in announcing the moratorium. "It is time for Oregon to consider a different approach. I refuse to be a part of this compromised and inequitable system any longer, and I will not allow further executions while I am governor."
Kitzhaber said a particular problem is that only condemned prisoners who abandon the lengthy appeals process out of desperation are ever executed.
"It is a perversion of justice that the single best indicator of who will and will not be executed has nothing to do with the circumstances of a crime or the findings of a jury. The only factor that determines whether someone sentenced to death in Oregon is actually executed is that they volunteer," he said.
Jeff Ellis, director of Oregonians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, said that no one has been executed in the state in the past half a century who did not effectively ask to die.
"We haven't had an execution of an individual who's gone through the entire court process in over 50 years in Oregon. You get individuals who either suffer from mental illness or who get so beaten down by the conditions of enduring life on death row that every decade or so somebody gives up. Every decade or so we execute somebody who gave up along the way. That is hardly functioning system," he said.
But the governor did not commute the sentences of those on death row to life imprisonment, as he had the power to do. He said that was not his decision to make given that a referendum voted to reinstate capital punishment in 1984 and he wanted the moratorium to prod the state legislature into a "long overdue re-evaluation" of the issue.
Haugen said he agreed with the moratorium but criticised the governor for leaving death row prisoners to continue to deal with an appeals process Kitzhaber said is discredited.
"You're not going to execute people, but you're going to continue to allow people to litigate in a broken system?" he told the Statesman Journal
in Oregon's capital, Salem.Haugen called the governor's decision to grant him a temporary reprieve rather than commute his sentence "a coward's move" that left him in a "void". The condemned man mocked the governor, saying he did not have the guts to carry out the execution.
"I feel he's a paper cowboy," he said. "He couldn't pull the trigger."
At a court hearing in July, Haugen's lawyer, Harrison Latto, said the reprieve was a form of torture.
"It could be a day, could be seven years. During that indefinite period of time, they're saying: sit tight and we'll tell you at the end of that period whether you'll be executed or not," he said.
The governor's attorney, Tim Sylwester, said Haugen cannot refuse the reprieve unless it has strings attached.
"He has a death sentence he can't challenge," Sylwester said. "Right now, you're serving a life sentence, it's unconditional. So you can't refuse it."
The judge who cleared the way for Haugen to seek execution, Tim Alexander, said he set aside his personal views in doing so.
"I agree with many of the concerns expressed by the governor, and share his hope that the legislature will be receptive to modifying and improving Oregon laws regarding sentencing for aggravated murder," he said in his judgement.
"Many Oregon judges with experience presiding over death penalty cases would concur that the current law requires spending extraordinary sums of tax dollars that could be better used for other purposes to enforce a system that rarely, if ever, result in executions."
Kitzhaber's spokesman, Tim Raphael, said the governor expects to prevail on appeal.
"We're confident the governor has the authority to issue a reprieve, and we look forward to getting clarity from the supreme court," he said.
Ellis said that although he would like to see the total abolition of capital punishment in Oregon, he understood why Kitzhaber chose the interim measure of a temporary reprieve for Haugen rather than commuting the death sentences of all those facing possible execution.
"I think the governor was attempting to balance the power that he has as the chief executive in this state to grant clemency but also wanting to keep in mind the democratic will of the people," he said. "I see his actions as completely consistent with the appropriate role of a governor in a democratic society."
Oregon has had a turbulent relationship with the death penalty. It was outlawed in the state from 1914 to 1920, and again for 14 years from 1964. It was scrapped again in 1981 but reinstated three years later in a referendum.
Ellis said he thinks attitudes are again swinging away from capital punishment.
"I think Oregonians are ready to abolish it again. The death penalty debate has turned from a relatively simple debate – the choice of do you think it's moral or do you think it's immoral? – to a much more complex choice of whether this keeps us safe and, more importantly, are there better alternatives? We now know that the cost of the death penalty is extraordinary. In Oregon, we pay these extraordinary costs and the only people we execute are folks who give up their appeal," he said.
It costs about $20m a year for the state to fund the legal process, including the mandatory 10 stages of appeal, as well as maintain death row – a significant amount at a time when the state is forcing deep cuts to education and other public services.
Middle East protests: mobs attack six Western embassies as protesters fill streets
Middle East protests: mobs attack six Western embassies as protesters fill streets: Furious mobs attacked at least six Western embassies across the Muslim world, with protesters filling the streets in another eight countries, as crowds vented their rage over a video defaming the Prophet Mohammed.
Canada to stop opposing listing asbestos as hazardous
Canada to stop opposing listing asbestos as hazardous: OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada dropped its longtime opposition on Friday to the international listing of asbestos as a hazardous material, a designation intended to curb the use abroad of the fire-resistant substance, which can cause cancer and other illnesses.
Magnets can help clean up oil spills
Magnets can help clean up oil spills: Oil spills can have catastrophic impacts on marine ecosystems so it is important for responsible parties to make every effort to help mitigate these damages when they occur. Cleanup efforts have ranged from bioremediation, to controlled burning, to using chemical dispersants, and skimming. However, these clean up methods can take weeks to complete and are often very costly.
Researchers at MIT have developed a new technique for magnetically separating oil and water that could be used to clean up oil spills. The new technique will improve efficiency, as the method will allow oil to be collected and sent to a refinery to be reprocessed.
Researchers at MIT have developed a new technique for magnetically separating oil and water that could be used to clean up oil spills. The new technique will improve efficiency, as the method will allow oil to be collected and sent to a refinery to be reprocessed.
Friday, 14 September 2012
General ducks Afghan scandal evidence
General ducks Afghan scandal evidence: Lieutenant General William B Caldwell, a former NATO commander in Afghanistan, denied he blocked a corruption probe into "Auschwitz-like" conditions at a military hospital because US congressional elections were looming at the time. The hearing where Caldwell made the claim itself reflects lack of interest in Washington in a scandal significant enough to warrant national debate. - Gareth Porter (Sep 14, '12)
Putin opens Benghazi door for Obama
Putin opens Benghazi door for Obama: Russian President Vladimir Putin's statement of solidarity with the United States over the crisis in Libya - so strikingly different to "I-told-you-so" homilies from China - amounts to a dramatic call for new thinking to mould the Arab Spring. Were Barack Obama to take the hint and work with Russian views on the political transformation of Syria, a new vista of possibilities would open. - M K Bhadrakumar (Sep 14, '12)
Body heat, fermentation drive new drug-delivery 'micropump'
Body heat, fermentation drive new drug-delivery 'micropump': West Lafayette IN (SPX) Sep 14, 2012
Researchers have created a new type of miniature pump activated by body heat that could be used in drug-delivery patches powered by fermentation. The micropump contains Baker's yeast and sugar in a small chamber. When water is added and the patch is placed on the skin, the body heat and the added water causes the yeast and sugar to ferment, generating a small amount of carbon dioxide gas.
Researchers have created a new type of miniature pump activated by body heat that could be used in drug-delivery patches powered by fermentation. The micropump contains Baker's yeast and sugar in a small chamber. When water is added and the patch is placed on the skin, the body heat and the added water causes the yeast and sugar to ferment, generating a small amount of carbon dioxide gas.
Screening technique uncovers five new plant activator compounds
Screening technique uncovers five new plant activator compounds: Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Sep 14, 2012
A new high-throughput screening technique developed by researchers at the RIKEN Plant Science Center (PSC) has been used to uncover five novel immune-priming compounds in Arabidopsis plants. Discovery of the compounds, which enhance disease resistance without impacting plant growth or crop yield, establishes the new technique as a powerful asset in the battle to protect crops from damaging patho
A new high-throughput screening technique developed by researchers at the RIKEN Plant Science Center (PSC) has been used to uncover five novel immune-priming compounds in Arabidopsis plants. Discovery of the compounds, which enhance disease resistance without impacting plant growth or crop yield, establishes the new technique as a powerful asset in the battle to protect crops from damaging patho
Researchers Use "Banker Plants" to Help Battle Whitefly Pests
Researchers Use "Banker Plants" to Help Battle Whitefly Pests: Fort Pierce FL (SPX) Sep 14, 2012
A U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientist is showing growers how to combat whiteflies and other crop pests by using plants as storehouses for predatory insects that can migrate to cash crops and feed on the pests attacking those crops.
A U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientist is showing growers how to combat whiteflies and other crop pests by using plants as storehouses for predatory insects that can migrate to cash crops and feed on the pests attacking those crops.
Forest mortality and climate change: The big picture
Forest mortality and climate change: The big picture: Washington DC (SPX) Sep 14, 2012
Over the past two decades, extensive forest death triggered by hot and dry climatic conditions has been documented on every continent except Antarctica. Forest mortality due to drought and heat stress is expected to increase due to climate change. Although research has focused on isolated incidents of forest mortality, little is known about the potential effects of widespread forest die-offs.
Over the past two decades, extensive forest death triggered by hot and dry climatic conditions has been documented on every continent except Antarctica. Forest mortality due to drought and heat stress is expected to increase due to climate change. Although research has focused on isolated incidents of forest mortality, little is known about the potential effects of widespread forest die-offs.
Thursday, 13 September 2012
India raises diesel price by 14%
India raises diesel price by 14%: India announces a sharp rise in the price of diesel, the first increase in more than a year, in an attempt to cut the country's budget deficit.
'Over half' of Android devices have unpatched holes
'Over half' of Android devices have unpatched holes:
Fix is up to your carrier, Google, mobo maker - just about everyone
Duo Security is claiming that “over half” of Android devices have unpatched vulnerabilities.…
Fix is up to your carrier, Google, mobo maker - just about everyone
Duo Security is claiming that “over half” of Android devices have unpatched vulnerabilities.…
Chinese Ships Enter Waters Japan Controls
Chinese Ships Enter Waters Japan Controls: It was the first such move by China since Japan announced that it had bought a group of disputed islands in the East China Sea.
Seis navios chineses estão perto de ilhas em disputa com o Japão
Seis navios chineses estão perto de ilhas em disputa com o Japão:
TÓQUIO - O governo japonês e a guarda costeira informaram que seis navios de vigilância chineses entraram em águas japonesas nesta sexta-feira perto de ilhas disputadas no Mar da China Oriental, somando-se as tensões entre os gigantes asiáticos.
Depois de navios de guarda costeira japoneses terem telegrafado avisos para os navios chineses, dois ou três se mudaram para além das águas territoriais, mas os outros permaneceram dentro da zona de 12 milhas ao redor das ilhas desabitadas que são controladas pelo Japão, mas reivindicadas por ambas as nações, disse Yasuhiko Oku, um funcionário da guarda costeira japonesa em Tóquio.
Foi a primeira intrusão por navios chineses em que o Japão diz que são suas águas desde que Tóquio comprou as ilhas de seus proprietários privados japoneses esta semana. As ilhas, chamadas Senkaku pelo Japão e Diaoyu pela China, estão cercadas por pesqueiros ricos e perto de linhas de navegação-chave.
Protestos contra japoneses já foram realizadas em várias cidades chinesas, e alguns chineses pediram um boicote aos produtos japoneses.
O Ministério das Relações Exteriores da China confirmou que seis navios de vigilância tinham entrado em águas perto das ilhas, que são também reivindicadas por Taiwan.
"Essas atividades policiais e patrulhas são destinadas para demonstrar a competência da China sobre as ilhas Diaoyu e suas ilhotas filiadas e garantir os interesses marítimos do país", disse o comunicado.
No início desta semana, a agência oficial Xinhua disse que a China enviou dois navios para as ilhas depois que o Japão anunciou a compra.
As tensões entre as duas nações têm aumentado desde que o nacionalista governador de Tóquio, Shintaro Ishihara, fez em abril a proposta de compra e desenvolvimento das ilhas para que não caíssem nas mãos de chineses. Ativistas de ambos os lados desembarcaram nas ilhas em agosto.
Para bloquear o plano de Ishihara, o primeiro-ministro Yoshihiko Noda foi deixado com pouca escolha além de comprar as ilhas. O governo não pretende desenvolvê-las, mas o movimento ainda irritou a China, que alertou para sérias consequências.
Na quinta-feira, dois navios de patrulha da costa de Taiwan guarda navegavam a 25 milhas náuticas a oeste das ilhas em disputa. A guarda costeira de Taiwan disse que os navios demonstraram a capacidade para proteger os pescadores locais.
TÓQUIO - O governo japonês e a guarda costeira informaram que seis navios de vigilância chineses entraram em águas japonesas nesta sexta-feira perto de ilhas disputadas no Mar da China Oriental, somando-se as tensões entre os gigantes asiáticos.
Depois de navios de guarda costeira japoneses terem telegrafado avisos para os navios chineses, dois ou três se mudaram para além das águas territoriais, mas os outros permaneceram dentro da zona de 12 milhas ao redor das ilhas desabitadas que são controladas pelo Japão, mas reivindicadas por ambas as nações, disse Yasuhiko Oku, um funcionário da guarda costeira japonesa em Tóquio.
Foi a primeira intrusão por navios chineses em que o Japão diz que são suas águas desde que Tóquio comprou as ilhas de seus proprietários privados japoneses esta semana. As ilhas, chamadas Senkaku pelo Japão e Diaoyu pela China, estão cercadas por pesqueiros ricos e perto de linhas de navegação-chave.
Protestos contra japoneses já foram realizadas em várias cidades chinesas, e alguns chineses pediram um boicote aos produtos japoneses.
O Ministério das Relações Exteriores da China confirmou que seis navios de vigilância tinham entrado em águas perto das ilhas, que são também reivindicadas por Taiwan.
"Essas atividades policiais e patrulhas são destinadas para demonstrar a competência da China sobre as ilhas Diaoyu e suas ilhotas filiadas e garantir os interesses marítimos do país", disse o comunicado.
No início desta semana, a agência oficial Xinhua disse que a China enviou dois navios para as ilhas depois que o Japão anunciou a compra.
As tensões entre as duas nações têm aumentado desde que o nacionalista governador de Tóquio, Shintaro Ishihara, fez em abril a proposta de compra e desenvolvimento das ilhas para que não caíssem nas mãos de chineses. Ativistas de ambos os lados desembarcaram nas ilhas em agosto.
Para bloquear o plano de Ishihara, o primeiro-ministro Yoshihiko Noda foi deixado com pouca escolha além de comprar as ilhas. O governo não pretende desenvolvê-las, mas o movimento ainda irritou a China, que alertou para sérias consequências.
Na quinta-feira, dois navios de patrulha da costa de Taiwan guarda navegavam a 25 milhas náuticas a oeste das ilhas em disputa. A guarda costeira de Taiwan disse que os navios demonstraram a capacidade para proteger os pescadores locais.
Netanyahu deputy disagrees on setting Iran "red line"
Netanyahu deputy disagrees on setting Iran "red line": JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Benjamin Netanyahu's deputy for intelligence and atomic affairs on Thursday broke with the Israeli prime minister's call for Iran to be confronted with a "red line" beyond which its disputed nuclear program would face military attack.
Hospital 'told staff not to save Down's syndrome patient'
Hospital 'told staff not to save Down's syndrome patient': Hospital staff put a "do not resuscitate" order on the medical file of a man with Down's syndrome purely because of his disability, a court will hear.
Doctors' prescriptions 'could severely harm tens of thousands'
Doctors' prescriptions 'could severely harm tens of thousands': Doctors are responsible for prescription errors that could be causing tens of thousands of patients severe harm or death, according to pharmacists.
Midsomer Murders gets two Asian characters
Midsomer Murders gets two Asian characters: Asian actors to appear in Midsomer Murders a year after producer said lack of ethnic minorities made it "the last bastion of Englishness".
Locusts threaten African Sahel food supply next year
Locusts threaten African Sahel food supply next year: DAKAR (Reuters) - Locusts nesting in northern Mali and Niger threaten next year's food crop, the U.N.'s top aid official in the region said, after donors and governments across Africa's Sahel zone have contained a crisis caused by shortages this year.
Giant 'balloon of magma' inflates under Santorini
Giant 'balloon of magma' inflates under Santorini: Oxford UK (SPX) Sep 13, 2012
A new survey suggests that the chamber of molten rock beneath Santorini's volcano expanded 10-20 million cubic metres - up to 15 times the size of London's Olympic Stadium - between January 2011 and April 2012. The growth of this 'balloon' of magma has seen the surface of the island rise 8-14 centimetres during this period, a team led by Oxford University scientists has found.
A new survey suggests that the chamber of molten rock beneath Santorini's volcano expanded 10-20 million cubic metres - up to 15 times the size of London's Olympic Stadium - between January 2011 and April 2012. The growth of this 'balloon' of magma has seen the surface of the island rise 8-14 centimetres during this period, a team led by Oxford University scientists has found.
Salt Seeds Clouds in the Amazon Rainforest
Salt Seeds Clouds in the Amazon Rainforest: Berkeley CA (SPX) Sep 13, 2012
It's morning, deep in the Amazon jungle. In the still air innumerable leaves glisten with moisture, and fog drifts through the trees. As the sun rises, clouds appear and float across the forest canopy ... but where do they come from? Water vapor needs soluble particles to condense on. Airborne particles are the seeds of liquid droplets in fog, mist, and clouds.
It's morning, deep in the Amazon jungle. In the still air innumerable leaves glisten with moisture, and fog drifts through the trees. As the sun rises, clouds appear and float across the forest canopy ... but where do they come from? Water vapor needs soluble particles to condense on. Airborne particles are the seeds of liquid droplets in fog, mist, and clouds.
Droughts are pushing trees to the limit
Droughts are pushing trees to the limit: Tucson AZ (SPX) Sep 13, 2012
As temperatures rise and droughts become more severe in the Southwest, trees are increasingly up against extremely stressful growing conditions, especially in low to middle elevations, University of Arizona researchers report in a study soon to be published in the Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences.
As temperatures rise and droughts become more severe in the Southwest, trees are increasingly up against extremely stressful growing conditions, especially in low to middle elevations, University of Arizona researchers report in a study soon to be published in the Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences.
Wind Power and Climate Change
Wind Power and Climate Change: Though there is enough power in Earth's winds to be a primary source of near-zero emission electric power for the world, large-scale high altitude wind power generation is unlikely to substantially affect climate.
That is the conclusion of a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory climate scientist and collaborators who studied the geophysical limits to global wind power in a paper appearing in the Sept. 9 edition of the journal Nature Climate Change.
"The future of wind energy is likely to be determined by economic, political and technical constraints rather than geophysical limits," said Kate Marvel, lead author of the paper and a scientist in the Laboratory's Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Intercomparison.
That is the conclusion of a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory climate scientist and collaborators who studied the geophysical limits to global wind power in a paper appearing in the Sept. 9 edition of the journal Nature Climate Change.
"The future of wind energy is likely to be determined by economic, political and technical constraints rather than geophysical limits," said Kate Marvel, lead author of the paper and a scientist in the Laboratory's Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Intercomparison.
Mysterious Rise in Ocean Salinity
Mysterious Rise in Ocean Salinity: Scientists have observed unexpected changes in the seawater salinity and they are increasingly concerned about the potential impact on ocean currents. The salinity of seawater can accelerate the water cycle which can cause extreme weather events like floods and drought.
To investigate the issue of ocean salinity scientists have boarded the research vessel Knorr, which set sail on September 6, 2012. NASA’s Aquarius instrument is part of a separate research project that has been measuring seawater salinity from space since August 2011.
In addition to ocean salinity, researchers are exploring the water cycle which involves the ways that water circulates between the Earth’s oceans, atmosphere, and land. This process involves precipitation and return to the atmosphere by evaporation and transpiration.
To investigate the issue of ocean salinity scientists have boarded the research vessel Knorr, which set sail on September 6, 2012. NASA’s Aquarius instrument is part of a separate research project that has been measuring seawater salinity from space since August 2011.
In addition to ocean salinity, researchers are exploring the water cycle which involves the ways that water circulates between the Earth’s oceans, atmosphere, and land. This process involves precipitation and return to the atmosphere by evaporation and transpiration.
Game makers arrested for 'spying'
Game makers arrested for 'spying': Two game developers on holiday in Greece are arrested on spying charges after photographing military installations
Slash welfare to pay for emergency tax cuts, Liam Fox urges chancellor
Slash welfare to pay for emergency tax cuts, Liam Fox urges chancellor:
Former defence secretary tells George Osborne that suspending capital gains tax will signal that Britain is open for business
George Osborne should introduce emergency tax breaks paid for by welfare cuts to "shock" the UK economy back to life, according to the Conservative MP Liam Fox.
Fox called for capital gains tax, currently set at 28%, to be suspended and reintroduced after three years at 10%. These should be paid for by benefit cuts, said Fox, who resigned from the Ministry of Defence last year after questions were asked about his working relationship with his friend and self-styled adviser Adam Werritty.
The move would "ricochet around the world" and signal that Britain was open for business, said Fox in an interview with the Times. He also warned that deficit reduction alone "won't be enough" and that the Tories risked losing the next election unless they did more to stimulate economic growth.
Fox said other measures needed to make Britain more competitive included making it easier for bosses to fire workers.
"We should simply throw down the gauntlet and say that we are cutting our taxes, we are making Britain more competitive, we are going to reform our labour laws, make hiring and firing easier and do what we know works because it's worked before," he said.
Fox made his intervention the day after David Cameron was repeatedly challenged by the Labour leader, Ed Miliband, to promise that his own government's target to ensure debt is falling as a proportion of GDP by the end of the current parliament in 2015-16 would be met.
On ways to pay for suspending capital gains tax, Fox said: "We need to have a look at everything that we have in terms of paternity leave and all the other things that are there."
He added: "With the sort of economic problems that we face in the UK it is irrational and unreasonable to expect that those in work should keep all their social benefits and workplace benefits should be protected, at the cost of making the next generation unemployed. That is not a sustainable generational compact."
Fox, who earlier this week helped launch Conservative Voice, a centre-right group set up with the aim of ensuring the prime minister does not lose sight of Tory values, also said the government should decide "as quickly as we can" on new airport capacity in the south-east and warned of a Tory revolt if ministers tried to look for a cheaper alternative to Trident.
Asked whether Cameron was the right man to lead the party into the next election, Fox said he believed Cameron was "capable of delivering that", but said that the result would depend on the government achieving economic growth.
"If we don't take some risks we'll not get growth and if we don't get growth, we'll not get re-election," he said.
George Osborne should introduce emergency tax breaks paid for by welfare cuts to "shock" the UK economy back to life, according to the Conservative MP Liam Fox.
Fox called for capital gains tax, currently set at 28%, to be suspended and reintroduced after three years at 10%. These should be paid for by benefit cuts, said Fox, who resigned from the Ministry of Defence last year after questions were asked about his working relationship with his friend and self-styled adviser Adam Werritty.
The move would "ricochet around the world" and signal that Britain was open for business, said Fox in an interview with the Times. He also warned that deficit reduction alone "won't be enough" and that the Tories risked losing the next election unless they did more to stimulate economic growth.
Fox said other measures needed to make Britain more competitive included making it easier for bosses to fire workers.
"We should simply throw down the gauntlet and say that we are cutting our taxes, we are making Britain more competitive, we are going to reform our labour laws, make hiring and firing easier and do what we know works because it's worked before," he said.
Fox made his intervention the day after David Cameron was repeatedly challenged by the Labour leader, Ed Miliband, to promise that his own government's target to ensure debt is falling as a proportion of GDP by the end of the current parliament in 2015-16 would be met.
On ways to pay for suspending capital gains tax, Fox said: "We need to have a look at everything that we have in terms of paternity leave and all the other things that are there."
He added: "With the sort of economic problems that we face in the UK it is irrational and unreasonable to expect that those in work should keep all their social benefits and workplace benefits should be protected, at the cost of making the next generation unemployed. That is not a sustainable generational compact."
Fox, who earlier this week helped launch Conservative Voice, a centre-right group set up with the aim of ensuring the prime minister does not lose sight of Tory values, also said the government should decide "as quickly as we can" on new airport capacity in the south-east and warned of a Tory revolt if ministers tried to look for a cheaper alternative to Trident.
Asked whether Cameron was the right man to lead the party into the next election, Fox said he believed Cameron was "capable of delivering that", but said that the result would depend on the government achieving economic growth.
"If we don't take some risks we'll not get growth and if we don't get growth, we'll not get re-election," he said.
Osaka mayor offers Japan a ‘third way’
Osaka mayor offers Japan a ‘third way’: A new political party with a charismatic leader is recruiting Diet members, reflecting wider dissatisfaction with established parties
Swedish unemployment up
Swedish unemployment up: The latest statistics show that 366,000 people in Sweden were unemployed in August; 7.2 percent of the workforce. At the same time last year it was 6.6 percent.
Riot police battle protesters
Riot police battle protesters: Hundreds of protesters return to area outside the U.S. Embassy in Cairo.
Election in the Netherlands: Dutch Voters Choose Pro-European Parties
Election in the Netherlands: Dutch Voters Choose Pro-European Parties: 
The incumbent conservative-liberal VVD party has won the Dutch election, with the center-left Labor Party coming in second. The result is a show of support for the current government's euro-crisis policies and a rejection of euroskeptic parties, with right-wing populist Geert Wilders suffering a major defeat.
The incumbent conservative-liberal VVD party has won the Dutch election, with the center-left Labor Party coming in second. The result is a show of support for the current government's euro-crisis policies and a rejection of euroskeptic parties, with right-wing populist Geert Wilders suffering a major defeat.
Vírus do Nilo já causou maior número de vítimas desde 1999
Vírus do Nilo já causou maior número de vítimas desde 1999: O vírus do Nilo Ocidental já causou este ano nos Estados Unidos o maior número de vítimas desde 1999, com 2.636 pessoas infetadas, havendo registo de 118 mortos, informaram as autoridades de saúde norte-americanas.
EUA enivam dois navios de guerra para a costa do país
EUA enivam dois navios de guerra para a costa do país: Os Estados Unidos decidiram o envio de dois navios de guerra para a costa da Líbia, noticia a AP.
Wednesday, 12 September 2012
Australian tobacco accused of 'sick joke'
Australian tobacco accused of 'sick joke': Australia has accused tobacco firms of "the ultimate sick joke" after they moved to pre-empt looming plain packaging laws with ploys such as changing their brand names and using the slogan "It's what's on the inside that counts".
Diretor do filme que incitou protestos em Benghazi está escondido
Diretor do filme que incitou protestos em Benghazi está escondido:
RIO - Poucos viram o filme de duas horas, mas a distribuição de trechos no You Tube e a publicidade do polêmico pastor americano Terry Jones bastaram para incitar protestos violentos no Egito, na Líbia e provavelmente em breve em outros países islâmicos. "Inocência dos muçulmanos" mostra o rosto do profetá Maomé - algo proibido no Islã, além de mostrá-lo tendo relações sexuais e colocando-se em xeque como portador da palavra de Deus. Após os confrontos em Benghazi e no Cairo, o diretor Sam Bacile está escondido, mas continua expressando seu ódio ao Islã, religião que ele chamou de "câncer".
"É uma produção americana que não tem como objetivo atacar os muçulmanos, mas sim mostrar a ideologia destrutiva do Islã", disse, em comunicado, o próprio Jones, famoso por queimar em público um exemplar do Alcorão.
O produtor do filme é o americano-israelense Sam Bacile, um notório anti-Islã, de 56 anos. Do lugar onde está escondido, Bacile chamou os muçulmanos de "câncer" e negou que seu filme seja religioso.
- É um filme político - declarou ao "Wall Street Journal", dizendo que seu trabalho vai ajudar os judeus a transmitir ao mundo os perigos do Islã.
Bacile contou que financiou o filme com US$ 5 milhões doados por judeus, cujos nomes se recusou a revelar. Sessenta pessoas trabalharam, junto com uma equipe técnica de outras 45, nas filmagens que duraram três meses na Califórnia. Ainda que tenha tido um grande impacto na mídia, o retorno comercial foi quase nulo. Até agora, o filme só foi projetada uma vez, no início do ano, em uma cinema quase vazio de Hollywood.
Ao saber da morte do embaixador americano Christopher Stevens em Benghazi, Samile expressou seus sentimentos e disse ter a "impressão de que o sistema de segurança (das embaixadas) não é adequado".
RIO - Poucos viram o filme de duas horas, mas a distribuição de trechos no You Tube e a publicidade do polêmico pastor americano Terry Jones bastaram para incitar protestos violentos no Egito, na Líbia e provavelmente em breve em outros países islâmicos. "Inocência dos muçulmanos" mostra o rosto do profetá Maomé - algo proibido no Islã, além de mostrá-lo tendo relações sexuais e colocando-se em xeque como portador da palavra de Deus. Após os confrontos em Benghazi e no Cairo, o diretor Sam Bacile está escondido, mas continua expressando seu ódio ao Islã, religião que ele chamou de "câncer".
Veja também
Entre alguns dos insultos à fé islâmica, o filme mostra Maomé como um namorador, que aprovava o sexo entre crianças. "Conta a vida de Maomé", explicou para a imprensa um porta-voz do pastor Jones na terça-feira de noite, quando foi exibido um trecho de 13 minutos em sua igreja em Gainesville, na Flórida.
Embaixador americano é morto em ataque em Benghazi"É uma produção americana que não tem como objetivo atacar os muçulmanos, mas sim mostrar a ideologia destrutiva do Islã", disse, em comunicado, o próprio Jones, famoso por queimar em público um exemplar do Alcorão.
O produtor do filme é o americano-israelense Sam Bacile, um notório anti-Islã, de 56 anos. Do lugar onde está escondido, Bacile chamou os muçulmanos de "câncer" e negou que seu filme seja religioso.
- É um filme político - declarou ao "Wall Street Journal", dizendo que seu trabalho vai ajudar os judeus a transmitir ao mundo os perigos do Islã.
Bacile contou que financiou o filme com US$ 5 milhões doados por judeus, cujos nomes se recusou a revelar. Sessenta pessoas trabalharam, junto com uma equipe técnica de outras 45, nas filmagens que duraram três meses na Califórnia. Ainda que tenha tido um grande impacto na mídia, o retorno comercial foi quase nulo. Até agora, o filme só foi projetada uma vez, no início do ano, em uma cinema quase vazio de Hollywood.
Ao saber da morte do embaixador americano Christopher Stevens em Benghazi, Samile expressou seus sentimentos e disse ter a "impressão de que o sistema de segurança (das embaixadas) não é adequado".
Obama Is Quietly Riding Fracking To Reelection
Obama Is Quietly Riding Fracking To Reelection:
President Obama has quietly allowed hydraulic fracturing of shale oil and gas to proceed apace, reports Bloomberg's Jim Snyder, creating economic growth in key states heading into November's election.
In a special Bloomberg publication released during the conventions, Snyder writes that while Obama has turned the opening of renewable energy plants into high-profile events, he has purposefully not joined the anti-fracking movement emanating from the left.
President Obama has quietly allowed hydraulic fracturing of shale oil and gas to proceed apace, reports Bloomberg's Jim Snyder, creating economic growth in key states heading into November's election.
In a special Bloomberg publication released during the conventions, Snyder writes that while Obama has turned the opening of renewable energy plants into high-profile events, he has purposefully not joined the anti-fracking movement emanating from the left.
The EPA delayed new air emissions standards for natural gas operations by two years, drawing rare applause from the American Petroleum Institute, a Washington-based industry group whose members include Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil Corp. and ConocoPhillips in Houston.
In January, the president promoted natural-gas development in his State of the Union address, saying it could support 600,000 jobs by the end of the decade.
In the Ohio portion of the hydrocarbon-rich Marcellus shale formation, jobs are finally coming back to a region recently in the throes of postindustrial decay.“You’re seeing more optimism than we’ve seen here in a long, long time,” said Representative Tim Ryan, a Democrat who represents the Youngstown area.
“Right now there is a tidal wave of support behind the natural gas industry.” As many as 40 percent of Local 396 of Ohio’s pipe-fitters’ union members were out of work in the depths of the recession three years ago. Roland “Butch” Taylor, business manager of the union, said factory expansions and new construction now have all 700 of its members working.
Google sneaks in back door, slips YouTube onto iPhone 5
Google sneaks in back door, slips YouTube onto iPhone 5:
All iOS devices are invited to the ball
Google has released its own YouTube app for the iPhone and iPad, preempting Apple's decision not to support Google's dancing cat collection on its new iDevice, and updating what has been a lamentable experience.…
All iOS devices are invited to the ball
Google has released its own YouTube app for the iPhone and iPad, preempting Apple's decision not to support Google's dancing cat collection on its new iDevice, and updating what has been a lamentable experience.…
After 17 Days Sitting in Water, Indians Win Protest
After 17 Days Sitting in Water, Indians Win Protest:
A woman sits in the water in central India as part of a protest against an increase in dam water levels. After 17 days of sitting in the cold water, the government gave in to protester demands. (Courtesy of Narmada Bachao Andolan)
After sitting chin deep in water for 17 days, villagers in central India succeeded on Sept. 10 in forcing authorities to reverse the recent increase in dam water threatening to submerge their land.
When villagers in the Khandwa District of Madhya Pradesh State discovered the water rising in the Omkareshwar and Indira Sagar dams, 51 of them literally threw themselves into the water in protest—and vowed to stay there, drowning if necessary, until their demands were heard.
The dams are part of the giant Narmada Dam project, consisting of a staggering 3,200 dams built along the Narmada River.
Since its inception in 1979, the project has been one of the most controversial in history, mostly over the issue of mass displacements without compensation.
The Supreme Court of India already ruled that land cannot be flooded without rehabilitating and compensating those affected first. This hard-fought battle was already won by Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), the movement behind the protest.
“It is against the Supreme Court of India’s order, which says that land should be given for the land taken before the completion of the dam. The order also says that rehabilitation policy must be implemented six months prior to the submergence of the acquired land,” said Sneha Chandna, an activist with the NBA.
Protesters sitting in the water during a 17-daylong protest receive food from volunteers. (Courtesy of Narmada Bachao Andolan)Nationwide, support had poured in for the protesters as reports indicated that 200 villages were at risk of losing their land as a result of the recent water increase on the Narmada River.
On Sept. 10, the authorities lowered the water of the Omkareshwar Dam to the stipulated 620 feet (189 meters) and agreed to provide land to the farmers. The government has also formed a committee of three ministers to look into the issues raised by the people.
The unusual protest called “Jal Satyagrah”—Jal means water and Satyagrah is a form of nonviolent resistance popularized by Mahatma Gandhi—left many in need of urgent hospitalization.
According to Chandna, many had flesh that was badly rotting, people complained of severe itching, and some protesters had festering wounds that fish started to feed on.
Vishnu, 40, a villager from Kamenkhera, worried about his mother Girija Bai, 55, who along with 30 women spent 17 days in the water.
“My mother’s feet are badly rotting. They have just come out of water. My mother cannot walk and she’s lying in a tent. They are applying some ointment to her skin,” Vishnu said.
A woman sits in the water in central India as part of a protest against an increase in dam water levels. After 17 days of sitting in the cold water, the government gave in to protester demands. (Courtesy of Narmada Bachao Andolan)
When villagers in the Khandwa District of Madhya Pradesh State discovered the water rising in the Omkareshwar and Indira Sagar dams, 51 of them literally threw themselves into the water in protest—and vowed to stay there, drowning if necessary, until their demands were heard.
The dams are part of the giant Narmada Dam project, consisting of a staggering 3,200 dams built along the Narmada River.
Since its inception in 1979, the project has been one of the most controversial in history, mostly over the issue of mass displacements without compensation.
The Supreme Court of India already ruled that land cannot be flooded without rehabilitating and compensating those affected first. This hard-fought battle was already won by Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), the movement behind the protest.
“It is against the Supreme Court of India’s order, which says that land should be given for the land taken before the completion of the dam. The order also says that rehabilitation policy must be implemented six months prior to the submergence of the acquired land,” said Sneha Chandna, an activist with the NBA.
Protesters sitting in the water during a 17-daylong protest receive food from volunteers. (Courtesy of Narmada Bachao Andolan)
On Sept. 10, the authorities lowered the water of the Omkareshwar Dam to the stipulated 620 feet (189 meters) and agreed to provide land to the farmers. The government has also formed a committee of three ministers to look into the issues raised by the people.
The unusual protest called “Jal Satyagrah”—Jal means water and Satyagrah is a form of nonviolent resistance popularized by Mahatma Gandhi—left many in need of urgent hospitalization.
According to Chandna, many had flesh that was badly rotting, people complained of severe itching, and some protesters had festering wounds that fish started to feed on.
Vishnu, 40, a villager from Kamenkhera, worried about his mother Girija Bai, 55, who along with 30 women spent 17 days in the water.
“My mother’s feet are badly rotting. They have just come out of water. My mother cannot walk and she’s lying in a tent. They are applying some ointment to her skin,” Vishnu said.
Egyptian Protesters Breach Walls of US Embassy
Egyptian Protesters Breach Walls of US Embassy:
Egyptian protesters raise a black flag inside the US Embassy inscribed with the Muslim profession of belief: 'There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his messenger' during a protest against a film deemed offensive to Islam in Cairo on Sept. 11. (Khaled Desouki/AFP/GettyImages)Scores of protesters have stormed the walls of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo over a film perceived to be anti-Islamic.
Protesters removed the American flag from the embassy during a demonstration against the short film that was produced by Egyptian Coptic Christians in the U.S., the state-run Al-Ahram daily newspaper reported.
Some of the demonstrators climbed the walls surrounding the embassy while chanting slogans.
The demonstrations began after Salafist leader Wesam Abdel-Wareth called for them to protest against the film “Muhammad’s Trial” near the U.S. Embassy. However, some protesters started to set off fireworks and the situation deteriorated.
Egypt deployed its army to intervene and surrounded the embassy.
American officials confirmed with the Saudi-based Al-Arabiya broadcaster that demonstrators did breach embassy walls.
“We had some people breach the wall, take the flag down and replace it. What I heard was that it was replaced with a plain black flag. But I maybe not be correct in that,” a State Department official told the station. Around 20 people stood on the walls.
Egyptian protesters raise a black flag inside the US Embassy inscribed with the Muslim profession of belief: 'There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his messenger' during a protest against a film deemed offensive to Islam in Cairo on Sept. 11. (Khaled Desouki/AFP/GettyImages)
Protesters removed the American flag from the embassy during a demonstration against the short film that was produced by Egyptian Coptic Christians in the U.S., the state-run Al-Ahram daily newspaper reported.
Some of the demonstrators climbed the walls surrounding the embassy while chanting slogans.
Egypt deployed its army to intervene and surrounded the embassy.
American officials confirmed with the Saudi-based Al-Arabiya broadcaster that demonstrators did breach embassy walls.
“We had some people breach the wall, take the flag down and replace it. What I heard was that it was replaced with a plain black flag. But I maybe not be correct in that,” a State Department official told the station. Around 20 people stood on the walls.
Iran President Blames West for Destroying Rain Clouds
Iran President Blames West for Destroying Rain Clouds:
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gestures during a welcome ceremony in Tehran on Sept. 1. (Atta Kenare/AFP/GettyImages)
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blamed the United States and Western powers for destroying rain clouds that would otherwise bring rain to the Middle Eastern country, which has one of the driest climates in the world.
The lack of rain is hurting Iran’s agricultural sector.
“Today our country is moving towards drought, which is partly unintentional due to industry and partly intentional, as a result of the enemy destroying the clouds moving towards our country and this is a war that Iran is going to overcome,” Ahmadinejad said, according to the Daily Telegraph.
The country has a very dry climate, with 65 percent of its territory being arid or hyper-arid, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.
It receives, on average, less than one third of the world average precipitation as its rugged Zagros and Alborz mountains prevent rain clouds from reaching the central, southern, and eastern parts of Iran, the U.N. said.
It was not the first time that Iranian officials blamed the West for engineering a drought in Iran.
“I feel that the world arrogance and colonization (Iranian official code language for the US and its allies) by using their technologies, are affecting the environmental situation in Iran,” Hassan Mousavi, an Iranian vice president, was quoted as saying in July, according to the Telegraph.
Ahmadinejad made similar statements while opening a dam in Markazi province in May, but moments later, it started to rain, reported the Daily Mail.
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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gestures during a welcome ceremony in Tehran on Sept. 1. (Atta Kenare/AFP/GettyImages)
The lack of rain is hurting Iran’s agricultural sector.
“Today our country is moving towards drought, which is partly unintentional due to industry and partly intentional, as a result of the enemy destroying the clouds moving towards our country and this is a war that Iran is going to overcome,” Ahmadinejad said, according to the Daily Telegraph.
The country has a very dry climate, with 65 percent of its territory being arid or hyper-arid, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.
It receives, on average, less than one third of the world average precipitation as its rugged Zagros and Alborz mountains prevent rain clouds from reaching the central, southern, and eastern parts of Iran, the U.N. said.
It was not the first time that Iranian officials blamed the West for engineering a drought in Iran.
“I feel that the world arrogance and colonization (Iranian official code language for the US and its allies) by using their technologies, are affecting the environmental situation in Iran,” Hassan Mousavi, an Iranian vice president, was quoted as saying in July, according to the Telegraph.
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The Epoch Times publishes in 35 countries and in 19 languages. Subscribe to our e-newsletter.
Egypt constitution talks stumble on role of Islam
Egypt constitution talks stumble on role of Islam: CAIRO (Reuters) - A proposal by ultraconservative Salafis to give Egypt's main Islamic institution the final say on whether the law of the land adheres to Islamic laws threatens to bring the already painfully slow process of drafting the new constitution to a grinding halt.
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Feia deu anys que no es produïa una interrupció elèctrica tant important
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