Heat fuelling California wildfire

August 31, 2009 Society No Comments

Firefighters tackling an intense wildfire north of Los Angeles say the blaze remains “very dangerous”.

Fuelled by hot weather and dense, dry brush, the blaze doubled in size in a day to spread over 134 sq miles (347 sq km) of forest.

About 12,000 buildings and key communications masts are under threat, and officials say the fire could easily double again over the coming days.

Two firefighters died on Sunday after their vehicle was overrun by flames.

Mike Dietrich, of LA County Fire Dept, said: “We are making progress. But it is… slow and very dangerous. We have to wait for the fire to come to us.”
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Brazil unveils oil rules changes

August 31, 2009 Business No Comments

Brazil has unveiled plans to bring more state control to its oil industry and take advantage of offshore reserves.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has proposed switching to a system which would see the government own a part of all oil produced.

Currently, companies bid to win the rights to explore for oil in blocks.

President Lula said the rules, if approved by congress, would see a “new Independence Day” for Brazil, helping tackle poverty and fund education.
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Terry pens five-year Chelsea deal

August 31, 2009 Sports No Comments

Chelsea captain John Terry has signed a new five-year contract which is reported to be worth £150,000 per week.

The defender was the subject of much transfer speculation in the summer, with claims of a £40m bid from Manchester City for the 28-year-old.

A statement on the official Chelsea website stated the club was “delighted” that Terry had signed the new deal.

It added that the move reaffirms the England skipper’s desire to end his career at Stamford Bridge.
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Africans ‘under siege’ in Moscow

August 31, 2009 Society No Comments

Nearly 60% of black and African people living in Russia’s capital Moscow have been physically assaulted in racially motivated attacks, says a new study.

Africans working or studying in the city live in constant fear of attack, according to the report by the Moscow Protestant Chaplaincy.

A quarter of 200 people surveyed said they had been assaulted more than once. Some 80% had been verbally abused.

But the number of assaults was down from the MPC’s last survey in 2002.

The report’s clear conclusion was that Africans living in Russia exist in a state of virtual siege, says the BBC’s Rupert Wingfield Hayes in Moscow.
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Disney to buy Marvel in $4bn deal

August 31, 2009 Business No Comments

Entertainment giant Walt Disney is to buy Marvel Entertainment in a shares and cash deal valued at $4bn (£2.5bn).

The deal means Disney will take over ownership of 5,000 Marvel characters, such as Spider-Man and the X-Men.

Marvel shareholders will get $30 per share in cash plus 0.745 Disney shares for every Marvel share owned.

The boards of Disney and Marvel have both approved the deal, which now needs the backing of Marvel shareholders and competition authorities.
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Indian economy continues to grow

August 31, 2009 Finance No Comments

India’s economy grew 6.1% in the second three months of the year compared with the same period last year, which was slightly better than had been expected.

The official gross domestic product figure was down from the 7.8% growth seen in the second quarter of 2008.

Although growth has slowed from last year, the economy is still expanding faster than most other countries.

Indian economists said weakness in agriculture could be offset by growth in manufacturing later in the year.
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Thousands call for Turing apology

August 31, 2009 Discovery No Comments

Alan Turing is said to be the founder of computer science
Thousands of people have signed a Downing Street petition calling for a posthumous government apology to World War II code breaker Alan Turing.

Writer Ian McEwan has just backed the campaign, which already has the support of scientist Richard Dawkins.

In 1952 Turing was prosecuted under the gross indecency act after admitting to a sexual relationship with a man. Two years later he killed himself.

The petition was the idea of computer scientist John Graham-Cumming.
He is seeking an apology for the way the young mathematician was treated after his conviction. He has also written to the Queen to ask for a posthumous knighthood to be awarded to the British mathematician.
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UK minister denies secret deal on release of Lockerbie bomber

August 30, 2009 Politics No Comments

LONDON, England (CNN) — British Justice Minister Jack Straw denied Sunday that the Lockerbie bomber was freed from jail as part of an agreement to allow a British energy company to drill for oil in Libya.

“There was no deal over the release” of Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, Straw said.

Straw was responding to newspaper allegations that the British government wanted al Megrahi to be eligible for release in order to smooth the way for BP to win exploration rights in Libya.

He called the Sunday Times assertion “wholly untrue.”

Al Megrahi, 57, was serving a life sentence for bombing Pan Am Flight 103 over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1988, killing 270 people, including 189 Americans. He was freed earlier this month because he has terminal cancer.
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California fire ‘out of control’

August 30, 2009 Society No Comments

A wildfire in the mountains above Los Angeles is threatening 12,000 buildings and continuing to spread, officials in California say.

The fire has been fuelled by record temperatures over the past four days.
Evacuation orders cover about 10,000 homes and state governor Arnold Schwarzenegger described the fire as “still totally out of control”.

About 2,000 firefighters are trying to contain the blaze, which has burnt more than 55 sq miles (142 sq km) of forest.

The fires rained ash on cars and homes as far away as central Los Angeles on Sunday.
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General Motors expands in China

August 30, 2009 Business No Comments

General Motors has signed up to a 2bn yuan ($293m; £180m) joint venture with the Chinese state-owned carmaker FAW to make light trucks and vans.

The vehicles will initially be sold in China under the FAW brand, but could in future be exported under the GM brand.

They will be produced at existing FAW facilities in the cities of Changchun and Harbin.

GM sold 818,442 vehicles in China in the first six months of 2009, compared with 1,094,561 in the whole of 2008.
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Huge head of pharaoh unearthed in Egypt

February 28, 2010

A colossal red granite head of one of Egypt’s most famous pharaohs has been unearthed in the southern city of Luxor, officials said.
The 3,000-year-old head of Amenhotep III – grandfather of Tutankhamun – was dug out of the ruins of the pharaoh’s mortuary temple.
Experts say it is the best preserved example of the king’s face [...]

Octopus snatches coconut and runs

December 14, 2009

An octopus and its coconut-carrying antics have surprised scientists.
Underwater footage reveals that the creatures scoop up halved coconut shells before scampering away with them so they can later use them as shelters.
Writing in the journal Current Biology, the team says it is the first example of tool use in octopuses.
One of the researchers, Dr Julian [...]

25 years on, Bhopal still suffers from gas leak tragedy

December 2, 2009

Bhopal, India (CNN) — T.R. Chouhan walked solemnly through the rusted remains of the Union Carbide pesticide factory in Bhopal, India. “I come here frequently,” he said. “We used to work here, and now this is the condition of the plant. So it feels really bad.”
Chouhan was a 10-year veteran employee of the plant when [...]

Glaciers disappearing from Kilimanjaro

November 2, 2009

(CNN) — The ice and snow that cap majestic Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania are vanishing before our eyes.
If current conditions persist, climate change experts say, Kilimanjaro’s world-renowned glaciers, which have covered Africa’s highest peak for centuries, will be gone within the next two decades.
“In a very real sense, these glaciers are being decapitated from the [...]

‘Lipstick Killer’ behind bars since 1946

October 24, 2009

Dixon, Illinois (CNN) — William Heirens, the “Lipstick Killer,” is believed to be the longest-serving inmate in the United States. He turns 81 on November 15.
Diabetes has ravaged his body, but his mind is sharp.
“Bill’s never allowed himself to be institutionalized,” said Dolores Kennedy, his long-time friend and advocate. “He’s kept himself focused on the [...]

Study: States can’t afford death penalty

October 20, 2009

WASHINGTON (CNN) — At 678, California has the nation’s largest death row population, yet the state has not executed anyone in four years.
But it spends more than $130 million a year on its capital punishment system — housing and prosecuting inmates and coping with an appellate system that has kept some convicted killers waiting for [...]

Odd facts about Nobel Prize winners

October 9, 2009

It’s Nobel Prize announcement week, and if you had Carol W. Greider, Elizabeth Blackburn, or Jack Szostak in your office pool, you’re off to a good start (the trio will share this year’s Nobel Prize in Medicine). As we await news of the rest of the winners, here are some stories about past Nobel laureates.
1. [...]

Report: More than 1M preemies die in first month annually

October 4, 2009

(CNN) — More than 1 million babies born prematurely die each year before they are a month old, the March of Dimes said Sunday in the first comprehensive global report on premature births.
The organization suggested the situation could worsen if the rate of premature births increases.
Each year, 12.9 million infants — or nearly 10 [...]

‘Hitler skull’ revealed as female

September 29, 2009

A bone fragment believed to be part of Adolf Hitler’s skull has been revealed as being that of an unidentified woman, US scientists have said.
The section of bone – marked with a bullet hole – was used to support the theory that Hitler shot himself.
Russian scientists said the skull piece was found alongside Hitler’s jawbone [...]

The Secrets Inside Your Dog’s Mind

September 14, 2009

Brian Hare, assistant professor of evolutionary anthropology at Duke University, holds out a dog biscuit.
“Henry!” he says. Henry is a big black schnauzer-poodle mix–a schnoodle, in the words of his owner, Tracy Kivell, another Duke anthropologist. Kivell holds on to Henry’s collar so that he can only gaze at the biscuit.
“You got it?” Hare asks [...]

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  • Mad American: I would be willing to bet this project would have been much different if the scientists had to pay for it out of their own pockets. Its so easy to sp...
  • Mad American: Does no one else think this is a rediculous waste of money. We are in a recession, yet we can spend $80 Million to crash into the moon... which may a...
  • Skinny Dipper: Direct NK and US negotiations is a victory for North Korea. From Pyongyang's view, the US will be negotiating with the "one true" Korea....
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