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Quake felt across central New Zealand
LATEST: A deep earthquake measuring 6.5 has been widely felt across the lower North Island, but there were no initial reports of damage.
GNS Science said the earthquake was a magnitude 6.5, centred 150km deep, 30km west of Taupo. It struck at 3.36pm.
Initial reports on GNS’ website show the quake was felt in Wellington, Nelson, New Plymouth and up to the Coromandel.
GNS volcanologist Brad Scott said although the earthquake was centred near Taupo it was more likely felt on Read more…
ExxonMobil Oil Pipeline Ruptures, Leaks 1,000 Barrels Into Yellowstone River
An ExxonMobil oil pipeline that ruptured 10 miles west of Billings, Mont., leaked nearly 1,000 barrels of crude oil into the Yellowstone River.
Exxon detected the leak on Saturday morning following a loss of pressure on pipeline and within seven minutes the pipeline pumps were shut down, the company said in a press release.
That did not, however, prevent nearly 42,000 gallons of crude oil to be spewed into the famed river.
The 12-inch crude-oil pipeline runs from the town of Silver Tip to the three refineries at Billings, ExxonMobil said.
“We had no indications that Read more…
Deadly superbug outbreak hits problem-plagued network of Ontario hospitals
A deadly outbreak of a highly contagious superbug has claimed the lives of 15 patients in Southern Ontario, raising questions about whether enough is being done to prevent and control the spread of hospital-acquired infections.
Niagara Health System, a sprawling network of seven hospitals serving 434,000 people in a dozen communities, has declared an outbreak of Clostridium difficile, commonly known as C. difficile, at three of its sites.
US to upgrade F-16s, KMT lawmaker says
The US is expected to announce soon that it will help Taiwan upgrade its current F-16 aircraft rather than sell it more advanced aircraft, a senior legislator said yesterday.
The move to upgrade the F-16A/B combat aircraft rather than sell Taiwan the more advanced F-16C/Ds it wants will generate less pressure from Beijing, which strongly opposes any arms sales to Taiwan, analysts say.
“This will be a compromise deal,” said Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方), who chairs the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee.
Taiwan has repeatedly pressed the US to sell it F-16C/Ds, as China embarks on a rapid drive to build up its offensive military capability.
However, it is feared that such a sale would “anger” Beijing, which reacted furiously in January last year when US President Barack Obama announced a US$6.4 billion arms package for Taiwan.
That package included Patriot missiles, Black Hawk helicopters and equipment for Read more…
Ancient Egypt treasure gate unearthed in Luxor
CAIRO — Egyptian and French archaeologists have unearthed a 2,700-year-old stone gate belonging to Nubian King Shabaka while digging near Luxor’s Karnak temple, the ministry of antiquities said on Sunday.
The gate, which was found to be “in good condition,” once led to the room holding the king’s treasures, the ministry said.
“It is the first time an item of the 25th dynasty has been found in such good condition, and wasn’t ruined by the 26th dynasty,” Mansur Boraik, the Egyptian head of the Franco-Egyptian Research Centre of the Temples of Karnak, told AFP.
The large stone door features colourful engravings that depict King Shabaka offering the goddess of truth, Maat, to the god Amun Raa, the chief deity.
“The Egyptian-French mission succeeded in making important discoveries from the 18th to the 25th dynasties,” minister of state for antiquities Zahi Hawass said in a statement.
The mission also unearthed a stone wall surrounding the temple of Ptah, the chief god of the city of Memphis. His temple had been built on the site of an earlier Middle Kingdom temple, and restored by Shabaka.
The Franco-Egyptian Centre has been working to open the temple to visitors next winter and plans to put Shabaka’s gate on display.
“The discovery shows that the temple of Karnak still has many secrets to be uncovered and it will do for years to come,” the centre’s Dominique Valbelle was quoted as saying in the ministry statement.
Shabaka established the capital at Thebes and was believed to have invested great effort in restoring religious architecture.
Protect Your Computer and Phone from Illegal Police Searches
EFF Releases ‘Know Your Digital Rights’ Guide to Your Constitutional Liberties
San Francisco – Your computer, your phone, and your other digital devices hold vast amounts of personal information about you and your family. Can police officers enter your home to search your laptop? Do you have to give law enforcement officials your encryption keys or passwords? If you are pulled over when driving, can the officer search your cell phone?
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has answers to these questions in our new “Know Your Digital Rights” guide, including easy-to-understand tips on interacting with police officers and other law enforcement officials.
“With smart phones, tablet computers, and laptops, we carry around with us an unprecedented amount of sensitive personal information,” said EFF Staff Attorney Hanni Fakhoury. “That smart phone in your pocket right now could contain email from your doctor or your kid’s teacher, not to mention detailed contact information for all of your friends and family members. Your laptop probably holds even more data — your Internet browsing history, family photo albums, and maybe even things like an electronic copy of your taxes or your employment agreement. This is Read more…
Mars is left behind, Earth is ahead!
L. Elenin / ISON-NM observatoryAt the end of June 2011, Comet Elenin will cross the orbit of the fourth planet of the Solar System – Mars. It must be noted that from April to June, the comet did not come closer to the Earth, but moved “parallel” with it. Right at the beginning of July, the comet will begin to very quickly move toward our planet. I again want to emphasize, the comet will pass 35 million kilometers from the Earth. It is an absolutely safe distance, just a little closer to the Earth than the second planet, Venus, comes.
At left you can see an image of the comet taken June 21th at our observatory. In the earthly sky the comet is quite close to the Sun, and soon it will be impossible to observe – it will be hidden the rays of the setting Sun. C/2010 X1 (Elenin) will not emerge from solar conjunction until the beginning of October, when it will be visible in binoculars and maybe even with the unaided eye.
Unidentified Object @ Antarctica’s Neumayer Station 061811- 062011
These are recent photos from the Antarctica Neumayer Station on 6/18/11 – 6/20/11.
http://www.antarcticconnection.com/antarctic/stations/neumayer.shtml
This object would confirm what we are seeing at 2:57 in this video…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUiKzdLb7Yc
Please take a look. This video confirms what we are seeing in the Antarctic.
These new photos have me extremely puzzled and concerned. We’ve identified the moon and the location of the Sun, but there is another large Read more…
Collapsing Coastlines
Storms can ravage coastal permafrost, as shown near the village of Kaktovik, Alaska.© Accent Alaska.com/Alamy
Gray waves surged over miles and miles of open water, breaking against the bluffs underlying Kaktovik. The tiny village sits precariously on the Beaufort Sea, a frigid body of water bordering Alaska’s northeastern Arctic coast. As the choppy waters inundated vulnerable stretches of shoreline, the surf carved deep chasms into the tall bluffs.
Torre Jorgenson, a geomorphologist working near Kaktovik, watched the storm boil up, shaking homes and boats for nearly two days in July 2008. Dramatic erosion followed soon after. Blocks of graphite-colored earth, as much as 10 meters wide and several meters deep, toppled into the sea one by one like skyscrapers in a Japanese monster film.
“The locals had never seen that type of erosion,” says Jorgenson, also president of the U.S. Permafrost Association. “It was something new, a regime change.”
The erosion Jorgenson witnessed was a potent warning to Kaktovik’s residents of the instability of their coastal home. Seaside bluffs and beaches across the Arctic are Read more…
Soputan volcano eruption Sulawesi, Indonesia : subsiding activity tonight
Volcanic smoke billows from Mount Soputan as seen in this photo taken from the town of Amurang, North Sulawesi, Indonesia, Monday, Oct. 6, 2008. (AP Photo)VAAC Ash advisory for the area : The ash cloud from the initial explosion/eruption is drifting further to the south-west. The image confirms the subsiding activity of the volcano. Click on the picture to go straight to the VAAC page in Darwin, Australia. The report below dates from 14:22 UTC on July 3, 2011.
The sector most affected for the coming hours will be Kalimantan (Borneo), Indonesia.
VAAC comments on this latest report : HIGH LEVEL ERUPTION HAS CEASED AND IS DISSIPATING. LOW LEVEL VA NOT IDENTIFIABLE ON SAT IMAGERY DUE TO METEOROLOGICAL CLOUD BUT EXPECTED TO STILL BE IN AREA.
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