IGIHE

Tag: InternationalNews

  • Russian-U.S. Crew Makes Belated Arrival at Space Station

    Russian-U.S. Crew Makes Belated Arrival at Space Station

    {{A Russian spaceship carrying two Russian cosmonauts and a U.S. astronaut made a belated arrival at the International Space Station on Thursday, returning the orbital outpost to full staff.}}

    Russian cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev and NASA astronaut Steven Swanson blasted off aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket two days ago from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

    They had expected to reach the station, a $100 billion research complex that flies about 250 miles above Earth, six hours later.

    But about two hours after launch, the crew’s Soyuz capsule failed to fire its maneuvering engines as planned, forcing a delay to the next station docking opportunity on Thursday.

    The cause of the skipped rocket firing remains under investigation, said NASA mission commentator Rob Navias.

    Preliminary analysis shows the spaceship was 1 degree out of alignment from its predicted orientation, triggering the Soyuz computers to automatically abort the engine burn, Navias said during a NASA Television broadcast of the docking.

    Since Tuesday’s mishap, the Soyuz successfully conducted the necessary engine firings to reach the station.

    “Better late than never,” said Navias as the Soyuz made its final approach to the outpost.

    The crew’s prolonged journey ended at 7:53 p.m. EDT as the Soyuz slipped into a berthing port on the station’s Poisk module.

    The arrival of Skvortsov, Artemyev and Swanson returns the station to a full six-member crew. The orbital outpost, a project of 15 nations, has been short-staffed since two other cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut returned to Earth on March 11.

  • Russia Has No Intention of Sending Troops to Ukraine

    Russia Has No Intention of Sending Troops to Ukraine

    {{Russian said on Saturday it had no intention of sending its armed forces into Ukraine, signaling Moscow wants to ease tensions in the worst East-West standoff since the Cold war.}}

    Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reinforced a message from President Vladimir Putin that Russia will settle – at least for now – for annexing Crimea, although it has thousands of troops near Ukraine’s eastern border.

    “We have absolutely no intention of – or interest in – crossing Ukraine’s borders,” Lavrov told a Russian television channel.

    He added, however, that Russia was ready to protect the rights of Russian speakers, referring to what Moscow sees as threats to the lives of compatriots in eastern Ukraine since Moscow-backed Viktor Yanukovich was deposed as president.

    The West imposed sanctions on Russia, including visa bans for some of Putin’s inner circle, after Moscow annexed Crimea following a referendum on union with the Russian Federation which the West said was illegal.

    The West has threatened tougher sanctions targeting Russia’s stuttering economy if Moscow sends more troops to Ukraine.

    In a sign that Putin is ready to ease tensions in the worst East-West standoff since the Cold War, Putin called U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday to discuss a U.S. diplomatic proposal for Ukraine.

    The White House said Obama told Putin that Russia must pull back its troops and not move deeper into Ukraine.

    The Kremlin said Putin had suggested “examining possible steps the global community can take to help stabilize the situation,” and said the foreign ministers of the two countries would discuss this soon.

    The U.N. General Assembly on Thursday passed a non-binding resolution declaring invalid Crimea’s Moscow-backed referendum earlier this month on seceding from Ukraine, in a vote that Western nations said highlighted Russia’s isolation.

    Both Russia and West accused each other of using threats to affect the vote.

  • Brazil Grows Wary of Venezuela Under Maduro

    Brazil Grows Wary of Venezuela Under Maduro

    {{Brazil, Latin America’s biggest economy and diplomatic power, has toned down its support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro because of disappointment over how he is handling mounting economic problems and opposition-led street protests.}}

    The shift, while subtle, has deprived Maduro of some of the regional backing he wants at a time of food shortages, high inflation and political uncertainty in the OPEC nation.

    Broadly speaking, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff remains an ally of Maduro. While Rousseff is more moderate, both are part of a generation of leftist Latin American presidents who grew up opposing pro-Washington governments and believe they are united by a mission to help the poor.

    However, Rousseff has been increasingly disappointed by some of Maduro’s actions and has reined in the more enthusiastic support that characterized Brazil-Venezuela relations under his predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez, according to two officials close to Rousseff’s government.

    Rousseff is worried the Venezuelan government’s repression of recent street protests, and Maduro’s refusal to hold genuine dialogue with opposition leaders, may make the political crisis worse over time, the officials said.

    Worsening turmoil could, in turn, endanger the sizeable interests of Brazilian companies in Venezuela. They include conglomerate Odebrecht SA.

    Brazilian newspaper Valor Economico reported this month that Venezuelan public-sector companies already owe Brazilian companies as much as $2.5 billion in debt.

    “The path Maduro is on is full of risks,” one official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “We’ve been trying to encourage him to change.”

    The shifting stance does not amount to increased support for the Venezuelan opposition, the officials emphasized, adding that Brazil’s main goal is encouraging democracy and economic stability in the region.

    The clearest example to date of Brazil’s changing tack came at a gathering of regional leaders for the inauguration of Chilean President Michelle Bachelet earlier this month.

    Maduro had said he wanted presidents from Unasur, a South American regional body, to meet while in Chile and issue a declaration of support for his government.

    However, Rousseff was cool to the idea and left Chile just hours after Bachelet was inaugurated. Maduro unexpectedly changed his plans and did not travel to Chile at all.

    {reuters}

  • Smoking Bans Cut Premature Births

    Smoking Bans Cut Premature Births

    {{Banning smoking in public places has helped to cut premature births by 10 percent, according to new research from the United States and Europe.}}

    A study in The Lancet medical journal found that while the impact of anti-smoking laws varies between countries, the overall effect on child health around the world is positive.

    “Our research shows that smoking bans are an effective way to protect the health of our children,” said Jasper Been of the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Population Health Sciences, who led the study.

    He said the findings should help to accelerate the introduction of anti-smoking legislation in cities, countries and districts which have yet to do so.

    Laws banning smoking in public places such as bars, restaurants, offices and other workplaces have already been proven in previous studies to protect adults from the health threats associated with passive smoking.

    According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), tobacco already kills around 6 million people a year worldwide, including more than 600,000 non-smokers who die from exposure to second-hand smoke.

    By 2030, if current trends continue, it predicts tobacco’s death toll could be 8 million people a year.

    Only 16% of the world’s population is covered by comprehensive smoke-free laws, and 40% children worldwide are regularly exposed to second-hand smoke, the WHO says.

    Public health experts hope that as more and more countries in Europe and around the world adopt stricter legislation on smoking in public places, the health benefits will swiftly start to become evident.

    Friday’s research in The Lancet, which analyzed data on more than 2.5 million births and almost 250,000 hospital attendances for asthma attacks, was the first comprehensive study to look at how anti-smoking laws affect children’s health.

    With results from five North American studies of local bans and six European studies on national bans, it found rates of both pre-term births and hospital attendance for asthma fell by 10% within a year of smoke-free laws coming into effect.

    “Together with the known health benefits in adults, our study provides clear evidence that smoking bans have considerable public health benefits for perinatal and child health,” said Been.

    He said it also provided “strong support for WHO recommendations to create smoke-free public environments on a national level.”

    BBC

  • Same-sex Marriage Now Legal as First Couples Wed

    Same-sex Marriage Now Legal as First Couples Wed

    {{The first same-sex weddings have taken place after gay marriage became legal in England and Wales at midnight.}}

    Politicians from the main parties have hailed the change in the law.

    David Cameron said the move sent a message that people were now equal “whether gay or straight”, but some religious groups remain opposed.

    Scotland passed a similar law in February; the first same-sex marriages are expected there in October. Northern Ireland has no plans to follow suit.

    In an article for the Pink News website, the prime minister wrote: “This weekend is an important moment for our country.

    {{‘Feels safer’}}

    “It says we are a country that will continue to honour its proud traditions of respect, tolerance and equal worth.”

    The law change would encourage young people unsure of their sexuality, he added.

    Later on Saturday morning, Mr Cameron tweeted: “Congratulations to the gay couples who have already been married – and my best wishes to those about to be on this historic day.”

    Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said “Britain will be a different place” as a result.

    He congratulated his party for being part of the reform, saying: “If our change to the law means a single young man or young woman who wants to come out, but who is scared of what the world will say, now feels safer, stronger, taller – well, for me, getting into coalition government will have been worth it just for that.”

    Labour leader Ed Miliband congratulated those planning to tie the knot.

    “This is an incredibly happy time for so many gay couples and lesbian couples who will be getting married, but it’s an incredibly proud time for our country as well, recognising equal marriage in law,” he said.

    However, he warned that the “battle for true equality” was not yet won.

    {{‘Not about rights’}}

    One of the first couples to take advantage of the law change were married at Islington Town Hall in London just after midnight.

    Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell acted as chief witness at a packed ceremony as Peter McGraith and David Cabreza wed after 17 years together.

    Mr Tatchell said the couple and all the others getting married had “made history” and “made Britain a more tolerant, equal place”.

    With a crowd of photographers, journalists and well-wishers waiting, the couple took the opportunity to highlight the international struggle for gay rights.

    But Mr Cabreza added: “From a global and political perspective it’s great too, but for us it’s also about us and our marriage.”

    Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said on Friday night the Church of England would now drop its opposition to same-sex marriage, as Parliament had spoken.

  • Hollywood to Produce Movie on Missing Malaysian Jet

    Hollywood to Produce Movie on Missing Malaysian Jet

    {{While the Australian military continue to search the southern Indian Ocean for the wreckage of the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, producers in Hollywood are already working on a possible movie adaptation of the tragic crash. }}

    Although no studio has been pitched about a Flight 370 project, one movie-industry producer told the Hollywood Reporter that he doesn’t doubt at least 50 projects are being developed.

    ‘It’s a shocking tragedy, but even so, I guarantee there are 50 different people working on 50 different projects that are neither inspired by it or based directly on it right now,’ said J.C. Sping, the executive who produced airline thriller Red Eye.

    Tragic: The scant news on the missing flight has caused heartache for the families of the 239 on board. Above, a family member breaks down as she is removed from a press conference on March 19

    While Hollywood may be starting the gears on an adaptation, it’s still unlikely that a film about the disaster will be in theaters anytime soon.

    It took five years for any major motion picture to be released following 9/11, with Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center and Paul Greengrass’ United 93.

    There is a project in development about the Boston Marathon bombings, but Boston Strong wasn’t pitched until three months after the deadly explosions.

    Emotions surrounding the missing flight are so high that a movie that was in production before 370 disappeared has been postponed because the plot closely mirrors the news story.

    Australian production ‘Deep Water’ follows the surviving crew and passengers of a plane that crashes in the ocean on a flight from Sydney to Beijing.

    Time: Hollywood usually waits to release films based on real-life tragedies, as evidenced by the five years it took to produce Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center and Paul Greengrass’ United 93 after 9/11

    But the biggest impediment to any project is that details are still scant about what caused the plane to go off course and crash into the sea.

    Until those details emerge, a true-life script will have to wait.

    ‘I think people will wait to see how [the investigation] turns out,’ said says Alex Heineman, who produced this year’s airline thriller Non-Stop starring Liam Neeson. ‘They say truth is stranger than fiction, and this story is so bizarre.

    No one knows what happened — or maybe people do, and they’re not saying what happened.’

    But even Heineman admits that a story like this is off-limits to a lot of producers in Hollywood.

    ‘I wouldn’t chase a story like this — a true-life disaster story — because it’s sad, and I don’t want to be exploiting that kind of situation,’ he said.

    Producers will also have to wait for more details to emerge on what caused the flight to crash. It’s still uncertain whether the flight was an accident or a possible hijacking or pilot suicide.

    Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah ({pictured below}) has been the source of much scrutiny by investigators

  • Scientists Created First Synthetic Chromosome for Yeast

    Scientists Created First Synthetic Chromosome for Yeast

    {{Scientists have created the first synthetic chromosome for yeast in a landmark for biological engineering.}}

    Previously synthetic DNA has been designed and made for simpler organisms such as bacteria.

    As a form of life whose cells contain a nucleus, yeast is related to plants and animals and shares 2,000 genes with us.

    So the creation of the first of yeast’s 16 chromosomes has been hailed as “a massive deal” in the emerging science of synthetic biology.

    The genes in the original chromosome were replaced with synthetic versions and the finished manmade chromosome was then successfully integrated into a yeast cell.

    The new cell was then observed to reproduce, passing a key test of viability.

    Yeast is a favoured target for this research because of its well-established use in key industries such as brewing and baking and its potential for future industrial applications.

    One company in California has already used synthetic biology to create a strain of yeast that can produce artemisinin, an ingredient for an anti-malarial drug.

    The synthesis of chromosome III in yeast was undertaken by an international team and the findings are published in the journal Science (yeast chromosomes are normally designated by Roman numerals).

    {{Chucking the junk}}

    Dr Jef Boeke of the Langone Medical Centre at New York University, who led the team, described the achievement as “moving the needle in synthetic biology from theory to reality”.

    He said: “What’s really exciting about it is the extent to which we have changed the sequence and still come out with a happy healthy yeast at the end.”

    The new chromosome, known as SynIII, involved designing and creating 273,871 base pairs of DNA – fewer than the 316,667 pairs in the original chromosome.

    The researchers removed repeated sections in the original DNA and so-called “junk” DNA known not to code for any proteins – and they then added “tags” to the chromosome.

    Dr Boeke said that despite making more than 50,000 changes to the DNA code in the chromosome, the yeast was not only “hardy” but had also gained new functions.

    “We have taught it a few tricks by inserting some special widgets into its chromosome.”

    One new function is a chemical switch that allows researcher to “scramble” the chromosome into thousands of different variants making genetic manipulations far easier.

    The hope is that the ability to create synthetic strains of yeast will allow these organisms to be harnessed for a wide range of uses including the manufacture of vaccines or more sustainable forms of biofuel.

    While genetic modification involves transferring genes from one organism to another, synthetic biology goes far further by designing and then constructing entirely new genetic material.

    Opponents of the field argue that scientists are “playing God” by designing new forms of life with the danger of unexpected consequences. A report for the Lloyds insurance market in 2009 warned that the new technology could pose unforeseen risks.

    The synthesis of chromosome III is the first stage of an international project to synthesise yeast’s entire genome over the next few years.

    A team at Imperial College London is tackling chromosome XI, one of the largest with 670,000 base pairs, using a similar technique of creating “chunks” of bases to insert into the yeast’s genome.

    New tricks
    Dr Tom Ellis, who is leading the work, described the creation of the first synthetic chromosome for a eukaryotic organism – the branch of life including plants, animals and fungi – as a “massive deal”.

    “Yeast is the king of biotech – and it’s great to use synthetic biology to add in new functions.

    “The fitness of the chromosome is in line with the natural one. Making all these design changes has not caused any major issues – it behaves as it should – and it’s great to see that others can do it.”

    The Imperial scientists have so far synthesised about one third of the DNA for their chromosome XI with about 5-10% inserted.

    Their research includes developing synthetic genes for yeast that would allow it to produce antibiotics and to turn agricultural waste into biofuel.

    With critics arguing that synthetic biology involves meddling in Nature with unknown effects, Dr Ellis and others stress that the new organisms are designed with in-built restrictions.

    The strains of yeast containing synthetic genetic material can only survive in a lab environment with specialist support.

    To highlight the benefits of the work, Dr Boeke stresses the importance of yeast throughout human history and its potential for the future.

    “Yeast has an ancient industrial relationship with Man – the baking of bread and the brewing of alcoholic beverages dates back the Fertile Crescent and today the industrial relationship goes far beyond that because we’re making medicines, vaccines and biofuels using yeast.”

    The paper describing the first synthetic chromosome concludes with a far-reaching vision looking beyond yeast to more sophisticated organisms, saying:

    “it will soon become feasible to synthesise eukaryotic genomes, including plant and animal genomes”.

    In his interview, Dr Boeke explained that this will not be immediate but is getting closer.

    “It’s still aways off in the future to do entire chromosomes for those organisms but certainly mini chromosomes containing tens or even hundreds of genes are definitely within the foreseeable future,” he said.

    It was only in 2010 that the scientific world was stunned when Dr Craig Venter unveiled the first synthetic genome for bacteria. So this new science is gathering pace and growing in ambition.

    BBC

  • UN Condemns North Korea Ballistics Launch

    UN Condemns North Korea Ballistics Launch

    {{The UN Security Council has condemned North Korea’s launch of two ballistic missiles and said it was considering an “appropriate response”.}}

    The Council’s president, Luxembourg UN Ambassador Sylvie Lucas, described it as a violation of Security Council resolutions.

    North Korea test-fired two medium-range Nodong missiles over the sea on Wednesday.

    It was Pyongyang’s first launch of such missiles since 2009.

    Ballistic missile launches by Pyongyang are banned by the United Nations.

    The Security Council held a closed debate on Thursday that included a report from the deputy secretary general for political affairs, Jeffrey Feltman, diplomats said.

    The condemnation was not a formal statement but Ms Lucas said members had requested she read out the remarks as agreed by all participants.

    She said members had agreed “to consult on an appropriate response” and said that this response “should be given quickly”.

    {North Korean missile launches are watched anxiously by the South}

  • The World’s Most Ethical Countries: 2014

    The World’s Most Ethical Countries: 2014

    {{What makes the Bahamas a more ethical vacation choice than Costa Rica?

    That’s the crux of a recent survey about ethical travel, a movement that encourages travellers to be mindful about the impact of bringing tourism dollars to one country over another.

    To encourage responsible globetrotting, a California nonprofit Ethical Traveler has been regularly compiling a list of its top 10 ethical destinations since 2006. }}

    The surprise: 2014’s list, which came out in late 2013, has three new contenders: the Bahamas, Chile and Dominica. So what are they doing right that Costa Rica, Ghana and Samoa (which fell off the list from 2013) didn’t do enough of?

    The answer lies in the way Ethical Traveler evaluates countries for its top 10 list.

    In addition to more standard criteria like unspoiled natural beauty and authentic cultural experiences, researchers judged destinations on 35 metrics in four categories: environment protection, social welfare, human rights, and for the first time, animal welfare.

    In other words, judges considered quality of drinking water in the category of environmental protection, women’s rights in the category of human rights, and so on.

    The Bahamas won its way onto the list by making efforts to reduce human trafficking and expand national parks and protected areas, such as the Andros West Side National Park, which grew from 882,000 acres to nearly 1.3 million acres.

    Chile improved its gender equality scores and launched a few ambitious environmental initiatives – including a program to move logging workers into various tourism roles.

    And a plan to become carbon negative – that is, minimize and offset carbon emissions – by 2020 helped Dominica make the cut.

    The complete list for 2014 (in alphabetical order) includes the Bahamas, Barbados, Cape Verde, Chile, Dominica, Latvia, Lithuania, Mauritius, Palau and Uruguay. Ethical Traveler does not rank the countries within the top 10.

    Travellers can “vote with their wings”, said Jeff Greenwald, Ethical Traveler’s founder and executive director. “We feel that we can make a difference in those countries because they really want to try to do the right thing.

    If we can send more travellers there because of their good policies, we think they’ll really stand up and take notice.”

    Three countries that fell off the list from 2013 – Costa Rica, Ghana and Samoa – slid backward on key metrics such as environmental protection and human rights violations, said Michael McColl, Ethical Traveler’s co-founder and director of communications.

    Costa Rica, for example, is a major hub for human trafficking and its government allows persecution of activists working against illegal shark finning and sea turtle trades, McColl said.

    Ghana dropped from last year’s list due to discrimination against same-sex couples (same-sex sexual activity is illegal in Ghana, and there is no legal recognition of same-sex couples.

    Ghanaian law also does not protect people from discrimination based on sexual orientation.) And Samoa fell from the top 10 due to unsustainable logging, failure to guarantee LGBT rights and poor women’s rights. Nonetheless, these countries still received high marks overall, and are still among the more ethical countries a traveller can visit.

    “You want to put your money where your beliefs are,” Greenwald says. “Everyone loves the thought of travelling to Thailand or Cambodia or Burma, [but these places] don’t really have great human rights records.

    Why not use your travel dollars to show your support and solidarity for countries that are struggling to have good government and attract travellers? Why not reward them? It could create a groundswell of economic incentive for countries to do the right thing.”

    For ethical properties and tours within a country, the site Green Travel Reviews evaluates environmentally and socially conscious properties like Rosalie Bay, the only Green Globe-certified resort in Dominica which has won accolades for its wind- and solar-powered energy, including more than 200 solar panels; locally- and organically-sourced food; and protected black sand beach where endangered sea turtles nest.

    In Costa Rica, Casa Corcovado Jungle Lodge is one of the few eco-resorts to earn a five-Leaf rating from Costa Rica’s Certification for Sustainable Tourism for its pristine 170-acre nature preserve as well as a number of eco-initiatives including a solar electric system, hydroelectric turbine and a hybrid solar convection system for heating water.

    “I believe that we, as a tourism entity, have a responsibility to the travelling public and the beautiful destination we represent to use natural resources in a way that protects the local environment and improves the well-being of its residents,” said Rosalie Bay owner Beverly Deikel.

    {Nassau, Bahamas}
    {wirestory}

  • US Sacks Nuclear Commanders

    US Sacks Nuclear Commanders

    {{The US Air Force has sacked nine mid-level nuclear commanders and will discipline dozens more in a test cheating scandal, officials have said.}}

    Nearly one in five of the Air Force’s nuclear missile officers have been implicated in a ring of cheating on monthly proficiency tests.

    Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James has said the nuclear force is suffering from “systemic problems”.

    A series of programmes to improve leadership are also said to be planned.

    None of the fired commanders is directly involved in the alleged cheating. Each was instead determined to have failed in leadership responsibility.

    In addition to the nine officers sacked, the senior commander of Malmstrom Air Force Base’s 341st Missile Wing, Col Robert Stanley (in photo), was allowed to resign.

    Commanders of the 341st Wing’s three missile squadrons – each of whom is responsible for three nuclear missiles – were also fired, the Associated Press news agency reports.

    Ninety-one missile launch crew members at Malmstrom have thus far been implicated in the cheating scandal, including more than 40 who face disciplinary action that may include dismissal.

    Cheating allegations first emerged during investigations into alleged drug use by personnel at other bases.

    In the wake of the revelations, the Air Force announced the entire team at the base would be re-tested.

    It is the latest scandal to hit the US Air Force and nuclear missile force.

    Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel had previously ordered a high-level review of the US nuclear forces, saying he was “deeply concerned” about morale and discipline among nuclear officers, while insisting that US nuclear arms were safe.

    wirestory