4.1 Magnitude Earthquake UTAH - 10th Nov 2011

A magnitude 4.1 earthquake has struck Utah at a depth of 0.1 km (0 miles Poorly Constrained), the quake hit at 04:27:45 UTC Thursday 10th November 2011.
The epicenter was 9 km ( 6 miles) Northwest of Orangeville, Utah
No Reports of Injuries or Damage at this time

5.5 Magnitude Earthquake NEAR THE NORTH COAST OF PAPUA, INDONESIA - 10th Nov 2011

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake has struck near the North Coast of Papua, Indonesia at a depth of 20 km (12.4 miles), the quake hit at 02:34:52 UTC Thursday 10th November 2011.
The epicenter was 277 km ( 172 miles) WNW of Jayapura, Papua, Indonesia
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Injuries or Damage at this time

4.7 Magnitude Earthquake EASTERN TURKEY - 9th Nov 2011

A magnitude 4.7 earthquake has struck Eastern Turkey at a depth of 2 km (1.2 miles), the quake hit at 22:38:18 UTC Wednesday 9th November 2011.
The epicenter was 5 km ( 3.1 miles) Northwest of Edremit, Turkey

At least 7 Dead from the 5.7 Magnitude earthquake from the 9th of November 2011, at least 100 people missing under collapsed buildings.

5.1 Magnitude Earthquake OFF THE EAST COAST OF KAMCHATKA, RUSSIA - 9th Nov 2011

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake has struck off the Coast of Kamchatka, Russia at a depth of 51.3 km (31.9 miles), the quake hit at 22:01:04 UTC Wednesday 9th November 2011.
The epicenter was 99 km ( 61 miles) Southeast of Petropavlosk-Kamchatskiy, Russia
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Injuries or Damage at this time

5.7 Magnitude Earthquake SOUTH OF THE MARIANA ISLANDS - 9th Nov 2011

A magnitude 5.7 earthquake has struck South of the Mariana Islands at a depth of 9.9 km ( 6.2 miles), the quake hit at 21:52:20 UTC Wednesday 9th November 2011.
The epicenter was 355 km ( 220 miles) SSE of Hagatna, Guam
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Injuries or Damage at this time

4.8 Magnitude Earthquake KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION - 9th Nov 2011

A magnitude 4.8 earthquake has struck the Kermadec Islands at a depth of 56.1 km (34.9 miles), the quake hit at 21:07:35 UTC Wednesday 9th November 2011.
The epicenter was 266 km ( 165 miles) NNE of Raoul Island, Kermadec Islands
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Injuries or Damage at this time

4.6 Magnitude Earthquake EASTERN TURKEY - 9th Nov 2011

A magnitude 4.6 earthquake has struck Eastern Turkey at a depth of 2 km (1.2 miles), the quake hit at 20:45:40 UTC Wednesday 9th November 2011.
The epicenter was 9 km ( 5.9 miles) Southeast of Van, Turkey
No Reports of Injuries or Damage at this time

At least 5 dead and hundreds trapped in new quake in eastern Turkey

At least five people died and more than 100 others were buried under rubble from a magnitude-5.7 earthquake that struck eastern Turkey Wednesday night, officials said.

The death toll came from Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay, who spoke to reporters while visiting the stricken zone. He said the deaths occurred when two hotels collapsed. Another 20 people were rescued from the crumbled structures, he said.

In all, 25 buildings collapsed, but 22 of them had been empty since a 7.2 earthquake devastated parts of eastern Turkey, including the area around Van, on October 23. Last month's quake killed more than 500 people.

Eighteen people were rescued, said CNN Turk, which had a reporter in the area.

The epicenter was 16 kilometers (9 miles) south of the town of Van, the U.S. Geological Survey said, and its depth was 4.8 kilometers (3 miles). The quake struck at 9:23 p.m. (2:23 p.m. ET), it said.

DHA, a CNN partner station in Turkey, reported that two of its reporters were buried under rubble. Its journalists' Twitter messages indicated they were alive.

Video from DHA in Van showed residents and rescuers pulling a man out of the rubble on the stretcher, apparently conscious and wearing an oxygen mask, his arms folded across his chest. more

Italy bond yields reach emergency levels; imminent financial collapse feared

Italy’s bond yields passed 7% Wednesday morning, breaching a psychological point at which markets consider countries at risk of being unable to fund themselves.

The dramatic rise in 10-year bond yields comes the day after Italy’s flamboyant Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said he would resign after the country’s budget is passed. The 75-year old Berlusconi has been a dominant force since forming the Forza Italia party in 1994, and his pending departure marks the end of an era for Italian politics.

But while the political spectacle that came with Berlusconi could now fade, the financial show might be just beginning. The pricing – set by traders who are selling Italy’s bonds – hit 7.3% by mid morning after breaking through 7% a short while earlier. “It’s like tectonic plates,” a desk analyst told CNN. “You have this pressure and then it breaks.”

To put Italy’s bond yields in context: Ireland bond yields were just over 8% before the country was bailed, Greek yields touched 10% and Portugal's hit 9%.

Italy and Spain – the eurozone’s third and fourth largest economies – are those often referred to as too big to fail. So far, the eurozone countries and the European Central Bank have actively kept the bloc’s struggling economies afloat.

But their powers may be limited when it comes to Italy. The numbers are huge, and the political - and financial - capacity to continue supporting the bloc’s weak will face a mighty test should Italy stumble. more

"America and China must crush Germany into submission"

As we watch Italy's 10-year bond yields near 7.5pc and threaten to detonate the explosive charge on €1.9 trillion of debt, it is time for the world to reimpose order.

You cannot allow the biggest bankruptcy in history to run its course – with calamitous domino implications – before all options have been exhausted.

One can only guess what is happening in the great global centres of power, but it would not surprise me if US President Barack Obama and China's Hu Jintao start to intervene very soon, in unison and with massive diplomatic force.

One can imagine joint telephone calls to Chancellor Angela Merkel more or less ordering her country to face up to the implications of the monetary union that Germany itself created and ran (badly).

Yes, this means mobilizing the full-firepower of the ECB – with a pledge to change EU Treaty law and the bank's mandate – and perhaps some form of quantum leap towards a fiscal and debt union.

Germany will of course try to say no. But it will pay a catastrophic diplomatic and political price, and will fail to save its economy anyway if it does so.

Having followed the German political scene closely for the last five months, it is clear to me that almost the entire German political establishment is out of its depth, ideological, sometimes smug, apt to view the EMU debt-crisis as a Calvinist morality tale, and lacking in deep understanding of what it has got itself into.

One can understand German worries about money printing – and especially the loss of fiscal sovereignty and democratic control – but matters have already moved on. It is too late for that. more

Mowgli the cat left 'mentally injured' as CCTV of pet being swung round by its tail is released by RSPCA

Police have launched an appeal to catch the man seen swinging the animal round outside the Camden Arms pub in Ramsgate, Kent.

The two-year-old cat called Mowgli eventually managed to run away and returned to its home in a "very distressed state".

Michelle Buchanan, who owns the cat, said her pet had been left mentally scarred by the incident.

"He's not physically injured but he is mentally. Ever since the incident happened, when he eventually came home, he's never gone back outside," she said.

She added: "I can't believe anybody could be so cruel as to harm any sort of animal. It's just really sad that somebody found pleasure out of doing that."

A spokewoman for the RSPCA said: "The owner lives in the basement flat of the pub and her cat has the run of the neighbourhood.

"The landlord recognised Mowgli on the CCTV and he later came home in a very distressed state and has not left the flat since.

"His owner is too upset to view the footage herself, she feels it would be too distressing."

RSPCA Inspector Caroline Doe added: "This was a very violent, nasty attack on a cat.

"Anyone who witnessed this outside the pub must have been as shocked and appalled as we were.

"We are hoping that someone will recognise this man and come forward so we can investigate this fully." source

Ahmadinejad vows Iran won't retreat ‘an iota’ from its nuclear path

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed Wednesday that Iran won't retreat “one iota” from its nuclear program, denying claims that it seeks atomic weapons. Key ally Russia gave the Islamic Republic a major boost, rejecting tighter sanctions despite a U.N. watchdog report detailing suspected arms-related advances.

Israel called on the world to stop Iran's nuclear program in response to the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency's report. The Israeli statement did not refer to the option of a military attack, Israel considers Iran its most dangerous enemy,

In his first reaction to the report, Mr. Ahmadinejad strongly criticized the agency — a day after it claimed Tehran was on the brink of developing a nuclear weapon — saying the IAEA is discrediting itself by siding with “absurd” U.S. accusations.

The comments, broadcast live on state TV, were a sharp rebuke to Western warnings that Iran appears to be engaged in a dangerous defiance of international demands to control the Islamic Republic's nuclear ambitions. more

China readies armed patrols of Mekong after sailor murders

China will launch armed patrols with Southeast Asian neighbours to protect ships along the Mekong River after 13 Chinese sailors were murdered on its upper reaches last month, media reported on Tuesday.

The crew members of two Chinese cargo ships plying the Mekong were attacked on Oct. 5 in the "Golden Triangle", an area where the borders of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos meet that is notorious for drug smuggling.

The deaths triggered a public uproar in China, where the safety of nationals abroad has become an increasingly sensitive topic, and Beijing demanded that its neighbours capture the perpetrators and strengthen safety along the river.

Nine Thai soldiers later turned themselves in over the killing.

The Chinese government has bought five ships that will be refitted for the patrols, said a report on the website of the People's Daily (www.people.com.cn), citing Fang Youguo, general secretary of an association of Chinese shipowners whose vessels use the Mekong.

The boats will "patrol key areas along the Mekong River, offering protection for legal cargo ships from China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand", Fang said, according to the report. more

Canary Islands Eruption: Undersea Volcano Now Just 70 Meters from Surface

"The monster rises out of the water", screamed the Spanish newspaper La Provincia. Scientists, meanwhile, are being a bit more level-headed about the undersea volcano south of El Hierro in the Canary Islands; they now believe it is in the third phase of its eruption -- fountains of water have been shooting out of the Atlantic up to 20 meters in the air over the last few days. On Tuesday, some local residents even saw stones being catapulted out of the sea.

A seething maelstrom, dozens of meters across, is bubbling away in the ocean. Measurements show that the vortices are significantly warmer than the surrounding water.

So far, the volcano has only shown its explosive power beneath the water. But now the outbursts to the south of El Hierro are frothing up the surface, as if the ocean had hiccups. The lava is piling up on an underwater mountain. That the eruption is capable of firing jets of water into the air shows that this mountain is growing -- the center of the eruption is approaching the surface. Geologists believe that new land could soon emerge from the sea, and islanders are already looking for a name for the new territory. There are only 70 meters to go until the mountain reaches the surface, experts from Spain's National Geographic Institute (IGN) have reported.

But how big is the risk to nearby residents? Last weekend, hundreds of people had to leave their homes in the southern part of El Hierro as streets were closed. And locals can quite literally smell the danger -- stinking sulfur fumes are drifting across the ocean. The Volcanology Institute of the Canaries, Involcan, has reported a three-fold increase in carbon dioxide levels -- a warning signal that further volcanic activity can be expected. more

‘Gay’ Penguins to Be Separated at Toronto Zoo: Good idea?

The amorous connection between two inseparable male penguins will soon come to an end when the Toronto Zoo pairs them with females.

“The males will be put in with a specific female so they have the chance to get to know one another, and if they bond, that’s what we’re looking for,” Bill Rapley, the zoo’s executive director of conservation and wildlife, told ABCNews.com.

Buddy, 21, and Pedro, 10, lived in a zoo in Toledo, Ohio, before traveling to Canada to become part of the Toronto Zoo’s first African penguin exhibit in 18 years.

Zookeepers quickly observed courtship and mating behaviors that are typically exhibited only between males and females.

“When you put things in captivity, odd things happen,” Kevin McGowan of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology in Ithaca, N.Y., told ABCNews.com. “The way penguins work is they do get paired for a long time. Basically, the only other penguin they care about is their mate, so it’s important for them to find somebody who’s compatible, and if you don’t have a normal upbringing then it’s difficult to say how ‘normal’ they can be.”

Buddy and Pedro, who were both raised in captivity, pair together every night, “bray” at one another, groom each other, and never seem to tire of standing alongside each other, the Toronto Star reported. more

4.5 Magnitude Earthquake EASTERN TURKEY - 9th Nov 2011

A magnitude 4.5 earthquake has struck Eastern Turkey at a depth of 4 km ( 2.4 miles), the quake hit at 19:30:11 UTC Wednesday 9th November 2011.
The epicenter was 3 km ( 1.8 miles) East of Edremit, Turkey
No Reports of Injuries or Damage at this time

5.7 Magnitude Earthquake EASTERN TURKEY - 9th Nov 2011

A magnitude 5.7 earthquake has struck Eastern Turkey at a depth of 4.8 km ( 3 miles), the quake hit at 19:23:35 UTC Wednesday 9th November 2011.
The epicenter was 17 km ( 10 miles) South of Van, Turkey

Unconfirmed reports coming in of more buildings collapsing during the latest 5.7 Magnitude earthquake....more to follow

Alaska Super Storm - Video Footage - 9th Nov 2011

5.1 Magnitude Earthquake NORTHERN PERU - 9th Nov 2011

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake has struck Northern Peru at a depth of 60 km (37.2 miles), the quake hit at 18:23:02 UTC Wednesday 9th November 2011.
The epicenter was 96 km ( 59.5 miles) West of Barranca, Peru
No Reports of Injuries or Damage at this time

Ethnic rioting sparked by rape in Papua New Guinea leaves 6 dead, thousands of homes burned

Rioters have burned down the homes of thousands of people in an ethnic clash in Papua New Guinea’s second-largest city, killing at least six people, leaving thousands homeless and turning the city of Lae eerily silent.

Dominic Evere, a government research officer, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the rioting began Thursday and was sparked by the alleged rape of a young woman. He said locals burned down the homes of people who moved into the city of about 190,000 from the highlands of the Pacific island nation.

“The young people got organized after the young lady got raped in broad daylight,” Evere said. “They said, ‘Enough is enough.’”

Evere said it took until Sunday for police to restore an uneasy calm, after 100 extra officers were brought in from the capital, Port Moresby, and the highlands to help local forces. The Papua New Guinea Post-Courier described Lae as a “ghost town” following the riots.

The port town of Lae is an important industrial hub in a country where mining is booming but unemployment and crime remain high. Evere said tensions there had been building for months as more job seekers poured into the city and lawlessness increased. more

Immigration petition set to trigger MP debate after 100,000 join fight to limit immigrant population

Parliament is under pressure to hold a controversial debate on immigration, after more than 100,000 people signed a petition calling for curbs on people entering Britain.

An online petition launched by Migration Watch UK passed the crucial level required for a topic to be considered for debate in the House of Commons yesterday.

The petition urges the Government to take “all necessary steps” to curb immigration and stop the UK's population from reaching more than 70 million.

A survey by the campaign group this week showed that four in five English people think the country is crowded.

Two MPs, Frank Field and Nicholas Soames, who are co-chairs of the cross-party group on balanced migration, said they would now push for the matter to be discussed in parliament given the “remarkable response”.

“It underlines what our group has been saying for three years: namely that there is pent up frustration at the failure of the political class to get a grip of mass immigration,” they said in a joint statement. more

"No criticality in Fukushima" -- Brought to you by those who also said, "There's no nuclear danger" and "Radiation doesn't harm those who smile"

Japan's nuclear agency has confirmed that sustained nuclear fission did not take place at the Fukushima nuclear power plant last week.

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency disclosed the results of experts' studies on a report by Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO.

The utility detected a small amount of the radioactive material, xenon-135, in the reactor's containment vessel of the damaged No.2 reactor on Tuesday of last week.

TEPCO initially feared it may signal an ongoing nuclear reaction. But it determined that the substance was produced through spontaneous fission, a form of radioactive decay, and not from sustained fission or criticality.

The nuclear agency said the density of the xenon, which did not change when a boric acid solution was injected into the reactor, proved that criticality did not occur.

The agency ordered TEPCO to regularly check the density of nuclear substances inside the vessels and to report any changes. more

Billions of dollars moved in bank transfer demonstrations

Bank branches and ATMs across the country saw a surge in traffic during the last month, which pinnacled over the weekend as Americans from coast-to-coast accessed their accounts, withdrew their money and went elsewhere.

With November 5 being hailed as Bank Transfer Day, the final day in a month-long demonstration to move money from out of the big banks and into smaller, localized credit unions, the tally of those that took up the cause has come through and it shows that the movement was more than just a fluke. Leading up to November 5, $4.5 billion was taken out of major financial institutions.

That number comes from a just released report from ABC News that reveals that credit unions across the country accumulated around 650,000 new customers in the month of October.

Bank Transfer Day began out of the Occupy Wall Street movement as thousands of Americans took to rallying in Lower Manhattan against, among other things, the bailout of the institutions that have made many homeless and broke. As the Occupy movement spread from city to city, so did the agenda of the demonstrators. Bank Transfer Day quickly became a hot topic across the Internet and in Occupy encampments across the country, and with the help of the hacking collective Anonymous, snowballed into a major part of the large Occupy agenda.

“The 99 percent movement is all about finding ways for people to change the economy that is benefiting only the 1 percent,” Courtney Yax, 24, tells The Buffalo News. “Bank Transfer Day is about the power of individuals to take their money out of institutions whose profits go almost entirely to Wall Street and keep that money in our community, where we can control it.” more

Orica confirms another chemical leak, Australia - 9th Nov 2011

Orica has confirmed another chemical spill at its plant near Newcastle as the news came that the firm would be prosecuted over a leak in August.

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) was called to the company's ammonium nitrate plant at Kooragang Island, near Newcastle, around 3.30pm (AEDT) on Wednesday, following reports of a release of ammonia.

Orica said initial investigations indicated that the release occurred from an ammonia tank when a relief valve opened in response to pressure within the tank.

"There were three releases of approximately one minute each over a 45 minute period," the company said in a statement.

"The ammonia vapour travelled across the Hunter River to the Australian Rail Track Corporation Facility where the odour was detected and Emergency Services were called."

It said the Environmental Protection Agency and other regulatory bodies had been notified and the incident was under investigation. Read More

Thirty military personnel hospitalized for food poisoning - 9th Nov 2011

About 30 Army, Navy, Air force and Police personnel were admitted to Gampola Hospital after a meal provided at the Army Language Training Institute in Kotmale was suspected to have caused food poisoning.

Director of Gampola Hospital, Dr. Sarath Weerabandara said four officers are presently being treated at a ward and 25 were treated at the Outdoor Patient’s Department (OPD).

He said vomiting, diarrhea, severe stomach ache and lethargy were the main symptoms. Read More

Some Watermen Quit After Massive Oyster Die-Off in Chesapeake: US

A massive die-off of oysters in the Chesapeake is placing livelihoods on the brink.

Alex DeMetrick reports some watermen are already calling it quits.

Every oyster season will turn up empty shells and dead oysters, but this year was worse than normal.

“Some of the bars were 100 percent dead. We didn’t find a live oyster at all,” said waterman Barry Sweitzer.

Watermen say the Chesapeake north of the bay has become an oyster graveyard. They blame the massive runoff from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee, which brought debris and a flood of fresh water, which kills oysters.

“We can’t oyster through this. This has really hit us hard,” said waterman Richard Manly. more

Elderly Humptulips couple attacked with crossbow, hatchet: US

When heading north on Highway 101, the first house you come to in Humptulips is the Aldrich's place.

The manicured yard is a trademark of the family that's been here for decades.

"Just nice, older people," said Karen Willis.

Neighbors are just sick about what happened to Ralph and June Aldrich.

Prosecutors say 31-year-old John Chase was walking down the highway when he saw Ralph Aldrich, 88, in his back yard. Detectives say Chase shot and killed Aldrich with a crossbow and then went inside the home and repeatedly hit 83-year-old June Aldrich with a hatchet.

He then stole their truck and drove to a friend's house.

"He told his friend he was trying to get away, that demons were after him, he'd been living in the woods for several days, that he had just killed two demons and stole their truck,” said Undersheriff Rick Scott. more

Busted! Two New Fed GPS Trackers Found on SUV

As the Supreme Court gets ready to hear oral arguments in a case Tuesday that could determine if authorities can track U.S. citizens with GPS vehicle trackers without a warrant, a young man in California has come forward to Wired to reveal that he found not one but two different devices on his vehicle recently.

The 25-year-old resident of San Jose, California, says he found the first one about three weeks ago on his Volvo SUV while visiting his mother in Modesto, about 80 miles northeast of San Jose. After contacting Wired and allowing a photographer to snap pictures of the device, it was swapped out and replaced with a second tracking device. A witness also reported seeing a strange man looking beneath the vehicle of the young man’s girlfriend while her car was parked at work, suggesting that a tracking device may have been retrieved from her car.

Then things got really weird when police showed up during a Wired interview with the man.

The young man, who asked to be identified only as Greg, is one among an increasing number of U.S. citizens who are finding themselves tracked with the high-tech devices.

The Justice Department has said that law enforcement agents employ GPS as a crime-fighting tool with “great frequency,” and GPS retailers have told Wired that they’ve sold thousands of the devices to the feds. more

Justice Breyer warns of Orwellian government in America

A Supreme Court justice on Tuesday expressed major concerns that the government would engage in round-the-clock surveillance reminiscent of the totalitarian world of the George Orwell novel 1984 if the court ruled in the government's favor.

The court heard oral arguments in the Jones case, in which the outcome will determine whether warrantless GPS tracking by law enforcement is an invasion of Fourth Amendment protection from unreasonable search and seizure.

Justice Stephen Breyer questioned what a democratic society would look like if people believed the government was tracking them for days at a time.

"If you win this case, then there is nothing to prevent the police or the government from monitoring 24 hours a day the public movement of every citizen of the United States,” Breyer said. “So if you win, you suddenly produce what sounds like 1984 from their brief."

U.S. Deputy Solicitor General Michael Dreeben contended that if all Americans viewed warrantless tracking as an Orwellian invasion of privacy, Congress would step in with a legislative solution. more

Leaking oil spreads stench over Concord, California - 9th Nov 2011

crude-oil leak sent heavy-diesel and sulfur fumes over a Concord neighborhood, and authorities say the smell could linger through the day.

The leak from a 7-mile-long ConocoPhillips pipeline that runs under the former Concord Naval Weapons Station began Monday, and the smell is still hanging over the area of Holly Drive, Creek Place and Myrtle Drive, said Steve Morioka, assistant director of Contra Costa County Health Services' hazardous materials program.

The agency received reports of "a heavy refinery odor" Monday morning, Morioka said. ConocoPhillips employees found the leak in the 16-inch pipe at the south end of the old naval weapons station at about 4:30 p.m. But in the process of finding the leak, employees kicked up contaminated soil and made the odor worse.

The oil that leaked is called sour crude oil because it contains sulfur compounds, which smell like rotten eggs. The odor was at its strongest Monday night before ConocoPhillips employees covered the contaminated soil and vacuumed up most of the spilled oil, Morioka said.

Even at the height of the stench, hydrogen sulfide in the air measured only 5 parts per billion, Morioka said. Prolonged levels above 100,000 parts per billion can affect people's health, he said. Read More