Saturday, March 10, 2012
Authorities find remains of 167 people in southern Mexico
Authorities have found the remains of 167 people, believed to be at least 50 years old, in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, officials said.The remains were discovered inside a cave on the Nuevo Ojo de Agua ranch, and show no visible signs of violence, according to a statement from state prosecutors.
Studies will be done to determine the age, sex and cause of death of each person, it read. The prosecutors promised not to rule out "any line of investigation."
Though the remains are thought to be more than half a century old, the discovery is still sure to attract attention in a country where mass graves have been unearthed in recent years.
The bodies of 72 migrants from Central and South America were discovered at a ranch in northern Mexico in August 2010. In the same area, authorities found mass graves last year, containing the remains of nearly 200 people. They began finding the graves while investigating the kidnappings of bus passengers. source
4.8 Magnitude Earthquake SOUTHEAST OF THE LOYALTY ISLANDS - 10th Mar 2012
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake has struck Southeast of the Loyalty Islands at a depth of 55.4 km (34.4 miles), the quake hit at 19:55:49 UTC Saturday 10th March 2012The epicenter was 214 km (132 miles) ESE of Tadine, Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time
Grey Whales Wandering in San Francisco Bay
It has been reported that whales are still being seen floating at the San Francisco Bay. At the beginning of this week, about two gray whales were spotted at the Golden Gate. Since then, the bay is being visited by the mesmerized visitors who wish to capture the beauty of the whales in their cameras.
Looking at the importance of the occasion, the boaters have been warned that if anyone is found of tempering the whales then the boaters might have to face a penalty of $20,000. As per the federal law, the boaters are required to maintain a distance of 50 yards away from the whales.
It has been informed by the Coast Guard Officer Mark Leahey that till now there hasn’t been any incidence of clash between the whales and the boaters. It has been informed that every year, the gray whales migrate from north.
The gray whales are often found wandering at the shores. Sometimes, the cow-calf pairs stay on the surf zones for nursing or to rest. On Thursday, dozens of people were spotted, at the bay, to get a glimpse of the whales.
In this whole week, there have been a number of incidences in which gray whales have been spotted with calf. Read More
Ministry warns of bird flu pandemic in Vietnam
Nguyen Van Binh, Head of the Department of Preventive Health under the Ministry of Health, stated on March 9 that Vietnam had recorded four cases of bird flu since the beginning of this year, two of which had succumbed to the disease.Although the Ministry of Health has continually warned the public not to consume sick, dead or undercooked poultry or water fowl, people have paid little or no heed to the warning.
Binh warns that with the disease developing a more complicated strain, if awareness about the deadly effects of the virus is not raised, the number of patients dying or infected by bird flu will increase, as the disease is becoming more widespread.
In order to prevent bird flu from transferring from fowl to humans, the ministry has ordered its medical units to step up supervision to detect infected cases early. In addition, it emphasised raising awareness amongst people not to consume poultry or water fowl that was suspect, infected or undercooked.
In related news, the Preventive Health Centre in Lai Chau Province said that three people in Khoen On Commune in Than Uyen District were reported infected with anthrax in the last month. The infected are believed to have eaten meat of a dead horse in their village. Source
More solar flares to come, expert warns
Britain could be facing another 18 months of potentially disrupted power grids, satellites and flights during a “few rough years of space weather”, according to a leading expert.
Space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock said there could be another “five or six” major incidents in the coming months, where the sun emits massive amounts of matter.
The warning comes as the Sun enters the most active stage of its 11-year cycle, heralded by a massive solar flare being predicted to hit Earth yesterday.
Experts speculated there could be power blackouts, GPS disruption and huge disturbance to flights, as a cloud of charged particles arrived at about four million miles per hour.
In reality, the event passed peacefully with no noticeable effect to electrical, navigation or computer systems.
Dr Aderin-Pocock told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “So far there are no reports of damage but this is early days. Read More
Space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock said there could be another “five or six” major incidents in the coming months, where the sun emits massive amounts of matter.
The warning comes as the Sun enters the most active stage of its 11-year cycle, heralded by a massive solar flare being predicted to hit Earth yesterday.
Experts speculated there could be power blackouts, GPS disruption and huge disturbance to flights, as a cloud of charged particles arrived at about four million miles per hour.
In reality, the event passed peacefully with no noticeable effect to electrical, navigation or computer systems.
Dr Aderin-Pocock told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “So far there are no reports of damage but this is early days. Read More
Iran's UN fact sheet: Weapons track not confirmed
VIENNA (AP) — Nine years ago, the United States invaded Iraq after telling the world that Saddam Hussein had covert weapons programs that could build nuclear arms. In the end, nothing was found. Today, acting on similar fears, Israel is threatening to attack Iran.While much is known about Iran's nuclear activities from U.N. inspection visits, significant questions remain uncertain, fueling fears of worst-case scenarios and calls for new Mideast military action.
This much shapes the anxieties: In just one decade, Iran's modest nuclear program has expanded into a mature operation that some experts say has the capability to produce a warhead in less than a year.
And this much is verified: Iran has the equipment and raw materials to produce the fissile core of a nuclear weapon, as does any country that can produce its own reactor fuel.
But there is no evidence that the Islamic Republic has taken steps in that direction. Read More
Tony McCluskie Charged with the Murder of Gemma McCluskie
Police have charged the brother of former EastEnders actress Gemma McCluskie with murder after her headless torso was found in a London canal.The 29-year-old woman was last seen alive at a hospital opening in Whitechapel, east London on March 1.
Tony McCluskie, 35, from Hackney in east London, will appear before Thames Magistrates' Court on Monday.
More to follow....
4.7 Magnitude Earthquake KORYAKIA, RUSSIA - 10th Mar 2012
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake has struck Koryakia, Russia at a depth of 16.3 km (10.1 miles), the quake hit at 19:13:57 UTC Saturday 10th March 2012The epicenter was 155 km (96 miles) NNW from Il'pyrskiy, Russia
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time
Italian tanker runs aground in stormy seas off Sicily
ROME — The crew of an Italian tanker was evacuated by helicopter Saturday after the ship ran aground off Sicily in storm-tossed seas, and took on water in its engine room.The Italian coastguard said all aboard were plucked to safety, despite fierce gusts of wind and rain. The Gelso M., with an all-Italian crew, was caught on a reef near the port town of Syracuse, on the island’s southeast coast.
The ship had come to rest at such an angle that it was impossible to lower lifeboats, or for rescue vessels to approach, said the coastguard. It was not carrying cargo, and there appeared to be no immediate danger of pollution.
It was not clear why the ship ran aground, but storms bringing heavy rain and strong winds were lashing Sicily Saturday. Read More
Imperial Oil reports Sarnia refinery leak -notice, Canada
(Reuters) - Imperial Oil said on Friday that it had an oil leak at its 121,000 barrel per day in Sarnia, Ontario, according to a notice on a community alert system."The site emergency warning sirens were activated and plant personnel are responding to contain the leak at this time," the notification said.
The size of the leak is not known, the company said in the notification. Source
Bird flu detected in govt-owned poultry farm in Tripura, India
Bird flu has been detected in a government owned poultry farm at Gandhigram, about 18km from here, official sources said today.Director of Animal Resource department, Manoranjan Sarkar said following deaths of poultry in the farm about four days ago, samples were sent to High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL) in Bhopal which confirmed the presence of H5N1 virus in the affected birds.
Rapid Response Squad of Animal Resource Development Department (ARDD) have been made ready and were waiting for approval from the department to begin culling, he said, adding that the culling would be restricted only to the farm.
There are 3871 poultry in Gandhigram farm in West Tripura district.
Sarkar said that more than 300 poultry were culled within the 3-km radius area of government-owned Lembucherra poultry farm in the district, about 20 km from here, in the last week of January this year after bird flu was detected in the farm.
Tripura first witnessed outbreak of avian influenza way back in 2008. Source
