When it’s not busy tempting the nation’s men with free vasectomies , PETA is hard at work trying to right the country’s lexical injustices. It’s currently pushing San Francisco’s city leaders to change the name of the Tenderloin District to something a little less meaty: the Tempeh District. In a letter…
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Data from Europe’s gravity-mapping satellite Goce is being used to investigate the geological processes that cause earthquakes A European spacecraft that skims the upper reaches of the atmosphere has mapped Earth’s gravity with unrivalled precision. The map shows how the pull of gravity varies minutely over the surface of the Earth, from deep ocean trenches to majestic mountain ranges. The measurements have allowed scientists to create a computer model called a geoid that reveals what Earth would look like if its shape were altered to make gravity equal at every point on the surface. Researchers unveiled the latest data from the European Space Agency ‘s Gravity and Ocean Circulation Explorer, or Goce , at a workshop in Munich on Thursday . The map shows areas of strongest gravity in yellow and weakest in blue. Data from the five-metre-long spacecraft will be crucial for understanding sea level changes, shifts in ice flows and how ocean currents – which are driven by gravity – respond as the planet warms over the next few decades. The spacecraft circles the Earth at an altitude of 150 miles (250km) and uses an ion rocket to prevent it losing height as it flies through wisps of atmosphere. Described by project manager Andrea Allasio as “the Ferrari of space probes”, Goce maps Earth’s gravitational field by recording its exact position with GPS and detecting variations in the pull of gravity accurate to one part in ten million million. Earth’s gravity is subtly influenced by all manner of changes in the structure and topography of the Earth. The planet is not a perfect sphere, instead bulging around the equator, making gravity weaker there than at the poles. Gas fields, mineral deposits, aquifers and rock formations also affect the pull of gravity. Information from Goce is already being analysed to get a deeper understanding of the geological processes that cause earthquakes. The recent quake that brought devastation to Japan was triggered by the sudden movement of tectonic plates beneath the ocean. These dramatic movements in rock leave signatures in gravity data that could provide fresh insights into how they occur. The satellite was launched in March 2009 and has now collected more than a year’s worth of gravity data. The probe has enough fuel to fly until the end of 2012, a doubling of its intended mission life. “At its early conception, Goce was more like science fiction. Goce has now clearly demonstrated that it is a state-of-the-art mission,” said Volker Liebig, director of Esa’s Earth Observation Programmes. Geology Satellites European Space Agency Space Space technology Climate change Climate change Natural disasters and extreme weather Ian Sample guardian.co.uk
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Detectives question intended target of gang hit as five-year-old Thusha Kamaleswaran remains in critical condition Police hope the intended target of a gang hit could lead them to the teenage gunman whose botched assassination attempt led him to fire into a shop, critically wounding a five-year-old girl. Thusha Kamaleswaran was critical but stable in hospital after a bullet struck her in the chest as she visited relatives who ran the Stockwell Food and Wine shop in Lambeth, south London. Even in a borough that has suffered a high degree of teenage gang related violence, the gunning down of an innocent child has caused great shock. A reward of £50,000 has been offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction of those behind the shooting. It happened after three youths on bicycles chased two others, who fled into the shop. Shots were then fired, injuring the girl and a 35-year-old man, Roshan Selvakumar, who was shot in the face. He is recovering in hospital. One of the two youths believed to be the intended target of the teenagers on bicycles has now contacted police. A police source said: “He’s probably realised he’ll be safer with us.” Detective Chief Inspector Tony Boughton, leading the inquiry, said: “One of the youths who first ran into the shop has come forward and is assisting us with our inquiries. We are still trying to trace the other individual and appeal to him to come forward.” The youths behind the shooting are believed to have continued cycling around the area for up to 45 minutes after gunning down the innocent pair. Thusha was visiting relatives at the shop along with her mother, sister, three, and brother, 12, who were unhurt. Detectives are studying CCTV from neighbouring shops and streets to build up a picture of what happened before, during and after the shooting. In a statement, police said: “One of these youths had been chased from Broomgrove Road, across Stockwell Road, and into the shop by three other males, described as black youths, on bicycles. Once the youths on bikes were outside the shop, one of them fired shots into the shop front.” The shootings are being investigated by the Metropolitan police’s Trident unit, which specialises in tackling gun crime, particularly in London’s African-Caribbean communities. Claudia Webbe, chair of Trident independent advisory group, said: “Although incidents like this are isolated, they have a huge impact locally. This is a societal problem; once the bullet has been fired, it affects us all. The whole community is united in bringing these violent and cowardly criminals to justice.” Gail Brannan, headteacher of Fairlop primary school in Ilford, which the injured child attended, said: “Thusha is a cheerful girl who loves school and involves herself happily in everything. Our thoughts are with her and her family and we hope that she makes a full recovery soon.” Gun crime Crime London Gangs Communities Young people Vikram Dodd guardian.co.uk
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Chancellor under pressure from cabinet to abandon plans to impose a £2bn levy on the region’s oil and gas companies George Osborne, the chancellor, is under pressure from within his cabinet to back down on his unexpected plans to impose a £2bn windfall tax on North Sea oil and gas companies. Fellow ministers are frustrated that they were given no long-term warning by the Treasury of the plan in advance of the budget and that the oil companies were given no chance to be consulted. It is also being argued that the sudden change in the tax regime ran counter to a series of pledges Osborne gave to the North Sea oil industry in opposition. He told the Aberdeen Press and Journal in 2009 that one of his earliest budget commitments would be to set up a parliament-long stable tax regime for the oil industry. The Treasury minister Justine Greening went to a bruising meeting with oil companies attended by other government ministers in which she was told that the industry has lost trust in government promises to maintain a stable tax regime in the North Sea. One witness said she was “grilled alive”. At a meeting described as cold and pointed, attended by the Scottish secretary, Michael Moore, and the energy secretary, Chris Huhne, she was told she had put 40,000 jobs at risk. Greening was told by oil companies including Total and Shell that Statoil was suspending a $10bn (£6.2bn) project at the Bressay and Mariner oil fields – two of the most valuable deposits left in the North Sea – to review whether the investment is still worthwhile. The oil companies said they were responsible for a quarter of private sector capital investment in the UK, and were quite prepared to pull the plug on a large part of this investment unless the tax regime were changed. They pointed out that as reserves are slowly depleted, companies need better incentives to pump the remaining, harder-to-reach resources. There were also claims that senior cabinet ministers with a direct involvement in the industry were not informed more than 48 hours before the budget of the plan to make the tax raid on the profits of the oil industry. Late representations were made in an attempt to introduce some flexibility based on the price of oil, and ministers opposed to the rise are urging the Treasury to raise the price at which the higher tax kicks in. Supporters of the chancellor claim the principles were discussed between the Treasury chief secretary, Danny Alexander, the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, Osborne and David Cameron. Last Wednesday’s budget increased by 12 percentage points the tax levied on North Sea companies, on top of corporation tax, in order to raise £2bn a year to pay for a 1p reduction in the duty on petrol and diesel and scrap a further 5p increase due under plans agreed by the last government. The oil and gas industry’s tax bill for the next financial year is expected to be £13.4bn, compared with £8.8bn this year. In a sign of the problems developing over the issue, Alexander who represents a Scottish constituency, denied the tax raid had been his idea. “We don’t expect this tax change to have a significant effect on production and investment and therefore on jobs in the coming years,” he said. The Scottish National party has already described the oil grab as Alexander’s political epitaph, but what will worry him more is the lack of support from key cabinet allies and normally loyal Scottish Liberal Democrat MPs, such as Malcolm Bruce. Bruce accused Alexander of being “economically illiterate for coming up with a “populist move” that could kill off investment in the North Sea. George Osborne Tax and spending Oil and gas companies Energy industry Patrick Wintour guardian.co.uk
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Laurent Gbagbo faces bloody overthrow as he loses general and rebels advance on main city of Abidjan Ivory Coast’s president, Laurent Gbagbo, is facing a bloody deposition after his top general deserted and rebel forces advanced into Abidjan, his seat of power. Heavy weapons and machine-gun fire were heard in the centre of Ivory Coast’s main city. And French troops were deployed as the four-month political crisis appeared to near its endgame. Ivorian sources in South Africa said they heard rumours that Gbagbo could be about to step down, possibly turning to South Africa for a diplomatic channel to end his 10-year rule. Officials in Pretoria denied there had been any approach. The speculation was begun by the abrupt departure of Phillippe Mangou, Gbagbo’s army chief of staff, to take refuge with his wife and five children at the South African ambassador’s residence in Abidjan. “We’ve seen a regime collapse,” said one western diplomat, who could hear gunfire and explosions from his residence. “The army is no longer an effective body. It has defected and deserted, and has no leadership now the general has gone into hiding. It lacks any command and control.” He added: “There’s very little to keep Gbagbo in power and he must know it. I just hope he’s not one of those men who fight to the death, because it will be a bloodbath.” Rebels fighting to install Alassane Ouattara as president have swept hundreds of miles over three days. On Wednesday they took the official capital, Yamoussoukro, doing a victory lap in vehicles as people cheered and clapped, and the seaport, San Pedro. But aid workers estimated that the casualties ran into thousands. Ouattara is the internationally recognised winner of last November’s election. He said the rebels will “re-establish democracy and enforce the choice of the people”. There were reports of Gbagbo’s troops downing weapons and uniforms, and in some cases going to join Ouattara at the UN-protected Golf hotel. Ouattara’s prime minister, Guillaume Soro, told French radio that a government of national unity was still possible if Gbagbo stepped aside in the “coming hours”, but otherwise it would be “winner takes it all”. Officially there was defiance from Gbagbo, a Sorbonne-educated professor who in 2004 defended his inability to control rioting mobs by asking: “When the French were looking for Louis XVI to cut his head off, would it have been fair to ask him if he controlled the streets?” Members of his guard deployed near the presidential palace in the Plateau area. Analysts believe a core of 2,500 troops might be willing to fight to the end. A Gbagbo adviser, Toussaint Alain, suggested the president was prepared to make a last stand. “He will not resign in the wake of this attack,” he told the Associated Press. “He is not going to abdicate. He is not going to lay down his arms. “He will stay in power to lead the resistance to this attack against Ivory Coast organised by France, the United States and the United Nations.” Abidjan was a war zone yesterday. The streets were deserted. Foreign nationals had been advised to stock up with five days of food and water. Salvatore Sagues, of Amnesty International, warned: “Abidjan is on the brink of a human rights catastrophe and total chaos. Cote d’Ivoire is facing a major humanitarian crisis. The international community must take immediate steps to protect civilians.” Jacques Seurt, of the International Organisation for Migration in Ivory Coast, said: “You can’t go out in Abidjan. We can hear shooting outside, close to a big military camp and the state TV station. It’s not safe in this part of the city. “We are a little bit nervous. There is no way to get out to reach a safe haven. It’s too dangerous, too exposed. I think the Forces Nouvelles [pro-Ouattara rebels] are coming into Abidjan. After the capture of the town, I’m afraid there will be a lot of looting.” Reuters reported that soldiers from the 1,000-strong French Licorne force in Ivory Coast had been deployed in the south of the city. A western military source said others were sent to rescue some French nationals attacked in the Deux Plateaux neighbourhood by youth supporters of Gbagbo. Rebels in control of several northern districts of the city attacked a prison and freed the inmates, a rebel commander said. The rebels also advanced into Yopougon, a district of Abidjan that fervently supports Gbagbo, according to witnesses. Advancing on foot, the rebels set up roadblocks on one of Yopougon’s main thoroughfares and battled with police, a resident told the AP. Across town in the predominantly pro-Ouattara Adjame district, several residents reported firing by pro-Gbagbo militiamen. A close aide to Ouattara said of the rebels: “They will enter the city on multiple fronts, from multiple directions.” Overnight, the rebels also took Gbagbo’s home town, the village of Mama, where the former president had a villa, the aide told the Associated Press. “The rebels slept in Gbagbo’s bed,” he added. At least 462 people have died and up to one million have fled their homes. The true figure is likely to be much higher. Pierre Kraehenbuehl, of the International Committee of the Red Cross, told a press conference in Geneva: “Casualty numbers, killed and injured, is running into the thousands. That is our indication. “The country is now in the throes of a full-fledged internal armed conflict.” The rebels have controlled northern Ivory Coast since the 2002-03 civil war effectively split the country in two. Ivory Coast France United States United Nations David Smith guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Tokyo Electric Power Co. had a disaster plan in place at its Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, but certainly not a very thorough one: It only involved one stretcher, and relied heavily on a satellite phone and fax machine for emergency communications. In a look at the plan, the Wall Street…
Continue reading …More than 130 bottlenose dolphins have washed ashore in the Gulf of Mexico’s mysterious die-off, but the deeper question for many has been, how many more go unrecorded? Marine animal corpses that wash ashore are widely regarded as the “tip of the iceberg,” notes the NRDC, and new research shows…
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Arrest of man in Wales follows swoop near London 2012 site on dog handler understood to work for G4S security A second person has been arrested in connection with police inquiries into an Olympic Stadium security guard who was caught with small quantities of explosives, it has emerged. A 43-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possessing an explosive substance at his home in Wales on Wednesday, Scotland Yard confirmed. The man was arrested a day after a 40-year-old female dog handler was arrested near the Olympic site after being found in possession of an explosive substance and a class A drug. Both are believed to be employees of Olympic security firm G4S, but police emphasised that the arrests were not being treated as terror-related. In a statement released on Wednesday night, the Metropolitan police said the incident “did not represent a threat to the safety and security of the Olympic site”. The woman, arrested in a nearby car park on the day organisers were inside the stadium with International Olympic Committee (IOC) inspectors to celebrate its completion, has been bailed until mid-April. Another car was subsequently stopped and searched by police on the M11, and further searches carried out at addresses in London and Kent, but no substances were found. The man arrested in Wales on Wednesday was being questioned at an east London police station. G4S has been guarding the Olympic Park during its construction phase since 2008. Earlier this month it was selected to provide 10,000 security guards during the Games themselves. The arrests are also embarrassing for the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games in the week that IOC inspectors are in the capital to check on progress. Next week, the entire Olympic family descends on the city for the SportAccord conference. An Olympic Delivery Authority spokesman said: “There are robust measures to ensure the safety and security of the Olympic Park. We are working with the police in their investigation. At no point has the safety and security of the Olympic Park been put at risk.” G4S said in a statement: “Our canine services team is licensed to hold small samples of explosives for training purposes and have to undertake rigorous training and follow strict operational processes. It added: “Our ODA canine services teams are highly effective because the dogs are able to train regularly using ‘live’ aids. All dog handlers are fully vetted and operate to the highest industry standards. G4S take breaches of operational processes very seriously and are assisting the police with their inquiries.” Olympic Games 2012 London Crime Owen Gibson guardian.co.uk
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Country closing gap with China by adding 181 million citizens in past decade – which is equivalent to population of Brazil The first results from India’s latest census – the second biggest in the world – were released on Thursday, revealing that the country has added 181 million new citizens in the last decade, making it home to 17% of the world’s population. China remains the most populous country on the planet, with 1.34 billion, but India is closing the gap with 1.21 billion. The additional Indians found by the census are roughly equivalent to the population of Brazil, the fifth largest country in the world. One Indian state alone – Uttar Pradesh – now has a population of 199,500,000 people, just under that of Britain, France and Germany combined. However C Chandramouli, the census commissioner, told reporters in Delhi that the new count showed population growth in India had slowed. The 17.6% increase was down from 21.5% recorded in 2001. Though Indian economists and politicians talk frequently of the “demographic dividend” from the hundreds of millions of young people in their country, there is fear that overpopulation is placing a huge strain on poor social services and infrastructure. The first modern census in India was conducted under British rule in 1872. Since then, Indian census officials have gone forth more or less every decade and counted how their countrymen have multiplied. The most recent exercise involved 2.3 million “enumerators” travelling to more than 630,000 villages and more than 5,000 cities, logging how many people live in any one place, establishing identities and ages, and noting details such as whether a household has air conditioning, a car, a computer, phones and internet access, as well as basics such as water and power. The controversial question of caste, the ancient hierarchy rooted in the Hindu religion which permeates all parts of Indian society, has been left to a separate census. Care was taken to include the homeless, with enumerators, who are often schoolteachers, scouring streets and railway stations to arrive at an accurate count. The Indian media made much of the inclusion of even Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, a Pakistani national who is the only surviving member of the group of terrorists who launched the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, and who is on death row. Though there is good news – a rise in literacy of nine points to 74% for Indians aged seven and older – there is also bad news. The figures indicate a continuing preference for male children over females in a country where female infanticide is still common and the government has been forced to ban doctors from revealing the sex of unborn children. This is particularly marked in the north, even in more prosperous states such as Haryana. Some experts attribute this to the availability of new, cheap ultrasound scans which allow parents to easily determine the gender of child, others to families deciding to have fewer children and wanting to ensure a son. The breakdown showed 914 girls being born or surviving for every 1,000 boys under the age of six, compared with 927 for every 1,000 in the last census. “This is a matter of grave concern,” said Chandramouli. Efforts to stop female infanticide and foeticide have largely failed. “Whatever measures that have been put in over the last 40 years has not had any impact on child sex ratio and therefore that requires a complete review,” G.K. Pillai, India’s Home Secretary, told reporters. The overall gender ratio showed a marginal improvement, with 940 women counted for every 1,000 men, compared with 933 in the last census. The southern state of Kerala, which has long enjoyed high literacy rates for men and women, had the healthiest sex ratio in the country, the census has found. One of the most difficult facts to establish has been age of Indians, officials involved with the count told the Guardian. Few among the poor know their date of birth, which nonetheless has to be established so that they can all be issued with the biometric identity card which is a key part of new government programmes to broaden and improve access to India’s vast but inefficient welfare schemes. To help find ages, the enumerators were given a “local event calendar” listing significant dates which respondents would remember. The calendar in use around Delhi – every region has its own – starts in 1905 and includes India’s independence in 1947, the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 and Mother Teresa’s death in 1997. There is also the Indian victory over the West Indies to win the 1983 cricket World Cup. India Jason Burke guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Politico already seemed a little peeved that President Obama was to be presented with a “transparency” award (considering, as the site pointed out in a March 16 story , “his administration acted on fewer requests for information last year even as it was asked for more”), but then things got even…
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