disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only
Georgia Tech researchers say they’ve resurrected a 500-million-year-old gene from bacteria and inserted it into modern-day Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria.
The resurrected bacterium has been growing for more than 1,000 generations, providing scientists a chance to observe evolution in action, the university announced Wednesday.
“This is as close as we can get to rewinding and replaying the molecular tape of life,” scientist Betul Kacar said of the effort, dubbed paleo-experimental evolution. “The ability to observe an ancient gene in a modern organism as it evolves within a modern cell allows us to see whether the evolutionary trajectory once taken will repeat itself or whether a life will adapt following a different path.”
The researchers began by determining the ancient genetic sequence of Elongation Factor-Tu (EF-Tu), an essential protein in E. coli. After achieving the difficult task of replacing the modern gene in E. coli with the ancient gene in the correct chromosomal order and position, Kacar produced eight identical bacterial strains and allowed “ancient life” to re-evolve.
The bacteria composed of both modern and ancient genes survived, but grew about two times slower than its counterpart composed of only modern genes, he said.
“The altered organism wasn’t as healthy or fit as its modern-day version, at least initially, and this created a perfect scenario that would allow the altered organism to adapt and become more fit as it accumulated mutations with each passing day,” Kacar said.
After 500 generations, the scientists sequenced the genomes of all eight lineages and found that not only did the fitness levels increase to nearly modern-day levels, some of the altered lineages actually became healthier than their modern counterpart.
The ancient gene had not yet mutated to become more similar to its modern form, they said, but rather the bacteria found a new evolutionary trajectory to adapt.
The finding could answer the question of whether an organism’s history limits its future and evolution always leads to a single, defined point, or whether evolution has multiple solutions to a given problem, Kacar said.
California’s Office of the Secretary of State announced on Monday that the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act, also known as the GMO labeling initiative, will appear on voter ballots as Proposition 37 for the November 6 elections.
If passed, Prop. 37 would make California the first state in the U.S. to require labeling of most foods made with genetically modified organisms — those given specific changes to their DNA through genetic engineering techniques.
Polls conducted by various organizations in recent years have found that roughly 90 percent of Californians support labeling for genetically engineered (GE) foods. But regardless of the polls, leaders of California’s GE labeling movement are still preparing for a fight on the road to election day.
“We certainly have huge support, but we’re not taking anything for granted. There’s a big effort to fight it and we’re worried about the money that will be put toward that effort,” California Right to Know campaign spokeswoman Stacy Malkan told Food Safety News.
GE labeling is already law in nearly 50 countries, including China, Japan and each European state. Alaska requires labeling of GE fish and shellfish, making it the only U.S. state with any type of GE labeling law.
Earlier this year, three-quarters of U.S. Senators rejected a federal GE labeling bill. Nearly 20 states have had similar bills turned down in congress in the past year.
Most major food corporations oppose GE labeling, citing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s requirement that GE ingredients be labeled if they’re determined to exhibit a difference in nutritional value or level of safety.
Malkan said the Right to Know campaign does not hope to ban or eliminate GE foods from the market, but operates on the belief that consumers should simply be able to know whether their food was genetically engineered.
“People want to know what’s in their food and the information shouldn’t be kept from consumers,” she said. “We get to know all the nutritional facts, allergy information, where it comes from, but we can’t know if it’s genetically engineered?”
The Right to Know campaign collected nearly 1 million signatures for the initiative, virtually doubling California’s 550,000-signature requirement. Malkin attributed the level of response to an army of volunteer petitioners.
Others who oppose GE labeling say that consumers want to avoid GE foods out of fear of the unknown, despite the proven benefits such as increased crop yields and better resistance to pests. The Grocery Manufacturers Association calls GE labels unnecessary and potentially confusing to consumers who might perceive the label as an indication of a risk.
The next four months, Malkan said, will pit consumers against corporations in a public relations slugfest. And if the measure passes, it could affect food labeling well beyond California: Supporters predict food makers will want to avoid making separate labels for California and simply choose to change their labels for the entire U.S.
But has Sen. Paul really betrayed the American people by voting against S. Amdt. 2310, or are there inherent constitutional problems with the amendment that predicated his “Nay” vote? Upon further investigation, it appears as though the latter scenario is more accurate, as S. Amdt. 2310 falsely assumes that the federal government has the authority to grant states permission to label GMOs.
As others have already begun to point out in the days following the amendment’s rejection, the legislation was essentially toothless from the start. The federal government does not, after all, have the constitutional authority to prohibit states from requiring GMO labeling, let alone permit it. The federal government has also never even tried, at this point, to legally stop individual states from mandating GMO labeling. This means S. Amdt. 2310 was a faulty attempt to address an issue that is not even an issue, and one that attempted to do so using an unconstitutional approach.
A key thing to remember in all this is that neither the federal government nor the U.S. Congress has any constitutional authority to grant states permission to label or not to label GMOs. Under the U.S. Constitution, individual states already possess their own inherent authority to determine how they wish to handle the GMO labeling issue, and the federal government does not legally possess any authority whatsoever in the matter.
Americans need to remember that our individual rights and the rights of our states, as outlined in the Constitution, are not at all contingent upon whether or not the federal government approves or disapproves of them. These rights are wholly independent of the federal government, regardless of how this increasingly tyrannical overlord system tries to interfere with them, or pretend as though it is some kind of omniscient gatekeeper that decides whether or not to grant these rights.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other federal agencies may still attempt to restrict states from labeling GMOs through loopholes and other crafty regulatory means. But in no scenario does a state require a federal amendment that “permits” states to label GMOs — states are free to label, under the Constitution, at any time. And passing an amendment that “permits” something that is already legal and constitutional would only grant the federal government perceived power over a matter that it does not actually possess.
If the federal government is given the power to “permit” GMO labeling now, for instance, then it can “un-permit” GMO labeling later, despite the fact that it never possessed the power to permit in the first place. This is an important concept to be aware of when dealing with legislation and amendments, and one that Sen. Paul appears to have been fully aware of when voting against S. Amdt. 2310
You can view the roll-call voting results for S. Amdt. 2310 by visiting: http://www.senate.gov
Also, be sure to support the GMO labeling ballot measure in California, which will be up for a public vote on November 6, 2012: http://www.labelgmos.org/
New Delhi: A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck northern India on Thursday evening. Tremors were felt in parts of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir reportedly.
The epicentre of the quake was in Hindukush region.
Press Trust of India (PTI) reported that the powerful earthquake also jolted parts of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces of Pakistan though there were no reports of casualties or damage to property.
The tremor, which lasted about five seconds, occurred at about 7 pm and was followed by powerful aftershocks. It was felt in Islamabad, Lahore and other parts of Punjab, Peshawar and across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
The heat outside is taking a toll on firefighters. The men and women who sacrifice their safety on a regular basis to fight fires are working overtime now any time they get a fire call.
The Avelene Fire grew quickly overnight and is threatening homes in the Boise National Forest. Three fires started on Tuesday and combined into the 250-acre Avelene Fire, near Highway 21 and Grimes Creek Road. Steep terrain, scorching temperatures, thick smoke, and wind are making life hard for firefighters. But crews have put a fire line around half of the fire perimeter as they try to protect the community of Clear Creek, the edge of which is about 1/8 of a mile away. “There’s structure protection around 20 homes, but there are 100 homes in the area that are of concern,” said Christine Schuldheisz, with the Boise National Forest. Deputies are recommending people living within a mile of the fire evacuate, but they aren’t forcing them to. However, all that could change if the fire gets much closer to Clear Creek, and homes like Terry Day’s. “If it drops down into the gulch over this way and comes up, that’s going to threaten a bunch of homes. There’s probably 350 homes up here,” said Day. “If it gets hot enough, it could catch my house.” Day also happens to be a Boise County commissioner, and says commissioners have declared a county emergency to mobilize the sheriff’s department and other resources. But Day says this is bad timing for a county that just had to increase its budget to pay off a lawsuit. “They’ve got another fire on the Boise Front, Aldape Summit, that’s affecting us as far as the county goes,” said Day. “We’ve got to pay for all this stuff and we’re not financially real solvent right now.” If the fire continues to grow, the commission will ask the governor to declare a state emergency to get state resources. Fifteen engines, two helicopters and air tankers, and about 130 firefighters are battling the Avelene Fire, but a Type 1 Incident Management Team has been ordered to help manage the fire, and should be there in one or two days. Dave Olson with the Boise National Forest say a lot of support has come from the Clear Creek and Wilderness Ranch Rural Fire Departments. Also, firefighters urge you to drive very carefully on Highway 21, there’s a lot of fire traffic and heavy smoke.
The United States Department of Agriculture has declared natural disaster areas in more than 1,000 counties and 26 drought-stricken states, making it the largest natural disaster in America ever.
The declaration—which covers roughly half of the country—gives farmers and ranchers devastated by drought access to federal aid, including low-interest emergency loans.
“Agriculture remains a bright spot in our nation’s economy,” U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Wednesday while announcing the assistance program. “We need to be cognizant of the fact that drought and weather conditions have severely impacted farmers around the country.”
The average temperature was 52.9 degrees Fahrenheit, or 4.5 degrees above average, NOAA said on Monday. Twenty-eight states east of the Rockies set temperature records for the six-month period.
A heat wave blistered most of the United States in June, with more than 170 all-time temperature records broken or tied during the month. On June 28 in Norton, Kan., for instance, the temperature reached 118 degrees, an all-time high. On June 26, Red Willow, Neb., set a temperature record of 115 degrees, eclipsing the 114-degree mark set in 1932.
The world is watching and waiting while US farmers struggle with the worst drought in 25 years
By Veronica Brown and Nigel Hunt
LONDON — What looks to be the worst U.S. drought in a quarter of a century has given rise to an old-fashioned commodity rally on world markets, with key grain prices hitting highs which caused food crises in vulnerable parts of the globe last time around.
Seeking to protect their populations from hunger this time, many countries relying heavily on imports have held off for now, touting healthy stock levels and hoping other sources will come through and bring prices down.
But their hopes may be dashed if they all return to market at once.
With so much of the world putting faith in a record U.S. corn crop, it is little wonder that prices have surged around 40 percent in the past three weeks as relentless dry weather melted yield expectations for cereals. Soybeans are at record highs, while wheat is not far behind.
“Production potential looked great and it kind of lulled these end-users into a false sense of security. At that point we were seriously looking at (corn) prices under $5 if weather conditions remained ideal, but now we’ve rallied sharply higher and never looked back,” Jefferies Bache analyst Shawn McCambridge said.
Now, corn futures contracts backed by the 2012 harvest are above $7 a bushel and climbing fast.
Traders said consumers in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East had pulled back on regular purchases, expecting prices to cool off.
“This to me is a time bomb. I am routinely one of the more bearish people but it wouldn’t surprise me if corn traded at $10,” the trader added.
There are several parallels between the current state of play and food crises of the past few years, including scorching weather, wilting crops and sky-rocketing prices. Just substitute 2012′s U.S. drought and corn for 2010′s Russian crop failure.
Similarities can also be found on the macro front – 2008, when prices were last at these levels, saw a mushrooming financial crisis culminate in the failure of Lehman Brothers, and now Europe’s debt crisis has left the euro zone precariously balanced, with other regions also on edge.
The uncertainty has led to swings in all the markets this time as then, but the simple common denominator of supply and demand has been the driving force of the latest grain price spike, with weather the only fundamental that matters.
Such frenzied buying leads ultimately to additional food inflation and domestic price rises can be a tipping point in countries with already struggling populations.
Bulging demand pipeline Parking on the sidelines to avoid the sting of higher prices seems like a sensible tactic
Morocco is currently reluctant to buy, but faces its highest cereal import needs in three decades due to a poor domestic harvest. The north African country’s cereals crop fell from 8.4 million tonnes in 2011 to 5.1 million tonnes this year.
“Buyers have been rejecting offers in the last couple of weeks expecting prices to come down,” a Singapore-based grain trader said. “We have seen it in South Korea, the Philippines and Vietnam but how long can they wait?”
Buyers will do their best to hold out for the release of new crop grain in September and October from multiple sources including Eastern Europe, with Black Sea countries having forged a place on international markets as key suppliers of grain at cheap prices.
However those origins are also under pressure.
Hot and dry weather has forced Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan to reduce their harvest forecasts and the region’s total grain output could be at least 35 million tonnes less than in 2011.
A severe thunderstorm has flooded streets, yards, basements and construction sites in Edmonton. Sections of Whitemud Drive are underwater at 111th Street west of Calgary Trail. City workers arrived shortly after 7:30 a.m. to begin clearing the water.
Dharminder Gill told CBC News he was driving to work at 3 a.m.when his car stalled in the rising water. Within five minutes the water was waist deep, he said, and when he opened his window to escape the water began pouring in.
“I was scared,” he said. “I took my bag and ran through the water and moved to a safe place.”
The normally busy Mill Woods intersection at 66 Street and 34 Avenue is also flooded.
Firefighters spent much of the morning rescuing people from submerged vehicles, with at least 18 cars becoming trapped due to rainstorm, and responding to alarms set off by the storm.
“We had over 70 calls in a short period of time,” said fire Chief Ken Block, adding the calls left some areas of the city without direct fire coverage. “At a point last night we had crews from downtown responding in Mill Woods, which is a long ways away.”
Some off-duty firefighters had to be called in to bolster resources, he said.
Firefighters also responded to two house fires caused by lightning strikes, each damaged to the tune of $100,000, Block said. “Our resources were stretched very thin.”
Epcor reported 15 electrical circuits knocked out by lightning, though most power was restored by 8:30 a.m.
Several millimetres of rain and hail fell between 3 a.m. and 4:30 a.m.
The severe thunderstorm warning for Edmonton, St. Albert, Sherwood Park has ended, though Environment Canada says a few showers with thunderstorms are expected this morning.
The heatwave that helped generate the storm will continue Thursday with a high of 30 C.
Parts of the Houston region are seeing some significant flooding this morning. Hardest hit are areas to the northwest of the city, where parts of North Eldridge Parkway are reported to be completely impassable. An estimated five inches of rain have fallen during the last three hours along parts of Cypress Creek, and there is a flood warning for Cypress Creek at Grant Road. Due to the rains there is also a flash flood warning area for a large part of northwest Harris County until 9:45 a.m. CT. These heavy rains should persist for the morning hours, but forecast models move the heaviest rain to the east of Houston by the early afternoon hours. That will hopefully give the hardest hit areas to the northwest and north of Houston time to dry out, a bit. But the rain’s going to linger this week, says the National Weather Service. The upper-level system that’s been driving the rains is going to remain along the upper Texas coast through the early part of next week, which should produce at least scattered showers during the afternoon hours. High pressure may begin to return to Houston by the middle of next week, bringing an end to the rain chances. On the plus side, temperatures should remain below normal, with highs near or around 90 degrees. Yesterday’s high at Bush Intercontinental Airport was just 82 degrees, and that’s the fifth day of highs 85 degrees or less this month. Looking back to last summer there was just one day with a high of 85 or less during June, July, August and September.
Flooding and landslides caused by record torrential rain on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu have killed six people and left 20 missing. Rescue workers had been unable to reach some of the areas where people were believed to be buried under landslides, television reports said on Thursday. Authorities in the prefectural capital of Kumamoto ordered about 48,000 residents to flee the city. Blackouts hit about 10,000 households in Kumamoto and Oita prefectures, the Kyushu Electric Power Company reported. Railway services and motor traffic were suspended, Kyodo said, while some bullet train services were temporarily halted in the island’s north and centre. The Japan Meteorological Agency said rainfall in some parts of the island had reached levels that have “never been experienced”. It said hourly rainfall in the morning topped 120mm in Aso and reached 120mm in Ubuyama. The agency warned of more heavy rain and landslides in northern parts of Kyushu before the downpours move north to the main island of Honshu later on Thursday.
Flash floods in Japan leave trail of destruction
Kyodo via Reuters
An aerial view shows firefighters searching among collapsed houses following a landslide caused by heavy rains in Minamiaso town, Kumamoto prefecture, Japan, on July 12, 2012.
Jiji Press via AFP – Getty Images
Floodwaters engulf a river at Kumamoto city on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu on July 12, 2012.
Arata Yamamoto of NBC News reports — An unprecedented 20 inches of rain descended on the town of Aso in southwestern Japan, inundating homes and rice paddies and killing at least 6 people. 20 people are still reportedly missing.
Images on local news reports showed cars being dragged into the raging rivers and houses destroyed by landslides. But by around noon time the rain had stopped, allowing for the clean up efforts to kick in.
The local fire department in Aso District said they had managed to rescue 8 people trapped in mudslides.
The massive slide of snow happened around 5am this morning as early morning climbers made their way up Mount Maudit, which translates as “cursed peak”, in the Mont Blanc range. Most of them were roped together on what is considered to be one of the most dangerous ascents in Europe. Rescuers from the Alpine PGHM (high mountain gendarme platoon) said the initial estimated death toll was “at least six”. “There are around eight others injured and at least two people missing,” added a spokesman, who said that the avalanche had been caused by snow collapsing in July heat. “We were initially alerted just after dawn by one of the survivors who called us on a mobile phone.”
Mont Blanc avalanche – An emergency services helicopter searches for survivors of the tragedy in Chamonix, France. Photograph: Jean-Pierre Clatot/AFP/Getty Images
A further two British climbers were still missing as search and rescue workers from France and Italy combed the snow-covered slopes near Chamonix hours after the 28-strong group of climbers and guides were hit by a wall of ice and snow.
The search was called off at 5pm French time (4pm BST) and was expected to continue on Friday, depending on weather conditions.
French officials described it as the worst Alpine tragedy for many years.
The British ambassador Sir Peter Ricketts was on his way to Chamonix on Thursday afternoon.
The tragedy struck just after 5am as a group of climbers began a dawn ascent on Mont Maudit (Accursed Mountain) in the Mont Blanc range at Chamonix, at an altitude of just over 4,000m. The climbers were reported to have been roped together in at least two teams as they climbed one of the most popular but dangerous routes up the mountain.
A spokeswoman for the Haute-Savoie region said: “Nine people are dead, three of them British. It is not known whereabouts in the UK they are from.” The other fatalities are two Swiss, two German and two Spanish climbers. Another nine were injured and flown to hospital, while four remain missing.
Rescuers said they had searched the entire avalanche area and found no trace of the missing climbers. Colonel Bertrand François, commander of the local mountain gendarmes, said it was possible the bodies were buried deep under the ice and snow or outside of the area the 50-strong mountain rescue teams had searched.
Manuel Valls, the French interior minister, said rescue teams had been working in very difficult conditions.
“The mountain doesn’t always give up its victims,” he said, “but the search will obviously continue in icy and snowy conditions that are clearly very difficult.”
The climbers who died had been among a party that left the Cosmiques mountain hut above the popular Vallée Blanche off-piste ski descent at about 1am to follow the three mountains route, which ascends off the glacier and up the north-east face of Mont Blanc de Tacul. It then climbs Mont Maudit before continuing to the summit of Mont Blanc, continental Europe‘s highest mountain.
The accident took place on a long glaciated slope running from the shoulder of Mont Blanc du Tacul, up to the summit rock band of Mont Maudit, which is crossed close to a prominent ice cliff.
According to footage from the accident, and accounts of those who arrived on the scene in its immediate aftermath, there was fresh debris from a fallen section of ice cliff close to a large scoured area of wind slab avalanche, which had been deposited by high winds in the previous few days, leading to speculation that falling ice had triggered the slide.
Daniele Ollier, an Italian rescuer quoted on the British Mountaineering Council’s website, said the avalanche was 150 metres wide and took place in two phases: the initial serac fall hit the climbers who were higher on the Maudit face, then the windslab avalanche took out the climbers below, sweeping them for 200 metres.
One of the first on the scene was a British guide, Victor Saunders, and his doctor client, who were also following the route. They had left two hours later than the avalanched party after the guide expressed concerns about the weather. They gave first aid to the survivors and alerted the rescue services.
The accident came in amid a bad summer in the Alps that has resulted in several deaths across the region. Earlier this month, five German climbers fell to their deaths in Switzerland, also in a single incident.
A spokesman for the Alpine mountain rescue service, which scrambled a helicopter and sniffer dogs to the area after being alerted by an injured climber just after the avalanche, said it had probably been caused by snow collapsing in the warm July weather. “We were initially alerted just after dawn by one of the survivors who called us on a mobile phone,” he said.
Bertrand François, commander of the Haute-Savoie gendarmerie, whose officers were combing the mountainside for survivors on Thursday, offered a glimmer of hope for the missing climbers, saying it was possible the missing had been ahead of the group struck by the avalanche and had not been swept way. “It doesn’t necessarily mean they are under the avalanche,” he said.
Manuel Valls, the French interior minister, was on his way to the scene of one of the worst mountain tragedies in recent years.
The 4,465m Mont Maudit is widely considered one of the world’s most dangerous climbs. The Mont Blanc range claims more than 100 victims a year.
Eric Fournier, the mayor of Chamonix, described the snowslide as one of the deadliest in recent years. “There was no weather bulletin giving any avalanche warning,” he said, adding that shifting ice sheets could have triggered the avalanche.
The tragedy is one of the worst in the Mont Blanc region since August 2008, when eight climbers – four Austrians, three Swiss and one German – died in similar circumstances.
Leakage of radioactive water was reported in the Belgian Tihange NPP. “The problem is solved, there is no danger of pollution”, the Federal Agency for Nuclear Control announced. Leakage of radioactive water has occurred at the pool for cooling the spent nuclear fuel from the rector of the NPP. In 2011 there were 14 incidents in nuclear power plants in Belgium. 11 of them were qualified as technical incidents. In three cases there was a significant breach of security.
Health Officials in Winnebago County, Illinois, are investigating reports that a four-year-old child has been infected with the measles. The Winnebago County Health Department said that if tests confirm the infection it would be the county’s first case of the illness since 1994, according to BeloitDaily.com. The child in question began developing a rash near the ears at the end of June and also displayed symptoms including conjunctivitis, fever and Koplik spots. In response, the health department is urging local healthcare professionals to remain aware of potential new cases and report any new cases immediately, BeloitDaily.com reports. Measles is a once-common respiratory illness that is considered highly contagious. It is transported through the air by respiratory droplets primarily from coughs and sneezes. Approximately two weeks after exposure, the infected usually develop a rash that begins on the face and then spreads to other parts of the body. Other symptoms include a runny nose, red or sensitive eyes and a cough. Childhood vaccination programs have helped make the measles rare in the United States, but in recent years the number of cases seen nationwide has increased. In the first 19 weeks of 2011, there were 118 cases reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those, 105 were in unvaccinated patients.
Biohazard name:
Measles
Biohazard level:
2/4 Medium
Biohazard desc.:
Bacteria and viruses that cause only mild disease to humans, or are difficult to contract via aerosol in a lab setting, such as hepatitis A, B, and C, influenza A, Lyme disease, salmonella, mumps, measles, scrapie, dengue fever, and HIV. “Routine diagnostic work with clinical specimens can be done safely at Biosafety Level 2, using Biosafety Level 2 practices and procedures. Research work (including co-cultivation, virus replication studies, or manipulations involving concentrated virus) can be done in a BSL-2 (P2) facility, using BSL-3 practices and procedures. Virus production activities, including virus concentrations, require a BSL-3 (P3) facility and use of BSL-3 practices and procedures”, see Recommended Biosafety Levels for Infectious Agents.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the year’s first case of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) caused by hantavirus and urged the public to avoid exposure to rodents, which are carriers of the virus. “The 63-year-old pig farmer from Kaohsiung has been discharged from hospital following treatment,” CDC Deputy Director-General Chou Jih-haw said. “Although the infection was likely caused by rodent bites, further laboratory tests are needed for confirmation,” he said. The patient began displaying symptoms of fever, vomiting, stomach pain, muscle soreness and shortage of breath on June 18, one month after being bitten on the toes by a rodent, a press statement released by the CDC said. Blood test results obtained on Wednesday confirmed that the man was infected with hantavirus, which caused HFRS, it said. With a hantavirus mortality rate as high as 10 percent, Chou urged those active in areas where rodents are present to take extra precautions to protect themselves from the disease. Previous studies have concluded that individuals working in wet markets tend to be in the high-risk group, he added. People usually get infected through exposure to the urine and droppings of infected rodents or after exposure to dust, which can also carry the virus. Human-to-human transmission is rare. There were 11 reported cases of HFRS caused by hantavirus between 2001 and last year, according to CDC statistics.
Biohazard name:
Hantavirus
Biohazard level:
4/4 Hazardous
Biohazard desc.:
Viruses and bacteria that cause severe to fatal disease in humans, and for which vaccines or other treatments are not available, such as Bolivian and Argentine hemorrhagic fevers, H5N1(bird flu), Dengue hemorrhagic fever, Marburg virus, Ebola virus, hantaviruses, Lassa fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and other hemorrhagic or unidentified diseases. When dealing with biological hazards at this level the use of a Hazmat suit and a self-contained oxygen supply is mandatory. The entrance and exit of a Level Four biolab will contain multiple showers, a vacuum room, an ultraviolet light room, autonomous detection system, and other safety precautions designed to destroy all traces of the biohazard. Multiple airlocks are employed and are electronically secured to prevent both doors opening at the same time. All air and water service going to and coming from a Biosafety Level 4 (P4) lab will undergo similar decontamination procedures to eliminate the possibility of an accidental release.
The number of cases in the outbreak of the gastrointestinal disease, shigellosis, in the Central New York area continues to rise according to health officials. In an statement to Food Safety News Thursday, officials with the Onondaga County Health Department in Syracuse said the number of cases is now 45, up from 25 reported on June 22. They go on to say, “This includes confirmed, probable, and what New York State Department of Health is considering suspect (cases).” The source of the outbreak is still unknown and the investigation into the outbreak is ongoing. It is an acute bacterial disease of the intestines caused by several species of the bacterium, Shigella. It is typified by loose stools, frequently containing blood and mucus (dysentery), accompanied by fever, vomiting, cramps and occasionally toxemia. It can cause bacillary dysentery because of the invasive ability of the organism that may result ulcerations and abscesses of the intestines.It rarely spreads to the bloodstream. More severe complications may include convulsions in children, Reiter’s syndrome and hemolytic uremic syndrome depending on the species of Shigella implicated. This diarrheal disease is found worldwide with the vast majority of cases and deaths being in children. Outbreaks usually occur where there are crowded conditions and where personal hygiene is poor: prisons, day care centers and refugee camps are three examples. It is transmitted primarily by fecal-oral person to person means. It can also occur through contaminated food or water. Those primarily responsible for transmission are people that fail to wash their hands thoroughly after defecation. Because Shigella is resistant to gastric acid, a person can get infected with as little as 10 organisms. After getting infected symptoms usually appear 1-3 days later. It can be transmitted during the acute phase of infection till approximately four weeks after illness when the organism is no longer present in the feces. Asymptomatic carriers can also infect others. Diagnosis is confirmed through bacteriological culture of feces. Treatment of shigellosis may include fluid and electrolyte replacement if there are signs of dehydration. Antibiotics can shorten the course of infection, the severity of illness and the period of time a person may excrete the pathogen. Because of some antibiotic resistance, a antibiotic susceptibility test should be performed to determine which antibiotic will be effective.
Biohazard name:
Shigellosis
Biohazard level:
0/4 —
Biohazard desc.:
This does not included biological hazard category.
SpaceWeather
This morning a vast bank of electric-blue noctilucent clouds rippled across northern Europe. “It was like water in the sky,” says Barbara Grudzinska, who photographed the display from Warsaw, Poland:
“These are the first noctilucent clouds this year so clearly visible at our latitude in Warsaw (52 N),” says Grudzinska.
When NLCs first appeared in the 19th century, the mysterious clouds were confined to the Arctic, most often seen in the same places as Northern Lights. In recent years, however, their “habitat” has been expanding, rippling as far south as Colorado, Virginia, Kansas, and Utah. (Herearesomeexamples of sightings in the lower United States.) There is growing evidence that the expansion is a sign of climate change, although this remains controversial.
Whatever the reason, noctilucent clouds aren’t just at high latitudes anymore, so sky watchers everywhere should be alert for them.
Observing tips:
Look west 30 to 60 minutes after sunset when the sun has dipped 6o to 16o below the horizon. If you see luminous blue-white tendrils spreading across the sky, you’ve probably spotted a noctilucent cloud.
Big sunspot AR1520 unleashed an X1.4-class solar flare on July 12th at 1653 UT. Because this sunspot is directly facing Earth, everything about the blast was geoeffective. For one thing, it hurled a coronal mass ejection (CME) directly toward our planet. According to a forecast track prepared by analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab, the CME will hit Earth on July 14th around 10:20 UT (+/- 7 hours) and could spark strong geomagnetic storms. Sky watchers should be alert for auroras this weekend.
The explosion also strobed Earth with a pulse of extreme UV radiation, shown here in a movie recorded by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory:
The UV pulse partially ionized Earth’s upper atmosphere, disturbing the normal propagation of radio signals around the planet. Monitoring stations in Norway, Ireland and Italy recorded the sudden ionospheric disturbance.
Finally, solar protons accelerated by the blast are swarming around Earth. The radiation storm, in progress, ranks “S1″ on NOAA space weather scales, which means it poses no serious threat to satellites or astronauts. This could change if the storm continues to intensify. Stay tuned.
Sunspots are magnetic islands on the sun. Sunspot AR1520 is a complete archipelago. Scroll down to scan more than 200,000 miles of island chain:
Amateur astronomer Alan Friedman took the picture on July 10th from his backyard observatory in Buffalo, New York. “AR1520 is a tremendous archipelago and a wonderful target for backyard solar telescopes,” he says.
The tangled magnetic canopy of the sunspot group, shown here in an extreme UV image from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, harbors energy for strong solar flares. NOAA forecasters estimate an 80% chance of M-class flares and a 15% chance of X-class flares during the next 24 hours.
As expected, a giant sunspot AR1515 unleashed a strong X1.1 solar flare on July 6th at 23:08 UTC. This event triggered a 10cm Radio Burst and a Type IV Sweep Frequency Event. Preliminary analysis indicates the Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) associated with this event is not headed directly at Earth, it looks to be headed south and to the west. This should have little impact on Earth.
The protons blasted away from the flare site are currently streaming past Earth and a S1 Minor Radiation Storm is in progress
Geomagnetic storming
Region 1515 produced an impulsive R3 (Strong) solar flare radio blackout at 2308 UTC (7:08 PM EDT) on July 6. It means wide area blackout of HF radio communication, loss of radio contact for about an hour on sunlit side of Earth as well as low-frequency navigation signals degraded for about an hour.
Solar Radiation Storm levels are increasing above background levels reaching S1 (Minor) threshold at this time. It could result as minor impacts on HF radio in the polar regions. Additionally, G1 (Minor) geomagnetic storming is possible through July 8 as a string of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) observed earlier in the week make their way past Earth.
A Nogales man has died after authorities say he was attacked by a swarm of bees. The Nogales International reports that the man was one of several people attacked in Nogales by the pack of bees. The victim, whose name and age have not been confirmed, was taken to Holy Cross Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. Sanchez said it was not clear if he died from the bee stings or from another medical condition. He said that other people who were stung went by private vehicle to the hospital.
Biohazard name:
Bees attack
Biohazard level:
0/4 —
Biohazard desc.:
This does not included biological hazard category.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is confirming that two mule deer shot in the Hueco Mountains in El Paso, Texas and Hudspeth counties tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease, an incurable, fatal illness that destroys a deer’s brain. This is the first cases to be documented in Texas and is bringing the issue of containing herds of animals that have the disease into the spotlight. CWD can spread quickly from animal to animal through bodily fluids like saliva, urine, etc. With moving herds, deer from one area can spread it quickly to other areas, affecting the over-billion dollar industry of hunting in Texas. A South Texas newspaper reports that the Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Texas Animal Health Commission want to impose regulations aimed at minimizing risks of the disease spreading to other parts of Texas. Back in June, it proposed regulations for a “containment zone” covering El Paso County and parts of Hudspeth and Culberson counties and a “high-risk zone” covering portions of Culberson and Reeves counties. Later this month, the officials plan to officially propose rules to cover movement of wild and captive deer under agency permits. CBS7 is also told the agency may push to have hunters who harvest deer from the containment area have their animals tested at check stations.
Biohazard name:
Chronic Wasting Disease (deer)
Biohazard level:
3/4 Hight
Biohazard desc.:
Bacteria and viruses that can cause severe to fatal disease in humans, but for which vaccines or other treatments exist, such as anthrax, West Nile virus, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, SARS virus, variola virus (smallpox), tuberculosis, typhus, Rift Valley fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, yellow fever, and malaria. Among parasites Plasmodium falciparum, which causes Malaria, and Trypanosoma cruzi, which causes trypanosomiasis, also come under this level.
When species lose their natural habitat to deforestation and other causes, they don’t immediately disappear. Instead, they gradually die off over several generations, racking up an “extinction debt” that must eventually be paid in full. New research shows that the Brazilian Amazon has accrued a heavy vertebrate extinction debt, with more than 80 percent of extinctions expected from historical deforestation still impending.
While the results are alarming, this deathly time lag provides a conservation opportunity to save some of the disappearing species, scientists said, stressing that actions taken in the next few years are critical.
“Now that we know where the extinction debt is likely to be, we can go to the ground to restore habitat and take remedial actions to try to regenerate new habitats,” said study lead author Robert Ewers, an ecologist at Imperial College London in the U.K. “We can try to put off ever having to pay that debt.”
The Brazilian Amazonis home to about 40 percent of the planet’s tropical forests and a staggering amount of biodiversity. However, the Amazon’s plant and animal species are under threat by deforestation, mostly due to agriculture and cattle ranging.
Ewers and his colleagues set out to determine how many species would be lost from at least part of their historical habitats in the Amazon because of past and future deforestation. They began by looking at the “species-area relationship,” a well-established ecological pattern describing how the number of species in a given habitat increases predictably as the habitat area increases. By turning this idea on its head, you can figure out how many species should go extinct as their habitat shrinks.
The researchers modeled the number of vertebrate species expected to go extinct within 31-mile by 31-mile blocks (50 by 50 kilometer blocks). They used a combination of deforestation data spanning back to 1970 and species-distribution maps of the Amazon. They compared their model’s predictions with the actual number of extinctions seen thus far in the forest regions and found that 80 to 90 percent of the expected local extinctions have yet to happen, and many of them will occur in the southern and eastern regions of the Amazon.
Next, Ewers and his team used their model to estimate the magnitude of the local extinctions and extinction debts expected to occur in four scenarios, which mainly differ in their projections of future deforestation rates. Under the most likely scenario, every forest block will lose an average of about nine vertebrate speciesand be in debt for another 16 species by 2050.
And in all scenarios, species will continue to go extinct more than three decades after deforestation in the Amazon has stopped, if key forest areas are not restored, the researchers found.
“What we’ve seen in the last four decades is nothing like what we are going to see in the next four decades,” Ewers told LiveScience.
Defaulting on the debt
Thiago Rangel, an ecologist at the Federal University of Goiás in Brazil who wasn’t involved in the research, was surprised to see the Amazon’s huge extinction debt. “Of course, that gives Brazil a very good opportunity for conservation measures,” Rangel said.
Rangel, who wrote a perspective article accompanying the study published July 13 in the journal Science, pointed out that Brazil has made a lot of progress in reducing deforestation in the last decade. Moreover, the county has been expanding its network of protected areas – more than 50 percent of the Amazon is now under some form of environmental protection.”But we are in the middle of a strong transition in Brazil from a very good and modern environmental legislation to something else,” Rangel told LiveScience. Agricultural businesses, for example, have been lobbying for weaker forest protection codes – this past May, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff vetoed portions of such a bill, though this isn’t likely the end of the debate, Rangel said.
Rangel stresses that Brazil must “default on its extinction debt,” possibly by creating more conservation areas, particularly in places that have been abandoned by agriculturalists. Whatever the case, something needs to be done soon, he said.
Ewers agreed. “This problem has been building, and it will soon roll over and crash like a wave,” he said.
12.07.2012
HAZMAT
China
Province of Jiangsu Sheng, Zhenjiang City [Jiangsu SOPO Group Co., Ltd]
Twenty-eight people remain hospitalized after a sulfur dioxide leak occurred Thursday morning at a chemical plant in east China’s Jiangsu province, local authorities said.Around 10 a,m. Thursday, a small amount of sulfur dioxide was leaked in a chemical plant belonging to Jiangsu SOPO Group Co., Ltd. in Zhenjiang City, according to an investigative report released by the environmental protectchinaion bureau of Jianbi county. The leak lasted for about five minutes, the report said. Shortly after the spill, dozens of plant employees and local residents began complaining of an “uncomfortable” feeling and were sent to a local hospital. The 28 patients who remain in the hospital are under observation and are in no imminent danger. The plant shut down a sulfuric acid production facility linked to the accident. A further investigation is under way. Sulfur dioxide is a poisonous gas with a pungent, irritating smell.
12.07.2012
HAZMAT
United Kingdom
England, Wickham Hill [Benton Hall Golf and Country Club, Witham, Essex]
Members and staff of Benton Hall Golf Club, in Wickham Hill, were asked to leave the building when three people were taken ill after a problem with chemicals in the swimming pool plant room on Tuesday morning. Fire crews from Chelmsford, Maldon, Colchester and Witham were sent to the club, where three people were found suffering from sore eyes and restricted breathing. They were given oxygen and an was ambulance called. Station officer at Chelmsford White Watch Sean Walshe said: “I was met by their caretaker who explained that everybody was out of the building but there was a strong smell of chlorine. Two chemicals used to clean the pool had been mixed in the wrong quantities but the guy did the right thing and switched off the machine. We ventilated the area and administered oxygen to those affected.” Manager Elaine Knight said: “Just our manager has been taken to hospital to get checked out. This kind of thing has never happened before – we’ve never had to be evacuated.”
[In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit, for research and/or educational purposes. This constitutes 'FAIR USE' of any such copyrighted material.]
Unemployment hangs stubbornly at more than 8 percent, yet, defying election history, U.S. President Barack Obama would handily win a second term if voters went to the polls today.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney hasn’t capitalized on the stagnant economy because after sewing up the GOP nomination, he failed to move quickly on issues critical to key demographic groups and act on the challenger’s imperative to offer a better alternative to the president’s policies.
To win conservative primary voters, Romney rejected the Dream Act, which enjoyed bipartisan sponsorship in Congress and would permit young adults brought to America illegally as children to earn citizenship by completing two years of college or military service.
After securing the nomination, Romney failed to define a compromise position more acceptable to Hispanic voters and permitted Obama to pre-empt the issue by suspending deportation of those young adults. Obama enjoys an overwhelming lead among Hispanic voters.
Romney vows to repeal ObamaCare but is vague about what would replace it. The president’s healthcare reforms may be too expensive and encourage private firms to offshore jobs to escape costly coverage for employees; however, the law contains provisions popular among the elderly and with women — for example, much improved Medicare prescription drug coverage and coverage for children with chronic conditions.
No surprise! Obama leads Romney in Florida — a must-win state for any Republican candidate, along with Texas, given the Democrats’ lock on California and New York. And the president enjoys a significant lead among women in battleground states.
On the economy, Romney sounds like a broken record, repeating an annoying theme and undermining his appeal. Constantly harping Obama’s economic policies have failed, he asserts his business experience qualifies him to create millions of new American jobs.
Voters recognize Obama inherited a bigger mess than any president since FDR, managed to stabilize the economy and created more than 3.6 million jobs since the recovery began in October 2009.
At Bain Capital, Romney earned his fortune reorganizing troubled companies — often shutting facilities, outsourcing jobs and firing employees. Little in that history indicates he knows much about shaping public policies to encourage new industries, attract private investment, instigate innovation and generally help U.S. companies compete in global markets and bring jobs to America.
During the early days of his campaign, he talked a lot about the right things — dealing with unfair competition from China and developing domestic oil — but since, he has loaded up on Bush administration economic advisers and emphasized broader themes like deregulation and tax and spending cuts.
Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court on Tuesday froze a decree issued by President Mohamed Morsi reinstating the Islamist-led parliament, a judicial source said.
The decision is expected to raise tensions between Morsi, the top court and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) which handed over power to the new president at the end of June.
“The court ordered the freeze of the president’s decree,” the source said.
On Sunday, just eight days after taking office, Morsi, a former member of the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, ordered the lower house to reconvene.
His move highlighted the power struggle between the president and the Supreme Constitutional Court which last month said certain articles in the law governing the parliament elections were invalid, annulling the lower house.
The judicial source added: “The court ordered that its previous ruling (invalidating the elections and annulling the lower house) be implemented.”
This edition of News Analysis reviews US President Obama’s move to issue a new executive order allowing the White House to control all private communications in case of emergencies.
Putin and the Future of Russia – Eric Draitser on GRTV
Eric Draitser of StopImperialism.com joins us to discuss the geopolitical significance of the reelection of Vladimir Putin as Russian President. We talk about the differences between Putin and Medvedev, the future of Russian-American relations under Putin, and the future of Syria.
New York Police Department (NYPD) has attacked and brutalized OWS protesters near Zuccotti Park
As the US presidential election draw near, the New York Police Department (NYPD) has attacked and brutalized OWS protesters near Zuccotti Park, not sparing journalists who were beaten and detained.
Press TV has conducted an interview with Giles Clarke, OWS Photographer from New York about the escalation in motivation by police to crackdown violently on unarmed peaceful protesters of the OWS movement and the systematic absence of coverage of OWS in US mainstream media as the US presidential election approaches.
Romania’s PM in Brussels to defend bid to oust president
http://www.euronews.com/ Romania’s Prime Minister, Victor Ponta, has held talks with EU leaders in Brussels to explain his bid to oust President Triane Basescu.
Senior European officials remain deeply concerned over the political turmoil unfolding in Bucharest.
Promising to address those concerns Ponta said:
“I’ve committed myself to give answers on this either on Friday or on Monday, to once again offer reassurances that this political battle will not undermine the rule of law, the constitution and the stability of Romania’s governing institutions in terms of European standards.”
The visit to Brussels by Ponta follows Tuesday’s ruling by Romania’s Constitutional Court to uphold Basescu’s suspension last week.
It means a referendum to impeach the centre-right president will go ahead at the end of the month.
Basescu is accused of acting against the government and parliament by blocking Ponta’s policies.
Further political rallies are set to take place in Romania in the coming weeks to bolster support for Basescu, who could hang on to his job if the turnout in the referendum is less than fifty percent.
Wells Fargo pays $175M to settle race discrimination probe
By msnbc.com staff and news services
The Justice Department says Wells Fargo & Co. will pay at least $175 million to settle accusations that it allegedly discriminated against qualified African-American and Hispanic borrowers in its mortgage lending from 2004 through 2009.
The settlement, which needs approval from a judge, would end the investigation into whether the fourth largest U.S. bank between 2004 and 2009 knowingly targeted minorities for risky mortgages that came with higher costs, according to documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
“The Department of Justice today filed the second largest fair lending settlement in the department’s history to resolve allegations that Wells Fargo Bank, the largest residential home mortgage originator in the United States, engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination against qualified African-American and Hispanic borrowers in its mortgage lending from 2004 through 2009,” said a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice.
The settlement will provide $125 million in compensation for minority borrowers the DOJ said were steered into subprime mortgages, which usually carry higher fees. Wells Fargo will pay $50 million more in direct down payment assistance to borrowers in parts of the country where the DOJ identified large numbers of discrimination victims.
At a news conference, Deputy Attorney General James Cole said the government will ensure that borrowers hit hard by the housing crisis will have an opportunity to access homeownership.
Cole said the bank’s discriminatory lending practices resulted in more than 34,000 African-American and Hispanic borrowers in 36 states and the District of Columbia paying higher rates for loans solely because of the color of their skin.
Wells Fargo in May said it could face civil charges under laws that prohibit discrimination against minority homebuyers. At the time, the lender said in a securities filing it believed the charges should not be brought and said it was seeking to show the department that it is in compliance with fair lending laws.
The government investigation found that loans submitted to Wells Fargo by mortgage brokers had varied interest rates, fees, and costs based only on race and not correlated to the borrowers’ creditworthiness, according to the court document.
Wells Fargo noted in a statement that it has denied the claims.
“Wells Fargo is settling this matter solely for the purpose of avoiding contested litigation with the DOJ,” it said, “and to instead devote its resources to continuing to provide fair credit services and choices to eligible customers and important and meaningful assistance to borrowers in distressed U.S. real estate markets.”
JPMorgan investors wait to hear about the ‘London Whale’s’ splash
Eduardo Munoz / REUTERS
Commuters are reflected in stone as they walk past the JP Morgan headquarters in New York.
By Roland Jones
When JPMorgan reports its quarterly results Friday morning, most investors will be eager to hear just one key piece of information: How much of a splash did the London Whale make for the bank?
In mid-May, the bank announced it had sustained a multibillion-dollar loss that originated in its London office because of a failed hedging strategy undertaken by Bruno Iksil, nicknamed “The London Whale” because of the size of the trading positions he took.
“Investors want to understand what happened, who knew what and when,” Betsy Graseck, a managing director for Morgan Stanley, told CNBC Thursday.
Bank earnings don’t usually attract much attention outside the Wall Street community of analysts, traders and other financial industry observers. The JPMorgan report is likely to spur greater interest because of the massive trading loss, which has enraged public opinion and led to Dimon appearing on television and two Congressional panels to own up to his company’s mistakes.
Graseck said it will be important for Dimon, for investors and for the public to set the record straight on the trading loss. He needs to detail exactly how much of the disastrous trade has been “unwound” so the company can move ahead and avoid any future volatility in its stock price that may arise from uncertainly over deeper losses.
“The question is how much [of the trade] is left to go, and what is the volatility on what’s left,” Graseck said.
Investors and the public will want to hear details of how much money will be recovered from top executives at the bank involved in the botched trade.
When he appeared before lawmakers last month to explain his bank’s multi-billion dollar losses, Dimon said the trading debacle will lead to “clawbacks” — efforts to recover compensation paid to employees whose performance was later found to have harmed the company and shareholders.
Stocks closed Thursday’s choppy session lower, as diminished chances of monetary stimulus from major central banks prompted investors to shy away from risky assets.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 31 points, having lost over 100 points earlier in the day.
Market sentiment was weak, especially after the lack of any monetary easing by the Bank of Japan on Thursday, and few clues in the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s June policy meeting, released on Wednesday. The lack of policy moves suggested major central banks were still cautious about the need for further easing.
Technology shares have been among the worst performers recently, bogged down by profit warnings from companies such as Advanced Micro Devices Inc and Applied Materials Inc.
Investors in the U.S. appear to have shrugged off the news that the city of San Bernardino has voted to file for bankruptcy. This blue collar city fifty miles East of Los Angeles had already slashed salaries and cut twenty percent of its employees. San Bernardino still faced a 45 million dollar deficit when the city council called an emergency session and voted to file for bankruptcy. Al Jazeera’s Brian Rooney reports from San Bernadino.
Car makers’ dilemma: too many plants, too few buyers
http://www.euronews.com/ Peugeot’s 8,000 job cuts and closure of a plant near Paris comes as cash strapped Europeans buy fewer new cars and the region’s manufacturers ponder what to do about their surplus of factories with too much capacity.
In addition, unemployment is highest among young people – under 25-year-olds – which means a lost generation of drivers.
In France deliveries of cars and light vans fell by 0.9 percent in June after a 17 percent plunge in May.
In the first half of the year Peugeot Citroen was hit hard with a 13 percent slump in deliveries.
Fellow French carmaker Renault’s sales slipped by 3.3 percent, while Germany’s Volkswagen increased its market share in France and overall sales rose 10.2 percent.
Analyst Brenda Kelly with CMC Markets blamed austerity: “You’re seeing the effect (of austerity measures) on the private sector at the moment, and of course, as the demand for these goods (cars) goes down, so there will be an effect on the employment levels. So you would expect to see unemployment in France rise somewhat over the next quarter or so.”
Around Europe carmakers say they need help from governments to reduce their overcapacity.
It is estimated more than a third of the region’s factories are not using enough of their capacity to be profitable so the industry expects more layoffs and plant closures.
http://www.euronews.com/ Challenging Spain for the worst jobless total in Europe Greek unemployment has hit a record 22.5 percent of the workforce.
That was the figure for April, which was the latest available. Analysts said the country’s economy has worsened since then and unemployment will likely go higher.
Thirty-two year old Filia, an educated jewellery maker, has been out of a job for a year and has a 10-month-old daughter. ”It’s difficult. The parents help, I use my savings that I have put aside,” she said.
Michalis, 34, lost his job in Athens at a supermarket two years ago. He then went to France and found a job there, but was forced to return to Athens for family reasons and has not been able to find a job since his return a few months ago. ”There is always hope. But in Greece you see how things are, you cannot always save, save, save, that is why we want a united Europe, there has to be a social network, why don’t they go chase the people who spent all the money,” he said.
Bianca Tampouri, a translator, cannot find work, and her husband and 18-year-old daughter are also unemployed. “All my family we all have a problem, so yes I am concerned. About the future, our jobs, our lives, our psychology, you know dignity, everything,” she said.
But some Greeks are more optimistic; Nikos Govas, who was unemployed but opened a coffee shop, said: “If you want a job, you’ll find something. The problem here is everyone wants to work in a doctor’s office or as a civil servant. But it’s not like that. A rubbish collector or a CEO, they’re both jobs and bring in a wage.”
There could be some respite from jobs created by the summer tourism season, but even that is not guaranteed as visitors numbers and revenue were down earlier this year.
Strikes and violent anti-government protests have deterred tourists from visiting.
Tourism is a key sector which accounts for about one in five jobs in Greece.
By Christopher Torchia, The Associated Press July 11, 2012
ISTANBUL – The Syrian ambassador to Iraq has defected and is on his way to Turkey, the most senior diplomat to abandon President Bashar Assad during the 16-month-old uprising, a Syrian opposition figure said Wednesday.
Nawaf Fares, a former provincial governor, would be the second prominent Syrian to break with the regime in less than a week. Brig. Gen. Manaf Tlass, an Assad confidant and son of a former defence minister, fled Syria last week, buoying Western powers and anti-regime activists, who expressed hope that other high-ranking defections would follow.
Appointed to the Baghdad post four years ago, Fares was the first Syrian ambassador to Iraq in 26 years. Like Tlass, he is a member of the privileged Sunni elite in a regime dominated by Assad’s minority Alawite sect.
“It’s certain. Fares has defected. He declared his defection. … He’s moving toward Turkey,” said Khaled Khoja, a member of the opposition Syrian National Council who is based in Istanbul. Asked for details, Khoja said the information came from his own sources on the ground in Iraq.
There was no immediate confirmation from either Iraq or Syria. An operator who answered the phone at the Syrian Embassy in Baghdad said there was nobody at the embassy. When asked if the ambassador is currently in Iraq, the operator said he did not know.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said the U.S. had no confirmation of the defection as of Wednesday afternoon. But he said recent high-level defections from the Assad regime were “a welcome development.”
“That is an indication of the fact that support for Assad is crumbling,” Carney said.
State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said that if true, Fares would be the first senior diplomat from the regime to defect.
Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh also said he could not confirm whether Fares had defected.
Thousands of soldiers, most of them low-level conscripts, have deserted and joined the rebels. But despite the latest high-profile defections, Assad’s regime has largely held together in the face of the uprising — particularly compared with the swift hemorrhaging of Moammar Gadhafi’s inner circle in Libya in 2011.
The conflict in Syria has defied every international attempt to bring peace. Although the Assad government’s crackdown has turned the Syrian president into an international pariah, he still has the support of strong allies such as Russia, Iran and China.
A prominent Syrian opposition leader said Wednesday during a visit to Moscow that Russia’s resistance to international intervention in the conflict was bringing misery and “suffering” to the violence-torn country.
Two Syrian opposition delegations visited Moscow this week, raising hopes that Russia could be pushed to accept the ouster of Assad. But Syrian National Council head Abdelbaset Sieda said he saw “no change” in Moscow’s stance after meeting with officials including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
“The Syrian people are suffering because of Russia, because of the position it has taken, because of its veto in the U.N. Security Council,” Sieda said at a news conference. “The current regime uses Russian weapons against its own people.”
Activists estimate 17,000 people have been killed since the uprising began, and as the conflict continues, the rebellion appears to be getting more and more radicalized and violent, making any peaceful resolution or transfer of power a long-shot.
Confusion and fear has gripped Goma as rebels near the main eastern city.
The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo has expressed alarm as rebel forces advance towards the country’s main eastern city of Goma.
Witnesses told the BBC that rebels of the M23 group were 40km (25 miles) from the city, near the Rwandan border.
They said rebels appeared to be taking towns and villages with ease, with government troops usually melting away.
The Congolese government and the UN say Rwanda is backing the rebels, a claim Rwanda denies.
DR Congo has accused its neighbour of wanting to keep it unstable so it can exploit its rich mineral wealth.
The Congolese government has called on the international community to condemn Rwanda.
On Sunday, rebels were reported to have seized the strategic town of Rutshuru, 70km north of Goma.
A senior official at a national conservation park speaking on Monday just 40km north of Goma, told the BBC that “the rebels are very much in control of this area”.
Flexing muscles
Troublesome neighbors
April-June 1994: Genocide of Tutsis in Rwanda
June 1994: Paul Kagame’s Tutsi rebels take power in Rwanda, Hutu fighters flee into Zaire (DR Congo)
Rwanda’s army enters eastern Zaire to pursue Hutu fighters
1997: Laurent Kabila’s AFDL, backed by Rwanda, takes power in Kinshasa
1998: Rwanda accuses Kabila of not acting against Hutu rebels and tries to topple him, sparking five years of conflict
2003: War officially ends but Hutu and Tutsi militias continue to clash in eastern DR Congo
2008: Tutsi-led CNDP rebels march on North Kivu capital, Goma – 250,000 people flee
2009: Rwanda and DR Congo agree peace deal and CNDP integrated into Congolese army
2012: Mutiny led by former CNDP leader Bosco “Terminator” Ntaganda
BBC international development correspondent Mark Doyle says it is not clear if the rebels intend to attack the city.
If they do, there will be a new and massive humanitarian crisis, he says.
However, the rebels may only be flexing their muscles to strengthen their negotiating position with the government, our correspondent adds.
The rebels – who took up arms in April – named themselves the M23 after a failed peace agreement signed on 23 March three years ago.
They are supporters of renegade Gen Bosco Ntaganda, who is wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Gen Ntaganda is an ethnic Tutsi – like the majority of Rwanda’s leadership – and a recent UN report accused Rwanda of backing the rebels.
Kikaya Bin Karubi, the Congolese Ambassador to the UK, told the BBC: “The United Nations Group of Experts last week published a report that says clearly that the so-called M23 are using Rwandan soldiers – and that’s the United Nations talking, not us.”
Rwanda has vehemently denied the accusations.
The M23 rebels defected from the army amid pressure on the government to arrest Gen Ntaganda.
An estimated 200,000 people have fled their homes since April, with about 20,000 crossing the border to Uganda and Rwanda.
Eastern DR Congo has been plagued by years of fighting.
In 1994, more than a million Rwandan ethnic Hutus crossed the border following the genocide in which some 800,000 people – mostly Tutsis – were slaughtered.
Rwanda has twice invaded its much-larger neighbour, saying it was trying to take action against Hutu rebels based in DR Congo. Uganda also sent troops into DR Congo during the 1997-2003 conflict.
US warns China of ‘conflict’ if it doesn’t agree to maritime code
Bosniaks hold another mass funeral on 17th anniversary of Srebrenica massacre, Bahraini activists rally in solidarity with Saudi protestors, suicide attack targeting police academy kills 25 in Yemen, and more.
Today’s headlines in full:
Bosniaks hold another mass funeral on 17th anniversary of Srebrenica massacre
BBC Arabic, UK
Bahraini activists rally in solidarity with Saudi protestors
Al-Alam, Iran
Yemeni tribal leaders meet to discuss US intervention in Yemen
Press TV, Iran
Suicide attack targeting police academy kills 25 in Yemen
Press TV, Iran
Saudis hold funeral for slain protestor
Press TV, Iran
Bicycle bomb attack targets Pakistan space researchers; one dead
Press TV, Iran
Syrian opposition and Russia fail to bridge gap in Moscow
New TV, Lebanon
Egyptians call for referendums on parliament dissolution, constitutional declaration
Dubai TV, UAE
Israeli state prosecutors debate proceeding with Olmert charges in real estate scandal
IBA, Israel
Israel: Migron outpost appeal hearing delayed for two weeks
IBA, Israel
Freed Palestinian soccer player Sarsak returns to Gaza
Al Jazeera, Qatar
Image: A Bosnian Muslim man sits and cries near the coffin of his relative at Memorial Center in Potocari before a mass burial, near Srebrenica July 11, 2012: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic
Mosaic is a Peabody Award-winning daily compilation of television news reports from the Middle East, including Egypt, Lebanon, Israel, Syria, the Palestinian Authority, Iraq and Iran. Watch more Mosaic at http://www.linktv.org/mosaic
The Vatican on Tuesday said it was excommunicating a Chinese bishop ordained last week by state-sanctioned Church authorities in northeast China without Pope Benedict XVI’s consent.
“The Reverend Joseph Yue Fusheng, ordained without pontifical mandate and hence illicitly, has automatically incurred the sanctions laid down by canon 1382 of the Code of Canon Law,” the Vatican said in a statement.
Under religious law, both the bishop ordained and the bishop celebrating the ceremony without papal consent are excommunicated, meaning that they can no longer receive the Eucharist or take an active part in the liturgy.
“Consequently the Holy See does not recognise him as bishop of the Apostolic Administration of Harbin, and he lacks the authority to govern the priests and the Catholic community in the Province of Heilongjiang,” it added.
With just 16 days before the Olympic Games kick off in London, there’s been a major hitch in the much-hyped security plans. Thousands of extra British soliders have had to be drafted in after a private firm failed to supply promised guards. The company’s been paid almost 300 million pounds – but hasn’t trained enough staff. RT’s Sara Firth has more.
[In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit, for research and/or educational purposes. This constitutes 'FAIR USE' of any such copyrighted material.]
(USDA)
Kyodo via Reuters
Jiji Press via AFP – Getty Images
The tragedy struck just after 5am as a group of climbers began a dawn ascent on Mont Maudit (Accursed Mountain) in the Mont Blanc range at Chamonix, at an altitude of just over 4,000m. The climbers were reported to have been roped together in at least two teams as they climbed one of the most popular but dangerous routes up the mountain.
Eduardo Munoz / REUTERS
