A drug user has died in Suffolk after being infected with anthrax. Ambulance genericThe Health Protection Agency (HPA) said the victim had injected heroin. There has been a small outbreak of cases in Europe, with 13 cases identified by health officials since June last year. Seven of the cases have occurred in the UK, including one in Scotland and one in Wales. Four of the five people who contracted the bacterial infection in England have died, experts said. The HPA said the source of the infection is presumed to be contaminated heroin. The HPA said it is “unclear” whether the British cases are linked to the European outbreak which has affected drug users in Denmark, Germany and France. Dr Chris Williams, consultant in communicable disease control at the HPA in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, said: “Anthrax can be cured with antibiotics, if treatment is started early. It is therefore important for medical professionals to be alert to the possibility of anthrax infection in heroin users presenting with signs and symptoms – which include severe soft tissue infections or blood poisoning – to prevent any delays in providing treatment. “It is possible that further cases may be seen in people who inject heroin. People who use drugs may become infected with anthrax when the heroin they use is contaminated with anthrax spores. This could be a source of infection if injected, smoked or snorted – there is no safe route for consuming heroin or other drugs that may be contaminated with anthrax spores.”
Biohazard name:
Heroin contaminated with antrax
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.
Symptoms:
Status:
confirmed
…
Drug user dies after anthrax infection
Health Protection Agency reports heroin user in Suffolk died after injecting what is presumed to be contaminated drug
Anthrax bacteria. A heroin user has died of the disease. The Health Protection Agency has reported seven anthrax case in the UK since June last year. Photograph: Smc Images/Getty Images
A drug user has died after being infected with anthrax, health experts have said.
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) said the person, who injected heroin, had died in Suffolk.
There has been a small outbreak of cases in Europe, with 13 cases identified by health officials since June last year.
Seven of the cases have occurred in the UK, including one in Scotland and one in Wales. Four of the five people who contracted the bacterial infection in England have died, experts said.
The HPA said the source of the infection is presumed to be contaminated heroin.
Two of the deaths occurred in Blackpool and the other death was a drug user in Medway, Kent.
The HPA said it is “unclear” whether the British cases are linked to the European outbreak which has affected drug users in Denmark, Germany and France.
Anthrax is a bacterial infection and is primarily a disease of herbivorous mammals, though other animals and some birds can also become infected. Drug users can be exposed when heroin is contaminated with anthrax spores.
The leader of the Scottish Catholic Church, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, has resigned amid allegations of inappropriate behavior, involving four priests in the 1980s. The Cardinal used his resignation to apologize to those he’d offended. ITV’s Lewis Vaughan Jones report.
By John Newland, Staff Writer, NBC News
LONDON — Britain’s most senior Roman Catholic cleric has resigned amid allegations of inappropriate behavior made by priests.
The Vatican said Monday that Pope Benedict XVI had formally accepted the resignation of Cardinal Keith O’Brien, archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh. The Observer newspaper reported Sunday that the Vatican had been notified of allegations of inappropriate behavior stretching back 30 years.
The 74-year-old cardinal has contested the claims and said he is taking legal advice.
O’Brien had been prepared to resign, citing his age as the cause. He turns 75 on March 17, and the Vatican said the pope had in November accepted a resignation letter under the condition of “nunc pro tunc,” meaning “now for later.”
The Vatican said Monday, however, that the pontiff had now accepted the resignation “definitively.”
Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images, file
The Vatican confirmed Monday that it had accepted the resignation of Cardinal Keith O’Brien, 74.
O’Brien said in a statement that it was the pope himself who had decided his resignation would take effect immediately.
“Approaching the age of 75 and at times in indifferent health, I tendered my resignation … some months ago,” he said. “The Holy Father has now decided that my resignation will take effect today.”
O’Brien would have been Britain’s only elector in the papal conclave that will gather to decide on a successor to Benedict XVI.
“I will not join them for this conclave in person,” O’Brien said. “I do not wish media attention in Rome to be focused on me — but rather on Pope Benedict XVI and on his successor.”
A hint of O’Brien’s accelerated resignation was found Sunday in Edinburgh, when the cardinal did not appear as scheduled to lead a Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral. Instead, Bishop Stephen Robson made a statement on O’Brien’s behalf.
“A number of allegations of inappropriate behavior have been made against the cardinal,” the statement said. “The cardinal has sought legal advice, and it would be inappropriate to comment at this time. There will be further statements in due course.”
Robson is an auxiliary prelate in the Edinburgh diocese.
O’Brien’s statement went on to say: “I have valued the opportunity of serving the people of Scotland and overseas in various ways since becoming a priest. Looking back over my years of ministry: For any good I have been able to do, I thank God. For any failures, I apologize to all whom I have offended.”
BRUSSELS – A legal opinion published by the British government says that if Scotland splits from the UK it would also lose its EU membership.
The 111-page paper, put out on Monday (11 February), also notes that if the EU accepted Scotland as a new member, it would probably be forced to join the euro, it would lose its part of the UK rebate in the EU budget, and if it joined the EU’s passport-free Schengen area, the UK would impose passport controls on the new British-Scottish border.
It adds that Scotland would have to apply to join other multinational bodies, such as the International Monetary Fund, Nato and the UN, with no guarantee of a place.
The paper, based on an analysis by law professors James Crawford from Cambridge University and Alan Boyle from the University of Edinburgh, comes ahead of a Scottish referendum on independence next year.
It is set to make interesting reading in Catalonia, which aims to hold a vote also in 2014 on splitting from Spain.
Crawford and Boyle warn that: “There is no clear precedent for a metropolitan part of an EU member state becoming independent and then either claiming automatic membership or seeking in its own right to join the EU … This means that the following discussion must necessarily be somewhat speculative.”
But they add: “On the face of the EU treaties and other indications, it seems likely that Scotland would be required to join the EU as a new member state.”
They note “this is not to suggest that it is inconceivable for Scotland automatically to be an EU member … [but] it is not required as a matter of international law, nor, at least on its face, by the EU legal order.”
They also say that even if Scotland kept EU law on its books “it would not cause Scotland or its citizens to have any rights or obligations under the EU treaties.”
Under the UK government’s austerity program millions of low income households are facing a hike in their council tax bills of up to 333% a year. New changes are to be introduced this April, while Scotland and Wales chose not to implement the cuts.
The UK benefits system is about to undergo it’s most radical restructuring since the introduction of the welfare state after the Second World War and many families will be pushed further into poverty, a new report by the Resolution Foundation think tank reveals.
The biggest shakeup will be in Council Tax, a tax paid by households to local councils, which is not decided by income. Currently people on low paid jobs or the unemployed can apply for Council Tax Benefit (CTB), effectively exempting them from paying the tax.
All other means tested benefits will be streamlined into one national system, which will be called Universal Credit (UC), a move welcomed by the report’s authors.
CTB is a national scheme and provides assistance to nearly 6 million low income families in the UK; but as of the 1st April 2013 CTB will cease to exist.
Instead a new system will be introduced called Council Tax Support Schemes. Those who require assistance with their council tax bill will have to apply to whichever of the 326 local authorities they live in, who will make their own independent decision on whether to grant support.
However, central government has introduced a 10% cut in its subsidy budget – which local authorities would use to help people with their council tax – which effectively confronts local authorities with a choice. Either introduce less generous schemes, thereby forcing low income families to pay more council tax, or find savings elsewhere.
But council tax payers in Scotland and Wales will not be affected because their devolved governments will cover the 10% shortfall in funding from central government.
The CTB reform is expected to annually save £480 million, of which £410 million would come from England.
Weather warnings are back in place across Scotland, with snow and blizzards expected in parts. Commuters have been warned to prepare for disruption which could be caused by heavy snow overnight. The Met Office has issued amber weather warnings for eastern Scotland, urging the public to “be prepared”. Amber alerts have been issued for the Borders, north-east Fife, Perth & Kinross, Angus, Aberdeenshire and Moray. Heavy snow is expected, with up to 20cm on higher ground. Strong winds are also forecast with potential for drifting snow. A number of existing yellow “be aware” warnings also remain in place across the rest of the country. The Met Office said: “An area of snow is expected to affect eastern Scotland on Monday. “In the Amber area in excess of 10cm is likely with drifting in the strong-to-gale force easterly winds. “Accumulations of 20cm or more are likely on ground above 250m-300m with blizzard conditions at times. “The public should be prepared for the risk of disruption to travel, and the likelihood of road closures, as well as possible disruption to power supplies.”
Residents have been evacuated from their homes and sand bags distributed after torrential rain hit the country. Downpours affected much of Scotland on Thursday and rain continued to fall on Friday causing flooding at homes in Fife and Tayside. On Friday at around 5.30am Fife Fire and Rescue Service were called to the A911 Fife Boundary to Kinross Road in Leslie. There was severe flooding throughout a property there and firefighters were helping to pump water away. The fire service was also called to Beechwood House on Vantage Road in Dairsie at around 9am on Friday. Crews were involved in pumping water away from the property. At Glebe Park, the home of Brechin City, there was heavy flooding on the pitch and Saturday’s Second Division game with Ayr United has had to be postponed. Tayside Fire and Rescue Service were also called out to flooding incidents in the North Balmossie area of Broughty Ferry, homes on Alyth Road in Perthshire and at the Public Waste Water Treatment Works, Glenlomond, Scotlandwell in Perthshire.
Council workers at Fife, Tayside and Perth and Kinross have handed out sandbags to residents who are worried about their homes flooding. Portmoak Primary in Perth and Kinross has been closed. The school itself was unaffected, but access roads were flooded. Roads across the region were also affected by surface water and many were closed. The A92 road that runs between Dunfermline in Fife and Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire was closed in several locations. Among other major routes affected are the A9, which has been hit with flooding southbound at Balhadie and Blackford in Perthshire, while the A85 has been closed between St Fillan and Lochearnhead in Perthshire. The A90 Dundee to Fraserburgh road was forced to shut at the Glamis turn off in Forfar because of a build up of rainwater on the route, while it is also affected motorists south of Fraserburgh. On Friday morning, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) had 24 flood warnings and 13 flood alerts in place across the country. The Scottish Government agency said that Perthshire, Angus, Dundee, Fife, Aberdeenshire and parts of Stirlingshire were particularly prone to floods during the downpour. Forecasters for the Met Office put an amber warning for severe weather in place in Angus and Perthshire on Friday, as flooding hit the region.
AS areas of Aberdeenshire and Berwick were recovering from the ‘perfect storm’ that struck last week, locals are bracing themselves for further bad weather.
Scotland is set to be battered by more wind and rain – sparking fresh flood alerts. And there could be more chaos on Boxing Day, with heavy downpours forecast. The storms will start tonight as two inches of rain and 60mph gales hit some parts of the country. The Met Office issued a 24-hour severe weather alert for flooding in the east from midnight. Up to 50mm of rain is forecast, as well as blizzards on high ground. The Met Office said gales nudging 60mph were expected in the east, meaning huge waves would hammer coasts again, threatening flooding. All other parts are due rain. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency are considering flood alerts and warnings, while a spokesman for motoring group the RAC said: “We’re preparing for a surge of wet weather calls.” More floods are possible on Saturday and Boxing Day. Met Office chief forecaster Andy Page said: “An active frontal system is expected to bring rain to all parts in coming days. “We have issued severe weather warnings which mean the public should plan ahead to take account of possible travel delays or disruption to their day to day activities.” The Met Office added: “As the rain moves across Scotland later on Wednesday and into Thursday, it combines with strong southeasterly winds to bring the risk of coastal flooding to parts of the east, with snow falling over higher mountains.”
Who needs nations? Scotland, Catalonia, other European regions seek closer ties with EU
By Joergen Oerstroem Moeller
Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond launches the YES campaign for Scottish independence in Edinburgh, Scotland, on May 25. The campaign for independence prepares for an autumn 2014 referendum on severing the more than 300-year-old union with England. (Andy Buchanan/AFP/GettyImages)
The fear about the euro’s collapse has receded, but Europe as forged after the industrial revolution is fracturing, reverting to traditional regional entities with cultural traditions, languages, and animosity against nation-states that swallowed them without their consent.
There’s Scotland in Britain, Catalonia and Basque Country in Spain, Flanders in Belgium, Lombardy or Padania in Italy; Soon maybe Wales in Britain, Bavaria in Germany, Brittany and Occitania in France. On top of this litany, there’s also growing concern about Britain exiting the European Union.
The Holy Roman Empire dominating Central Europe before industrialization counted 1,800 states ruled by kings, knights, and bishops.
The states were too small to reap the fruits of industrialization. Fragmented markets prevented transnational supply chains and were incapable of shaping the logistics, transport infrastructure, and, most important of all, the political system necessary for transition from feudal and agricultural states to manufacturing.
So the European nation-state emerged. Admittedly Britain, France, and Spain could trace their roots back 100 or 200 years earlier, but were not solidly secure until around 1800. Italy and Germany were born between 1860 and 1871.
Acquiescence
The nation-states masterminded regional economic integration, but never completely succeeded in shaping a national culture. Yes, a national language gradually took over, but the regions preserved distinct cultural identities. They acquiesced with the nation-state and obeyed respective capitals in London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, or Madrid because force compelled them to do so and the economic advantages were evident.
The standard of living rose as industrialization conquered the regions, and prosperity followed. The end result: The increasing standard of living was sufficiently higher to compensate for attacks on cultural identity to ensure the nation-state’s prerogative. The people in the regions traded in some but not all cultural identity.
This became even more manifest as industrialization went into the next phase: economic globalization. International treaties strengthened the capitals’ hold over regions. The regions could not access global markets without the capitals’ consent as laid out in international rules negotiated among nation-states.
Scotland could not on its own strike a deal with the United States or Argentina for export of ships from the shipyards at the Clyde. Only London could. And over the first half of the 20th century, Europe showed little support for regionalism or cultural identity. Few Scots genuinely felt as Scots or saw Scotland in any other way than as part of the United Kingdom.
The role of the nation-states as imperial powers solidified this view. For the Scots, being part of the United Kingdom provided a platform for a central role in running the empire and profiting by doing so.
Conditions for Nation-State Disappearing
Conditions favoring the nation-state are disappearing—and rapidly. The empires are gone. Industrialization is giving way to an economic age shaped by information and communication technology, ICT, opening access to the world outside the nation-state framework.
Manufacturing used to be the cornerstone of European economic activity, but except for Germany, no longer.
The burden of transition has been unevenly distributed aggravating the skepticism among regions about the virtue of the nation-state. Over the last four years national political systems have lost legitimacy because of impotence in dealing with the crisis.
A feeling of unfair distribution of hardship and burdens when capitals cut welfare and increased taxes fuels the idea among regions that more fairness may be found if they handled these questions on their own while relying on the EU despite its shortcomings for economic policy.
The EU has taken away from the nation-state and its capitals the key to participate in economic globalization.
Most important of all, the EU has taken away from the nation-state and its capitals the key to participate in economic globalization. Regions no longer need to go through the capital to request changes in rules of the game or help in accessing foreign markets.
Regions have set up embassies and lobbying associations to promote export and attract investment abroad. For example, in Washington, a Scottish Affairs Office implements Scotland’s plan for engaging with the United States. To drive home the point, the office flags its Gaelic name, Riaghaltas na h-Alba.
Or the Scots work via the European Union with Scotland’s European Union Office implementing an action plan for engagement.
If Scotland, Catalonia, or Lombardy want to safeguard their interests in global negotiations, the negotiators are no longer found in London, Madrid, or Rome, but in Brussels. Sure enough, politicians and civil servants in the capitals still want, indeed crave, serving as the channel to the EU for all regional preferences, but this posture increasingly falls on deaf ears.
The view in London that Scotland’s interests should be weighed against interests put forward by other parts of Britain doesn’t matter much north of the border.
Separatist Sentiment
The wave of austerity rolling through all of Europe reinforces the separatist sentiment. During the industrial age, in particular when the welfare state was introduced, the center or capital was shuffling large sums of money around via taxes and welfare payments to and from the regions.
Then, it seemed quite the gamble to cut this lifeline. Now such fiscal transfers are falling by the wayside as the state pulls back from the super welfare state. Regions increasingly view themselves as capable, perhaps even better equipped, of competing without the support of the nation-state, and find it less attractive to be part of an acrimonious redistribution struggle.
The European Union is on the radar screen. Not only do the nation-states shave fiscal transfers, but current plans for a fiscal union augur a stronger role for the EU. Plans are being drafted to give the EU some kind of veto over national budgets, further transferring power from the capitals of the nation-states to the EU, stimulating regions to strike their own deals with the supranational political leadership.
The proposed banking union works the same way. The regions do not see why their interests and the negotiating about a European supervisory body should be controlled by the nation-state. They may or may not have common interests with banks in other parts of the nation-state, but it cannot be taken for granted, and in some cases they may fear being held hostage to nation-state policies disregarding their interests.
Secession?
It’s no coincidence that Scotland stands first in line to have a go at secession. Britain’s Conservative Party, the leading coalition partner in the British government, toys with the idea of a referendum about continued membership of the EU.
Polls indicate that in the U.K. as a whole 51 percent of the voters favor leaving the EU with only 34 percent preferring to stay. Inside the Conservative Party 83 percent want a referendum, and 70 percent would vote to leave.
But Scotland has always voted overwhelmingly with the Labor Party and abhors the risk of being forced out of the EU by a political party that enjoys limited support among the Scots. The prospect of the Conservative Party taking Britain out of the EU combined with Scotland leaving Britain to join the EU might have once seemed like pure fantasy, but no more. Breakup may be the most realistic scenario.
The Scots will vote yes or no to stay in the U.K. in 2014. The next general election of the British Parliament is set for 2015. But if Scotland decides to leave the U.K., all dates and plans are up in the air. The vote in Scotland may advance the parliamentary election, giving the EU referendum a dominating role.
Joergen Oerstroem Moeller is a senior visiting research fellow, the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore Management University. He is also adjunct professor for Singapore Management University and Copenhagen Business School. Copyright Yale Center for the Study of Globalization (Yaleglobal.yale.edu).
Terremotos de los últimos 2 días en las Islas Canarias de magnitud igual o superior a 1.5 o sentidos:Earthquakes for the last 2 days on the Canary Islands magnitude equal or greater than 1.5 registered
JAKARTA, Indonesia – A volcano in northern Indonesia has spewed hot smoke and ash thousands of feet into the air in two new eruptions.
Mount Lokon on Sulawesi island had been dormant before rumbling back to life last year.
Government volcanologist Hendrasto says it unleashed two strong eruptions Friday.
Residents have been put on alert, but no evacuations are planned since the nearest villages are beyond the danger area about 2.5 kilometres (1.5 miles) from the crater.
Mount Lokon’s last major eruption in 1991 killed a Swiss hiker and forced thousands to flee. The volcano is one of five on high alert in Indonesia. The archipelago straddles the “Pacific Ring of Fire” and has more active volcanoes than any other nation.
Niamey, Niger – At least 92 people have died in floods that have swept Niger following torrential rains, according to the latest data released by the Prime minister’s office on Friday. The data indicate that 72,396 families are affected with 511,484 people being victims, as at Thursday. All the country’s eight regions are affected by floods with Tillabéry, Dosso and Niamey being the worst affected. Huge damage is reported on basic socio-economic infrastructure and other items crucial to the people.
Rice crops, schools, health centres, roads, bridges, dams have all been affected while a huge quantities of food and many cattle have been swept away by flood waters.
The chairperson of the technical committee in charge of managing the floods, Mrs Saadatou Malam Barmou, said that thanks to national solidarity and international cooperation, food needs are covered for 45 days out.
Water containers have been distributed to victims to fetch potable water to reduce water-related diseases. The ministry of Health has also set up health centres at the sites and mobile teams to solve health problems.
The government has made available 3,400 tonnes of cereals for the victims and raised 700 million CFAF to support re-housing and buy additional food.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Flooding continues to cause problems throughout Southcentral Alaska.
Jeremy Zidek, spokesman for the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, says in a release that there have been reports of flooding, landslides and road closures throughout the area.
But there has been no report of major injuries.
Residents in East Talkeetna are being told to evacuate because of flooding.
The Red Cross has established three shelters in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough and helped with another in Seward.
Weather problems are not confined to Southcentral Alaska.
Zidek says a landslide has blocked access from the village of Chenega to its airport, and state transportation officials are working to restore access. And an assessment team is in Tanacross to evaluate damage from Sunday’s wind storm.
Cameroon authorities have found six more bodies in flood waters, bringing the number killed to as high as 40 in the wake of tropical downpours and the breaching of a dam in the west African country. The inundation in the Far North Region has affected more than 26,000, officials said Thursday, and in neighboring Nigeria at least 15 deaths are blamed on waters rushing into the country from Cameroon’s compromised Lagdo Dam on the Benoue River. Cameroon’s Communication Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary has described the flooding as “a calamity” and called for urgent action to save lives and property. Local officials are calling it the worst flood disaster in over 60 years. Water has submerged swaths of the North Region downstream, wiping out homes, farms and livestock, and Cameroon’s government has dispatched a military contingency to assist and evacuate victims.
Residents of Talkeetna are being asked to evacuate the town after its dike system against heavy flooding failed Friday, according to local firefighters. The evacuation is now voluntary, although an initial order was mandatory. Talkeetna Fire Department Battalion Chief Johnny Murdoch, the incident commander for flooding in the area, says the Susitna River started backing up to the Talkeetna River, causing the dike to fail. According to local officials the decision to evacuate Talkeetna was made by Alaska State Troopers, with authorities expecting water to continue rising Friday afternoon. The Associated Press reports that overnight rains in Talkeetna ranged from half an inch to 1 1/2 inches over a 6- to 8-hour period. The Talkeetna River was within a foot of its record stage of 17.4 feet, with officials telling the AP about 35 percent of Talkeetna has some form of water coverage. Students from Talkeetna’s elementary school were being bused to the local high school Friday. Traffic was blocked from entering Talkeetna until the evacuation was no longer mandatory, a change made shortly before 2 p.m. In a flood warning effective through 10 p.m. Friday, the National Weather Service says a levee protecting the town was breached as of 1 p.m. The Talkeetna River is 4 feet above flood stage, and expected to crest Friday evening. âAll persons in the vicinity of Talkeetna should take precautions now to protect life and property,â meteorologists wrote. The NWS advises people to avoid crossing flowing streams — even small ones â on foot, or driving across flooded roadways in cars, under the slogan âTurn around, donât drown.â
This shows Fukushima after a tsunami in March 2011. Credit: IAEA
The tsunami in Japan in March 2011 unleashed a series of negligence related with the resulting nuclear disaster. A scientific study headed by Spanish researchers has for the first time identified those atomic power plants that are more prone to suffering the effects of a tsunami. In total, 23 plants are in dangerous areas, including Fukushima I, with 74 reactors located in the east and southeast of Asia.
Tsunamis are synonymous with the destruction of cities and homes and since the Japanese coast was devastated in March 2011 we now know that they cause nuclear disaster, endanger the safety of the population and pollute the environment. As such phenomena are still difficult to predict, a team of scientists have assessed “potentially dangerous” areas that are home to completed nuclear plants or those under construction. In the study published in the ‘Natural Hazards’ journal, the researchers drew a map of the world’s geographic zones that are more at risk of large tsunamis. Based on this data, 23 nuclear power plants with 74 reactors have been identified in high risk areas. One of them includes Fukushima I. Out of them, 13 plants with 29 reactors are active; another four, that now have 20 reactors, are being expanded to house nine more; and there are seven new plants under construction with 16 reactors. “We are dealing with the first vision of the global distribution of civil nuclear power plants situated on the coast and exposed to tsunamis,” as explained to SINC by José Manuel Rodríguez-Llanes, coauthor of the study and researcher at the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) of the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium. The authors used historical, archaeological, geological and instrumental records as a base for determining tsunami risk. Despite the fact that the risk of these natural disasters threatens practically the entire western coast of the American continent, the Spanish/Portuguese Atlantic Coast and the coast of North Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean and areas of Oceania, especially in South and Southeast Asia are at greater risk due to the presence of atomic power stations.
23 nuclear power plants are in tsunami risk areas Credit: SINC For Debarati Guha-Sapir, another coauthor of the study and CRED researcher, “the impact of natural disaster is getting worse due to the growing interaction with technological installations.” China: a nuclear power in the making Some 27 out of 64 nuclear reactors that are currently under construction in the world are found in China. This is an example of the massive nuclear investment of the Asian giant. “The most important fact is that 19 (two of which are in Taiwan) out of the 27 reactors are being built in areas identified as dangerous,” state the authors of the study. In the case of Japan, which in March 2011 suffered the consequences of the worse tsunami in its history, there are seven plants with 19 reactors at risk, one of which is currently under construction. South Korea is now expanding two plants at risk with five reactors. India (two reactors) and Pakistan (one reactor) could also feel the consequences of a tsunami in the plants. The ghost of Fukushima “The location of nuclear installations does not only have implications for their host countries but also for the areas which could be affected by radioactive leaks,” as outlined to SINC by Joaquín Rodríguez-Vidal, lead author of the study and researcher at the Geodynamics and Paleontology Department of the University of Huelva. According to the study, we should learn our lessons from the Fukushima accident. For the authors, prevention and previous scientific studies are the best tools for avoiding such disasters. “But since the tsunami in 2004 the Indian Ocean region is still to take effective political measures,” warn the researchers. The Fukushima crisis took place in a highly developed country with one of the highest standards in scientific knowledge and technological infrastructure. “If it had occurred in a country less equipped for dealing with the consequences of catastrophe, the impact would have been a lot more serious for the world at large,” claim the experts. Therefore, Professor Rodríguez-Vidal recommends the drafting of more local analyses that consider the seismic amplification of each nuclear power plant and determine the adaptation of installation identified in the study. More information: Rodríguez-Vidal, Joaquin ; Rodríguez-Llanes, Jose M. ; Guha-Sapir, Debarati. “Civil nuclear power at risk of tsunamis “
Natural Hazards 63 (2) : 1273-1278 DOI: 10.1007/s11069-012-0162-0 , septiembre de 2012.
Last week, Japan surprised the world by announcing that it plans to abandon atomic energy completely by the 2030s. But now in an abrupt turnaround, the Japanese Cabinet appears to be backpedaling on that decision, dropping any mention of the 2030s deadline in its approval of Japan’s new energy policy.
Arnie Gundersen @Congressional Briefing Cannon House Office Building — Room 121
About 11:05 of 9/22/2012, Tepco dropped a steel frame of 7m long and 470kg into the SFP of reactor3. 514 assemblies of spent fuel and 52 fuel assemblies are kept in the pool.
Tepco was removing debris by the remote controlling crane and dropped it into the pool mistakenly.
The steel frame was 30cm×20cm×7m, 470kg. It was dropped from South-East side.
Tepco states the radiation level did not change, the dosimeter set 2m above the pool did not measure any change in radiation level either. Water level and the temperature did not change.
It hasn’t happened that such a large material dropped into the pool. Tepco is planning to investigate if the fuel assemblies are not damaged by underwater camera.
PRISTINA, (bdnews24.com/Reuters) – At least five people in the Balkans have died from West Nile virus and several dozen others have been hospitalized in the past four weeks, according to health authorities in Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia and Croatia.
West Nile virus is a mosquito-borne disease usually found in temperate and tropical regions. While many cases are mild and have no symptoms, severe disease symptoms can include headaches, high fever, neck stiffness, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness and paralysis.
Kosovo confirmed its first fatality on Wednesday, saying the victim was a woman from central Kosovo who died on Sept 14. Macedonia’s health officials said on Thursday one woman had died and two other people were infected with the virus.
A spokesman for the Kosovo Health Ministry told Reuters on Thursday two other people who died recently were also suspected of having the same virus, but the cases had not been confirmed with laboratory blood tests.
The United States is currently experiencing one of its worst outbreaks of West Nile virus since 2003.
In Serbia, three people have died and 35 were hospitalized since mid-August.
“This is the first time the West Nile virus has been officially registered in Serbia,” the country’s Department for Public Health said in a statement.
All the infected people were over 50 and had other chronic diseases, it said. Serbia’s western neighbor Croatia has registered five probable cases of the virus but no deaths.
Measles epidemic Congo – An outbreak of measles, which has been raging in Likouala, North-eastern Congo since April, has already killed 22 people, the state-run radio said Friday.
The epidemic, which initially hit Liranga and Bétou, have now reached Impfondo and Epena.
Following the outbreak, the Ministry of Health Thursday launched a 5-day vaccination campaign against measles in the district.
Vaccination teams will travel throughout the localities of Likouala, which since 2009 has sheltered over 100,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), who are fleeing inter-ethnic violence in the Equateur province.
- In light of confirmation of a measles case in a school-aged child in Ulster County, State Health Commissioner Nirav R. Shah, M.D., M.P.H., advises all New Yorkers to be vaccinated against measles. “Many people think measles is a childhood disease of the past, but it remains a highly-contagious viral disease that can cause serious health problems and even death,” Shah said. “The good news is that measles is preventable, and people who are vaccinated can protect themselves against the disease.” The current Ulster County measles case involves a child who attends a school where nearly half of the students are not vaccinated against measles. Although vaccination against measles is one of the required immunizations for school children in New York, exemptions from the requirement may be granted by a school. The Ulster County Health Department is working with the school district to protect other school children from measles. Unvaccinated children who attend the same Ulster County school as the child with measles and unvaccinated school staff are being excluded from the school for 21 days to help prevent them from contracting or spreading the disease. Individuals are not at risk of contracting measles if they are immune. A person is considered immune if they were born before January 1, 1957, have a history of physician-diagnosed measles, a blood test confirming immunity, or have received two doses of the MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) vaccine. Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by a virus and is spread by direct contact with nasal or throat secretions of infected people. Due to widespread immunization in the United States, the measles virus does not circulate in this country, but is present in some foreign countries, including some in Europe and Asia. It is strongly recommended that anyone traveling to a country where measles is circulating be immunized before their trip; those who are not immunized could potentially contract the disease while abroad and infect other non-immunized individuals upon their return back to the U.S.
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 international humanitarian agency Oxfam is warning that living conditions of refugees in a camp in Upper Nile state are becoming increasingly desperate, and more people will probably die if help does not arrive soon. More than 100,000 refugees have fled fighting between Sudanese armed forces and rebels in Sudan’s Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan states. At least 16 refugees have died in the past two weeks from an outbreak of Hepatitis E, according to the U.N. Pauline Ballaman, Oxfam’s South Sudan director, said the best way to curb the spread of the water-borne disease is to relocate thousands of Sudanese refugees to a safer place. “The government of South Sudan and UNHCR, who are the lead agencies, would encourage them to look at all other possibilities because this is not going to be a sustainable job or solution,” Ballaman said. South Sudan and the UN refugee agency considered relocating the refugees to areas along the Nile River, according to Ballaman, but she said no decision has been made so far. Ballaman said more people are showing symptoms of Hepatitis E. She added, “there are a lot more people affected and, of course, it is far more serious for the nursing and pregnant mothers and young children, and malnutrition kicks in as well,” According to Ballaman, no season is favorable to housing more than 100,000 refugees. Widespread flooding during South Sudan’s rainy season is the problem right now, but when the dry season arrives the problem will be not enough water.
Biohazard name:
Hepatitis E. Outbreak
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.
Symptoms:
Status:
confirmed
23.09.2012
Epidemic Hazard
USA
State of New York, New Paltz [Mountain Laurel Waldorf School]
A case of measles has been confirmed in a student who attends the Mountain Laurel Waldorf School in New Paltz, according to the Dutchess County Department of Health. The measles case was reported by Dutchess County Health Commissioner Dr. Michael Caldwell in a press release emailed to local media outlets late Friday. It was not immediately clear why the release came from a Dutchess County official rather than one in Ulster County, where the private school is located, and the name and hometown of the infected person were not provided. Caldwell said his office has “been in close communication” with the Ulster County Department of Health and the state Department of Health. Caldwell said anyone who has visited the school since Sept. 10 or has had contact with anyone from the school since that date should make sure their measles vaccinations are up to date. Those who lack proper vaccinations should consult with a doctor. Caldwell said his department has learned that a number of students at the New Paltz school have not been vaccinated for measles, meaning they could become ill and put others at risk. Caldwell said all medical practices and laboratories in the area should be on high alert that there may be a number of children and family members who have been exposed and could spread the disease further. Incidents of measles, which is highly contagious, have increased in the United States recently due to a growing number of unvaccinated individuals who travel to countries where measles is prevalent, Caldwell said.
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.
A massive fireball was seen right across Ireland last night which may be “one of the best ever seen” in Europe and was a “huge event”, according to Astronomy Ireland. The trail of fragments passed across the sky at about 10.55pm with sightings reported from Dublin, Donegal, Cork, Sligo, Carlow, Longford, Antrim and across Britain and as far away as as The Netherlands. It was “very unusual to see it in multiple countries,” David Moore of Astronomy Ireland said. “I’ve never seen one fragmented like that and streaked across the sky,” he said. The fireball later exploded into fragments. Mr Moore said the cause of the fireball was not yet clear. “It is a piece of space debris, but whether it is man made or natural is not known,” he said. He said it was too slow for natural debris and was going the wrong direction for man-made debris. “It is probably a space rock that has skidded across the atmosphere.” Meteorites will have been dropped “but whether they landed in Ireland or at sea we will have to figure out”, he said. Witnesses described a trail of seven to 12 fireballs in a straight line across the sky. No sound was to be heard either by witnesses in the city or the countryside. Kielder Observatory in Britain last night reported a sighting of a “huge fireball” .Mr Moore asked for witnesses to submit a fireball report to the Astronomy Ireland website “This will help us to triangulate the path,” he said. Twitter and Facebook filled with reports of the strange sightings last night, with meteor trending on Twitter in Ireland. “Spotted what looked like about eight fireballs travelling east to west over the M1 at Santry, Dublin at 10.56pm. Amazing,” wrote one tweeter last night. The Irish Coast Guard had reports from the north coast right down the east coast.
22.09.2012
Event into space
United Kingdom
Scotland and England, [Between Airdrie and Arbroath, Greater Manchester]
A suspected meteorite shower over Scotland has prompted a flurry of 999 calls from worried members of the public. Concerned callers from Airdrie to Arbroath likened the lights they saw in the sky to flares, fireworks and even a plane crash. Coastguard and police forces up and down the country were inundated with reports from around 11pm on Friday night. A spokesman for Forth Coastguard said: “From talking to other stations and to the RAF it’s almost certainly meteorite activity. “Calls came in from all over the place, thick and fast. We’ve had people report possible plane crashes, and others the weirdest fireworks they’ve ever seen. “Folk just haven’t known how to describe what they’ve seen. It’s quite extraordinary.” The spokesman said reports had come from Crail, Johnshaven and Arbroath. Clyde Coastguard said it had received a “flurry” of calls reporting flares seen in Drummore, Airdrie and Brodick on Arran. A spokeswoman said: “When we get it all over and at the same time then we attribute them to meteorites. There was meteorite activity forecast from September 15 to 21.” Shetland Coastguard said a report of a flare at 11.10pm at Duncansby Head near John O’Groats was thought to be part of the meteorite shower.
MessageToEagle.com – Beautiful and mysterious structures known as superbubbles result from the stellar winds and supernovae of OB [spectral types O or early-type B] associations.
Astronomers believe they play play a fundamental role in the structure and energetics of the ISM [interstellar medium] in star-forming galaxies.
Their influence may also dominate the relationship between the different interstellar gas phases.
How do superbubbles form and evolve?
How do they affect the local and global ISM?
The Magellanic Clouds provide a superior opportunity to study this shell-forming activity, since both stellar content and gaseous structure can be examined in detail.
A superbubble in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) was observed by astronomers using Chandra X-ray Observatory.
LMC is a small satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, located about 160,000 light years from Earth.
Many new stars, some of them very massive, are forming in the star cluster NGC 1929, which is embedded in the nebula N44.
The massive stars produce intense radiation, expel matter at high speeds, and race through their evolution to explode as supernovas.
The winds and supernova shock waves carve out huge cavities called superbubbles in the surrounding gas. X-rays from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory (blue) show hot regions created by these winds and shocks, while infrared data from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope (red) outline where the dust and cooler gas are found.
The optical light from the 2.2m Max-Planck-ESO telescope (yellow) in Chile shows where ultraviolet radiation from hot, young stars is causing gas in the nebula to glow.
A long-running problem in high-energy astrophysics has been that some superbubbles in the LMC, including N44, give off a lot more X-rays than expected from models of their structure.
A Chandra study published in 2011 showed that there are two extra sources of the bright X-ray emission: supernova shock waves striking the walls of the cavities, and hot material evaporating from the cavity walls.
The observations show no evidence for an enhancement of elements heavier than hydrogen and helium in the cavities, thus ruling out this possibility as an explanation for the bright X-ray emission.
Click on image to enlarge
NGC 1929 is a star cluster embedded in the N44 nebula, which is found in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Massive stars in the cluster produce intense radiation, expel matter at high speeds, and explode relatively quickly as supernovas.
Winds from the massive stars and shocks from the supernovas carve out “superbubbles” in the gas seen in X-rays by Chandra (blue). Infrared data show dust (red) and cooler gas and optical light (yellow) reveals where ultraviolet radiation is causing the gas to glow. Credits: X-ray: NASA/CXC/U.Mich./S.Oey, IR: NASA/JPL, Optical: ESO/WFI/2.2-m
This is the first time that the data have been good enough to distinguish between different sources of the X-rays produced by superbubbles.
The Chandra study of N44 and another superbubble in the LMC was led by Anne Jaskot from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The co-authors were Dave Strickland from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, Sally Oey from University of Michigan, You-Hua Chu from University of Illinois and Guillermo Garcia-Segura from Instituto de Astronomia-UNAM in Ensenada, Mexico.
MessageToEagle.com – Cassini spacecraft has taken great photos of Saturn and its largest moon, Titan.
The colors are spectacular and on one of the images you can even see the changing hues of Saturn’s northern and southern hemispheres as they pass from one season to the next.
Upon Cassini’s arrival at Saturn eight years ago, Saturn’s northern winter hemisphere was an azure blue.
Now that winter is encroaching on the planet’s southern hemisphere and summer on the north, the color scheme is reversing: blue is tinting the southern atmosphere and is fading from the north.
Some of these views, such as those of the polar vortex, are only possible because Cassini’s newly inclined — or tilted — orbits allow more direct viewing of the polar regions of Saturn and its moons.
Click on image to enlargeColorful Colossi and Changing Hues
A giant of a moon appears before a giant of a planet undergoing seasonal changes in this natural color view of Titan and Saturn from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft.
Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, measures 3,200 miles, or 5,150 kilometers, across and is larger than the planet Mercury. Cassini scientists have been watching the moon’s south pole since a vortex appeared in its atmosphere in 2012.
As the seasons have changed in the Saturnian system, and spring has come to the north and autumn to the south, the azure blue in the northern Saturnian hemisphere that greeted Cassini upon its arrival in 2004 is now fading. The southern hemisphere, in its approach to winter, is taking on a bluish hue. This change is likely due to the reduced intensity of ultraviolet light and the haze it produces in the hemisphere approaching winter, and the increasing intensity of ultraviolet light and haze production in the hemisphere approaching summer. Image credit: NASA
Scientists are looking forward to seeing more of the same — new phenomena like Titan’s south polar vortex and changes wrought by the passage of time and seasons — during the remainder of Cassini’s mission.
“Cassini has been in orbit now for the last eight years, and despite the fact that we can’t know exactly what the next five years will show us, we can be certain that whatever it is will be wondrous,” said Carolyn Porco, imaging team lead based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.“It is so fantastic to experience, through the instruments of Cassini, seasonal changes in the Saturn system,” said Amanda Hendrix, deputy project scientist, based at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
“Some of the changes we see in the data are completely unexpected, while some occur like clockwork on a seasonal timescale.
It’s an exciting time to be at Saturn.”
Click on image to enlargeObscured by Rings
Saturn’s rings obscure part of Titan’s colorful visage in this image from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. The south polar vortex that first appeared in Titan’s atmosphere in 2012 is visible at the bottom of this view. Image credit: NASA
Click on image to enlargeA Ring of Color
Titan’s north polar hood can be seen at the top of this view, and a hint of the south polar vortex can be detected at the bottom. Image credit: NASA
Click on image to enlargePolar Vortex in Color
The recently formed south polar vortex stands out in the color-swaddled atmosphere of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, in this natural color view from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. The south polar vortex can be seen approximately centered over the south pole in the lower left of the image. Image credit: NASA
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MessageToEagle.com – Beautiful and mysterious structures known as superbubbles result from the stellar winds and supernovae of OB [spectral types O or early-type B] associations.
MessageToEagle.com – Cassini spacecraft has taken great photos of Saturn and its largest moon, Titan.
