Thursday, September 1, 2005

Air evacuation of the Superdome was temporarily halted Thursday after shots were reportedly fired at a military helicopter.

Evacuations by bus continue, despite an early news report to the contrary. Thousands of people taking temporary shelter in the Superdome and nearby areas in New Orleans are being evacuated after Mayor Ray Nagin ordered a complete evacuation of the city, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Evacuees will be taken to the Astrodome in Houston, Texas.

Looting has become an increasing concern, as looters and gangs are beginning to rob hotels and hospitals. Some looters have even been able to take guns from abandoned shops. Officials say that they are concerned about the increasing number of people with guns. Police officers stranded on the roof of a hotel reported shots fired at them.

President George W. Bush plans to visit the affected areas on Friday. Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush are expected to lead a private fund-raising campaign for the victims of the hurricane, similar to the campaign after the oceanic earthquake and resulting tsunami in late 2004.

Thursday, June 1, 2006An attack against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh headquarters in Nagpur was thwarted by the Maharashtra police early today morning. The militants were driving a white Ambassador car and were armed with AK-47s. They were confronted and killed by security forces as they tried to break through the security cordon surrounding the building.

Nagpur Police Commissioner S.P.S Yadav said that the car was chased by police after it broke through the first barrier about 200 metres away from the headquarters. When confronted, the militants opened fire and were killed after a five-minute shootout. Yadav also said that two policemen had been injured in the incident, one of whose condition was serious. The identities of the three men is yet to be established. A diary was also recovered from the terrorists.

A high level security alert has been declared in Nagpur and other sensitive areas in the vicinity. R.S.S chief Ram Madhav urged the government to take more steps to safeguard the offices of the organisation. This is the second time the police has prevented a major terror attack from taking place in Maharashtra. Last month the Anti-Terrorist Squad had recovered 30 kilograms of RDX, 17 AK-47 rifles and 50 hand-grenades from a jeep in Aurangabad. Eleven suspected militants were also arrested.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Two CH-47 Chinook helicopters were called in on Wednesday, September 2nd, to help contain the wildfires on the Hawaiian Island of Molokai.

Smaller helicopters that were fighting the fire since it started around noon on August 29th were redeployed as well.

According to Gen Iinuma, Maui County Civil Defense administrator, the CH-47s carry 2000-gallon buckets of water, whereas the smaller helicopters only have 100-gallon buckets. The Chinooks can dump more water in fewer trips than the smaller helicopters. On the other hand, the tremendous downdraft from the bigger aircraft may make the fire worse.

“If they don’t do it right, they’ll fan the fire,” Iinuma said.

According to Iinuma, ground crews are continuing to maintain the fire’s perimeter, which remained unchanged from Tuesday. The helicopters are being used to fight the fires where ground crews can’t reach, such as steep mountain passes and valleys.

Iinuma also expressed concern about a red flag advisory the National Weather service put out for all leeward areas of the Hawaiian Islands, meaning conditions are ripe for fires.

Lieutenant Governor James “Duke” Aiona, who took an aerial survey of Molokai’s brush fire area, said it was “no immediate threat”. He also noted that the fire seemed to come right up to the perimeter of some properties, but almost always stopped there.

Aiona’s observations are mirrored by a local business owners’ story. The wildfires destroyed the beehives of Molokai Meli, a family-owned honey business in Kapaakea, but residents admit that the beehives were not their main concern.

“We were just beating the edges with wet towels and sheets to try and keep it from getting to the houses that are just right over that ridge,” said co-owner Brenda Kaneshiro. Luckily, the property was spared, though the beehives weren’t.

“All that metal right there, that’s where they all were, there were 33 of them,” said Elijah Kaneshiro, the owner’s son.

Sunday, June 28, 2020

Last month, a study conducted by archæologist Dr. Naomi Martisius and other researchers concluded Neanderthals living in Europe tens of thousands of years ago were more sophisticated than previously thought. The now-extinct species used to carefully select bones from a particular animal species to manufacture their bone tools, the research showed. The research was published on May 8 in Nature’s Scientific Reports journal.

Dr Martisius and her team used five bone tools discovered from Neanderthals’ sites in southwest France for this research. Four of these bone tools were found in a site called Abri Peyrony and the other one was from Pech-de-l’Azé I. These tools were just a few centimetres in size and were about 50 thousand years old, Dr Martisius told Wikinews. Microscopy analysis of these bone tools called lissoirs (smoothers) suggested Neanderthals used these tools for working animal skin to leathers.

The study stated the fauna of the sites were primarily medium-sized ungulates such as reindeer, in one layer nearly 90%. Despite the overabundance of medium-sized ungulates, Neanderthals used ribs of large bovids for making lissoirs. Dr Martisius told Wikinews this was likely due to the physical characteristics of the bovid ribs, which were “thicker” and “stronger” as compared to the “thin and flimsy ribs” of reindeers. In order to check the origins of the bone tools, the researchers used a technology called non-destructive Zooarchæology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS).

Instead of damaging the bone artefacts in order to discover its origins, the researchers collected collagen from the plastic containers in which these artefacts were kept. Collagen is a type of protein. These bone artefacts were kept in plastic containers: some were kept for about five years, some for just a few months. During this time, the collagen proteins from bone tools were stuck to the walls of its plastic containers. The collagen samples collected from the walls of the containers are broken into smaller molecules called peptides by using a chemical enzyme called trypsin.

After the trypsin has broken collagen fibres into peptides, it is analysed using a technology called Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) Time-of-Flight mass spectrometer (ToF MS). The assisting matrix is a coloured compound. The acidic peptide is combined with the matrix, vapourised, and peptides are released. Some of them are positively-charged particles which travel across a vacuum tube in an electric field. Depending on the weight of the peptides, these molecules reach the end of the vacuum tube at different instances of time, forming a spectrum. These graphs are like unique fingerprints of a species: they are different for different species of animals. Looking at the database of such graphs, taxonomic identifications of the collagen proteins came be made.

All four bone tools from Abri Peyrony gave positive results and showed that the bones were made from large bovids, even though reindeer were more abundant during that time. One of the advantages of using bovid ribs over reindeer’s thin ribs was the bovid ribs would be more resistant to breaking during flexion, Dr Martisius said.

Dr Martisius said such non-destructive ZooMS analysis was previously conducted, but for tools no older than a few centuries. She said such an analysis had never been previously conducted for artefacts so ancient.

Wikinews caught up with Dr Martisius to discuss this research in-depth.

Sunday, July 8, 2007

Since last Tuesday, following violent confrontations with Pakistan’s army, up to 1800 clerics and students are still holed up in Islamabad’s Red Mosque. Clashes began last week following mounting antagonism between the mosques hard-line leaders and the government lead by President Pervez Musharraf.

The mosque has been accused of enforcing its own Islamic law in the capital, notably the illegal detention of Chinese foreign nationals working in massage parlors.

20 people have been reported killed over the past six days, which have seen multiple gun battles and demolition of the mosques exterior walls. Currently, there seems little chance of a negotiated resolution. A delegation of Islamic leaders were refused access, and the mosques leader Abdul Rashid Ghazi has declared suicide a favourable option to surrender.

The mosques leaders follow the Hanafi school of thought, believing that the Koran is the authority by which justice should be metered. Historically the mosque has had close links with the Pakistan leadership, and members of the current administration have resisted calls for a crackdown on the mosques provocative behaviour.

The stand-off represents a decisive ideological challenge to the president who is walking a fine-line between Islamic extremists at home and foreign pressure to crack-down on militancy in the lawless tribal regions.

Friday, July 23, 2021

With five active cases of the Delta variant of COVID-19, South Australia begun a one-week lockdown on Monday. Announcing the lockdown, state Premier Steven Marshall declared “we have no alternative but to impose some fairly heavy and immediate restrictions”.

The first case out of South Australia’s active cases was presented to Modbury Hospital on Sunday night, having returned from Argentina earlier this month. The fifth, which Premier Marshall noted as “far more worrying”, visited The Greek on Halifax restaurant at the same time as someone who was later confirmed to be carrying the virus. Chief Public Health Officer for the state Nicola Spurrier said “if anyone has been at The Greek on Halifax they need to get into quarantine and get tested”.

In accordance with new regulations, there are only five reasons for South Australians to leave home: essential work, shopping for essential goods such as food, exercise, but only with people from the same household and within 2.5 kilometers (2 mi) of home, medical reasons (which includes testing and vaccination against the coronavirus, but excludes elective and cosmetic surgery), and caregiving.

Schools have closed for all but children of essential workers, with online learning having begun on Thursday. Face masks are also be mandated for those who leave home. ABC News reported that “support for businesses is expected to be announced…”, with all non-essential retail required to close under the new regulations.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell announced Tuesday morning that a deal had been struck between state and local officials and the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey franchise. The Penguins organization will formally announce the deal tonight, prior to the Penguins game against the Buffalo Sabres at the Mellon Arena. The deal will ensure that the Penguins will remain in the city with a 30 year lease on a new arena to be built in downtown Pittsburgh. The framework of the deal was constructed in an emergency meeting last Thursday in Philadelphia, when both government and franchise officials indicated that progress had been made, with the details laid out over the weekend. With the new deal, the Penguins organization would be expected to pay $3.8 million per year, as well as $7.5 million per year from both Don Barden, owner of Majestic Star Casino, and the state economic development fund. The Penguins organization has also been given the option of building a parking garage on property of the Pittsburgh Sports Authority between Centre and Fifth avenues, by contributing $500,000 per year.

The new arena is expected to cost approximately $290 million, and should be completed and ready to host hockey games by 2009. The Penguins will sign a temporary lease to keep the team at Mellon Arena until the new building is finished.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

On Friday, Michael Mukasey was confirmed by the United States Senate as the next Attorney General, succeeding Alberto Gonzales. Mukasey took the oath of office with his family attending in a private ceremony that was administered by Assistant Attorney General Lee Lofthus.

The nomination of Mukasey, by President George W. Bush, hit a rough spot over the issue of interrogations, in particular about waterboarding. “This man has been a judge for 18 years,” said Senator Dianne Feinstein, who along with Senator Chuck Schumer provided the essential votes to pass Mukasey through the Senate Judiciary Committee. “Maybe he likes to consider the facts before he makes a decision.”

“I am not going to aid and abet the confirmation contortions of this administration,” said Senator Patrick Leahy, who voted against Mukasey, in both the Committee and the Senate votes.

In a statement released by the White House, President Bush said: “I thank the Senate for its bipartisan vote confirming Judge Michael Mukasey as the Nation’s 81st Attorney General. Judge Mukasey is a man of strong character and integrity, with exceptional legal judgment.”