World news: breaking news and current events

Virgin Galactic prepares a new spaceflight, in November

James Prewitt — Thu, 19 Oct 2023 18:25:06 +0000

Virgin Galactic, the Richard Branson-founded spaceflight company, will have a new commercial spaceflight in November. The list of passengers will include an unnamed private astronaut of Franco-Italian nationality; planetary scientist Alan Stern, the principal investigator of NASA’s New Horizons Pluto mission, and Kellie Gerardi, a science communicator and bioastronautics researcher for the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (IIAS). Virgin Galactic’s space tourism flights use a “mothership” aircraft, VMS Eve, to carry its space plane VSS Unity to an altitude of around 50,000 feet (15,240 meters) before releasing it.

Some scientific researches will be conducted onboard. This suborbital flight and scientific study are part of a Southwest Research Institute internally funded research program that began over a dozen years ago. , Stern will test equipment monitoring his vital signs in preparation for a NASA-funded experiment he will perform in space aboard a second suborbital flight.

An experienced Russian climber woman falled to her death into a crevasse at Mt Dhaulagiri

Jerry Seward — Thu, 19 Oct 2023 15:28:20 +0000

A top Russian climber, Nadezhda Oleneva, 38, falled into a crevasse while attempting to scale Mt Dhaulagiri, the world’s seventh-highest mountain, in Nepal. She was nearly 20,000 feet up the mountain at the time of the fall, and the GPS indicated she took a nearly 1,600-foot plunge.

Oleneva was taking part in an expedition organized by the country’s Sports Ministry and the Russian Mountaineering Federation. Search efforts are underway but bad weather prevented the recovery of her body. Snow has covered the area. She had been climbing to the summit along with two other mountaineers without supplemental oxygen and sherpas. “For the entire Russian mountaineering community, this loss is a great tragedy,” the federation said. Oleneva was an experienced climber who’d been established difficult routes on remote peaks. She had been nominated twice by the Piolets d’Or for her contributions to alpinism. Dhaulagiri’s 8,170-metre (26,800-foot) peak was first scaled in 1960 by a Swiss-Austrian team.

PM Modi will inaugurate India’s first Regional Rail, RAPIDX

Robert Woodward — Thu, 19 Oct 2023 04:37:10 +0000

Starting October 21, passengers can hop onto India’s first regional rapid rail and travel with an operational speed of 160 kmph. It will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.The 17-km priority section of the 82-km-long Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor will become operational. Every RAPIDX train has 6 coaches with the capacity to carry about 1,700 commuters, both sitting and standing. Each RAPIDX train will have one premium coach with a host of features like reclining seats, coat hooks, magazine holders and footrests. One coach in every RAPIDX train is reserved for women. A diaper-changing station has been provided in the women’s washroom at every station. The trains have CCTV cameras, laptop or mobile charging facility, dynamic route maps, auto control ambient lighting system, heating ventilation, air conditioning system (HVAC) and other amenities.

A first aid facility is available at all RAPIDX stations. For any medical emergency, an ambulance service can also be arranged. Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled Door Frame Metal Detectors (DFMDs) will be used for security screening of commuters at stations.

Laughing-gas (Nitrous oxide) will become illegal in the U.K.

James Prewitt — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 18:35:28 +0000

Possession of Nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas or NOS,a colourless gas commonly used as a painkiller in medicine and dentistry, and for producing whipped cream in cooking – but also as a recreational drug when it is inhaled – will become illegal in the UK in three weeks, from November 8, and dealers will face up to 14 years behind bars. Those with a legitimate reason for possessing the substance will be exempt from the ban. The drug is the second most commonly used among 16 to 24-year-olds in England after cannabis. Waste crews who cleaned up at Notting Hill Carnival in August estimated they collected 13 tonnes of laughing gas canisters from the streets.

Frequent use OF Nitrous oxide can also lead to vitamin B12 deficiency which can cause neurological damage. The substance can cause headaches and make some users anxious or paranoid. They may lose consciousness. Users expose themselves to significant health risks including anaemia, nerve damage and paralysis but not at leat to death.Penalties for possessing the substance could include an unlimited fine, community service, or a caution, and for “repeat serious offenders”, a prison sentence of up to two years.

Antisemitic violences in Germany after Israel-Hamas war began

Jerry Seward — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 13:22:16 +0000

A synagogue in the building complex of the Kahal Adass Jisroel community in the center of Berlin was attacked on Wednesday morning around 3am with firebombs (Molotov cocktails) while antisemitic incidents rise in Germany. No injuries or damage have been reported. The entire street next to the building was cordoned off and blocked for traffic. Germany’s leading Jewish group said two people were involved in the attack. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz later strongly condemned the attack, saying, “We will never accept when attacks are carried out against Jewish institutions.”

Police have increased security for Jewish institutions in Berlin and all over Germany. Several building in Berlin where Jews live had the star of David painted on doors and walls. Israeli flags that were flown as a sign of solidarity in front of city halls all over the country have been torn down and burnt. Police also said there were riots overnight between Muslim immigrants and police in the city’s Neukoelln and Kreuzberg neighborhoods and at Berlin’s landmark Brandenburg Gate in which several officers were injured.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg was arrested in London

Robert Woodward — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 04:15:16 +0000

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg , 20 old, was arrested outside the InterContinental London Park Lane hotel during the “Oily Money Out” protest. The demonstration was organized by Fossil Free London and Greenpeace. Thunberg previously said: “We have no other option but to put our bodies outside this conference and to physically disrupt.” 27 people have been arrested but protest will continue. The Met Police explained the arrested people failed to comply to the imposed conditions. One of them was detained for criminal damage.

Thunberg and other protestors blocked entrances at the hotel. Greenpeace said said in a statement that hundreds of demonstrators, including Thunberg, “faced a heavy police presence.” Thunberg was two times arrested in the past over climate protests. She was in Oslo last week to support anti wind farm rallies in the Norwegian capital.

India’s Supreme Court rejected to legalize same sex marriages

James Prewitt — Tue, 17 Oct 2023 18:28:48 +0000

India’s Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a plea to legalize same-sex marriage. Judges ruled unanimously against the petitioners. the chief justice said it was up to Parliament to create any laws recognizing same-sex unions. The same judges ruled that transgender people can marry other transgender people so long as one member of the couple identifies as a man and the other as a woman, and expanded the definition of discrimination. They concluded it was the wrong forum for seeking changes in marriage laws. The petitioners had argued that the absence of legal safeguards for same-sex couples violates their constitutional right to equal protection before the law. India’s conservative government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had argued that it had a legitimate interest in preserving marriage as a union between a man and a woman, calling it part of the foundation of the state.

The government had proposed an expert committee that would be responsible for protecting the rights of the L.G.B.T.Q. community. Discussion of gay sex is still widely regarded as taboo in India. More than 30 countries, mostly in Europe and the Americas, have legalized same-sex marriage. The first such unions took place in the Netherlands in 2001.

Opposition leader Donald Tusk and his Civic Platform party will form the government in Poland

Jerry Seward — Tue, 17 Oct 2023 13:19:10 +0000

According to the country’s final election results Poland’s opposition leader Donald Tusk and his Civic Platform party will form a coalition government together with two smaller partners. They will have 248 of the 460 seats in the next parliament. The parlianent convenes in the next 30 days. Tusk taken back control of his party in 2021 after five years spent in Brussels as president of the European Council. Tusk, now 66, has promised to reposition the country on a pro-European path. He is expecting to unlock a lot of money from the EU funding, put on hold over requested judicial reforms.A mass mobilisation of voters have ousted the radical right from power.

It was a clear victory for the opposition coalition of parties. The result in Poland’s election will bring a vital boost to European unity. Poland under Tusk leadership would play a supportive role in maintaining western support for Ukraine. However, data confirms the depth of the support that PiS retains in provincial and rural area.

Horrible hate crime in Plainfield Township with a six year boy vistim

Robert Woodward — Tue, 17 Oct 2023 04:25:41 +0000

A 6-year-boy Palestinian-American on Chicago area in Plainfield Township was killed because he was Muslim, being stabbed 26 times with a knife. His 32-year-old mother was stabbed too nore than a dozen times but she resisted. The attack is now being investigated by the Department of Justice as a hate crime. Wadea’s mother moved to the United States 12 years ago. A 71 old man, Joseph M. Czuba, is charged with first-degree murder. The woman victim and her tenant got into an argument over the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. He had asked the family to move out of the residence once the conflict started. Previously the 71-year-old landlord built the boy a treehouse, let him use a swimming pool and bought him toys.

The judge ordered Czuba to be held without bond. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden condemned the attack. “As Americans, we must come together and reject Islamophobia and all forms of bigotry and hatred,” they said in a statement. “This horrific act of hate has no place in America, and stands against our fundamental values: freedom from fear for how we pray, what we believe, and who we are.”

Scientists think how to use the dust on the Moon

James Prewitt — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 18:40:16 +0000

It’s a lot of dust on the Moon, also known as regolith. Scientists imagined a way to use it for making flat surfaces and even roads. A giant laser must be used to do this. Developed by the European Space Agency (ESA), the project called PAVER used the giant laser to melt fake Moon dust. In a experiment, a 12-kilowatt carbon dioxide laser melted simulated lunar regolith into a smooth, glass-like material, which was then cut into triangle shapes to be used in the second step to create solid surfaces. For the instant, the process would take about 100 days to create a 10 x 10m landing spot. Interesting is the fact that, if used on the Moon, the laser beam won’t be needed because a lens will direct light from the Sun into a hot beam instead. But transporting the giant lens to Moon could be a difficile task and the dust itself – which is everywhere – could affect it’s performance.

The reasearch is conducted because, in the future, there are hopes for permanent lunar bases. Time and the human thinking will decide to solve many problems possible in a such context. Managing Moon dust remains a challenge for lunar landing missions.