A gunbattle broke out this afternoon between militants and security forces in Shopian district of Kashmir, police said. The exchange of fire is going on between the two sides, a police spokesman said. He said further details of the incident are awaited.
The equation for India is simple: a victory margin of four goals against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in a World Cup football qualifying here on Thursday will keep them in the fray, otherwise, the dream for a place in the 2014 finals will stretch by another four years.The task, nonetheless, is as tough as it gets, especially after the 0-3 defeat to the UAE in the away tie last week. As the Indian team gears up for the door-die second leg of the qualifiers at the Ambedkar Stadium, forward Sunil Chhetri believes all is not yet lost, though the goal is tough.”What happened in the UAE was unfortunate. We lost two players (to the red card) within the first 25 minutes and we also conceded two penalties. We played well with nine men and the fact that we conceded only one goal from field-play gives us confidence,” Chhetri said on Tuesday. “We have shrugged off the shock of the defeat and the team is ready for the next match.” Chhetri acknowledged the superiority of their Gulf opponents. “We have to play our best game physically, tactically, technically, as the UAE are far better than us,” he said.India’s shock 2-1 win over Qatar in a friendly prior to the UAE match gives Chhetri inspiration. “Many people said it was a bad decision to play Qatar before the qualifiers as a big loss would deal a blow to our confidence. But we shocked everyone,” he said.Sunil Chhetri is confident that India can come back”It was an inspiring win, one which we cherish. So keeping that in mind, we need to start fresh in the second leg.” The team’s No. 1 goalkeeper Subrata Paul and defender Debabrata Roy were shown red cards in the first leg and will miss Thursday’s match.”Both players were an important part of our team, but their absence also opens the opportunity for two other players to prove their mettle,” Chhetri said.advertisement”Karanjit Singh who came in place for Subrata played a good game. And this is a chance for him. For the last five years, Subrata has been the first choice goalkeeper for India, thanks to his form and fitness. Now, Karanjit has a chance to show his talent.” Though Karanjit is most likely to fill in the shoes of Subrata, Roy’s substitute has yet not been decided.Chhetri is also happy that the match is being played at the Ambedkar Stadium, which has been a lucky venue for India in the last few years. “We won two Nehru Cup tournaments at the Ambedkar Stadium. This has been a lucky ground for us. Hope it remains so this time too,” he said.Chhetri Has a NiggleThe Indian team practiced at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Tuesday, but Chhetri did not practice with the main team.Though the rest of the players practiced set- piece movements and also a small game among themselves, Chhetri did only physical training and running under physical trainer Suresh Babu.”I have a minor injury in the ankle which I got during the UAE match. It’s nothing major though I did not practice with the team as I didn’t want to take chances,” he said.
Shimla, Sep 11 (PTI) Taking note of reports of illegal cultivation of cannabis and poppy on government land, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today directed forest and revenue departments to ensure a check on such activities. The Chief Minister said a high level committee, with representatives of departments ofpolice, education, health, information and public relations, agriculture, and horticulture, is being constituted to prepare a plan to curb thedrug menace in the state. He also suggested formation of a separate wing under a Superintendent of Police (SP) with a dedicated team be set up to effectively nab drug peddlers and smugglers. He called upon the urban local bodies and gram panchayats to immediately report aboutany type of illegal cultivation of drugs on both private and government land and said any person giving a clue about drug trafficking or any such allied activity in their vicinity would be suitably awarded. “A lot has been done to root-out the illicit drug trade in the state but whatever had been done so far was not enough to completely eradicate production of cannabis and poppy in the state and to stop smuggling of drugs from outside,” the Chief Minister said. Flagging concern over reports of large number of youths falling prey to drugs he also noted that many youngsters were being used as “couriers” for supplying the psychotropic substance and said police needs to keep vigil on the peddlers involved in the drug trade. It is due to huge profits, illicit drug business attracts criminal organisations and the online pharmacies indulging in illicit sale of pharmaceutical drugs through internet needs to countered effectively, he said. He said that the narcotic wing of the police department would be strengthened and there would be no dearth of funds for tackling the menace. PTI PCL KISadvertisement
“The song (in Mr Natwarlal) was for kids. I had sang”The song (in Mr Natwarlal) was for kids. I had sang it at the Mehboob Studio. Now a lot of things have changed. Now those kinds of studios are not there where 200 musicians would sit and compose the song,” Bachchan said.”I have heard that many times singers come, sing the song and go away. They dont even know for which film they have sung the song, which director … nothing is known. So these small changes have taken place, rest everything is same,” he added.”Te3n” narrates the story of a cop (Vidya Balan), a priest (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) and a vengeful man (Amitabh Bachchan) who investigate a kidnapping that is similar to an 8-year-old unsolved case.”Its been a delight to work in this film. My character in the film is of one Anglo Bengali whose name is John Biswas. He is old, weak, he is defeated and thats what Ribhu (wanted me to portray as a character,” Bachchan said.”So whether it was my clothing, the way I move, the way I walk and spoke they were all suppose to depict a very weak defeated person,” he added.The upcoming thriller is set to be released on June 10. PTI KKP NSK KIS BAS
Manchester United were given a tough Europa League group on Friday, being drawn with Fenerbahce, Feyenoord and Zorya Luhansk. (Latest Football stories)Man United manager Jose Mourinho is typically dismissive of the second-tier competition, but trips to Istanbul, Rotterdam and Ukraine cannot be taken lightly.Inter Milan, another recent Champions League winner, will play Southampton, Sparta Prague and Hapoel Beer-Sheva.Ajax once beat Panathinaikos in a European Cup final, and will meet again in a group with Standard Liege and Celta Vigo.Roma, Viktoria Plzen, and Astra Giurgiu all lost in Champions League qualifying this month and are grouped with Austria Vienna.Each of the 12 groups is played from September 15 to December 8.The top two finishers are joined in the round-of-32 draw by eight third-place teams from Champions League groups.
WORK HAS PICKED UP ON THE EFFORT TO CONVERT THE FORMER KCAU BUILDING AT 7TH AND DOUGLAS INTO THE NEW LAMB ARTS THEATER FACILITY.THE ELEVEN MILLION DOLLAR CAPITAL CAMPAIGN TO RENOVATE THE BUILDING INTO A PERFORMING ARTS CENTER WAS ANNOUNCED ON OCTOBER 20TH OF 2017.A WEEK LATER THE CITY COUNCIL OF SIOUX CITY APPROVED A $350,000 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT LOAN TO ALLOW LAMB ARTS TO PURCHASE THE BUILDING.ON TUESDAY WORKERS BEGAN REMOVING THE FRONT FACADE OF THE BUILDING THAT HAD COVERED THE ORIGINAL STONE STRUCTURE THAT WAS BUILT IN 1909.IN THE EARLY DAYS AFTER CONSTRUCTION THE BUILDING WAS HOME TO THE CITY AUDITORIUM AND TOMBA BALLROOM BEFORE REMODELING INTO A TV STATION.WHEN THE CURRENT PROJECT IS FINISHED IT WILL INCLUDE A TWO STORY ATRIUM WITH A SKYLIGHT, LARGE AND SMALL THEATERS, A CABARET BAR, CLASSROOMS, OFFICES AND A CATERING KITCHEN.
New Delhi: In a Law and Order meeting on the theme “General Election 2019 preparedness”, the Excise Department was told to explore the possibility of earning revenue from confiscated liquor. In the meeting, the city police were told to closely monitor the social media till the completion of the election. Highly placed sources told Millennium Post that the meeting was held at Raj Niwas on the last week of March. The timing was around 11:30 am under the chairmanship of LG Delhi. The meeting was attended by chief secretary rank officials, Delhi Police, the Excise Department, Divisional Commissioner. “In the meeting Excise Department has been told to explore the possibility of earning revenue from confiscated liquor in accordance with rules instead of destroying it, if found fit for human consumption,” sources said.The meeting was related to preparedness of Delhi Police including force management, coordination with police neighbouring states to check communal violence, terrorist activities, distribution of illicit liquor, cash & other narcotics drugs, security of VIPs/VVIPs, crime in border areas, sale of illegal arms, weapons, action against defacement of public property, vulnerability mapping of polling stations. At the start of meeting a Special CP from Delhi Police gave a power point presentation on the preparedness. The issues of deployment, mobility, the requirement of Central forces, coordination with neighbouring states and enforcement of Model Code of Conduct were discussed. Sources further said after deliberations, several decisions were taken in the meeting. Chief Secretary and Commissioner of Police will maintain constant liaison with CEO, Delhi to ensure strict enforcement of Model Code of Conduct and action against illicit cash, liquor and muscle-men. “Field supervision to be ensured by senior officers through surprise checks. It was informed that a Single Window System for permissions before conducting meetings, rallies etc exists in the office of every Returning Officer. The same facility is also available through an App called Suvidha. LG advised that the App should be publicized through police and Revenue Department,” sources said quoting the meeting points. According to Delhi Police data, this year 1,76,890 bottles seized by city police and excise Act cases till March was 1,549.
Casablanca – The Casablanca stock exchange will hold, next Thursday, a workshop on sharia -compliant financial marketing.The event will be held in partnership with the Moroccan association for participatory finance (AMFP) with the participation of experts from the fields of finance and marketing as well as Islamic scholars from Dar El Hadith El Hassania.The workshop will end with the signing of an agreement between the AMFP and the professional association for the stockbroking firms (APSB).
BSWM-UNDP Philippines-GEF5 SLM Project | Over-cultivation and the effects of climate change have led to the deterioration of soils in the Philippines’ Bukidnon Province. (file)But now, with the UNDP’s help, farmers in the Philippines’ Bukidnon Province are learning how to balance traditional methods of cultivation with the need to farm more sustainably while improving the quality of the soil.Read more here about how farmers are becoming more resilient and flexible in the face of changing climatic conditions and socioeconomic pressures. Over-cultivation, poor land management and industrialization – in addition to the effects of climate change – have led to the deterioration of soils which in turn has contributed to a loss of biodiversity.
OSU junior outside hitter Luisa Schirmer (5) takes a swing past Nittany Lion blockers during a game against Penn State on Nov. 12. Credit: Jenna Leinasars | Assistant News DirectorThe Ohio State women’s volleyball team will enter the 2017 season ranked as the No. 21 team following the release of the preseason American Volleyball Coaches Association Coaches Poll Wednesday.A season ago, the Buckeyes’ season ended in the NCAA regional semifinals to then-No. 3 Wisconsin — ranked No. 7 in the 2017 preseason poll — in five sets. They finished the season 22-13 overall and 10-10 in conference play.The Big Ten was the most represented conference, placing eight teams in the Top 25 including the aforementioned Ohio State and Wisconsin, as well as No. 4 Minnesota, No. 5 Nebraska, No. 6 Penn State, No. 16 Michigan, No. 17 Michigan State and No. 25 Purdue.Ohio State will play Minnesota, Michigan and Purdue twice each, while matching up against each of the other five teams only once during the season. The team will also play host to five ranked teams during the season.Coach Geoff Carlston will return several of the team’s regulars from last season, including senior outside hitter Luisa Schirmer and junior setter Taylor Hughes who were two of only three players to start in all 35 games and play in all 132 sets. Seven other players will come back for another year with the team. There is one transfer (junior middle blocker Jasmine Koonts) and five incoming freshmen joining the 2017 squad.The first matchup for the team will be on Aug. 25 at noon against University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
Want the best of The Telegraph direct to your email and WhatsApp? Sign up to our free twice-daily Front Page newsletter and new audio briefings. The eight-minute inquest hearing was told the serial killer, who had been on intermittent hunger strikes since 1999, had been treated by a palliative care team for the past two weeks because of his deteriorating health.Coroner’s officer Alby Howard-Murphy said no relatives of Brady’s were known to the court. The case was adjourned to a pre-inquest hearing on June 29.In 1966, Brady and Hindley were jailed for life for the killings of John Kilbride, 12, 10-year-old Lesley Ann Downey and Edward Evans, 17. They went on to admit the murders of Pauline Reade, 16, and Keith Bennett.Glasgow-born Brady had been held at Ashworth since 1985. Hindley died in jail aged 60 in November 2002. Myra Hindley and Ian Brady photographed on the moors where they buried victims He said: “I would like an assurance before I do so that first of all the person who asked to take over responsibility for that funeral has a funeral director willing to deal with the funeral and that he has a crematorium willing and able to cremate Mr Stewart-Brady’s body.”Emotions are high, they are bound to be, not so much in this area but in the Manchester area.”I also wanted to have assurance that when Mr Stewart-Brady is cremated his ashes will not be scattered on Saddleworth Moor. I think that’s a right and proper moral judgment to make.”I think it would be offensive if Mr Stewart-Brady’s ashes were scattered on Saddleworth Moor.” Mr Makin, Brady’s Liverpool-based solicitor who is the executor of his will, visited him in the hours before his death on Monday.”He was in the last hours of his life so he was pretty weak but we were able to discuss a few things and sort out what he wanted to be done,” he said.Mr Makin said he did not think Brady had any information that would help the search for the body of 12-year-old Keith Bennett, the only victim of Brady and Hindley whose remains have never been found.He said: “I don’t think useful information is going to come from him. I think that if he had been able to assist in its location it would have happened in the 1980s.” 
A police van leaves Chester Crown Court carrying Moors Murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley in May 1966Credit:Bentley Archive/Popperfoto/Getty Ian Brady’s lawyer has claimed that “it’s none of the coroner’s business” after he sought to block the killer’s ashes being scattered on Saddleworth Moor.Opening an inquest into the Moors Murderer’s death on Tuesday, senior coroner for Sefton Christopher Sumner said the 79-year-old’s body will not yet be released.Mr Sumner said he wanted assurances that Brady’s ashes will not be scattered on the same moorland where he and Myra Hindley’s five child victims were buried – a request Brady is believed to have made in his will.”I have no legal means of making that an order, but I think it’s a right and proper moral judgement to make, ” he said. “I think it would be offensive.”Mr Sumner also said he wanted confirmation that a funeral director and crematorium willing to take Brady’s body have been found.When Hindley died in 2002, no local funeral directors would take her body and the Prison Service later found a firm 200 miles away that was willing to arrange for her cremation.But his lawyer Robin Makin, who visited the killer in the hours before his death to discuss his legal wishes and funeral arrangements, told the Daily Mail: “It’s none of the coroner’s business.”
In 2013, Brady asked to be moved to a Scottish prison so he could not be force fed, as he could be in hospital, and where he could be allowed to die if he wished. 
The Moors Murderer died at Ashworth High Secure Hospital in Maghull, Merseyside, just after 6pm on Monday.The inquest heard his cause of death was cor pulmonale, a type of heart failure, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or lung disease.Mr Sumner told the hearing he had received a request to release the body of Brady, also known as Ian Stewart-Brady. His request was rejected after Ashworth medical experts said he had chronic mental illness and needed continued care in hospital.In February, he was refused permission to launch a High Court fight to have the lawyer of his choice representing him at a tribunal where the decision would be reviewed. Solicitor John Ainley, who represented Keith’s mother Winnie Johnson and works closely with Keith’s brother, Alan, said he had written to Brady less than two months ago and appealed to him to “look at his conscience” and agree to a meeting to aid the search on Saddleworth Moor for missing Keith’s body. He received no reply. He said: “It just remains to be seen whether information is passed over to the police after his death from his representatives but we have no information to confirm that as of yet.”It seems a bit unlikely but we are not giving up hope.”Martin Bottomley, head of Greater Manchester Police’s cold case review unit, said the case remained open and officers would act on “credible and actionable” information which would help them find the body of Keith.He said: “Whilst we are not actively searching Saddleworth Moor, Greater Manchester Police will never close this case. Brady’s death does not change that.”
Adani Mining has managed to get together the financing needed to develop its massive Carmichael coal mine and rail project in Queensland, Australia, after parent company, the Adani Group, said 100% of the funds would come through its own resources.The announcement follows recent changes to simplify construction and reduce the initial capital requirements for Carmichael, which is expected to produce some 27.5 Mt/y of high-quality thermal coal once fully ramped up.Adani Mining CEO Lucas Dow said construction and operation of the mine will now begin.“Our work in recent months has culminated in Adani Group’s approval of the revised project plan that de-risks the initial stage of the Carmichael mine and rail project by adopting a narrow-gauge rail solution combined with a reduced ramp up volume for the mine,” Dow said.“This means we’ve minimised our execution risk and initial capital outlay. The sharpening of the mine plan has kept operating costs to a minimum and ensures the project remains within the first quartile of the global cost curve. All coal produced in the initial ramp up phase will be consumed by the Adani Group’s captive requirements.“We will now begin developing a smaller open-cut mine comparable to many other Queensland coal mines and will ramp up production over time to 27.5 Mt/y,” he said.The construction for the shorter narrow-gauge rail line will also begin to match the production schedule, he added.The company has already invested $3.3 billion in Adani’s Australian businesses, according to Dow. “[This] is a clear demonstration of our capacity to deliver a financing solution for the revised scope of the mine and rail project.Carmichael is expected to deliver more than 1,500 direct jobs on the mine and rail projects during the initial ramp-up and construction phase, and will support thousands more indirect jobs, all of which will benefit regional Queensland communities, Adani said.Preparatory works at the mine site are imminent and Adani Mining is working with regulators to finalise the remaining required management plans, ahead of coal production, some of which have been subject to two years of state and federal government review.“This process is expected to be complete and provided by the governments in the next few weeks,” Adani said.Today’s announcement follows eight years of planning, securing approvals and successfully contesting legal challenges from anti-mining activists, according to Dow.“We have worked tirelessly to clear the required hurdles,” he said. “Given we meet the same environmental standards and operate under the same regulations as other miners, we expect that Adani Mining will be treated no differently than any other Queensland mining company.”Located more than 300 km west of the Queensland coast, the Carmichael thermal coal mine and rail project will transport coal from the Galilee Basin to countries in Asia, including India, Vietnam and China.In addition to the number of jobs and tax revenues Carmichael will create, the mine will also open the north Galilee Basin for further development, according to Tania Constable, Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Council of Australia.“[This is] an exciting new phase in Australia’s rich history of mining exploration and development, which has made our nation a global mining powerhouse,” she said.
We reported last week about the discovery that Apple has been tracking iPhone iOS 4 users since its release this past summer, and many, many people voiced their concerns about the privacy issue. Apple has remained quiet about the situation, until now.Still on sick leave, Steve Jobs broke Apple’s silence not to the press, but to a concerned Apple customer who wrote Jobs an email. The email came from a MacRumors reader who asked Jobs if he could explain why Apple felt it was necessary to have a tool embedded inside his iPhone that passively tracked him. He said having his exact location recorded at all times was “kind of unnerving,” and asked Jobs to “shed some light” on the issue before he switched on over to the Droid-side, since “they don’t track me.”Jobs responded shortly with a “Oh yes they do.” Jobs then went on to say that Apple doesn’t track anyone and that “the info circulating around is false.”The Apple CEO is right about one thing. Google does apparently track its smartphone locations as well, but it doesn’t store as many records as Apple does. Google only keeps 50 records stored and purges the rest of the data.Is Jobs playing safe by using such vague words? By using the word “track,” he can be referring to the fact that Apple doesn’t actually pull your data and watch where you’re going. The data submitted to Apple is apparently anonymous, so the company doesn’t actually have a way of tracking your exact location. It’s also been determined that the tracking uses cell towers, and not GPS, so that your location being recorded is not precise.It will be interesting to see how Apple responds to this issue as more government agencies are investigating the matter.Read more at MacRumors
One thing that motion controllers have shown this gamer is they are great at attracting new gamers to a platform. I’m talking about those members of the family who usually just watch you play holding a controller looking a little confused. Now they get up and dance, jiggle, and look stupid while having fun and possibly getting a bit of exercise in the process.But while motion controls are great for such scenarios, they do little for the hardcore gamer more used to precision thumbstick control, memorisation of complex button combos, and hours spent trying to get that last achievement and/or perfect run.Microsoft may be attempting to change that thinking, however, by bringing an historically hardcore genre to Xbox 360 played using Kinect. Microsoft is developing a First Person Shooter (FPS) for use with its full-body motion controller.There has been no official announcement about this game yet, but the project has been outed by one Shawn Woods who works at a new Microsoft internal studio called Zipline Studios in Vancouver. His position is listed as art director/senior artist, and the information comes from his resume which has understandably now been removed from his site.Thankfully, someone over at NeoGAF grabbed the info before it disappeared. It states that Woods is art director and senior character artist at Zipline. The project being worked on has no name, but is a triple-A shooter targeted at “core gamers” played using Kinect.The project has been in development since February 2010, so we might see it this year or maybe early next. However, it may never work out as controlling an FPS with your body may prove too difficult to make playable and fun.Read more at NeoGAF, via Attack of the FanboyMatthew’s OpinionI can’t see how Microsoft aim to pull this off in the traditional sense of the FPS. The controls required to play such a game really don’t fit with motion control. Aiming can never be as accurate as a thumbstick, crouching would get tiring fast, and how do you handle peeking around corners?While I don’t doubt this is a real project, I suspect it will be very different from any FPS we have ever played before. It has to turn out more like Time Crisis than COD. Saying that, though, id Software did a great job getting an on-rails FPS to work on the iPhone, so Zipline could be going down that route.
Apr 17th 2017, 8:42 PM A DONEGAL WOMAN has said she’s infuriated with Letterkenny University Hospital’s response after she was given incorrect information about the location of her baby boy, who died prematurely.Lisa, who does not want her surname known, told RTÉ‘s This Week programme that she found out her child’s body was left stored in a room in Letterkenny Hospital for four weeks, contrary to being told at delivery that he was to be buried one week later.His body had been left in a room in the gynaecology ward.Lisa was infuriated by the letter of apology by the hospital which said that she had been ‘failed’ by the hospital and they would “ensure that baby Eoin’s legacy will be that this does not ever happen again”.She said: Monday 17 Apr 2017, 8:42 PM Share Tweet Email1 13,610 Views Short URL We have already revised our systems and are currently reviewing our policies for patient information and consent so as to ensure that we are in line with best international practice.Due to patient privacy, they said they could not discuss individual patients with the media.You can hear Lisa tell her story through clicking the link here.Read: Staff at liquidated charity Console still haven’t been paid and it looks like they never will beRead: Transactions worth €60k ‘not recorded correctly’ in accounts of LGBT charity Image: Google Maps Tweet thisShare on FacebookEmail this article
My child had to lie for four weeks for them to open their eyes to this. I don’t understand how anyone could leave a human being, a baby, lying in a room for four weeks.“I don’t want anybody else to suffer the way we’ve suffered and continue to suffer. I don’t think anybody should have to go through that and I just pray and hope to God that this never happens again.”In response to RTÉ This Week’s report, Letterkenny University Hospital released the following statement to the programme, and subsequently to TheJournal.ie today: Hospital apologises to Donegal woman for leaving her baby’s body in storage for four weeks Letterkenny University Hospital admitted that they had ‘failed’ this woman. 20 Comments We would like to take this opportunity to apologise again to the patient and her family for any distress caused. http://jrnl.ie/3344620 By Gráinne Ní Aodha Image: Google Maps
Climat : la Bulgarie enregistre des records de chaleurAlors que la plupart des pays européens subissent un épisode de froid ces derniers jours, la situation est bien différente en Bulgarie. La capitale du pays, Sofia, vient en effet d’enregistrer un record de chaleur.La Bulgarie connaît un mois de décembre exceptionnellement doux et printanier, et comme l’a annoncé à l’AFP Krassimir Stoev, de l’institut bulgare de météorologie, un record de chaleur vient d’être enregistré pour le mois de décembre. Dans la ville de Sofia, la température a atteint hier 21,3°C, soit un degré de plus que le record enregistré par la capitale bulgare le 13 décembre 1957.À lire aussiBras robotique, astéroïdes et réchauffement climatique, les actus sciences que vous devez connaître ce 26 juilletDes températures record pour décembre, jamais atteintes depuis les premiers relevés il y a plus d’un siècle, ont été mesurées dans huit autres villes du centre et du sud de la Bulgarie. A Aïtos, le mercure a atteint 23 degrés hier.Les Bulgares sont habitués à des hivers froids, et début décembre, il est fréquent que les températures descendent au-dessous de zéro. Le pays devrait encore connaître ce climat exceptionnellement chaud pendant plusieurs jours, avec des températures de 22 à 23°C attendues ce vendredi dans le sud-est du pays. D’après les prévisions de l’institut de météorologie, la douceur devrait laisser sa place à un temps hivernal pendant la deuxième moitié du mois de décembre.Le 3 décembre 2010 à 16:18 • Emmanuel Perrin
Le réseau routier arctique menacé par le réchauffement climatiquePubliée le 29 mai dans la revue Nature Climate Change, une étude américaine prédit dans les pays arctiques une réduction parfois énorme des possibilités de transports routiers, due au réchauffement climatique, et impactant certaines populations.Finlande, Islande, Norvège, Suède, Russie, États-Unis (en Alaska), Canada, Groenland : à cause du réchauffement climatique, les huit pays du cercle polaire arctique verront la partie de leur parc routier construit sur des sols, des lacs ou des rivières gelés, et utilisée de façon saisonnière, réduite de 11 à 82% – selon les régions – d’ici à 2059. Ce sont les conclusions d’une étude réalisée par Scott Stephenson, de l’Université de Los Angeles (UCLA), à l’aide notamment de modélisations informatiques.À lire aussiQui est Greta Thunberg, proposée pour un prix Nobel à seulement 16 ans ?”Des communautés isolées qui dépendent des ‘routes d’hiver’, en particulier celles vivant à l’intérieur des terres, pourraient devoir se tourner vers des approvisionnements aériens, ce qui augmentera nettement les coûts”, explique le chercheur. Ainsi, au Canada, qui possède 5.400 kilomètres de ces ‘routes d’hiver’, la période annuelle durant laquelle ce réseau est praticable (8 à 10 semaines actuellement) pourrait diminuer de 17% dès 2020 dans le nord.Le réchauffement global (de + 4 à + 11°C durant les hivers arctiques, d’ici la fin du siècle) favorisera en revanche les transports maritimes : d’ici à 2050, trois des quatre principales voies de navigation de la région arctique devraient être totalement accessibles de juillet à septembre, ce qui n’avantagera que les populations côtières.Le 4 juin 2011 à 12:59 • Emmanuel Perrin
Le manque d’activités en extérieur, un facteur décisif dans l’apparition de la myopieSelon une étude, l’explosion du nombre de cas de myopie qui s’observe actuellement en Asie est dû au mode de vie des jeunes. Ceux-ci, dans les villes, passent plus de temps devant les écrans, et les livres qu’à l’extérieur comme c’était autrefois le cas.La myopie est une maladie oculaire due à un allongement excessif du globe oculaire pendant la période postnatale. On sait aujourd’hui que la dopamine est en mesure de bloquer cette croissance. Or, la sécrétion de ce neurotransmetteur est stimulée par la lumière solaire. Comme l’a expliqué à l’AFP le chercheur Ian Morgan de l’université de Canberra, “il est assez clair que la lumière vive stimule la dopamine qui empêche la myopie”.À lire aussiMaladie de Charcot : symptômes, causes, traitement, où en est on ?Aussi, pour ce scientifique qui a participé à une étude tout juste publiée dans The Lancet, la recrudescence des cas de myopie en Asie n’est pas surprenante. Plus qu’ailleurs dans le monde, les enfants d’Extrême Orient “vont à l’école, ne sortent pas de l’école, et ensuite vont à la maison où ils restent à étudier et regarder la télévision”, explique le Pr Morgan. “La plupart des cas en Extrême Orient sont dus à l’environnement et non pas à la génétique”, souligne ce chercheur cité par l’AFP.Les taux les plus élevés de myopie au monde chez les élèves en dernière année de lycée sont relevés dans les grandes villes de Chine, de Taïwan, de Hong Kong, du Japon, de Singapour et de Corée du Sud, avec des taux de 80 à 90 %. Le fait de dévorer les livres ou de passer beaucoup de temps devant un ordinateur n’entraîne pas nécessairement des risques supplémentaires d’être atteint de myopie, souligne le Pr Morgan. C’est le temps passé à l’extérieur qui compte.Ainsi, les enfants qui passent deux à trois heures par jour dehors, en comprenant le temps passé pour aller jusqu’à l’école par exemple, n’auront “probablement” pas ce problème, estime le scientifique. “Il y a des enfants qui étudient beaucoup, mais qui sortent pour se défouler dehors et qui n’ont généralement pas de problème. Ceux qui ont le plus de risques sont ceux qui étudient beaucoup et qui ne sortent jamais”, explique-t-il.Le 8 mai 2012 à 17:04 • Maxime Lambert
Fire crews overnight kept watch on the 60-acre Hilltop Fire in the Yacolt Burn State Forest, monitoring hot spots and digging fire lines.This morning, 150 firefighters are fighting the fire on Larch Mountain, which is 10 miles east of Hockinson. Firefighters are working steep terrain four miles east of the Larch Corrections Center.Fire officials said this morning the blaze remains about 28 percent contained. “They’ll get started increasing that (figure) as the day goes on,” said Seth Barnes with the State Department of Natural Resources. “If the plans all go the way we’d like them to, we’ll have a bigger number by this evening.”Two helicopters and an air tanker are dropping water and retardant on the ridge off the L1500 forest road.Eight fire engine crews and three water tenders are working on the fire.Besides water, firefighters were using shovels, axes, pulaskies, hoes and chain saws to try to stop the blaze. Crews plan to use a technique called a “burnout” to remove unburned fuel from the fire, according to an update provided by the Department of Natural Resources. The procedure may increase visible smoke in the Vancouver and Portland metro areas. The land is mostly owned by Longview Timber.No homes are believed to be in danger as the -nearest houses are 2.7 miles to the south near the Jones Creek -Campground.For up-to-date information on the fire, call 360-448-6494.
SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) – A newborn belonging to an endangered species of zebras made its grand Zoo Miami debut.The local zoo welcomed a baby imperial zebra, also known as a Grévy’s zebra. The male foal made his first appearance beside his mother at the park’s zebra exhibit, Wednesday.This is the zoo’s 17th birth of the endangered species.Copyright 2019 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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