24 May 2016

India successfully tests small space shuttle

In this photo released on Monday, May 23, 2016, by an official website of the Indian Space Research Organization, India's first indigenously made and reusable space launch vehicle is seen lifted off from the launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. India successfully flight tested a model Re-usable launch Vehicle technology Demonstrator or RLV-TD in its bid to develop reusable spacecraft.
India has successfully tested its first small space shuttle as part of its efforts to make low-cost reusable spacecraft.
The Indian Space Research Organization said the shuttle lifted off on a rocket from a launch pad in southern India on Monday and completed a successful 13-minute test flight.
Space expert Pallava Bagla, who writes for science magazines, said the test paves the way for India to embark on low-cost space missions. He said the United States and some other countries have abandoned the use of winged reusable spacecraft, but India hopes to bring down the cost of access to space by 90 percent by using reusable vehicles.

20 May 2016

India records its hottest temperature ever amid heat wave

A man uses a cloth to protect himself from the sun during a hot summer day in Jammu, India, Friday, May 20, 2016. The prolonged heat wave this year has already killed hundreds and destroyed crops in more than 13 states, impacting hundreds of millions of Indians.
A city in western India has suffered through the country's highest recorded temperature — a scorching 51 degrees Celsius (123.8 degrees Fahrenheit).
The record was set Thursday in the city of Phalodi, in the western state of Rajasthan. India's meteorological department said the previous high was 50.6 C (123 F), reached in 1956 in the city of Alwar, also in Rajasthan.

UN alarmed by 12th straight global monthly heat record

A laborer covers himself with a cloth to protect from the sun as he pulls a rickshaw carrying wooden logs on a hot summer afternoon in Hyderabad, India, Friday, May 20, 2016. The prolonged heat wave this year has already killed hundreds and destroyed crops in more than 13 states. The extreme heat has impacted hundreds of millions in western India with record temperatures Friday reaching as high as a scorching 51 degrees Celsius (123.8 Fahrenheit).
The United Nations has expressed alarm after scientists recorded the 12th straight global monthly heat record in a row.

The data from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released Thursday confirmed earlier readings taken by NASA and the Japan Meteorological Agency. They showed that Earth's average temperature in April was 1.1 degrees Celsius (2 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than the 20th-century average.

India records its hottest temperature ever amid heat wave

Indian boys swim at Hazrat Nizamuddin Baoli, a stepwell, on a hot day in New Delhi, India, Thursday, May 19, 2016. An intense heat wave continues to grip several parts of north India with most of the cities crossing the 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) mark.
A city in western India has set a new heat record for the country — a scorching 51 degrees Celsius (123.8 Fahrenheit).

The record set Thursday in the city of Phalodi, in the western state of Rajasthan, comes amid a heat wave in India.

India's meteorological department said the previous high was 50.6 Celsius (123 F), reached in 1956 in the city of Alwar, also in Rajasthan.

Search resumes in rain for missing in Sri Lankan landslide

Sri Lankan onlookers walk towards safety during a minor land slide following heavy rains in Elangipitiya village in Aranayaka about 72 kilometers (45 miles) north east of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, May 18, 2016. Soldiers and police used sticks and bare hands Wednesday to dig through enormous piles of mud covering houses in three villages hit by massive landslides in central Sri Lanka, with hundreds of families reported missing.
Hundreds of soldiers resumed the slow and difficult search Friday for hundreds of people missing after landslides swallowed three hillside villages in central Sri Lanka, a dangerous effort as continuing rain kept the ground unstable and the risk of more mudslides a constant threat.
By Friday morning, rescuers had recovered 30 bodies, out of hundreds believed buried on Tuesday when torrents of thick, red mud buried the villages of Siripura, Pallebage and Elangapitya. The Sri Lankan Red Cross has said at least 220 families were unaccounted for.

19 May 2016

EgyptAir MS804 crash: A history of crashes involving the Airbus model A320

In this Dec. 10, 2014 image an EgyptAir Airbus A320 with the registration SU-GCC on the tarmac at Cairo airport. Egyptian aviation officials said on Thursday May 19, 2016 that an EgyptAir flight MS804 with the registration SU-GCC, travelling from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew on board has crashed. The officials say the search is now underway for the debris.
The missing EgyptAir flight that crashed into the Mediterranean Sea Thursday is an Airbus 320.

The passenger jet  is a  twin-engine plane that operates on short and medium-haul routes. It is considered  to be one of the safest planes  now  flying.
The A320 model has  been involved in 14 fatal accidents since entering service in 1988.

Aviation officials: EgyptAir plane carrying 66 has crashed

Map locates EgyptAir Flight 804's flight path and approximate location of disappearance.
An EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew on board crashed in the Mediterranean Sea early Thursday morning off the Greek island of Crete, Egyptian and Greek officials said.
Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said it was too early to say whether a technical problem or a terror attack caused the plane to crash. "We cannot rule anything out," he told reporters at Cairo airport.

18 May 2016

Apple to open app development center in India in early 2017

An Indian man talks on his iPhone in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, May 18, 2016. Apple has announced that it will set up an app design and development center in southern India, shortly after company chief Tim Cook arrived in the country on his first visit.
Apple will set up an app design and development center in southern India, the company announced Wednesday, shortly after its CEO, Tim Cook, arrived in the country on his first visit.
Tens of thousands of Indian developers design apps for Apple devices, and the company said in a statement that the development lab would give them specialized support. It's expected to open in the technology hub of Bangalore in early 2017.

Over 200 families feared buried by mudslides in Sri Lanka

An elderly Sri Lankan woman and a girl are shifted on a mattress at a flooded area in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, May 17, 2016. The Disaster Management Center said that 114 homes have been destroyed and more than 137,000 people have been evacuated to safe locations as heavy rains continue.
A massive landslide triggered by torrential rains buried homes in three villages in the central hills of Sri Lanka, and more than 200 families were missing Wednesday and feared buried under the mud and debris, the Sri Lankan Red Cross said.
Sixteen bodies have already been recovered and about 180 people have been rescued from the enormous piles of mud unleashed at around 5 p.m. Tuesday, according to military spokesman Brig. Jayanath Jayaweera.

17 May 2016

Han Kang's 'The Vegetarian' wins Man Booker fiction prize

Winner of the 2016 Man Booker International prize for fiction Han Kang speaks to the media after winning the award for her book 'The Vegetarian' after the award ceremony in London, Tuesday, May, 16, 2016.
South Korean author Han Kang won the Man Booker International Prize for fiction Monday with "The Vegetarian," an unsettling novel in which a woman's decision to stop eating meat has devastating consequences.
Han beat literary stars including elusive Italian author Elena Ferrante and Turkish Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk for the 50,000-pound ($72,000) prize, awarded during a ceremony at London's Victoria and Albert Museum.

16 May 2016

World's biggest cruise ship sets sail from France

In this Feb. 18, 2016 file photo, the "Harmony of the Seas" docks at the STX Shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, western France. Tens of thousands of French well-wishers waved revoir to the largest cruise ship in the world as it set sail on its maiden voyage to the U.K. after 32 months in a French shipyard.
Tens of thousands of French well-wishers waved goodbye to the largest cruise ship in the world as it set sail on its maiden voyage to the U.K. after 32 months in a French shipyard.
The $1 billion Harmony of the Seas cut a gargantuan silhouette Sunday as it left the western port town of Saint-Nazaire.

13 May 2016

Italian woman, 116, seen as last living person born in 1800s

Emma Morano sits on her bed in her apartment in Verbania, Italy, Friday, May 13, 2016. Emma Morano is now the oldest person in the world. Not only that, but she is believed to be the last surviving person in the world who was born in the 1800s, coming into the world on Nov. 29, 1899. That’s just 4 and a half months after Susannah Mushatt Jones, who died Thursday in New York at the age of 116.
Surrounded by relatives and friends, Italy's Emma Morano greeted with a smile the news that she, at 116, is now the oldest person in the world.
Not only that, but Morano is believed to be the last surviving person in the world born in the 1800s, with a birthdate of Nov. 29, 1899. That's just 4 ½ months after Susannah Mushatt Jones, who died Thursday in New York, also at 116.
Journalists on Friday descended upon Morano's home in Verbania, a northern Italian mountain town overlooking Lake Major, to document her achievement, but had to wait until she finished a nap to greet her.

Spain evacuates 9,000 from massive tire fire near Madrid

Four women walk with masks in front of billowing black smoke from a huge fire in Sesena, central Spain, Friday, May 13, 2016. A massive fire is raging at a sprawling tire dump in a town near Madrid, sending a spectacular cloud of thick black smoke into the air that's visible for at least 30 kilometers (20 miles). Ten teams of firefighters are trying to put out the blaze at the tire dump in the town of Sesena, still raging more than 10 hours after it started.
Spanish officials ordered 9,000 people evacuated Friday night from a large apartment complex after a raging fire at a sprawling tire dump sent spectacular, toxic clouds of black smoke into the sky.

About 8,000 apartment dwellers had already left their homes in Sesena, a central town near Madrid, as the thick smoke poured out from the fire that started before dawn, the regional government of Castilla-La Mancha announced.

Sri Lankan leader begins 2nd visit to India in 17 months

In this Jan. 9, 2015 file photo, Sri Lanka's then-incoming President Maithripala Sirisena waves to supporters as he leaves the election secretariat in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka’s leader was to visit neighboring India on Friday, May 13, 2016 for a second state visit in 17 months, underscoring his island nation’s delicate efforts to balance relations with regional superpowers India and China.
Sri Lanka's leader began his second state visit to India in 17 months Friday in a trip that underscores his island nation's delicate efforts to balance relations with regional superpowers India and China.
President Maithripala Sirisena was slated to join Prime Minister Narendra Modi for dinner after arriving during the day from Britain. On Saturday, the two men plan to participate in Kumbh Mela, a Hindu religious ritual of plunging into a river believed wash away sins.

Sri Lankan leader to visit India in delicate balancing act

In this Jan. 9, 2015 file photo, Sri Lanka's then-incoming President Maithripala Sirisena waves to supporters as he leaves the election secretariat in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka’s leader was to visit neighboring India on Friday, May 13, 2016 for a second state visit in 17 months, underscoring his island nation’s delicate efforts to balance relations with regional superpowers India and China.
Sri Lanka's leader was to visit neighboring India on Friday for a second state visit in 17 months, underscoring his island nation's delicate efforts to balance relations with regional superpowers India and China.
President Maithripala Sirisena, returning to the region from Britain, was expected to arrive in New Delhi in time to join Prime Minister Narendra Modi for dinner. On Saturday, the two men plan to participate in Kumbh Mela, a Hindu religious ritual of plunging into a river believed wash away sins.

12 May 2016

UN: Rising air pollution in world's cities killing millions

In this Dec. 25, 2015, file photo, pedestrians make their way across a busy intersection on a day with severe air pollution in Beijing. The World Health Organization on Thursday May 12, 2016 released new information from its Global Urban Ambient Air Pollution Database, that says 98 percent of residents in large cities of low- and middle-income countries are facing excessively high air pollution.
Almost everyone in large cities in poor and middle-income countries faces excessively high air pollution, a growing problem that is killing more than 3 million people prematurely each year and "wreaking havoc on human health," the World Health Organization said Thursday.
The U.N. health agency says more than four out of five city dwellers worldwide live in cities that don't meet WHO air quality guidelines — 98 percent in poorer countries and 56 percent even in high-income countries.

Brazil's Senate impeaches president Rousseff; trial ahead

An anti-government demonstrator shows off her Brazilian flag motif face paint outside Congress in Brasilia, Brazil, Wednesday, May 11, 2016. Brazil's Senate is nearing a historic vote on impeaching President Dilma Rousseff, likely ending 13 years of government by her party amid a spate of crises besetting Latin America's largest nation.
Brazil's Senate voted Thursday to impeach President Dilma Rousseff after a months-long fight that laid bare the country's fury over corruption and economic decay, hurling Latin America's largest country into political turmoil just months before it hosts the Summer Olympics.
Rousseff's enraged backers called the move a coup d'etat and threatened wide-scale protests and strikes. Her foes, meanwhile, insisted that she had broken the law, and that the country's deep political, social and economic woes could only be tackled without her.

9 May 2016

Little Mercury a black dot as it crosses vast face of sun

The transit of Mercury, left, in front of the Sun is seen from St.Petersburg, Russia, Monday, May 9, 2016. The photo was taken through a hydrogen-alpha (H-alpha) narrow spectrum solar telescope that permits examination of the sun's protuberances and showing the surface activity.
For the first time in 10 years, Mercury passed directly between the Earth and sun on Monday, resembling a black dot against the vast, glowing face of our star.
Many stargazers turned to the Internet as NASA provided close-to-real-time images of the 7½-hour trek, courtesy of the Solar Dynamics Observatory.
Although the solar system's small, innermost planet appeared to be trudging along, it actually was zooming past the sun at 106,000 mph.

8 May 2016

Kim Jong Un says Pyongyang won't use nukes first

A man pushes his bicycle past the Pyongyang train station which is decorated with the ruling Workers' Party flags Sunday, May 8, 2016, in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said during a critical ruling party congress that his country will not use its nuclear weapons first unless its sovereignty is invaded. He also announced a five-year plan starting this year to develop the North's dismal economy and identified improving the country's power supply and increasing its agricultural and light-manufacturing production as the critical parts of the program, state media reported.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country will not use its nuclear weapons first unless its sovereignty is invaded, in a speech during a critical party congress that struck a conciliatory note in the face of international pressure over its recent nuclear test and long-range rocket launch.
Kim said he is ready to improve ties with "hostile" nations, and called for more talks with rival South Korea to reduce misunderstanding and distrust between them. He also urged the United States to stay away from inter-Korean issues, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

7 May 2016

These beasts are beauties: India holds bovine beauty pageant

A pair of bulls wait for their turn to walk the ramp during a bovine beauty pageant in Rohtak, India, Saturday, May 7, 2016. Hundreds of cows and bulls walked the ramp in the bovine beauty pageant aimed at promoting domestic cattle breeds and raising awareness about animal health.
Even beasts can be beautiful.

Hundreds of cows and bulls walked the ramp in a north Indian town Saturday in a bovine beauty pageant aimed at promoting domestic cattle breeds and raising awareness about animal health.
As farmers led their animals, the panel of experts judged the beasts for their size and overall looks, the length of their horns and, for the cows, their milk-yielding capacities.

Philippine campaign ends in panic as Trump-like mayor leads

The campaign sortie of Presidential candidate Vice-president Jejomar Binay and Congressman Manny Pacquiao, who is running for senator in Monday's national elections, passes thru narrow streets in Navotas north of Manila, Philippines Friday, May 6, 2016. Binay is running fourth in the latest poll survey while Pacquiao is in the top five of the possible senators. The country will hold a national election on Monday to succeed President Benigno Aquino III with tough-talking Mayor Rodrigo Duterte leading among five presidential candidates in most surveys.
A bruising presidential campaign was drawing to a close in the Philippines on Saturday, with a last-minute attempt by the president to unify candidates against a front-running mayor perceived as a threat to democracy virtually collapsing.
After crisscrossing the archipelago nation for three months, five presidential candidates led by Mayor Rodrigo Duterte will converge in the vote-rich capital Manila for their final rallies ahead of Monday's vote.

6 May 2016

Pakistan treating 2 brothers who become paralyzed each night

In this photo taken on Thursday, May 5, 2016, Abdul Rasheed, 9, front, and Shoaib Ahmed, 13, lie in a bed at a hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan. The boys are normal active children during the day. But once the sun goes down, they both lapse into a vegetative state — unable to move or talk. Dr. Javed Akram, told The Associated Press on Thursday that he had no idea what was causing the symptoms.
The two brothers have come to be known as the "solar kids" and their case has completely mystified Pakistani doctors.
Aged nine and 13, the boys are normal active children during the day. But once the sun goes down, they both lapse into a vegetative state — unable to move or talk. Javed Akram, a professor of medicine at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, told The Associated Press on Thursday that he had no idea what was causing the symptoms.

5 May 2016

Reutersward, Swedish sculptor of twisted gun barrel, dies

In this Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013 file photo, a sculpture by Carl Fredrik Reutersward, titled "knotted gun" which is a symbol designed to protest against global violence and senseless killings, is displayed in Cape Town, South Africa. Carl Fredrik Reutersward, one of Sweden’s best-known modern artists and the creator of the iconic statue of a revolver barrel tied in a knot, has died. He was 81. Thomas Millroth, from the Carl Fredrik Reutersward Art Foundation, said the artist died in a hospital in Helsingborg, southwestern Sweden on Tuesday, May 3, 2016. No cause of death was given.
Carl Fredrik Reutersward, one of Sweden's best-known modern artists and the creator of the iconic statue of a revolver barrel tied in a knot, has died at the age of 81.
The artist, who was a major influence in the modern Swedish art scene, died in a hospital in Helsingborg, southwestern Sweden, on Tuesday evening, Thomas Millroth, from the Carl Fredrik Reutersward Art Foundation, said. He gave no cause of death, but Reutersward, who suffered a stroke in 1980, was known to have been unwell for some time.

3 May 2016

3 detained after Dalit law student raped, murdered in India

Police stop students who were protesting following the rape and murder of a law student in Kochi, Kerala state, India, Tuesday, May 3, 2016. Police detained three men for questioning Tuesday in the rape and murder of a law student whose body was found mutilated in southern India, officials said.The case has drawn comparisons to the deadly 2012 gang rape of a woman on a New Delhi bus that sparked widespread outrage and nationwide protests demanding an end to the widespread sexual assault and abuse of women across India.
Police detained three men for questioning Tuesday in the rape and murder of a law student whose body was found mutilated in southern India, officials said.
The case has drawn comparisons to the deadly 2012 gang rape of a woman on a New Delhi bus that sparked widespread outrage and nationwide protests demanding an end to the widespread sexual assault and abuse of women across India.

Italy: Hague tribunal OKs marine's return from India for now

In this Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012 file photo, Italian marines Salvatore Girone, left, and Massimiliano Latorre, arrive at the Ciampino Rome airport from Kochi, India. Italy's Foreign Ministry says Monday, May 2, 2016 an international tribunal in The Hague has decided that Salvatore Girone, an Italian marine being held in India in the shooting deaths of two Indian fishermen mistaken for pirates can return home for the duration of arbitration.
An international tribunal in The Hague has decided that an Italian marine being held in India in the shooting deaths of two Indian fishermen mistaken for pirates can return home for the duration of arbitration, the Italian foreign ministry said Monday.
The tribunal's decision, approving an Italian request, was expected to be officially announced in The Hague on Tuesday.
India has accused two marines, Salvatore Girone and Massimiliano Latorre, of the shootings in 2012 while they were assigned to anti-piracy duties aboard an Italian commercial ship, the Enrica Lexie.