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Is Europe About to Move Below Africa as Direction of Tectonic Plates Shifts?

04/12/2011 Leave a comment

“Europe could be moving beneath Africa as the two continents shift closer together, scientists believe.

Geologists say a pause in the movement between the two continents could mean the tectonic plates are about to change direction, in what has been described as a ‘scientifically fascinating’ development.

The northern edge of the African tectonic plate has descended under Europe for millions of years but recently this process halted, it has been reported.”  Read more.

 

Categories: Anything Else Tags:

Killer Subway Blast in Minsk a ‘Terrorist Act’

04/12/2011 Leave a comment

The death toll has now risen to 12.  If it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck, acts like a duck …

By YURAS KARMANAU – “An explosion has torn through a key subway station in the Belarusian capital of Minsk during evening rush hour killing 11 people and wounding 126.

An official said the blast was a terrorist act.

President Alexander Lukashenko did not say what caused the explosion at the Oktyabrskaya subway station, but suggested outside forces could be behind it.

‘I do not rule out that this gift could have been brought from outside,’ Lukashenko said. The authoritarian leader, under strong pressure from the West over his suppression of the opposition, has frequently alleged outside forces seek to destabilise his regime.

Deputy prosecutor-general Andrei Shved said the blast was a terrorist act, but did not give further details.” Read more.

Maikel Nabil, Egypt Blogger, Jailed For Criticizing Military

04/12/2011 Leave a comment

Welcome to Egypt’s new era of peace and freedom …

By Jailan Zayan – “CAIRO (AFP) – A military court has jailed a blogger for three years for criticising the armed forces that have ruled Egypt since president Hosni Mubarak’s ouster in February, in a decision slammed by rights groups on Monday.

‘Regrettably, the Nasr City military court sentenced Maikel Nabil to three years in prison,’ the blogger’s lawyer Gamal Eid told AFP.

‘The lawyers were not present, the verdict was handed out almost in secret.’

The decision had initially been set for Wednesday and was postponed to Sunday. The lawyers went on Sunday but were told to leave because there would be no verdict, Eid said.”  Read more.

NIC: Japan Government ‘Is At Last Beginning to Wake Up to the Reality of the Scale of the Disaster’

04/11/2011 Leave a comment

By Michio Nakayama and Aaron Sheldrick – “… [T]he government widened the surrounding evacuation zone yesterday … [and] ‘is at last beginning to wake up to the reality of the scale of the disaster,’ said Philip White, International Liaison Officer at the Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center, a Tokyo-based group opposed to atomic energy. ‘Its belated move to evacuate people from a larger area around the nuclear plant, likewise, is a recognition that the impact on public health is potentially much greater than it first acknowledged.’…

Level 7 means there has been a ‘major release of radioactive material with widespread health and environmental effects requiring implementation of planned and extended countermeasures,’ the factsheet says.”  Read more.

 

Categories: Man-Made Disasters Tags: ,

Prominent Imam Speaking Out Against Violence is Sprayed With Bullets

04/11/2011 1 comment

“MOSCOW (AFP) – A prominent imam who discouraged youth from joining Islamic militants has been shot dead in his home in the strife-torn southern Russian republic of Dagestan, news reports said Saturday.

Magomed Saiputdinov was slain by automatic gunfire in a nighttime attack near the Chechen-border town of Kizlyar, agencies quoted a spokesman for the local interior ministry as saying.

‘He was widely known for his uncompromising stand against any forms of violence, condemning the murder of innocent people and other atrocities of the Chechen underground,’ Interfax quoted a police statement as saying.”  Read more.

Mosque Sells Anti-Semitic Book While ‘Dispelling Myths Surrounding Islam’

04/11/2011 Leave a comment

“A MOSQUE in western Sydney was selling copies of the inflammatory anti-Semitic book The Protocols of the Elders of Zion on the same weekend it opened its doors to the wider community to dispel some of the myths surrounding Islam.

The bookstall on the ground floor of the Lakemba Mosque had in stock about 15 bright-pink paperback editions of The Protocols for sale for $8.

The Protocols is a hoax document first published in Russia in 1903 that purports to be an account of a meeting of Jewish leaders discussing plans for economic world domination.” Read more.

France: Man Assaulted Over ‘Jewish Appearance’

04/11/2011 Leave a comment

“A 21-year-old man from the city of Villeurbanne in southern France was severely injured last week after being assaulted by two men of North African origin, the European Jewish Press reported Monday.

According to the report, Thursday’s violent incident occurred as the man headed home from a Torah class at the local synagogue.

The two aggressors allegedly approached the man and asked for his name. After hearing his response, the two told him: ‘You don’t look to be named Antoine, you look Jewish, you are a Jew.'”  Read more.

 

Categories: Radical Islam Tags:

Possible Seven Wisconsin Tornadoes May Be Record

04/11/2011 Leave a comment

By John Rondy – “MILWAUKEE, Wis (Reuters) – A powerful storm system that moved through the nation’s midsection over the weekend caused what may be a record-breaking seven tornadoes in Wisconsin, officials said Monday.

‘It’s one of the most significant tornado outbreaks in April,’ said Rich Mamrosh, meteorologist for the National Weather Service. He said if confirmed, the number of Sunday night storms may have broken a record for a single day in April in the state — the previous record was six.

Mamrosh said a strong low pressure system moved from South Dakota to northern Wisconsin Sunday, moving warm, moist air into the state, which was followed by a cold front, producing the storms.”  Read more.

 

Japan Officially Raises Fukushima Nuclear Crisis Level to 7, Matching Chernobyl

04/11/2011 Leave a comment

“The Japanese government’s nuclear safety agency has decided to raise the crisis level of the Fukushima Daiichi power plant accident from 5 to 7, the worst on the international scale.

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency made the decision on Monday. It says the damaged facilities have been releasing a massive amount of radioactive substances, which are posing a threat to human health and the environment over a wide area.

The agency used the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, or INES, to gauge the level. The scale was designed by an international group of experts to indicate the significance of nuclear events with ratings of 0 to 7.”  Read more.

Livestock Farmers in Kenya Lose 17,000 Animals Since January Due to Drought

04/11/2011 Leave a comment

“ISIOLO/MANDERA, 6 April 2011 (IRIN) – Thousands more heads of livestock have died in Kenya’s arid Northeastern province as La Niña drought conditions worsen and water shortages become more acute.

Drought monitoring and assessment reports indicate that the hardest-hit areas are Marsabit, Moyale and Mandera. Livestock farmers in the three regions have lost more than 17,000 animals since January, according to officials from the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) and the government’s Arid Lands and Resource Management Project (ALRMP).

Mass deaths of livestock began in February, but the average daily loss of animals has risen in the last three weeks as crucial water sources dried up. Many of the remaining water sources are contaminated, leading to increased incidents of water-borne diseases such as typhoid, amoeba and diarrhoea.” Read more.

 

6.4 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes East Coast of Japan Near Tokyo

04/11/2011 Leave a comment

“A STRONG earthquake has struck Tokyo, a day after a monster aftershock shook the country.

The 6.4 magnitude quake struck just 77km east of Tokyo off the coast of Chiba prefecture at 9.08am (AEST).

There was no chance of a tsunami, say authorities.

Tokyo residents reported strong shaking. The city’s subway system has stopped.”  Read more.

Categories: Earthquakes Tags: ,

Japan’s Meteorological Agency Issues Warnings of Potential Volcanic Cataclysms for Japan

04/11/2011 Leave a comment

By Gang Phan – “Japan’s Meteorological Agency on Friday warned the country’s 20 volcanoes has become alive due to the massive March 11 earthquake, and a study said [an] earthquake over 9.0-magnitude might hit Japan.

The Agency said volcanic explosion[s] occurred after earthquake[s] several times in history and people should maintain vigilance against this tendency.

The number of earthquake[s] above 6.0 M reached 77 on March.  And 74 out of them occurred in [the] quake-hit region, were aftershock[s]. The number is 50 times over the same period last year.

The largest aftershock on April 7 [that] hit Japan has killed 4 people, injured at least 166, and caused a power outage [for] over 2.61 million households, according to Japan’s police officials. The Meteorological Agency warned aftershocks above 6.0 M like the April 7 earthquake probably would hit Japan again.”  Read more.