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| December 26, 2013 |
 A decade on, Iran's quake-hit Bam eyes new era Bam, Iran (AFP) Dec 24, 2013 - There are few signs left of the killer earthquake that reduced to rubble the Iranian city of Bam and its celebrated citadel, but a decade later survivors are still haunted. The 6.6 magnitude quake struck at dawn on December 26, 2003, devastating Bam, killing 26,000 people and leaving 75,000 homeless. Nearly 80 percent of Bam's infrastructure was damaged, while the desert citadel, once co ... more |  |
Study faults a 'runaway' mechanism in intermediate-depth earthquakes Boston MA (SPX) Dec 26, 2013 - Nearly 25 percent of earthquakes occur more than 50 kilometers below the Earth's surface, when one tectonic plate slides below another, in a region called the lithosphere. Scientists have thought that these rumblings from the deep arise from a different process than shallower, more destructive quakes. But limited seismic data, and difficulty in reproducing these quakes in the laboratory, have co ... more |  |
 Researcher says extensive use of antibiotics in agriculture creating public health crisis Calgary, Canada (SPX) Dec 26, 2013 - Citing an overabundance in the use of antibiotics by the agriculture and aquaculture industries that poses a threat to public health, economics professor Aidan Hollis has proposed a solution in the form of user fees on the non-human use of antibiotics. In a newly released paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Hollis and co-author Ziana Ahmed state that in the United State ... more |  |
 Evolutionary timetree reveals traits that permit survival in cold climates Minneapolis, MN (SPX) Dec 23, 2013 - A team of researchers studying plants has assembled the largest dated evolutionary tree, using it to show the order in which flowering plants evolved specific strategies, such as the seasonal shedding of leaves, to move into areas with cold winters. The researchers, including University of Minnesota professor Peter Reich, will publish their findings in the journal Nature. Early flowe ... more |  |
 Disaster warning systems could prevent another Tsunami devastation event London, UK (SPX) Dec 24, 2013 - Nine years after the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami, the deadliest natural disaster in recorded history, a new technological advance is now available, that provides early warning of natural disasters, which could save millions of lives in at risk regions. Mobile phones can now be used to alert millions of people to impending perils such as tsunamis, typhoons and earthquakes. Regrettably, fe ... more |  |
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 Russia closes first case against Greenpeace activists Moscow (AFP) Dec 24, 2013 - Russia has closed the criminal case against one of the 30 crew of a Greenpeace ship who were charged with hooliganism over a protest against Gazprom oil drilling in the Arctic, the group said Tuesday. The move, part of a Kremlin-backed amnesty, should pave the way for the other 29 crew to have their cases closed and then allow the 26 foreign nationals charged in the saga to finally leave Rus ... more |  |
Defiant Philippine typhoon survivors welcome Christmas Tacloban, Philippines (AFP) Dec 24, 2013 - Philippine survivors of deadly typhoon Haiyan defiantly prepared to celebrate Christmas in their ruined communities Tuesday where hogs were being roasted, festive trees adorned streets and churches were filled to overflowing. "Nothing can stop us from welcoming Christmas even though we have lost our home," 63-year-old butcher's wife Ellen Miano told AFP from a tiny shanty rising from a field ... more |  |
 Vaccine fears in China after hepatitis B scare Beijing (AFP) Dec 25, 2013 - Chinese state-run media and Internet users demanded action Wednesday after the deaths of at least seven babies since November following their vaccinations against hepatitis B. China's Food and Drug Administration has suspended use of the vaccine involved, manufactured by domestic producer BioKangtai, and is investigating, the official Xinhua news agency reported. More than 44 million dos ... more |  |
Christmas in mud as rain pelts Philippine disaster zone Tacloban, Philippines (AFP) Dec 25, 2013 - Survivors of the Philippines' deadliest typhoon spent a gloomy Christmas Day surrounded by mud Wednesday as heavy rain drove many inside their flimsy shelters, dampening efforts at holiday cheer in the deeply devout nation. Groups of children in plastic raincoats braved the incessant rain in the devastated central city of Tacloban, knocking on doors in trick-or-treat fashion and beseeching p ... more |  |
Indonesia builds sanctuary to save world's rarest rhino Ujung Kulon, Indonesia (AFP) Dec 24, 2013 - On a leaf-covered dirt path overlooking lush paddy fields in western Indonesia, the world's rarest rhino had left a trail of hoofprints in the soft mud and bite marks on foliage. For people seeking a glimpse of the Javan rhino - revered in local folklore as Abah Gede, or the Great Father - such small signs are likely to be the closest they get. There are thought to be only around 50 o ... more |  |
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 China smugglers dig tunnel into Hong Kong: media Beijing (AFP) Dec 25, 2013 - Chinese smugglers dug a "professional" concrete tunnel into Hong Kong equipped with lights, vents, steel reinforcements and even rails to transport goods, domestic media reported on Wednesday. The underground path had "one end in a rented garage in Shenzhen and another in a thicket of reeds in Hong Kong, totally concealed", said a report posted on the official website china.com.cn. "It w ... more |  |
 Storms batter Britain, France, disrupting travel, power Paris (AFP) Dec 24, 2013 - Gale-force winds and pounding rain Tuesday lashed Britain and France, killing at least five people, disrupting Christmas travel and leaving tens of thousands without power. In Britain, three people died in pre-Christmas storms, including a man in Devon, southwest England, who jumped into a fast-flowing river to rescue his dog, police said. Two other deaths were in car accidents linked to bad ... more |  |
Brazil leader overflies flood-hit region Brasïlia (AFP) Dec 24, 2013 - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Tuesday flew over the flood-hit southeastern state of Espirito Santo, where at least 14 people have died in days of torrential rain. A Civil Defense statement raised the death toll from 12 to 14 and said nearly 50,000 people were forced to leave their homes, up from the 46,000 reported earlier. It said 47 cities in Espirito Santo, which borders Rio d ... more |  |
 China to formalise reforms to one-child policy, labour camps Beijing (AFP) Dec 24, 2013 - China's top legislative committee is set to formalise landmark reforms to unpopular decades-old policies including abolishing "re-education through labour" camps and increasing exceptions to the one-child limit. The ruling Communist Party announced the long-sought changes among a raft of pledges after a key gathering in November. The "standing committee" of the country's rubberstamp par ... more |  |
China legislators vote to end labour camps Beijing (AFP) Dec 24, 2013 - China's top legislative committee voted Tuesday to abolish "re-education through labour" camps introduced more than half a century ago, saying they had served their purpose. The standing committee of the rubber-stamp parliament, the National People's Congress, also supported the easing of another unpopular decades-old policy - the one-child limit. The ruling Communist Party had announce ... more |  |
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China vice police minister sacked: Communist Party Beijing (AFP) Dec 25, 2013 - A senior official in China's Ministry of Public Security has been sacked for "disciplinary violations", state media said Wednesday, the latest target in a corruption crackdown by the ruling Communist Party. Li Dongsheng, formerly a vice minister of public security, was removed from his various posts for "severe violations of discipline", according to an official circular reported by the sta ... more |  |
China to mark birth of divisive leader Mao Shaoshan, China (AFP) Dec 24, 2013 - Thousands of Mao Zedong admirers will descend on central China this week to mark the 120th anniversary of the former leader's birth - an occasion that represents a tricky balancing act for the government. Chinese remain divided over the founder of the People's Republic, with many nostalgic towards his 27-year-rule and others insisting his policies led to the deaths of millions. The anni ... more |  |
 Third Turkey minister steps down, calls on PM to resign over graft probe: TV Ankara (AFP) Dec 25, 2013 - Turkey's environment minister stepped down on Wednesday, the third in the cabinet to resign over an anti-graft probe that has roiled the government, and called on the prime minister to follow suit. "I am stepping down as minister and lawmaker," Erdogan Bayraktar told the private NTV television. "I believe the prime minister should also resign." The move comes shortly after Economy Minist ... more |  |
Scientists identify 'runaway' heat effect spreading earthquakes Cambridge, Mass. (UPI) Dec 24, 2013 - U.S. researchers studying deep earthquake faults in the Earth report they've discovered a "runaway" effect that allows tremors far below the surface to spread. Analyzing seismic data from a region in Colombia with a high concentration of intermediate-depth earthquakes, scientists at MIT, working with colleagues from Stanford University, report they've identified a "runaway process" in w ... more |  |
 Big data project reveals where carbon-stocking projects in Africa provide the greatest benefits Aarhus, Denmark (SPX) Dec 23, 2013 - It is increasingly recognized that climate change has the potential to threaten people and nature, and that it is imperative to tackle the drivers of climate change, namely greenhouse gases. One way to slow climate change is to increase the number of trees on Earth, as they, through photosynthesis, take up the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, converting it to carbon products which are stored in th ... more |  |
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