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The Week in Review: June 26-July 2, 2010
By Poppy Calvert
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- Japanese astronomers close to discovering Moon's origin
Japanese astronomers on Sunday said they had found traces of a mineral that adds an important piece of knowledge to the puzzle of the Moon's geological past. Scientists report in Nature Geoscience that the Kaguya probe, which was placed in orbit around the Moon in 2007 saw exposures of rocks rich in the mineral olivine in concentric rings around craters. The observations of olivine are said to fit well with ideas about how the Moon formed, which include that it was made after the earth was hit by a space body the size of Mars, with the broken-off debris eventually forming it. Previous theories include that the Moon was created about 4.5 billion years ago after the "big bang"- the Moon was ripped from Earth after our planet suffered a gigantic collision with space debris. IMAGE: N.A.S.A
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- The U.S and Russia agree on a "spy swap"
Ten members of the Russian spy ring pleaded guilty to conspiring to act as unregistered foreign agents, and will be expelled immediately from the U.S. in a prisoner exchange with Russia. "The Russian Federation agrees to release four individuals who are incarcerated in Russia for alleged contact with the United States," U.S District Judge Kimba Wood in Manhattan said in a hearing today, referring to four people accused of betraying Russia to the West. The arrests of the alleged spies in the United states occured more than a week ago, ending over a decade of investigations into the secret agents who had imbedded themselves into seemingly 'normal' American lives.
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- Thailand extends state of emergency
The government of Thailand has decided to extend the state of emergency that was imposed after Red-shirt unrest in Bangkok in May. The extension will last for another three months on the decision of Thailand's cabinet. But while the state of emergency will remain in place in Bangkok, it will be lifted out of 24 provinces, where it was previously in place. The decree restricts public gatherings and allows people to be detained for 30 days without charge. Although the anti-government protests ended in May, the Thai government has still maintained it's enforcement of the state of emergency in order to ensure security for the public. The death toll from May protests stood at 88 and some 1885 others were wounded. IMAGE:Pendle
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- Solar powered plane lands safely in Switzerland
An experimental solar-powered plane took off from a Swiss airbase on Wednesday morning and landed successfully on Thursday at dawn in the first ever attempt to fly around the clock fueled by nothing but the energy of the sun. The four-engine aircraft which has a wingspan of 80 meters contains 12,000 solar cells which are vital in soaking up energy during daylight hours to charge it's batteries. The Swiss team running the test kept the plane in the air for 24 hours straight, reaching an altitude of 8,654 meters while achieving a top ground speed of 68 knots. This achievement was a key step in efforts to one day be able to circle the globe using only energy collected from the sun.
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- Sri Lanka protests U.N. war crime investigations
Hundreds of Sri Lankan protesters surrounded the United Nations offices in Colombo this week to demand the U.N. end investigations into alleged war crimes. There has been continuing friction between the government and the United Nations over alleged human rights abuses during the country's civil war last year. Protesters burned an effigy of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in protest at his setting up of the human rights panel to look at the Sri Lankan war, and a Sri Lankan government minister threatened to stage a hunger strike if the U.N does not abandon the plans to investigate. The U.N. is strongly objecting to the protests and kept it's Columbo offices shut Wednesday as a precaution. IMAGES: BLanka
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- Cuban activist ends hunger strike
Guillermo Fariñas, an opposition activist ended a 134 day hunger strike in Santa Clara, Cuba, on Thursday, after the government implied that it would be releasing 52 political prisoners. He began the epic protest shortly after a fellow dissident died Feb, 23 after a long hunger strike while in prison. Mr Fariñas, 48, a psychologist and a freelance journalist, appeared to be in good spirits as he sat on the bed in the hospital, according to Licet Zamora his spokeswoman. Mr. Fariñas had demanded the release of dozens of political prisoners, and an accord reached on Wednesday between the government and officials from the Roman Catholic Church in Cuba prompted him to agree to abandon his hunger strike.Under the agreement, which was brokered by Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos of Spain, the government promised to free five political prisoners soon and send them to Spain. The authorities also pledged to follow that release by releasing 47 additional political prisoners in the next two or three months. IMAGE: wasim
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- Genes predict living beyond 100
US scientists have developed a way of prediciting how likely a person is to live beyond the age of 100. The breakthrough is based on 150 genetic variants found in exceptionally long-lived people. Researchers at Boston University scanned the genomes of 1,055 centenarians and compared them with scans from 1,267 middle aged healthy people and found the 150 genetic signposts that were more common in the old-aged group and which seemed to make their bodies healthier and more resilient. Researchers claim that the test can identify those who can look forward to an exceptionally long life with 77%, meaning that the test worked on 77 out 100 participants and the other 23 percent were inconclusive. So genetics is fundamental in exceptional longevity but not the only factor. Things like environment, and lifestyle which also help people live longer too. IMAGE: Algo
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- Hollywood hell-raiser Lindsay Lohan sentenced to 90 days in Jail
Judges have thrown the book at 23 year old Lindsey Lohan, sentencing her to 90 days in prison starting July 20th, followed by time in a rehabilitation facility, for skipping seven separate weeks of required alcohol counseling sessions and for driving under the influence on two occasions in 2007. The 23 year old who appeared in court yesterday donning her notorious alcohol monitoring bracelet, pleaded with judges before breaking down and sobbing when she was finally sentenced. But not all is as bad as it seems. Two filmmakers yesterday said they would stall their projects until the hell-raiser had served her sentence, leaving Lohan's professional character somewhat intact. Bets are already out as to how much of the 90 days she will actually end up serving. IMAGE: Twitter
