Press freedom is not a reward from our rulers, it's a fundamental human right

Tanzanian journalists and media stakeholders joined their counterparts in the world to mark the world’s Press Freedom Day with fear, doubt and dashed hope. Their fear, doubt and elusive hope are caused by the brutal events that have clouded the Tanzanian media industry during the past few months. Tanzanian journalists, especially those practising ‘watchdog’ journalism that stands for public interest, are in fear because they are being hunted like animals by their tormentors. If they are not kidnapped, tortured or jailed, they are simply shot dead in cold-blood murder by those who are supposed to protect them. Some have suffered acid attacks and are still nursing the wounds till today. If they survive all these deadly attacks, their newspapers or media houses face indefinite closure from the government, simply because these journalists have angered the ruling elite. Tanzania is rapidly becoming one of the worst places to be a serious journalist and, if the situation is not controlled, we shall find ourselves in another Somalia. Press freedom in Tanzania is at the crossroads. Behind this fear, doubt and shuttered hope, there’s a misleading lie that press freedom in Tanzania is a gift from our rulers. There are those who claim that the freedom of the press we have seen in this country is a reward from our rulers, which is a pure lie and, above all, cheap propaganda. Press freedom is a fundamental human right, which is not granted by any ruler and should be protected by the constitution. If we believe that Press freedom is a reward from our rulers, then we shouldn’t be surprised if the very same rulers take that freedom back once we have angered them for reporting what they call ‘bad stories.’ No leader in the world is willing to reward journalists press freedom and it has never happened anywhere. Leaders are forced by the constitution not to grant or reward press freedom but to protect it. Have we forgotten how former US President Thomas Jefferson took a dramatic u-turn when the very same media he had once praised and vowed to protect wrote negative stories about his leadership? This is what he first said, “The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter." But when the very same newspapers wrote what he disliked, the same Jefferson later on said, “The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers.” That’s why today we call upon all journalists and all well-wishers to understand that press freedom is not a gift given on a golden plate by our rulers; it’s our fundamental right as human beings, which can only be granted and protected by the constitution. Tanzanian journalists and media owners shouldn’t be fooled at all that press freedom is a reward from our ‘beloved’ rulers. That’s a total lie. We are in the process of making our new constitution and this is the best chance to ensure that press freedom is constitutionally protected. Not only that but also journalists and media owners should defend press freedom at any cost by practising their duty professionally, legally and bravely. The government should also stop the ‘madness’ of closing newspapers indefinitely because such practice signals dictatorship and brutality. If there are journalists or media houses that have broken the law, the government should go to court to seek justice; that’s what good governance is all about.

Syria: air strike hints at change in how far Israel will involve itself in conflict

The attack on a Syria-Hizbollah weapons transfer was the second this year by the Israelis. The targets and methods were similar, convoys believed to be delivering missile systems to Hizbollah's northern Lebanese heartlands, destroyed by air force jets hovering over the Lebanon-Syria border. The way the news was immediately confirmed by officials though was very different, indicating something has changed in Israel's calculations over how far to involve itself in the Syrian disaster, and perhaps America’s too. For 18 months or more, Israel tried to turn the other way over Syria. It had no love for Syria's Assad regime - it considered itself the "heart of the resistance", supporting both Hamas and Hizbollah, Israel's most immediate foes - but the Golan Heights border was one of the few with which it seemed to have little trouble. It was a miscalculation all the same. As Iran became ever more closely involved, and America and the West stood by and watched Syria fell apart, events crystallised into what Israeli officials now start to describe as a perfect strategic storm. Iran was drawn inevitably closer in, sending military advisers and, many believe, Revolutionary Guard ground forces to bolster the regime. Tehran is determined to ensure the survival of at least some sort of "resistance" rump state, a Shia-Alawite enclave that due to its natural insecurity would be far more dangerous to Israel, more beholden to Iran, than the old, complex, heterogeneous Syria was.

PM directs intelligence agencies to sharpen clues-gathering techniques

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Justice retired Mir Hazar Khan Khoso on Saturday directed the Intelligence Agencies to sharpen their information-gathering techniques so that the acts of terrorism could be foiled which might prove disastrous for the nation. The Prime Minister reiterating government's stance of zero tolerance for acts of terrorism, said that the Government would not compromise on the issue of law and order throughout the country for holding free and fair elections in a secure environment. Prime Minister Khoso was addressing the Federal Cabinet which met here to discuss the important agenda item of law and order situation with special reference to Elections 2013. The Prime Minister observed that the recent acts of terrorism were being carried out to create panic and fear amongst the masses. "Let me categorically declare that holding free, fair and transparent elections is the primary responsibility of the Caretaker Government," he added. He said that each and every patriotic citizen, irrespective of their political affiliation, realized that the country was passing through a critical phase but the Government assured the nation that with the help of Allah Almighty, it would succeed, in overcoming all problems being faced by the people. Prime Minister Khoso declared that the Caretaker Government would take all constitutional and legal steps to ensure impartiality, in collaboration with Election Commission for holding the general Elections on May 11. "Elections would be held on time following which government would be handed over to the elected representatives," he maintained. The Prime Minister alluding to national responsibility shared by each citizen, requested the masses to keep vigil on the movement of suspicious elements around them and inform the police immediately. "I am sure if every Pakistani decides to guard his homeland, cooperate with and assist the law enforcement agencies, we would defeat the criminal elements who want to destabilize the country and disturb the election process," he opined. The Prime Minister further informed that the security had been beefed up for sensitive polling stations, candidates and masses. The decision to deploy rapid response force was another step towards provision of conducive environment for the voters, he added. Expressing his optimism about active participation of voters on the polling day, PM Khoso said that he expected that all Pakistanis would come out of their houses to cast their votes for their beloved country and make the election process a success. Eulogizing sacrifices of Pakistani nation during acts of terrorism, he said his Cabinet saluted all those who had embraced Shahaadat, proving that the terrorists could not defeat the brave Pakistani citizens who offered their lives to protect the country. "I salute the Jawans of the Army, Police and Law Enforcement Agencies, who have been performing their duties with courage and dedication," the Prime Minister said.

Earth-Like Planets Discovered

Scientists have long been in the hunt for planets resembling the Earth in hopes of finding environment conducive to life. However, while there have been leads in the past, they have mostly been nothing more than false hopes. Curiosity, NASA’s rover’s latest mission to Mars proved that the Red planet did in the past hold water and could also have held life forms. However, whether the planet will sustain life in the future is still unknown. Another mission into outer space, that of Kepler, has provided some interesting insights into galaxies around the Milky Way and their ability to sustain life. Kepler has managed to narrow down on three planets that come closest to being described as sisters of the Earth. The three planets are neither too close nor too far from their parent star. The distance from the parent star often determines the temperature of the planet, a pre-requisite factor conducive to life on the planet. Comment facebook twitter google email Your Reactions? 5 FAIL 7 WOW 0 OMG 2 GEEKY 1 LOL Earth-Like Planets Discovered by Rutu Ladage , IndiaTimes | April 20, 2013, 5:00 pm IST - Posted 59 mins ago Science wow « Go Back to Homepage Kepler-69c planet which is a part of the Kepler-69 system. Image Courtesy: NASAKepler 69 system Scientists have long been in the hunt for planets resembling the Earth in hopes of finding environment conducive to life. However, while there have been leads in the past, they have mostly been nothing more than false hopes. Curiosity, NASA’s rover’s latest mission to Mars proved that the Red planet did in the past hold water and could also have held life forms. However, whether the planet will sustain life in the future is still unknown. Another mission into outer space, that of Kepler, has provided some interesting insights into galaxies around the Milky Way and their ability to sustain life. Kepler has managed to narrow down on three planets that come closest to being described as sisters of the Earth. The three planets are neither too close nor too far from their parent star. The distance from the parent star often determines the temperature of the planet, a pre-requisite factor conducive to life on the planet. Kepler-62e and Kepler-62f form part of the Kepler-62 system. Image Courtesy: NASAKepler 62 New Anthropocene Journal elementascience.org - www.elementascience.org Nonprofit, open-access, scientific Ads by Google Also, the three planets are just slightly larger than the Earth. Their exact mass is still unknown but their distance from the main star or the “sun” of their galaxy hints at the two main essentials for life being present of these planet. The first is water while the second is a strong, rocky surface. There have been many planets in the past to have a strong surface but the absence of water ruled out possibility of life. The three planets discovered are Kepler-62e, Kepler-62f and Kepler-69-c. Kepler-62e and Kepler-62f both orbit the parent star Kepler-62. A Kepler-62e year is 122 days while the Kepler-62f year is longer at approximately 267 days. While the first is almost 60 percent bigger to Earth, the latter is 40 percent larger. Kepler-69c has a year of 242 days. The Kepler-62e is the most conduccie to life forms as the planet is expected to hold a mix of rocky land and water or majority of oceans. The Kepler-69c is more like Venus as it is warmer than the other two. The planets are pretty distant from Earth but if climates are conducive, researchers might gain an important insight into the mystery of life on other planets.

Washcloth Experiment Yields Fascinating Results in International Space Station [Video]

In space, even the seemingly most mundane tasks can produce fascinating results. Take, for instance, wringing out a wet washcloth. Broadcasting from the International Space Station, the Canadian Space Agency's Chris Hadfield, the commander or the current research mission, continued what has become his ongoing gig as station front man and correspondent, sharing through a video and audio hook-up details about life on the station with folks down below. He's become widely recognized for the series of photos and videos he's transmitted back to earth. Like Us on Facebook A new piece of information delivered by Hadfield was prompted by students who asked Hadfield, the first Canadian to walk in space, about the dynamics of surface tension in space, according to a report by Discovery News. Surface tension is a tendency of the surface of a liquid to resist an external force, allowing, for example, some objects that are denser than the liquid, to float. The ways some insects, such as water striders, are able to run on the water surface is another example of surface tension, which is a result of the cohesion of similar molecules. The Canadian astronaut took to YouTube and demonstrated what happens when one wrings out a washcloth in a zero-gravity environment. Hadfield started the demonstration by taking a vacuum-packed washcloth, complete with official NASA insignia, and hydrating it with a stream of water he squeezed from a water bottle. It was after the cloth had absorbed the water that real fun began. Because, when Hadfield wrung out the cloth, much of the water covered the exterior of the cloth, like a transparent force field. Then some of the water traveled up his arms to cover his hands, appearing, at least, to have a consistency similar to that of slime. For suggesting the experiment, Canadian 10th-graders Kendra Lemke and Meredith Faulkner from Lockview High School in Fall River, Nova Scotia, won the grand prize in a national science contest. As their reward, the two high school students, along with many of their peers, got to see their experiment conducted by Hadfield live, during a video connection with the Station. "I was about your age when I decided I wanted to become an astronaut," Hadfield said to the 1,200 Lockview students watching from the school's gymnasium. "I hope that you remember today and continue to be curious about science and space. You are the space explorers of the future and the sky is no longer the limit."

Russian Becomes Oldest Spacewalker Ever

A 59-year-old Russian cosmonaut has become the oldest human to walk in space. Pavel Vinogradov took part in maintenance work outside the International Space Station on April 19. Until then, the oldest spacewalker had been retired NASA astronaut Story Musgrave, who was 58 when he helped fix the Hubble Space Telescope in 1993. The 6 1/2-hour space walk went well outside of one incident when Vinogradov lost his grip on an experimental tray that he was retrieving. Officials said the lost aluminum panel should not pose a safety hazard to the station, although it will add to the booming population of space junk.

Terrorism was allowed to grow for last five years, says JI Amir

n an interview, Syed Munawar Hasan said “we have been providing logistical support to terrorism by including known terrorists‚ extortionists and criminals in the government both at the centre and in Sindh in the name of reconciliation.” He said terrorism was there even before the United States formally launched war against terror twelve years ago and today it has become a full-blown tree. But at the same time‚ the JI Amir said‚ his party has been propounding that it is the US war and we should take ourselves out of it but instead we gave the United States bases and other logistical support. Asked why dialogue should be held with Taliban‚ Syed Munawar Hasan said “we have been holding dialogue with the United States even after it carried out aggression at Salala and Washington has not to-date offered an apology.” To another question he said operation in Swat was not transparent. He said “media reports bear testimony to the fact that our government faithfully acted upon the persistent demand of the United States to ‘do more'. He said the APC convened by then Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and attended also by the Army Chief and Director-General ISI adopted a resolution but it has not been implemented even by one percent. Replying to a question whether the cycle of terrorism would end with the departure of the United States from neighbouring Afghanistan‚ he said there would still be about forty thousand US troops in Afghanistan. He said the US is still there in Iraq despite claims about withdrawal. He said the United States should have been penalized for invading Iraq despite the fact that there were no weapons of mass destruction. When repeatedly pressed to clarify Jamaat's view point about terrorism and known militant outfits‚ Syed Munawar Hasan said why the government did not take any action against them. He said people gave mandate to the government to safeguard their lives and properties‚ eliminate unemployment and check price hike but instead it has been serving the US interests. He questioned whether mandate of the Interior Minister was just to pass on information about possible act of terrorism and terrorize people or take preventive measures. He said JI condemns whenever innocent lives become target of terrorism. NNI

OSCE welcomes Belgrade-Pristina agreement

The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara and the OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier welcomed the Belgrade-Pristina agreement facilitated by the EU High Representative Catherine Ashton in Brussels, the OSCE said in a news release. Calling the agreement “an important step in normalization of relations and stability in the region,” Minister Kozhara said, “I commend the leadership in Belgrade and Pristina for their courage and vision in reaching this agreement. This is the beginning of a new chapter and I support continuation of this dialogue that will improve the lives of all the communities in Kosovo.” The OSCE Secretary General added: “In welcoming this historic agreement I also call for its effective implementation. Where possible, the OSCE will provide concrete support in line with our mandate. We already have the largest international civilian presence in Kosovo, which is working on institution and democracy building and promoting human rights and the rule of law for the benefit of all communities.”

French hostages freed in Cameroon back in France

Seven members of a French family freed after being kidnapped by gunmen in Cameroon have arrived back in France. French President François Hollande greeted them as they landed in Paris. The Moulin-Fournier family were taken hostage by armed men on motorbikes in northern Cameroon on February 19. Tanguy Moulin-Fournier expressed his relief at being back home: “It was yesterday that I learned about French solidarity. I am pleased that France can act. There was so much emotion. I am so glad to be back in France.It is a great moment. The father Tanguy, his wife, four children and his brother were held by the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram. Boko Haram are engaged in an insurgency against the government of Nigeria following a crackdown on their members in 2009.

H7N9 Bird Flu Cases In China Rise By Four To 91; Half Have Had No Contact With Poultry

The number of confirmed H7N9 bird flu cases in China increased by four to 91 on Friday. Jiangsu province reported one new case, and Zhejiang province reported three, the state-run Shanghai Daily reported today. The number of dead was unchanged at 17. An increasing focus among public health officials and the media is prospect that transmission of the disease is not only animal-to-animal but also human-to-human. More than half of the victims have had no contact with poultry, the newspaper said. “This is still an animal virus that occasionally infects humans,” the newspaper quoted World Health Organization’s China leader Michael O’Leary as saying. “With rare exceptions, we know that people are not getting sick from other people.” Beijing and major eastern Chinese cities have closed live poultry markets and are taking other precautions to limit the spread of the new virus. Chinese media this week estimated that the poultry industry has lost 17 billion yuan, or $2.7 billion. Officials are concerned about the livelihoods and future source of bird supply from chicken farmers. Shares in Yum!, which has relied on China for much of its growth through its KFC chain, were little changed in New York yesterday. The company said earlier this month KFC same-store sales in China fell by 16% at a time when nervous consumers have shunned chicken, despite government advice that cooked meat is safe. Shanghai, the city with the most bird flu deaths so far, is playing host next week to one of the country’s most important auto industry conferences this year. Today kicked off a series of media daily promotions at the site by Ford, Toyota, Honda and many others. The venue this morning was rain-soaked and already crowded.

In Spain anti-capitalist nun gets into politics

MONTSERRAT: From her small convent in the mountains near Barcelona, Sister Teresa Forcades, a Harvard-educated Catalan nun, has emerged as a leading advocate of Spain's "indignant" protest movement against the excesses of capitalism. In an interview with AFP, Forcades denounced the austerity measures implemented by Spain's conservative government, which include cuts to health and education spending. The government imposed the cuts to rein in the public deficit. But Forcades said: "The cuts go against the needs of the majority and go in favour of the interests of a minority." Forcades, wearing her nun's black habit, spoke seated in the leafy garden of the convent at Sant Benet, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of Barcelona, which she shares with 35 other nuns. This feminist and radical thinker has lived at the brick and rock convent near the Montserrat mountain since 1997. Forcades is a doctor by training. She rose to prominence during the height of the global swine flu outbreak in 2009 when she argued that vaccines against the disease rushed out by pharmaceutical companies had not been properly tested for public use. Now, together with Arcadi Oliveres, a 67-year-old economist who is one of the ideologues behind Spain's "indignant" movement, she has has launched a political manifesto. And in just two days it has collected 14,000 signatures. Among her proposals is a unilateral declaration of independence by Catalonia, a region of around 7.5 million people which has its own language and culture. She also advocates the nationalisation of banks and energy firms, housing rights and tough measures against corruption. "Why should there be a tax on basic goods and no tax on financial trading?" she said. But while she said she was against the abuses of capitalism, she did not oppose private enterprise. The goal of the two campaigners is to present a "citizen's list" of candidates to stand in the next regional elections in Catalonia in northeastern Spain. Those elections are scheduled for 2016 -- two years after the region is set to hold an independence referendum. "We think it is imperative, necessary and possible to change society" by non-violent means, said Forcades. "A break is needed because it is what people want," she added. Born in 1966 in Barcelona, Forcades said her family considered "the Church, like the monarchy, to be an outdated institution". But when she was 15-year-old she read the Bible for the first time and discovered her religious vocation. "It had an impact on me," said Forcades, who expresses her strong convictions in a soft voice and a friendly demeanor. She studied theology in the United States and in Barcelona after completing her studies as a doctor. But she said the basis of her religious convictions lay in Liberation Theology, a strand of Catholicism that emerged in the 1960s in Latin America which seeks to empower the poor. Forcades said the first theology book which she read was "Jesus Christ Liberator: A Critical Christology for Our Time" by Leonardo Boff, a Brazilian Franciscan professor known for his active support for the rights of the poor and excluded. The author of three books herself, including one on feminist theology, Forcades criticised the "misogyny" which she sees within the Church. "I would like it if within the Church, and within society, nobody, neither a man or a woman, has their access to the government or a liturgical position blocked because of their gender," she said. A defender of the use of contraceptives, Forcades argues the Catholic Church needs to "humanise" its position on abortion. Reforms will likely advance under Pope Francis, who may be more receptive than his predecessors to an "internal democratisation" of the Church, she said, as the bells of the convent rang out to call the nuns to prayer.

Suicide bomber attack Afghan, NATO troops convoy in Helmand

According to local authorities in southern Helmand province of Afghanistan, at least 7 people including 2 civlians and 5 police forces were injured following a suicide attack in this province. The officials further added, the incident took place after a suicide bomber rammed a vehicle packed with explosives into a joint convoy of Afghan and coalition security forces in Sangin district on Friday. Sangin district governor Mohammad Daud Noorzai confirming the report said the incident took place around 11am local time. In the meantime a spokesman for the Taliban group Qari Yosuf Ahmadi claimed responsibility behind the incident and said at least 10 Afghan security forces and 10 coalition forces were killed following the attack. Local officials however denied the claims by the Taliban group and said only 5 Afghan police officers from the public order forces were injured along with two other civilians.

Suspicious Letter Sent To German President Destroyed

German police have destroyed a package addressed to the country's president that was suspected of containing explosives. The office of President Joachim Gauck said the letter was found during routine checks on mail on April 19. The package was then destroyed in a controlled explosion in the park outside the presidential Bellevue residence in downtown Berlin. Gauck was not at his residence at the time, and no staff members were endangered. A spokeswoman for the presidential office said the substance in the package was being tested in a police laboratory.

Serbia, Kosovo Sign Pact to Normalize Ties

EU officials have announced that Serbia and Kosovo have agreed to a 15-point agreement to normalize ties, capping a two-year series of negotiations on the future status of the breakaway province, which NATO declared independent after attacking Serbia in 1999. The move was important for Serbia because its ascension to the European Union depended on reaching a deal on Kosovo, though EU officials say it is too soon to tell whether or not they’ll come up with some other reason to block Serbian membership. The deal followed several failed attempts by Serbia to negotiate a measure of autonomy in northern Kosovo, where ethnic Serbs have complained of persecution by the Albanian-dominated government. Though the 15 points remain a secret, the early indications are that Serbia backed off on almost everything, and in the end only got promises that ethnic Serbs would have some representation in the police force of Kosovo. The Kosovar Serbs are reacting negatively to the deal, condemning it as a “betrayal” on the part of the Serbian government, which had long promised to protect them. Whether this will mean continued resistance against the Pristina government remains to be seen.

Misbah believes tracks in England would not be difficult like SA

He made these observations in a post match press conference after Sui Northern Gas team defeated WAPDA to win the President Cup One-Day Cricket Tournament at National Stadium here on Friday and completed a double after winning President's Trophy first class event a few week ago. He said apart from playing conditions and pitches in South Africa, SA also had a strong and formidable team and that proved difficult for Pakistan team. Misbah's team suffered 3-0 loss to South Africa and lost the 5-match One-Day International (ODI) series 3-2. Pakistan got the consolation when they won the one-off T20 International match after their first match was washed out. Misbah said playing in South African conditions will help the team to perform well in the Champions Trophy. He said Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is holding the training camp of Pakistan team in Abbotabad to provide conditions similar to England. Responding to a question, he said it was not possible to prepare lively or fast tracks in Pakistan because of warm conditions here. "This is the last Champions Trophy and we want to make it memorable," he commented. He expressed the hope that just concluded one-day event will help in the build-up for the Champions Trophy. Misbah said players performed well in the event and that could benefit Pakistan team. Commenting on dropping of senior batsman Younis Khan, he said in circumstances or when a situation arises any one can be recalled. He said Younis Khan is a class batsman and anyone can be dropped or get unfit and that is part of the process.

China quake kills dozens, injures hundreds

undreds of people were killed or injured when a strong earthquake struck China's southwestern Sichuan province Saturday, local officials said, five years after a massive quake devastated the region. PHOTOS People gather to take shelter outside buildings in Chongqing, southwest China's Sichuan province, as a shallow earthquake struck close to the city of Ya'an on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau. (AFP PHOTO) prev ENLARGE next BEIJING: Hundreds of people were killed or injured when a strong earthquake struck China's southwestern Sichuan province Saturday, local officials said, five years after a massive quake devastated the region. The shallow earthquake struck close to the city of Ya'an on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau just after 8:00 am (0000 GMT), setting off landslides, destroying buildings and triggering a major rescue operation. Four hours after the quake struck, the death toll stood at 56, the Xinhua news agency said, quoting the provincial earthquake relief headquarters. CCTV News had earlier reported 72 killed but revised that down to 47, with 600 injured, citing the Sichuan emergency authorities. The quake sent panicked residents in cities hundreds of kilometres away fleeing into the streets, some of them still in their slippers and pyjamas. Local seismologists registered the quake at magnitude 7.0 while the US Geological Survey gave it as 6.6 at a depth of 12 kilometres (seven miles). It was followed by several aftershocks. "The earthquake in Ya'an, Lushan, has injured or killed hundreds of people," the Sichuan earthquake bureau said. Local authorities, who were heavily criticised after Sichuan's 2008 quake left 87,000 people missing or dead, swiftly mobilised and President Xi Jinping ordered all out efforts to minimise casualties, Xinhua said. Premier Li Keqiang was flying to Ya'an, the People's Daily website said. Rescue workers heading for the quake zone were struggling to clear roads that had been blocked by debris, CCTV reported. "There are mountains on all sides, it is very easy to trigger mudslides and very dangerous," one user wrote on Sina Weibo, China's version of Twitter. A Sina Weibo user posted a photo purportedly showing a badly-damaged kindergarten in Lushan, its dark red stone slabs lying on the ground beside a row of trees. The authenticity of the photo could not be verified. "Hang in there Ya'an!" the user wrote. The tremors were felt as far as the megacity of Chongqing, home to around 30 million people, several hundred kilometres to the east, with Xinhua showing images of residents outside their apartment buildings after fleeing the shaking. Xinhua said 2,000 troops were being dispatched to the area, with two helicopters from the Chengdu Military Area Command sent to assess developments on the ground. The military set up a quake relief and rescue headquarters and medical relief team for the quake-hit region. Xinhua quoted a resident in the provincial capital Chengdu, who was on the 13th floor when the quake hit, as saying he felt the shaking for about 20 seconds and saw tiles fall off nearby buildings. City residents ran onto the street to get away from high-rise buildings, making phone calls and crying, a Sichuan government website reported. A few had even packed bags in case they needed to take shelter elsewhere. In a photo published online by Xinhua, staff at a restaurant in Shifang city near the provincial capital Chengdu showed cracks that appeared in the wall after the quake struck. In downtown Chongqing, Xinhua quoted a resident as saying: "I saw the lamps were swaying and water in my fishbowl stirring." Weibo users said they felt the quake in a number of surrounding cities. In 2008 the province saw one of the country's worst earthquakes in decades. That quake, which struck west-northwest of Chengdu, generated an outpouring of support, with volunteers rushing to the scene to offer aid and then-premier Wen Jiabao also visiting. The disaster flattened swathes of the province along with parts of neighbouring Shaanxi and Gansu. There was public anger after the discovery that many schools fell while other buildings did not, creating suspicion of corruption and corner-cutting in construction. Earthquakes frequently strike the country's southwest, with twin tremors in neighbouring Yunnan province last September triggering landslides that left at least 80 people dead. Houses were toppled and people slept outdoors for fear of aftershocks, as emergency workers struggled to clear mountain roads blocked by the landslides to reach survivors. A 5.5-magnitude earthquake in Yunnan last June killed four people and injured more than 100. Another 5.4 tremor the year before near the border with Myanmar left 25 people dead and injured 250.

Almost like home: Astronomers find Earth-like planets

Washington, Apr 19: There may be no place like home, but a NASA survey has found three planets that may come close. The Kepler planet-hunting satellite has pinpointed three so-called “super-Earth” sized planets orbiting their stars at a distance that could support water and therefore life. Two of the planets seem ideal for life, and could even contain water or be completely covered in oceans, a separate study published in the journal Science said. The planets, known as Kepler-62e, 62f and 69c, are part of systems orbiting two different stars, one with five planets and the other two. Kepler-62f is the planet closest in size to Earth, only 40 per cent larger than our planet, and could be rocky, NASA said. Its companion planet 62e is 60 per cent larger than Earth. They orbit a star that is cooler and smaller than the sun. The third planet 69c orbits another star and is 70 per cent larger than the Earth and orbits a star similar to the Sun. The Kepler space telescope launched in 2009 is finely tuned enough to detect Earth-sized planets orbiting distant stars. The 590-million-dollar telescope programme is scanning a large swath of the Milky Way galaxy, which contains about 4.5 million stars. The most advanced cameras ever used in space are focussing on 100,000 to 150,000 stars deemed most likely to have orbiting planets. Data from the cameras are used to find planets by looking for distortions in the light emitted as an orbiting planet crosses in front of the star.

Almost like home: Astronomers find Earth-like planets

According to the Nature study, this primordial galaxy, which the astronomers have named HFLS3, is (was) roughly the same size as our own Milky Way Galaxy, but produces stars 2,000 times as quickly. Astronomers have seen galaxies that produce stars at higher-than-average rates before. They call them “starburst” galaxies. But according to Dominik Riechers, a Cornell University astronomer and lead author of the study, HFLS3 emits infrared radiation equal to 30 trillion suns, and thus exceeds the luminosity of virtually any starburst galaxy that astronomers have discovered thus far. In fact, it nears the upper limit at which a galaxy can release radiation and remain stable. This extreme brightness is why the telescope was able to pick it up at all. HFLS3 was an unlikely find otherwise, given that it is also the most distant starburst galaxy astronomers have ever found and is enshrouded within vast clouds of galactic dust. Only by conducting infrared mapping of the area, and then confirming with ground-based telescopes, were the researchers able to detect the faraway but immensely powerful light. This galaxy is remarkable for yet another reason: It was pumping out stars at this rate more than a billion years earlier than researchers had thought was possible. The conventional wisdom among researchers was that the primordial universe needed a few billion years for its first galaxies to aggregate enough matter and build up enough heat energy of their own before they could begin producing stars. HFLS3, however, was forming stars at astonishing rates at this 880-milion-years-post-big-bang mark and, furthermore, had already been doing so for quite some time. Chemical analyses show that this primoridal galaxy possessed chemical compositions similar to present-day starburst galaxies, meaning that the stars we are seeing in these 13-billion-year-old images were by no means its first. Based on this sighting, astronomers can push the origins for galaxy formation back much earlier, Riechers concludes. Read more: http://www.sciencerecorder.com/news/newly-discovered-starburst-galaxy-challenges-theories-of-universes-evolution/#ixzz2QtN60Yiq

7.0 quake hits Pacific Ocean, no tsunami warning issued

TOKYO: A 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck in seas off far northern Japan and far eastern Russia on Friday, but no damage was expected. The Japan Meteorological Agency said sea changes were possible. No tsunami warnings have been issued. The tremor struck around midday in the Pacific Ocean at a relatively shallow depth of 10km. The US Geological Survey measured a stronger 7.2 magnitude. Japan and Russia both claim some of the sparsely populated islands in the remote region. The epicenter was 58km, east-northeast of Kuril'sk, Russia, and 528km northeast of Nemuro, Japan. The nearest land is the volcanic islands of Urup, Iturup and Sumushir. Hokkaido officials said the islands were not under Japanese control. The area is about 1,500km northeast of Tokyo. Associated Press

US Secretary of State going to Turkey, Europe

US Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Turkey and Europe to attend international discussions of various security issues, including Syria and Afghanistan. According to an official announcement, Kerry will travel to Istanbul today to meet the key partners and members of Syrian Opposition Coalition and explore ways that the international community can support the Opposition and accelerate a Syrian-led political transition, the State Department said. Kerry will then travel to Brussels from April 22-24 to participate in a meeting of the NATO foreign ministers, where NATO foreign ministers will meet in the NATO-Russian Council with their Russian Federation counterpart. The Secretary and his counterparts will also discuss how to maintain a strong alliance capable of protecting the member states against current and future threats, in light of regional and global security challenges, the statement said. They will also join with non-NATO contributors to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and representatives of the Government of Afghanistan to review the status of the joint Afghan/ISAF transition plan, and to discuss NATO’s post-2014 mission in Afghanistan, it said. While in Brussels, Kerry will meet with senior officials of the European Union and have other bilateral meetings, the statement said.