Wednesday, 30 April 2014
Saturday, 26 April 2014
Surrey resident Sarwan Singh achieved a feat, he set a new Guinness Book of World Record by having the longest beard.
Singh’s beard was measured at 2.36 meters or 7.7 3/4 ft, at a jam packed, Akal Academy in Surrey BC, on November 11, 2008.
di Loreto Isola with neogothic castle around year 900.
Isola di Loreto with neogothic castle around year 900. This castle was built on island the smallest island of the lake, located on the north side of Montisola, Italy.
Thursday, 24 April 2014
"The Earth" and "the World", third planet from the Sun and the densest planet in the Solar System
Earth, also known as "the Earth" and "the World", is the thirdplanet from the Sun and the densest planet in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets. It is sometimes referred to as the "Blue Planet", the "Blue Marble",Terra or "Gaia".
According to evidence from sources such as radiometric dating, Earth was formed around four and a half billion years ago. Within its first billion years, life appeared in its oceans and began to affect its atmosphere and surface, promoting the proliferation ofaerobic as well as anaerobic organisms and causing the formation of the atmosphere's ozone layer. As this layer and Earth's magnetic field block the most life-threatening components of theSun's radiation, life was then able to flourish on land as well as in water.[25] Since then, Earth's position in the Solar System, its physical properties and its geological history have allowed life to persist.
Earth's lithosphere is divided into several rigid segments, ortectonic plates, that migrate across the surface over periods ofmany millions of years. Over 70% percent of Earth's surface is covered with water,[26] with the remainder consisting of continents and islands which together have many lakes and other sources of water that contribute to the hydrosphere. Earth's poles are mostly covered with ice that is the solid ice of the Antarctic ice sheet and the sea ice that is the polar ice packs. The planet's interiorremains active, with a solid iron inner core, a liquid outer core that generates the magnetic field, and a thick layer of relatively solidmantle.
Earth gravitationally interacts with other objects in space, especially the Sun and the Moon. During one orbit around the Sun, the Earth rotates about its own axis 366.26 times, creating 365.26 solar days, or one sidereal year. The Earth's axis of rotation is tilted 23.4° away from the perpendicular of its orbital plane, producing seasonal variations on the planet's surface with a period of one tropical year (365.24 solar days). The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It began orbiting the Earth about4.53 billion years ago (bya). The Moon's gravitational interaction with Earth stimulates ocean tides, stabilizes the axial tilt, and gradually slows the planet's rotation.
The planet is home to millions of species of life, includinghumans. Both the mineral resources of the planet and the products of the biosphere contribute resources that are used to support a global human population. These inhabitants are grouped into about 200 independent sovereign states, which interact through diplomacy, travel, trade, and military action.
Saturday, 12 April 2014
He travels in private jets and is one of the world's highest-paid athletes, but Fernando Alonso's humble beginnings are never far away from his thoughts.
He recalls with fondness those childhood days when he used to race go-karts -- the precursor to his enormous success on the Formula One circuit -- free of any pressure. Back then he didn't have to worry about points or standings.
His passion for motorsport stemmed from his father Jose Luis, himself a former go-kart driver, and Alonso is also quick to remember the sacrifices his parents made as they drove him around Spain and Europe during his rise through the ranks.
His mother Ana Maria would even make his racing outfits, adjusting the size of his overalls as her son grew up.
"One of the most important things that I received from my parents was to have always this sense of family and to be united," the Ferrari star -- who has an older sister, Lorena -- tells CNN's Human to Hero series.
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/02/sport/fernando-alonso-ferrari-f1/index.html?hpt=isp_bn9
Australian PM Tony Abbott remains confident signals are from MH370
CNN) -- Australia's Prime Minister on Saturday reiterated his "high degree of confidence" that acoustic signals picked up by searchers in the Indian Ocean are from the missing Malaysian plane's black box.
But Tony Abbott warned that locating the flight data recorders beneath nearly three miles of water would be a "massive, massive task."
"It is likely to continue for a long time to come," he told journalists in China, where he is on a diplomatic visit.
He applauded his nation's work in handling the operation, saying Chinese officials appreciate Australia's "transparency and candor" in the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
"I think it's to our country's credit that we've approached it that way," Abbott said.
Optimism all around
Thirty-six days since the plane vanished, the search continues, unabated.
Up to nine military aircraft, one civil aircraft and 14 ships will assist in Saturday's search for the airliner, Australia's Joint Agency Coordination Centre said. The center of the 16,000 square-mile search area lies about 1,448 miles northwest of Perth.
The U.S. Navy commander leading the American effort to find Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 said he's "optimistic" about how the search is proceeding.
The pings were continuous and consistent with what a black box would emit, said Cmdr. William Marks. "We've ruled out that it was anything natural, or anything from commercial shipping, or anything like that."
"I agree with the Prime Minister," Marks said. "We're optimistic."
On Saturday, searchers looking for pinger signals will continue to drag a towed ping locator at walking pace through the water in hopes of picking up a new signal, Marks said.
"We have to stick with the TPL for just a little while longer to make sure we have exhausted every ounce of power coming from the battery through the black boxes," he said.
Once the signals cease, searchers will lower a sonar device, a Bluefin-21, into the ocean to scour for remnants of MH370.
The Bluefin's pace is even slower and more painstaking than that of the ping locator, he said. That is why it is important to analyze more pings to narrow down its search area for the black boxes.
Four pings, one dud
Over the past week, the ping locator towed by the Australian vessel Ocean Shield has picked up four pings have been detected.
It first picked up two sets of underwater pulses April 5 that were of a frequency close to that used by the locator beacons. It heard nothing more until Tuesday, when it reacquired the signals twice.
The four signals were within 17 miles of one another.
Blood moon' will be a sight to behold during total lunar eclipse
On Tuesday, April 15, there will be a total lunar eclipse that will turn the moon a coppery red, NASA says. It's called a blood moon, and it's one of four total eclipses that will take place in North America within the next year and a half. Pictured here is a blood moon seen over Gaza City in March 2007.
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/11/tech/innovation/blood-moon/index.html?hpt=us_t5
Creating body parts in a lab: 'Things are happening now' By Stephanie Smith, CNN April 10, 2014 -- Updated 2231 GMT (0631 HKT)
Two body parts. One scientific leap.
Scientists in the United States, Mexico and Switzerland grew reproductive organs and nasal cartilage in labs, and successfully implanted them in patients, according to two studies released in The Lancet on Thursday.
It is not the first time scientists have engineered body parts -- in effect, creating organs where before there were none. What is different in these cases is the size and complexity of the organs.
"This is a move forward to even more challenging (organs)," said Ivan Martin, a professor of tissue engineering at University Hospital Basel in Switzerland, and co-author of the nasal cartilage study.
"All these incremental steps finally have demonstrated that it is possible to engineer tissue that can help patients."
Tissue engineering has focused primarily on repair: burned skin, muscle shorn off during in an accident, a dysfunctional bladder. Recent advances go beyond repair to replacement.
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/10/health/tissue-engineering-success/index.html?hpt=us_t3
5 students among 10 killed in bus crash
A truck slammed into a bus in Northern California. Three chaperones and both drivers were also killed. FULL STORY | TRUCK CROSSES FREEWAY
http://edition.cnn.com/US/
Fighter jets, special forces: Photos 'show Russian military buildup' near Ukraine
Fighter jets, special forces: Photos 'show Russian military buildup' near Ukraine
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/11/world/europe/nato-satellite-images-russia/index.html?hpt=hp_c2
(CNN) -- NATO has released satellite photos that show the extent of Russia's military mobilization on its border with Ukraine -- including fighter jets, tanks, artillery and thousands of soldiers who are prepared to invade within 12 hours if called upon, say officials.
The photos appear to confirm Western leaders' fears that Russia may be preparing for a ground invasion of eastern Ukraine, despite NATO's call for Russia to withdraw its forces from the border.
What do the photos show?
The photos, which private satellite imaging firm DigitalGlobe says it took between March 22 and April 2, purportedly reveal dozens of Russian "fast jets," helicopters and infantry units that were not spotted in photos of the same areas last year.
Friday, 11 April 2014
An Afghan girl injured by a stray grenade returns home
An Afghan girl injured by a stray grenade returns home
11 April 2014 Last updated at 13:00 BST
Duchess beats Duke in yacht race in New Zealand
Duchess beats Duke in yacht race in New Zealand
The Duchess of Cambridge has beaten her husband, Prince William, in two yacht races during their tour of New Zealand.
11 April 2014 Last updated at 10:20 BST
http://www.bbc.com/news/Pakistan court withdraws attempted murder case against baby
lap drinking milk in his first court appearance.
A Pakistani court has withdrawn the case against a nine-month-old baby who was accused of attempted murder alongside 12 members of his family.
Muhammad Musa Khan appeared in court in Lahore for a second time on charges of planning a murder, threatening police and interfering in state affairs.
But the judge said the case should never have come to court.
Police chiefs earlier said they had ordered action against an investigating officer.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26999823Champions League
http://www.bbc.com/sport/live/26435161
Travelers' choice: World's top 25 destinations By Marnie Hunter, CNN April 8, 2014 -- Updated 0410 GMT (1210 HKT)
Istanbul jumped 11 spots from last year to take this year's No. 1 spot on TripAdvisor's Travelers' Choice
list of global destinations.
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/08/travel/top-world-destinations-tripadvisor/index.html?iref=obnetwork
Thursday, 10 April 2014
7 ways air travel changed after disasters
A cargo door blew off Turkish Airlines Flight 981 outside Paris in 1974 while the plane was in the air, causing cabin pressure to drop and eventually leading to a section of the cabin floor to collapse. The accident ultimately led to an industry-wide change in design limiting the possibility of depressurization.
(CNN) -- One of the key questions asked after any serious airline incident is: how do we stop this happening again?
Malaysia Airlines has already changed its cockpit regulations as a result of Flight 370's disappearance.
Many other incidents in the past have led to safer flying conditions for us today, as a result of improvements and changes to protocol, laws and technology in planes. Below we outline some of the most important ones.
These helped pave the way to making 2013 one of the safest years in aviation history according to the Aviation Safety Network, with only 29 known accidents worldwide, and 265 fatalities (the 10-year average is 720 fatalities per year).
1. Collision Avoidance Systems
Collision Avoidance Systems have been a priority in the aerospace industry since the inception of flight.
In 1956, a TWA jet crashed into a United Airlines flight above the Grand Canyon. The incident was the first of many that illustrated the need for increased communication between planes.
A few years later, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was formed to set guidelines for aviation in the United States, but still, issues remained.
Several other two-plane accidents -- including a 1996 collision near New Delhi that resulted in 349 casualties -- emphasized the need for advanced, anti-collision technology.
After a congressional ruling in 1991, the FAA implemented the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), which monitors the airspace around an aircraft independent of air traffic control.
"TCAS really came about in the late '90s, and since then, I don't think we've really seen a collision between two airlines," notes Phil Seymour, president and COO of the International Bureau of Aviation, a consultancy that offers analysis and advice to the aviation industry.
Firemen examining the wreckage of a British Airtours 747 that burst into flames at Manchester Airport.
2. Roomier seats
Coach may seem pretty crammed these days, but according to Seymour, there's a limit to how much plane manufacturers are allowed to shave off the space around seats.
In fact, modern-day seat layout has been rigorously calculated to carry out the most effective evacuation.
This is in part thanks to research carried out by the Cranfield Institute after a 1985 incident, when a British Airtours 737 caught fire before take-off at Manchester International Airport.
An engine caught fire, and the flames spread quickly. Unfortunately, the lack of space between seats meant that bottle-necking occurred at the doors, and some passengers couldn't escape.
"The aisles became jammed with people panicking to exit, and there literally wasn't enough space between the seats," recalls Seymour.
"Now, there are limits in terms of the minimum space between seats as well as the distance to an emergency exit."
3. Weather radar
Severe weather has played a role in some crashes, Delta Airlines Flight 191, most notably, which crashed in 1985 while approaching Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in a thunderstorm.
"Rain is one thing, but if a pilot gets into wind shear, and the currents are there, it will literally just push your aircraft onto the ground. There have been some incidents where aircraft have crashed when making their final approach," says Seymour.
In 1981, the FAA required all turbine-powered commercial planes be installed with wind shear detection systems by 1993. Since then, the models have become increasingly sophisticated.
"A lot of the more advanced weather radar don't just detect bad weather, but predict wind shear. If a pilot sees wind shear coming, instead of landing, he can circle around the airport until it disappears."
The AF447 Rio-Paris plane flight black boxes are displayed during a press conference on May 12, 2011.
4. Manual training
It took two years for search parties to recover the black box from Air France Flight 447, which crashed into the Atlantic Ocean en route to Paris from Rio.
On reviewing the recordings, the French Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyse (BEA) blamed pilot error, in particular an overdependence on the automated flight control system.
"The senior captain was on his break, and the aircraft was being piloted by two less experienced pilots," recalls Seymour. "Since then, Airbus and Boeing have both changed their operation procedures, and have put more focus on manual training," he adds.
In the wake of the incident, Air France also revamped its training procedures, and introduced a new "gatekeeper" position.
Gatekeepers are tasked with contacting the flight crew in the event of an incident and providing pilots with on-the-spot training, tools and advice.
5. Retiring old planes
The FAA addressed the issue of how long planes should fly in 1988 when they created the National Aging Aircraft Research program, which monitors the structural integrity of older planes.
The measure was a result of an Aloha Airlines accident. While flying at 24,000 feet, a large section of the roof blew off, leaving passengers flying in the open air.
The plane -- a Boeing 737 -- was 19 years old, and investigators blamed the incident on the plane's age-related wear and tear.
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/11/travel/air-disaster-lessons/index.html?hpt=hp_c1
Afghan wife maimed for refusing drug-addict husband's cash demand
April 10, 2014 --
Herat, Afghanistan (CNN) -- As we stroll down a dusty back street in Herat, Afghanistan's third-biggest city, a high gate made from sheets of rusted corrugated iron and a door that's bolted shut confronts us.
On the other side of this fortress-like barrier we can hear children's voices and playful laughter.
When we knock the voices fall silent and a young man comes to the gate. He asks for our names and the purpose of our visit. Satisfied with the answer, the door is unbolted and we're allowed inside.
Behind the high wall, four little girls -- the youngest a smiling two-year old with food on her face -- greet us in a concrete-covered courtyard. Garbage is piled up in one corner, while a broken down motorcycle
leans against a brick wall.
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/10/world/asia/afghanistan-child-bride-violence/index.html?hpt=hp_c4
The 7 Most Ridiculous Purchases Ever Made By Premier League Footballers
Footballers often get bad press for frittering their money away on things that are little more than pointless and ostentatious displays of wealth. That being said, for a group of people who earn more in a week than most might earn in a decade, a little bit of lavish spending has to be expected.
Here's a look at the seven most ridiculous purchases ever made by Premier League footballers.
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