Operation Moshtarak
Images from the largest operation in Afghanistan since the beginning of the war
Slide Show
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
The latest NASA "Image of the Day" [ 715 ]
NASA Image of the Day,, March 9th, 2010
The latest NASA "Image of the Day" image.
The latest NASA "Image of the Day" image.
A Mosaic of Cassiopeia
This mosaic of images from the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explore, or WISE, in the constellation of Cassiopeia contains a large star-forming nebula within the Milky Way Galaxy, called IC 1805 or the Heart Nebula, a portion of which is seen at the right of the image.
IC 1805 (or the Heart Nebula ) is more than 6,000 light-years from Earth.
Also visible in this image are two nearby galaxies, Maffei 1 and Maffei 2.
In visible light these galaxies are hidden by dust in IC 1805 and were unknown until 1968 when Paolo Maffei found them using infrared observations. Both galaxies contain billions of stars and are located some 10 million light-years away.
Maffei 1 is a lenticular galaxy, which has a disk-like structure and a central bulge but no spiral structure or appreciable dust content. Maffei 2 is a spiral galaxy that also has a disk shape, but with a bar-like central bulge and two prominent dusty spiral arms. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA
Τρίτη, 9 Μάρτιος 2010 7:00:00 πμ
This mosaic of images from the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explore, or WISE, in the constellation of Cassiopeia contains a large star-forming nebula within the Milky Way Galaxy, called IC 1805 or the Heart Nebula, a portion of which is seen at the right of the image.
IC 1805 (or the Heart Nebula ) is more than 6,000 light-years from Earth.
Also visible in this image are two nearby galaxies, Maffei 1 and Maffei 2.
In visible light these galaxies are hidden by dust in IC 1805 and were unknown until 1968 when Paolo Maffei found them using infrared observations. Both galaxies contain billions of stars and are located some 10 million light-years away.
Maffei 1 is a lenticular galaxy, which has a disk-like structure and a central bulge but no spiral structure or appreciable dust content. Maffei 2 is a spiral galaxy that also has a disk shape, but with a bar-like central bulge and two prominent dusty spiral arms. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA
Τρίτη, 9 Μάρτιος 2010 7:00:00 πμ
Monday, March 8, 2010
Deadly suicide blast, Taliban[ 714 ]
Taliban claims responsibility for deadly suicide blast
March 8, 2010 7:56 a.m. EST
Volunteers search for blast victims in the rubble of a destroyed law enforcement building after a car bomb attack in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday.
(CNN) -- The Taliban said Monday it was behind a suicide bombing in Lahore that killed 11 people and wounded more than 60.
Azam Tariq, spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, said the attack was in response to U.S. aggression against Muslims around the world.
"I am proud to accept the responsibility of the Lahore suicide blast," he wrote in a text message to CNN.
"We will follow U.S. and its allies all over the world, even if they are in Karachi, Peshawar, Lahore, Afghanistan or in U.S."
Government officials provided the death toll from the bomb in the eastern part of the country. Many of the wounded were in critical condition, and the death toll could rise, officials said.
The blast occurred in an affluent part of Model Town in Lahore, Pakistan's second-largest city.
The suicide bomber targeted the Special Investigation Agency, a provincial law-enforcement agency that investigates high-value detainees. It is where suspected militants have been interrogated, said Khusro Pervez, a senior government official in Lahore.
Journalists Nasir Dawar and Hasir Habib contributed to this report.
Earthquake hits eastern Turkey... [ 713 ]
Strong earthquake hits eastern Turkey | |||||
| The injured were ferried to hospital with the help of relatives BBC 12:29 GMT, Monday, 8 March 2010 A strong earthquake has struck eastern Turkey, killing at least 57 people, officials have said. The 6.0-magnitude quake, centred on the village of Basyurt in Elazig province, struck at 0432 (0232 GMT). It has been followed by more than 40 aftershocks. Officials said the nearby village of Okcular had been almost destroyed and several others badly damaged. A number of people were trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings, many of which were built of mud-bricks. "Villages consisting mainly of mud-brick houses have been damaged, but we have minimal damage such as cracks in buildings made of cement or stone," Elazig Governor Muammer Erol told CNN Turk.
At least 17 of the dead came from the hillside village of Okcular, where up to 30 houses collapsed, rescuers said. "The village is totally flattened," Okcular's administrator, Hasan Demirdag, told NTV. Television footage from Okcular showed rescue workers and soldiers digging among the rubble of collapsed buildings as villagers looked on. Ali Riza Ferhat, a resident, said he had been asleep in his home when the earthquake struck. "I tried to get out of the door but it wouldn't open. I came out of the window and started helping my neighbours," he told NTV. "We removed six bodies." The nearby villages of Yukari Kanatli, Kayalik, Gocmezler and Yukari Demirci were also badly damaged and each reported several deaths.
"Everything has been knocked down - there is not a stone in place," Yadin Apaydin, the administrator for Yukari Kanatli, told CNN Turk. At least 50 people have been taken to hospital, officials say. Some were reportedly hurt during the panic after the first earthquake, when they jumped from windows or balconies. Residents of the affected villages have been warned not to return to damaged homes while the area continues to be hit by aftershocks, the strongest of which have so far measured 5.1 and 5.5. The government disaster management centre and Turkish Red Crescent have set up tents to help survivors cope with the harsh winter weather, and are also distributing food and blankets. Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek and three other ministers have travelled to the earthquake zone to provide assistance.
In Ankara, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan lamented the lack of earthquake-safe buildings and said he had ordered the start of a reconstruction project in the area. "Mud-brick construction is undoubtedly a local tradition. But unfortunately, it has proved to have a heavy price," he said. A BBC News website reader who visited the village of Basyurt after the earthquake said its residents blamed the government for the destruction and loss of life. "This is a seismic area. We've experienced so many earthquakes in the last 20 years, yet no measures have been taken to strengthen the buildings," Volkan Durkal said. "Most houses are not made with cement, they are not well-built and the people are not well-educated about what to do and where to take cover during an earthquake." Turkey is plagued by earthquakes - generally minor - because of its location on the North Anatolian fault line. A 7.4-magnitude tremor which hit the western city of Izmit in August 1999 killed more than 17,000 people. The BBC's Jonathan Head in Istanbul says poor quality buildings were also blamed for the high death toll then and there is still concern in Turkey's largest city, where seismologists predict a major earthquake will occur within the next few decades. | |||||
Everything has been knocked down - there is not a stone in place 
Kidnapping of British schoolboy[ 712 ]
Interpol called in to investigate kidnapping of British schoolboy
Interpol has been called in to help with the investigation into the kidnapping of a five-year-old British boy in Pakistan amid fears that he may have been taken out of the country.
Four Pakistani police officers investigating the Sahil Saeed kidnapping have been suspended Photo: Manchester Evening News
Sahil Saeed, five, was seized by gunmen on Thursday hours before he was due to fly home to Oldham with his father after visiting his sick grandmother in Jhelum, Punjab
His father, RajaNaqqash Saeed, claimed he had been tortured by four armed men who left with his son and demanded a £100,000 ransom.
Rehman Malik, Pakistan's interior minister, said that Interpol had been asked to help with the investigation but warned the kidnappers that police were closing in.
His comments came after four Pakistani police officers were suspended after initially failing to respond to the family's emergency call. Police in the city have said they have made no progress with the case.
Rehman Malik also gave his backing to claims that the kidnapping was an “inside job” by disgruntled relations.
"There is someone who is very close to the family because the way the situation has happened, the way the entry was made, the way the conduct was done during the whole operation.
"We have certain leads which we would not like to disclose but a warning to those abductors: leave the boy because we are very near to you,” he said after meeting the boy’s father.
The boy's parents are reported to have been involved in a bitter separation shortly before their son was kidnapped.
Mr Saeed took his son out of school and flew with him to his family’s home in Pakistan, leaving his wife Akila and their two daughters behind in Oldham.
He took his wife’s passport with him so she could not follow them to Jhelum, a senior police source in the city south of Islamabad told the Daily Mail.
Mr Saeed, who is unemployed, denied any of his relations are involved. In an interview with the BBC he also denied reports of a family feud
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