Germany ¨'Love Parade' Kills 15..[ 1519 ]

15 killed amid panic at Germany's 'Love Parade'

Paramedics carry a woman on a stretcher after several people were trampled at a festival Saturday in Duisberg, Germany.

By the CNN Wire Staff

July 24, 2010 -- Updated 1829 GMT (0229 HKT)

Fifteen people were killed Saturday when chaos broke out at a music festival in Duisburg, Germany, police said.

It's unclear what sparked the mass panic at "Love Parade 2010" as people tried to enter the festival site in the early evening, police spokesman Werner Friese said.

Fifteen others were injured, he said.

The festival was supposed to take place from 2 p.m. (8 a.m. ET) to midnight. By the evening, the entrance remained closed and the adjacent roadway was closed. People inside the venue were leaving the area.

CNN's Claudia Otto contributed to this report.

Heat wave in Moscow..[ 1518 ]

Heat wave in Moscow near to reach absolute record

Topic: Abnormal hot weather in Russia

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Moscow

19:30 24/07/2010

© RIA Novosti. Vladimir Vyatkin 

 

 

MOSCOW, July 24 (RIA Novosti)

Temperature in Moscow is near to reach the absolute record of 1920 with 36.8 degrees Celsius (98.24 degrees Fahrenheit), Moscow meteorological bureau's official said on Saturday.

"At 17:00 Moscow time (11:00 GMT) the principal meteorological station at the National Exhibition Center registered 36.7 degrees Celsius breaking the record of 1936 with the maximum temperature for July of 36.5 degrees," the official said, adding the temperature was unlikely to rise.

July 24 became the hottest day for the 130-year history of the meteorological observations.

The meteorologists said the next five days Moscow may see more record hot days with Sunday's temperature of 33.5 degrees and 34.8 degrees on Tuesday. These figures are the highest since 1936.

On Friday, a source in the city's meteorological bureau said July 2010 had become the hottest month on record in Moscow.

A heat wave has gripped Moscow since mid-June and there are no signs the temperatures will fall below 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) in the near future.

The scorching heat forced Muscovites to bathe in the city's fountains and to choose light beachwear for outings and even subway trips.

Women abandoned high-heeled shoes in favor of flats and rushed to buy swimsuits forcing shops to order new batches of bikinis.

The lucky owners of country houses, or dachas, have raided shops and online stores for inflatable pools, while it is almost impossible to buy an air conditioner or a ventilator in Moscow.

Due to the heat, the Army has allowed its soldiers to roll up their sleeves and unbutton their shirts.

The traditional changing of the infantry and cavalry guard at Cathedral Square near the Moscow Kremlin was cancelled on July 17 and does not take place on Saturday, July 24 since it is too hot for the sentries to wear their traditional early 20th century woolen parade uniforms and the horses are in danger of heatstroke.

According to environmentalists, the heat wave in Russia has been caused by man-made global warming.

NASA image of the Day, July 23rd..[ 1517 ]

The latest NASA "Image of the Day" image.

Fractured

This observation from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows the floor of a large impact crater in the southern highlands, north of the giant Hellas impact basin. Most of the crater floor is dark, with abundant small ripples of wind-blown material. However, a pit in the floor of the crater has exposed light-toned, fractured rock. 

 

The light-toned material appears fractured at several different scales. These fractures, called joints, result from stresses on the rock after its formation. Joints are similar to faults, but have undergone virtually no displacement. 

 

With careful analysis, joints can provide insight into the forces that have affected a rock, and thus yielding clues into its geologic history. The fractures appear dark, which may be due to dark, wind-blown sand, precipitation of different minerals along the fracture, or both. 

 

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Παρασκευή, 23 / 7 /  2010 7:00:00 πμ

French military helps militants in Mauritania..[ 1516 ]

French military helps battle militants in Mauritania

By the CNN Wire Staff

July 23, 2010 -- Updated 0935 GMT (1735 HKT)

(CNN) -- The French military provided "technical support" to Mauritania in an operation against suspected al Qaeda militants, the French defense ministry said Friday.

The operation led by Mauritanians "made it possible to neutralize the terrorist group and to crush their plans of attack against Mauritanian objectives."

It was against a group called the al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the French defense ministry said. It did not provide details on the support.

The group has been suspected in kidnappings of foreigners in Mauritania.

Storm in the Gulf of Mexico[ 1515 ].

Gulf storm puts BP spill efforts on hold

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Storm clouds form near a BP station in Alexandria, Virginia, July 19, 2010.

Credit: Reuters/Molly Riley

By Kristen Hays

HOUSTON | Fri Jul 23, 2010 5:03am EDT

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Bonnie threatened efforts to plug BP Plc's Gulf of Mexico oil leak on Friday and officials said many of the vessels and rigs involved in the operation would prepare to move out of the system's path.
"While these actions might delay the effort to kill the well for several days, the safety of the individuals at the well site is our highest concern," retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen said in a statement late on Thursday.
They were to have started preparing "to move out of harm's way" Thursday night, Allen said, though it was unclear exactly when they would pull out or stop operations.
Among the rigs involved is the one drilling the relief well that will permanently kill the leak. It had been on track to intercept the ruptured well by mid-August.
Officials have said an evacuation could force a delay of 10 to 14 days in operations. But the blown-out well will remain capped even as the evacuation forces a temporary halt to operations, including monitoring.
BP capped the well last week, choking off the flow of oil that has caused an ecological disaster for the first time since the April 20 rig explosion. Its containment efforts have been keenly eyed by investors because BP's ultimate costs may hinge on how much oil is determined to have flowed into the Gulf.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Bonnie, the second named storm of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season, was packing maximum sustained winds of 40 miles per hour.
It formed near the Bahamas on Thursday on a track that could take it over the BP spill site. The storm is expected to move into the eastern Gulf on Friday night and Saturday.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency as the storm is forecast to hit the state's coast on Sunday.
The largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history, triggered by the explosion that killed 11 workers, has unleashed an environmental disaster in the Gulf and devastated the region's tourism and fishing industries.
Workers have been close to completing the relief well and launching a "static kill" operation to pump heavy drilling mud and possibly cement into the well.
The spill has sparked a crisis for British energy giant BP, which created a $20 billion fund to compensate victims of the disaster and still faces mounting costs.
BP shares remained relatively steady in New York trading on Thursday, climbing 0.3 percent as the overall market rose. It is due to report quarterly results next week.
President Barack Obama, who has been under political pressure for his handling of the spill, will spend the August 14 weekend along the hard-hit Florida Gulf Coast, the White House announced.
(Writing by Ed Stoddard; editing by Todd Eastham)