Without description ..[ 1950 ]

Central Russia military transport aircraft crash [ 1949 ]

C.Russia : A military aircraft  AN-22 crashed

A failure of aviation equipment, particularly an engine failure, might have caused the crash.

04:23 29/12/2010

 RIA Novosti. Lev Polikashin

MOSCOW (Ria Novosti) 29/12/2010

Burning remains of the Russian Air Force An-22 transport aircraft that crashed late on Tuesday night were discovered from the air in central Russia's Tula Region, a source in the law enforcement bodies said on Wednesday.

"The remains of the burning aircraft were discovered from the air at 2:36 Moscow time [23:36 GMT Tuesday] near the village of Krasny Oktyabr in the Tula Region," the source said adding that rescue teams were dispatched to the crash site.

The Russian Defense Ministry said earlier that the An-22 Cock aircraft en route to the airport of Migalovo disappeared from radar screens at 21:30 Moscow time [18:30 GMT].

According to preliminary information, about 12 people were on board of the Russian Air Force aircraft, a source in the ministry said.

He said a failure of aviation equipment, particularly an engine failure, might have caused the crash.

According to various sources, there are up to 300 transport aircraft in service with the Russian Air Force, including An-12 Cub, An-72 Coaler, An-22 Cock, An-124 Condor and Il-76 Candid planes. Most of the aircraft entered service in the 1960s and 1970s and are considered outdated by modern safety and noise pollution standards.

NASA Image of the Day, Dec 28th..[ 1948 ]

The latest NASA "Image of the Day" image.

City Lights

This striking photograph features two of China’s most populous cities--Beijing and Tianjin--both located in the northern part of the country near the Bohai Gulf. The United Nations estimated 2010 population for the Beijing metropolitan area is approximately 12 million, with the population of the Tianjin metropolitan area estimated to be over 7 million. Taken at night time by the Expedition 26 crew, the image dramatically illustrates the extent of both metropolitan areas. 

The smaller city of Langfang, located midway between Beijing and Tianjin, also is clearly visible, as are several other smaller developed areas to the northeast. The dark regions surrounding the well-lit urban areas are mainly agricultural fields, with wheat and corn being the major crops. Beijing is one of the recognized ancient capital cities--and the current capital--of the People’s Republic of China. 

The regular grid pattern of the city is clearly visible at lower upper right; concentric rings of major roadways around the city center have been added as the metropolitan area has expanded. Tianjin is a major trade center with connection to seaports on the Bohai Gulf. The city was established following the integration of the Grand Canal of China, a major artificial waterway extending from Beijing southwards to Hangzhou. 

Image Credit: NASA

Τρίτη, 28 Δεκέμβριος 2010 7:00:00 πμ

NASA Image of the Day, Dec 27th..[ 1947 ]

The latest NASA "Image of the Day" image.

Decorating the Sky
This mosaic image taken by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, features three nebulae that are part of the giant Orion Molecular Cloud--the Flame nebula, the Horsehead nebula and NGC 2023. 

 

Despite its name, there is no fire roaring in the Flame nebula. What makes this nebula shine is the bright blue star seen to the right of the central cloud. This star, Alnitak, is the easternmost star in Orion's belt. Wind and radiation from Alnitak blasts away electrons from the gas in the Flame nebula, causing it to become ionized and glow in visible light. The infrared glow seen by WISE is from dust warmed by Alnitak's radiation. 

 

The famous Horsehead nebula appears in this image as a faint bump on the lower right side of the vertical dust ridge. In visible light, this nebula is easily recognizable as a dramatic silhouette in the shape of a horse's head. It is classified as a dark nebula because the dense cloud blocks out the visible light of the glowing gas behind it. WISE's infrared detectors can peer into the cloud to see the glow of the dust itself. A third nebula, NGC 2023, can be seen as a bright circle in the lower half of the image. NGC 2023 is classified as a reflection nebula, meaning that the dust is reflecting the visible light of nearby stars. 

 

But here WISE sees the infrared glow of the warmed dust itself. Color in this image represents specific infrared wavelengths. Blue represents light emitted at 3.4-micron wavelengths, mainly from hot stars. Relatively cooler objects, such as the dust of the nebulae, appear green and red. Green represents 4.6-micron light and red represents 12-micron light. This image was made from data collected after WISE began to run out of its supply of solid hydrogen cryogen in August 2010. Cryogen is a coolant used to make infrared detectors more sensitive. WISE mapped the entire sky by July using four infrared detectors, but during the period from August to October 2010, while the cryogen was depleting, WISE had only three detectors operational, and the 12-micron detector was less sensitive. 

 

This turned out to be a good thing in the case of this image, because the less-sensitive detector reduced the glare of the Flame portion of the nebula enough to bring out details of the rest of the nebula.

 

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA

Δευτέρα, 27 Δεκέμβριος 2010 7:00:00 πμ

Israel will not apologize to Turkey[ 1946 ]

Feedback

Israel says it will not apologize to Turkey over flotilla incident

By the CNN Wire Staff

December 26, 2010 -- Updated 2021 GMT (0421 HKT)

Israeli troops board a ship in a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in the Mediterranean Sea on May 31.

(CNN) -- Despite overtures from Turkey, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman said Sunday that his country will not apologize to Turkey over the deaths of nine Turkish activists aboard an aid flotilla headed for Gaza in May.

"The ones who need to apologize is the Turkish government for supporting terror regarding the IHH (a Turkish charity tied to the flotilla), Hamas and Hezbollah," he told a gathering of Israeli ambassadors from around the world.

"There will be no apology, and if there is one, we are expecting it from Ankara and not vice versa," he added.

A day earlier, Turkey's foreign minister continued to press for an apology from Israel over the incident, as the boat that set off the row between the two countries was scheduled to arrive in Istanbul.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu criticized Israel for not reciprocating his country's efforts to remedy relations, despite Turkey's "wish to reconcile with Israel," according to the state-run Anadolu news agency.

"We are having difficulty, when we don't receive the same will from the other side," he said. "If our friendship with Israel is going to continue, an apology and compensation are the only possible ways for it."

Turkey was once Israel's strongest ally among Muslim nations, but the relationship between the two nations has been chilly since May 31, when Israeli forces intercepted an aid flotilla headed to Gaza from Turkey. Violence broke out, and nine Turkish activists were killed.

Tens of thousands of people were expected Sunday to greet the boat at the center of the controversy, the Mavi Marmara, upon its arrival in Istanbul, according to a press release from Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief.

Israel has maintained that its troops used force on the activists only after they were attacked by those on board one boat. But passengers on board insist Israeli troops fired on them without provocation.

On Saturday, Davutoglu said that Tel Aviv's attempts to lay blame were unfounded.

"Turkish citizens were killed in international waters," he told reporters, according to the Anadolu report. "Nothing can cover this fact. Turkey cannot be blamed."

In September, the U.N. Human Rights Council concluded that Israeli forces committed serious violations of international law in the mid-sea interception. The 56-page report described the circumstances of the deaths of "at least six of the passengers" as being "consistent with ... an arbitrary and summary execution."

Officials from Israel and Turkey met earlier this month in Geneva, Switzerland, in an attempt to reduce tensions. That meeting came days after Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan sent two firefighting planes to Israel to help combat a deadly wildfire, according to a Turkish foreign ministry official.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly thanked Erdogan, then called him to thank him again, the official said. While on the telephone, Netanyahu said he hoped the two countries could discuss the state of their relationship in a different context.

CNN's Michael Schwartz contributed to this report.