Τηε "Great Barrier Reef " ,, ..[ 2082 ]

Sediment along the Great Barrier Reef,

 

(9 MB, JPEG) acquired February 5, 2011

 Sediment remained suspended off the Queensland coast on February 5, 2011, in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Yasi. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on  NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this natural-color image the same day. 

Ocean water that would normally appear navy instead sports shades of peacock blue. Nearer the coast, the water appears green, especially north of Townsville. 

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The water nearest the shore has likely acquired its sediment load from river runoff, an the water farther out to sea probably holds sediment that Yasi churned up from the sea floor. 

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The sediment is suspended around the Great Barrier Reef, and reef structures—identifiable by their fluorescent hues and distinct outlines—appear throughout the scene.

Twice-daily images of northeast Australia are available from the MODIS Rapid Response System.

NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Michon Scott.

Instrument: Aqua - MODIS

Japan, Russian flag desecrated..[ 2081 ]

Japanese radicals desecrate Russian flag

Topic: Tensions in Russian-Japanese relations

Japanese radicals desecrate Russian flag
© RIA Novosti. Alan Bulkaty

10:08-- 07/02/2011

 

TOKYO, February 7 (Ria Novosti)

Japanese right-wing campaigners dragged the Russian flag along the ground outside the Russian Embassy in Tokyo on Monday and called for the return of a group of disputed islands.

Both Japan and Russia have laid claims to the South Kuril Islands, called the Northern Territories by the Japanese, since they were annexed by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II. The dispute has prevented the two countries from signing a peace treaty to formally end hostilities.

The incident came as Japanese Premier Naoto Kan called Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s November 2010 visit to the one of the disputed islands an “inexcusable rudeness”

The Day of Northern Territories is marked annually in Japan on February 7. On Monday, as happens every year, right-wing activists cruised the streets in vans equipped with loudspeakers to play nationalist music and chants.

“Return the Northern Territories!” and “You are illegally occupying our land!” were just some of the slogans broadcast before the activists approached the embassy, guarded heavily by police, with a Russian flag.

The sparsely populated islands in dispute are in the Kuril chain between Japan's northern island of Hokkaido and Russia's far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula, with the closest just 15 km (9 miles) from Hokkaido.

Egypt : New concessions to opposition..[ 2080 ]

Egypt’s regime offers new concessions to opposition

Anti-government protesters sit on and lie inside the tracks of an Egyptian army tank, both to prevent the tank from moving and to shield themselves from the rain, at a protest site opposite the Egyptian Museum near Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo on Sunday, Feb. 6, 2011. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

By Maggie Michael and Sarah El Deeb

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Associated Press

Updated: 1:46 p.m. on Sunday, February 6, 2011

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt‘s vice president met a broad representation of major opposition groups for the first time Sunday and offered new concessions including freedom of the press, release of those detained since anti-government protests began nearly two weeks ago and the eventual lifting of the country’s hated emergency laws.

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Two of the groups that attended the meeting said this was only a first step in a dialogue that has yet to meet their central demand — the immediate ouster of longtime President Hosni Mubarak.

“People still want the president to step down,” said Mostafa al-Naggar, a protest organizer and supporter of Mohamed ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace laureate and one of the country’s leading democracy advocates.

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“The protest continues because there are no guarantees and not all demands have been met,” he added. “We did not sign on to the statement. This is a beginning of a dialogue. We approve the positive things in the statement, but … we are still demanding that the president step down.”

The outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s largest opposition group, made a similar statement after its representatives attended the meeting.

 

Anti-Mubarak protesters are seen behind barbed wire as they arrive at Tahrir Square in Cairo on Sunday, Feb. 6, 2011. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Vice President Omar Suleiman offered to set up a committee of judicial and political figures to study proposed constitutional reforms that would allow more candidates to run for president and impose term limits on the presidency, the state news agency reported. The committee was given until the first week of March to finish the tasks.

The offer also included a pledge not to harass those participating in anti-government protests, which have drawn hundreds of thousands at the biggest rallies. The government agreed not to hamper freedom of press and not to interfere with text messaging and Internet.

The offer to eventually lift emergency laws with a major caveat — when security permits — would fulfill a longtime demand by the opposition. The laws were imposed by Mr. Mubarak when he took office in 1981 and have been in force ever since. They give police far-reaching powers for detention and suppression of civil and human rights.

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Sen. John Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat, who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, hailed the talks with opposition groups and the promise to remove the emergency law as “frankly quite extraordinary.” Mr. Kerry called on Mr. Mubarak to lay out a timetable for transition and new elections.

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“He must step aside gracefully and begin the process of transition to a caretaker government. I believe that is happening right now,” Mr. Kerry told NBC‘s “Meet the Press.” “What’s needed now is a clarity in this process.”

"Marathon Man"..[ 2079 ]

Belgian Stefaan Engels completes record 365th marathon

the 49-year-old Stefaan Engel

 BBC., Sun.,Feb 6,2011

A Belgian runner has set a new world record by completing 365 marathon races in a year

Stefaan Engels, dubbed "Marathon Man", began his challenge in Belgium a year ago and has since run a marathon every day across seven countries.

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He crossed the finish line in the Spanish city of Barcelona after running 15,000km (9,569 miles) in a year. 

"I don't regard my marathon year as torture. It is more like a regular job," the 49-year-old said.

He averaged about four hours to complete a marathon. He said his best time was 2 hours and 56 minutes.

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Engels suffered from asthma as a child and had been told by doctors to avoid sport.

Before Engels, the record marathon man was Akinori Kusuda of Japan - who ran 52 races in a row at the age of 65 in 2009.

A mission to map the Sun's surface,,[ 2078 ]

Space Mission captures the first 3D image of Sun

A mission to map the Sun's surface has produced the world's first ever three dimensional image of the star.

Scientists believe the photo is as significant as those taken of the first men on the Moon 

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The Telegraph, Sun.,Fen 6th,2011
 

By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent 6:00PM GMT 06 Feb 2011

 

6 Comments

 

Two satellites orbiting the Sun perfectly aligned on opposite sides for the first time taking images that when combined create the most complete picture ever of its surface.

Scientists, who include those at Britain's Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire, believe the photo is as significant as those taken of the first men on the Moon and the first ever images of the Earth from outer space. 
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It could also mark a significant step forward in "Space weather forecasting" as the satellites can monitor solar winds blasted from the Sun and heading towards Earth. 
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The Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) mission, led by NASA, launched its two satellites in 2006 and they have been orbiting the Sun ever since. 
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The two satellites are travelling at different speeds and so every few years they achieve 180 degrees of separation on exactly opposite sides of the Sun.