The Andromeda galaxy...[ 3044 ]

• Andromeda's Colorful Rings

The ring-like swirls of dust filling the Andromeda galaxy stand out colorfully in this new image from the Herschel Space Observatory, a European Space Agency mission with important NASA participation.

The glow seen here comes from the longer-wavelength, or far, end of the infrared spectrum, giving astronomers the chance to identify the very coldest dust in our galactic neighbor. These light wavelengths span from 250 to 500 microns, which are a quarter to half of a millimeter in size. Herschel's ability to detect the light allows astronomers to see clouds of dust at temperatures of only a few tens of degrees above absolute zero. These clouds are dark and opaque at shorter wavelengths. The Herschel view also highlights spokes of dust between the concentric rings.

The colors in this image have been enhanced to make them easier to see, but they do reflect real variations in the data. The very coldest clouds are brightest in the longest wavelengths, and colored red here, while the warmer ones take on a bluish tinge.

These data, together with those from other observatories, reveal that other dust properties, beyond just temperature, are affecting the infrared color of the image. Clumping of dust grains, or growth of icy mantles on the grains towards the outskirts of the galaxy, appear to contribute to these subtle color variations.

These observations were made by Herschel's spectral and photometric imaging receiver (SPIRE) instrument. The data were processed as part of a project to improve methods for assembling mosaics from SPIRE observations. Light with a wavelength of 250 microns is rendered as blue, 350-micron is green, and 500-micron light is red. Color saturation has been enhanced to bring out the small differences at these wavelengths.

Image credit: ESA/NASA/JPL-Caltech/NHSC

French Troops Advance in Mali ...[ 3043 ]

Mali: French Troops Advance In Timbuktu

Sky News is inside the Malian city as French forces advance - and insurgents burn vast numbers of ancient documents as they flee.

6:28am UK, Tuesday 29 January 2013 // Sky News

French troops are inside the historic city of Timbuktu in Mali after advancing north into an area held by Islamist militants.

As they fled, the insurgents apparently set fire to a library that is home to thousands of ancient manuscripts, an act described by the city's mayor as a "devastating blow" to world heritage.
Sky's Special Correspondent Alex Crawford was the first journalist to enter Timbuktu as the French were heading into the city.

Empty boxes which once contained valuable manuscripts

She said: "In the centre of the town they are celebrating, they're going absolutely bonkers with flags, cheering and waving and saying thank you to the French."
But amid the apparent relief among local people, she reported the anger of those who said they were helpless to stop the Islamists burning ancient documents at the city's main library, the Ahmed Baba Institute of Higher Islamic Studies and Research.
Inside the building, which had reportedly been used as a sleeping quarters by the Islamists, Crawford said the empty boxes strewn around her had contained thousands of historic manuscripts.

The tombs of three Sufi saints have been destroyed

"Some of the documents date back to the 13th century," she said. "This was all the documentation they'd built up over centuries of life in Timbuktu - all either burned by the Jihadists or they have disappeared."
The city's mayor, Ousmane Halle, said: "They torched all the important ancient manuscripts. The ancient books of geography and science. It is the history of Timbuktu, of its people. It's truly alarming that this has happened."
During their rule, the militants systematically destroyed UNESCO World Heritage sites in Timbuktu, long a hub of Islamic learning.
Crawford, who is embedded with the French forces, visited the tombs of three local Sufi saints, which were centuries old. Her report showed they had been reduced to piles of rubble.

French troops received an enthusiastic show of support from locals

UNESCO says that one of those destroyed was the tomb of Sidi Mahmoudou, a saint who died in 955.
A spokesman for the al Qaeda-linked militants has said the tombs were destroyed because they contravened Islam, encouraging Muslims to venerate saints instead of God.
Ground forces backed by French paratroopers and helicopters had taken control of Timbuktu's airport and the roads leading to the town in an overnight operation.

Sky's Special Correspondent Alex Crawford is embedded with French troops

It is part of the French-led mission to oust the radical Islamists from the northern half of Mali, which they seized more than nine months ago in the wake of a military coup in the distant capital of Bamako.
The French and Malian forces so far have met little resistance.
Timbuktu lies on an ancient caravan route and has entranced travellers for centuries. It is situated some 1,000km (620 miles) northeast of Bamako.

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• RAF Surveillance Plane Supports French

Sanctions mean a war against Pyongyang..[ 3042 ]

North Korea Threatens 'Strong Physical Counter-Measures' Over UN Sanctions

 

January 25, 2013// VoA

North Korea has threatened "strong physical counter-measures" against South Korea if Seoul directly takes part in a new U.N. resolution tightening sanctions against Pyongyang.

A statement released Friday by the North's Committee for Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland warned that sanctions mean a war and a declaration of war against Pyongyang. The statement also threatened to end all dialogue with anyone on denuclearization.

The U.N. Security Council on Wednesday unanimously condemned a North Korean rocket launch in December as a violation of existing sanctions that ban it from developing missile and nuclear technology.

North Korea responded Thursday by saying it would conduct a third nuclear test and carry out more rocket launches.



Recent satellite photos suggest North Korea has been preparing for a nuclear test, at the same Punggye-ri site where it conducted its previous tests in 2006 and 2009.

South Korea's Defense Ministry Thursday said the facility could be ready to conduct a test at any time, if North Korean leader Kim Jong Un decides to do so.

Although the North Korean statement Thursday said the nuclear tests and rocket launches were "targeted at the United States," analysts say it is not capable of reaching the U.S. mainland. They say it also has not mastered the technology necessary to mount a nuclear warhead on a long-range missile.

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France Wins First Round of the War,.[ 3041 ]

War in Mali: France and African Allies Take on Islamist Militants

Jan. 24, 2013

Issouf Sanogo / AFP / Getty Images

A soldier stands guard as Nigerian troops arrive at the airport in Bamako on Jan. 17, 2013.

In March 2012, separatist rebels and Islamist militants linked to al-Qaeda exploited the political chaos following a coup in Mali and overran half of the northwest African country. Nine months later, after dawdling in the capital Bamako and handwringing at the U.N., a French-led intervention is striking back at the rebel militias.
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 France, Mali’s former colonial ruler, is deeply invested in restoring stability to the country, but is hesitant to commit too many boots on the ground—those are being made up by Malian troops and a force comprising soldiers from neighboring West African countries. After initial successes, the coalition intervening may find itself pursuing a far more evasive enemy.
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(MORE: The Malian Front: France Wins First Round of the War, but Now What?)

Spain's unemployment rate hits 26%..[ 3040 ]

Spain's jobless figures hit record high

From Al Goodman, CNN

January 24, 2013 -- Updated 1307 GMT (2107 HKT)

Spain's unemployment rate hits 26%

Madrid (CNN) -- Spain's unemployment rate has climbed to its highest level ever, the Spanish government said Thursday, as a painful recession takes a toll on the debt-stricken nation.

The latest official figures show 26.02% of the population without jobs in the last quarter of 2012, with just over 55% of those aged 16 to 24 unemployed.

Explore our interactive: Europe's decade: A tale of boom and bust

The unemployment rate is the highest in the country's history, according to the Spanish National Statistics Institute, with the total number of jobless people at 5.97 million.

In 2007, before the global economic crisis hit, Spain had 1.9 million people unemployed -- 8.6% of the active population. By this time last year, the number had climbed to 5.2 million.

Read more: Spain escapes aid but doubt remains

In the eurozone, only Greece, which is facing a sixth year of recession, has a greater proportion of young people out of work.

Spain, the fourth-largest economy in the eurozone, is suffering its second recession in three years, and its ailing banking industry has had to draw on the eurozone's bailout fund to stay afloat.

But it has stopped short of following in the footsteps of Greece, Ireland and Portugal in requesting a full-blown sovereign bailout.

Successive rounds of austerity measures have prompted angry public protests on Spain's streets.

CNN's Laura Smith-Spark contributed to this report.