Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Seven people were killed and 37 were injured Saturday night at an Internet cafe in the southwest region of China’s Guizhou province, after the explosion of chemicals being stored illegally at a chemical shop.

Chinese state media reported that sodium nitrate, aluminum chloride, and other chemicals were being kept in a nearby chemical shop and exploded at about 11:05 pm local time (1505 UTC), causing the Internet cafe to catch on fire. It is unknown how the chemicals ignited.

Forty five people were in the cafe when the explosion occurred. Six people died on the scene while one woman suffered major burns and later died in hospital. One person escaped without injury.

The police detained the owner of the chemical shop for “illegal possession of chemicals” according to state media. The cafe manager and boss were also placed in police custody for questioning.

Xinhua reports that one of the bodies was that of a child. Children under the age of eighteen are not allowed in Internet cafes under Chinese law.

According to Li Feiyue of the Qiandongnan Miao-Dong Autonomous Prefecture, “The location and environment of the Internet cafe is not safe. We will find out who approved its operation and who was in charge of safety supervision. They will be held responsible.”

Residential buildings in the area also suffered damaged.

Saturday, February 17, 2007

A Delta II rocket blasted off from NASA’s Cape Canaveral launch pad today, carrying five satellites designed to investigate the northern lights and the electromagnetic storms that cause them. The launch had been twice delayed due to bad weather, but was eventually performed at 23:00 UTC.

NASA and the Canadian Space Agency have collectively invested $200 million in the mission, known as the THEMIS Project. Through this mission, they hope to develop better techniques to forecast electromagnetic storms, in order to protect communication satellites, power grids, and spacewalking astronauts. Scientists from the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary also helped with the project.

The Sun continuously sends a stream of charged particles, called the solar wind, at the Earth. We are generally protected from the solar wind by the Earth’s magnetosphere. During substorms, however, the magnetosphere gets overloaded by the solar wind and the magnetic field lines stretch until they eventually snap back, energizing and flinging electrically charged particles towards Earth.

Scientists want to find out what snaps in the overloaded magnetosphere to trigger a substorm.

A compilation of brief news reports for Thursday, May 14, 2009.

Two travelers returning from Mexico to Thailand tested positive for the H1N1 swine influenza on Tuesday. According to Thailand’s health minister, this marks the first case of Southeast Asia.

On Wednesday, Chinese Ministry of Health officials reported a man had the disease. Currently, the officials are searching for people the man may have come into contact with.

Sources

• Xuequan, Mu. “China seeks passengers with exposure to new A/H1N1 flu case” — China View, May 14, 2009
• Kwok, Vivian Wai-yin. “Asian Swine Flu Risk Rises” — Forbes.com, May 13, 2008

The pope’s recent visit to the Middle East was expected to meet political “minefields”, according to the New York Times.

While in the Middle East, Pope Benedict XVI told the Prime Minister of Palestine, “It is understandable that you often feel frustrated. Your legitimate aspirations for permanent homes, for an independent Palestinian state, remain unfulfilled. Instead, you find yourselves trapped in a spiral of violence.”

The pope was speaking about the Palestinian housing, and how there are refugee camps.

Sources

• Hider, James. “Pope Benedict XVI calls for Palestinian state on visit to refugee camp” — Times Online, May 14, 2009
• “The Pope in the Mideast’s Minefields” — The New York Times, May 13, 2009

After the controversy over the “Erotic Services” section on Craigslist, the Web service will require manual posting and a $5 – $10 USD fee.

Craigslist will delete the “Erotic Services” section to replace it with “Adult Services.”

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut claims that state investigators will monitor the section as well for extra insurance.

Sources

• Stone, Brad. “Craigslist Plans to Monitor ‘Adult’ Ads” — The New York Times, May 13, 2009
• Raphael, J.R.. “Craigslist’s ‘Erotic Services’ Shutdown Could Backfire” — PCWorld, May 13, 2009