A 35-mile rift in the desert of Ethiopia will likely become a new ocean eventually, researchers now confirm. November 3, 2009
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A 35-mile rift in the desert of Ethiopia will likely become a new ocean eventually, researchers now confirm.
The crack, 20 feet wide in spots, opened in 2005 and some geologists believed then that it would spawn a new ocean. But that view was controversial, and the rift had not been well studied.
A new study involving an international team of scientists and reported in the journal Geophysical Research Letters finds the processes creating the rift are nearly identical to what goes on at the bottom of oceans, further indication a sea is in the region’s future.
The same rift activity is slowly parting the Red Sea, too.
Using newly gathered seismic data from 2005, researchers reconstructed the event to show the rift tore open along its entire 35-mile length in just days. Dabbahu, a volcano at the northern end of the rift, erupted first, then magma pushed up through the middle of the rift area and began “unzipping” the rift in both directions, the researchers explained in a statement today.
“We know that seafloor ridges are created by a similar intrusion of magma into a rift, but we never knew that a huge length of the ridge could break open at once like this,” said Cindy Ebinger, professor of earth and environmental sciences at the University of Rochester and co-author of the study.
The result shows that highly active volcanic boundaries along the edges of tectonic ocean plates may suddenly break apart in large sections, instead of in bits, as the leading theory held. And such sudden large-scale events on land pose a much more serious hazard to populations living near the rift than would several smaller events, Ebinger said.
“The whole point of this study is to learn whether what is happening in Ethiopia is like what is happening at the bottom of the ocean where it’s almost impossible for us to go,” says Ebinger. “We knew that if we could establish that, then Ethiopia would essentially be a unique and superb ocean-ridge laboratory for us. Because of the unprecedented cross-border collaboration behind this research, we now know that the answer is yes, it is analogous.”
The African and Arabian plates meet in the remote Afar desert of Northern Ethiopia and have been spreading apart in a rifting process – at a speed of less than 1 inch per year – for the past 30 million years. This rifting formed the 186-mile Afar depression and the Red Sea. The thinking is that the Red Sea will eventually pour into the new sea in a million years or so. The new ocean would connect to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, an arm of the Arabian Sea between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula and Somalia in eastern Africa.
Atalay Ayele, professor at the Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia, led the investigation, gathering seismic data with help from neighboring Eritrea and Ghebrebrhan Ogubazghi, professor at the Eritrea Institute of Technology, and from Yemen with the help of Jamal Sholan of the National Yemen Seismological Observatory Center.
8 Eight American troops were killed in two separate insurgent attacks October 27, 2009
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In one of the insurgent assaults, seven Americans were killed while patrolling in armored vehicles, U.S. forces spokesman Lt. Col. Todd Vician said. He said an Afghan civilian died in the same attack. The eighth American was killed in a separate attack elsewhere in the south, also while patrolling in a military vehicle, he said.
The military issued a statement saying the deaths occurred during “multiple, complex” bomb strikes. It said several troops were wounded and evacuated to a nearby medical facility, but gave no other details.
Capt. Adam Weece, a spokesman for American forces in the south, said both attacks occurred in Kandahar province. In Washington, a U.S. defense official said at least one was followed by an intense firefight with insurgents who attacked after an initial bomb went off. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to release the information.
The deaths bring to 55 the total number of American troops killed in October in Afghanistan. The previous high occurred in August, when 51 U.S. soldiers died and the troubled nation held the first round of its presidential elections amid a wave of Taliban insurgent attacks.
The deadliest month of the Iraq conflict for U.S. forces was November 2004, when 137 Americans were killed during the assault to clear insurgents from the city of Fallujah.
“A loss like this is extremely difficult for the families as well as for those who served alongside these brave service members,” said Navy Capt. Jane Campbell, a military spokeswoman. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends who mourn their loss.”
The loss of life followed one of the worst days of the war for U.S. forces in Afghanistan since they launched air strikes in 2001 to oust the Taliban from power.
On Monday, a U.S. military helicopter crashed returning from the scene of a firefight with suspected Taliban drug traffickers in western Afghanistan, killing 10 Americans including three DEA agents. In a separate crash the same day, four more U.S. troops were killed when two helicopters collided over southern Afghanistan.
U.S. military officials insisted neither crash was the result of hostile fire, although the Taliban claimed they shot down a U.S. helicopter in the western province of Badghis. The U.S. did not say where in western Afghanistan its helicopter went down, and no other aircraft were reported missing.
Those casualties marked the Drug Enforcement Administration’s first deaths since it began operations here in 2005. Afghanistan is the world’s largest producer of opium — the raw ingredient in heroin — and the illicit drug trade is a major source of funding for insurgent groups.
PCB bans Shoaib for indefinite period October 26, 2009
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PCB bans Shoaib for indefinite period
LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board has imposed an indefinite ban on controversial bowler Shoaib Akhtar following his scuffle with Mohammad Asif in South Africa — latest in a series of serious disciplinary offences by the speedster.
Initial reports suggested that he was banned for five matches but later a board official informed that Akhtar was now under indefinite ban.
A board official said that an indefinite ban will remain intact as the bowler will appear before the disciplinary committee on his return. The initial decision of a ban of five matches came from the team management but the board has taken the decision keeping in view the history of the bowler’s always-messy behaviour.
One of the Pakistan cricket’s most turbulent figure, Akhtar was to be sent back home on the first available flight from South Africa following his bat spat with attack partner Mohammad Asif.
With the five matches ban on Akhtar, he will not be able to play international cricket till the Pakistan team makes the super eight stage of the Twenty20 World Cup. “There is no question of return back to Twenty20 event in the later half of the event,” said he.
The Pakistan team is in South Africa to play in the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup Cricket beginning from September 13.
The Pakistan Cricket Board took a serious note of the incident which occurred during the team’s nets session at the Centurion Park and as a disciplinary measure told Shoaib to return home by the first flight available.
“The decision to recall him has been taken after initial inquiry by the team management in South Africa. But a more detailed probe would be ordered once he returns home,” PCB Chief Operating Officer Shafqat Nagmi said.
“Shoaib admitted he had struck Asif with the bat and was apologetic but we are taking this incident very seriously,” Naghmi said.
The incident took place after an initial verbal spat between the two ended in heated argument with Shoaib hitting Asif on is left thigh with a bat.
It has also been leant that Asif was ready to file assault charges against the fellow pacer but was prevented by the tour management with a promise of thorough inquiry and proper punishment.
PCB director communication Dr Ahsan Hameed Malik, who is team’s media manager for the World Cup, said Asif had thankfully escaped any serious injury and his X-rays had shown no internal injury.
The incident came at a time when the team was hoping for fiery spells from the pace duo, who share the new ball, in the Twenty20 World Championships.
Naghmi said the board would decide on a replacement soon but sources said pacer Mohammad Sami was in contention to replace Shoaib who had made a return to the side after playing just one Test and four one-dayers in the last 15-months.
Further action against Shoaib has not been ruled out once he returns. The bowler was already on six weeks probation following a breach of discipline last month after he left a training camp in Karachi without informing the officials. Two hearings were held, after which it was decided that a monetary fine would be suspended pending his behaviour.
Ahsan said the team management had held several meetings since last night to investigate the unfortunate and sad incident and had also been in touch with the PCB Chairman Nasim Ashraf.
PCB chief Dr Nasim indicated on Friday that strict action would be likely.
Dr Ashraf was quoted by a website: “The tour management made us aware of the incident last night and a tour committee conducted an immediate inquiry into the event.
“They got their facts and decided Shoaib had to be sent back for allegedly hitting Asif. The board was informed of the decision and we have approved it.”
“When the team management returns [from the tournament], the board will launch a full investigation and disciplinary hearing into the matter. Further action based on that is likely,” Ashraf said.
The decision will be a blow to the team’s chances at the tournament, as Pakistan’s strength was widely considered to lie in a pace attack that included Umar Gul and Rao Iftikhar Anjum. No decision has been taken yet on a replacement though initial reports suggest Mohammad Sami may be called up. In any case, a replacement will also depend on approval from the ICC’s technical committee.
“It is a very sad situation and is a blow not only to the team, but also to the image of the nation,” Ashraf admitted.
The development means that Pakistan finds itself in the spotlight at a major international tournament once again for all the wrong reasons.
Shoaib, no stranger to controversies and acts of indiscipline, has been sent home twice before — from Australia and South Africa — after spats with the management. He had also faced a probe after the 2004 home series against India on whether he had feigned an injury in the final Test in Rawalpindi.
Shoaib on his last visit to South Africa earlier this year was also told to return home after he was involved in another spat with Pakistan’s former coach late Bob Woolmer in the dressing room at Port Elizabeth. However, the official reason given was he had strained his thigh.
He was also recalled from Australia after captain Inzamam-ul Haq and Woolmer complained of his behaviour in early 2005.
Last year, Asif and he had tested positive for the banned substance Nandrolone in an out-of-competition test conducted by the PCB in September.
Both were banned for long periods by a drugs inquiry tribunal and appealed to an appellate committee which later exonerated them of doping offences.
Even before leaving for South Africa, Shoaib who has played just one Test and four one-day internationals in the last 15-months due to fitness problems was fined Rs 300,000 by the team manager and PCB for leaving the training camp in Karachi without informing the management.
He appealed against the fine insisting he had told captain Shoaib Malik about his departure and was cleared of indiscipline Charges.
Restaurants, hotels closed down in Peshawar October 25, 2009
Posted by myshahg in Uncategorized.Tags: Pakistan + N.W.F.P + Bed satuation in Pakistan + Talban in pakistan + Our Pakitan + Miltry operation in Pakistan
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Restaurants, hotels closed down in Peshawar
Sunday, October 25, 2009
PESHAWAR: Adding more to the gloom of the provincial capital, all the main restaurants of the city were closed on Saturday, for the first time in the contemporary history of the area.
The Frontier Hotels and Restaurants Association announced closing down their 21 outlets for three days to express solidarity with the owners of Swan Restaurant, attacked with a car bomb on Friday where at least 15 people were injured. The association president, Khalid Ayub, complained of inadequate security for hotels and restaurants, saying they would extend their protest if not provided security.
The general public was of the view this was because of the worsening law and order situation as well as certain visible and invisible threats to the crowded places that forced the owners of restaurants to suspend their business for at least three days.
Many were stunned Saturday evening to see the restaurants on main University Road, where over three dozens food outlets are located, shut.
“This is so disturbing. I was shocked to see all the top restaurants on the University Road shut. This is what I am seeing for the first time in my life,” a senior doctor of the city, Dr Gohar Amin, told The News. He said not only the adults are going through a painful time but even his eight-year-old son asked to shift to safer place in search of peace.
Manager of one of the closed restaurants told this scribe that they were going to shut their outlets to express solidarity with the management of Swan Restaurant.
“We also want to close our restaurants for three days to protest against the inadequate security measures around the food outlets,” stated the manager, wishing not to mention his or his restaurant’s name.
Some of the food outlets, mostly local branches of international chains, had already received threats from different groups to stop their business.
A branch of an international food chain has restricted activities in its Peshawar outlet after several threats. Security was also beefed up in and around the fast food restaurant to protect the visitors. Security was at its best in and around another branch of an international chain on Khyber Road. An Italian restaurant on Ring Road has also been closed owing to the deteriorating law and order and for not being visited by enough number of customers due to insecurity.
Even ahead of closure of the food outlets, the prevailing situation had scared the food lovers who had stopped visiting restaurants to secure their lives and loved ones.
Online adds: Commissioner Peshawar division Azam Khan has directed law enforcement agencies to arrest the insurgents involved in rocket attacks in different areas of the city and to investigate about the specifications and range of fired missiles.
Presiding a high level meeting here Saturday that was attended by senior police officials and political agents, the commissioner directed law enforcement agencies to investigate in details the rocket firing incidents by specifying the designs and range of the fired missiles.
Pakistani soldiers captured the hometown of the country’s Taliban chief Saturday October 24, 2009
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ISLAMABAD – Pakistani soldiers captured the hometown of the country’s Taliban chief Saturday, a strategic and symbolic initial prize as the army pushes deeper into a militant stronghold along the Afghan border. An army spokesman said the Taliban were in disarray, with many deserting the ranks.
The 8-day-old air and ground offensive in the South Waziristan tribal region is a key test of nuclear-armed Pakistan’s campaign against Islamist militancy. It has already spurred a civilian exodus and deadly retaliatory attacks.
Washington has encouraged the operation in the northwest because many militants there are believed to shelter al-Qaida leaders and are also suspected to be involved in attacks on Western troops in Afghanistan. The U.S. military has also kept up its own missile strikes in the lawless tribal belt, including a suspected one that killed 22 Saturday.
The battle for Kotkai town was symbolically key because it is the hometown of Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud and one of his top deputies, Qari Hussain. It also lies along the way to the major militant base of Sararogha, making it a strategically helpful catch.
The fight was intense, taking several days and involving aerial bombardment, officials said.
The majority of homes in the town were converted into “strong bunkers” and it also was home to a training camp for suicide bombers, army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas told reporters. Troops had begun ridding it of land mines and roadside bombs.
“Thank God, this is the army’s very big success,” Abbas said. “The good news is that (communications) intercepts show that there are differences forging among the Taliban ranks. Their aides are deserting them.”
Abbas said some of the fleeing Taliban have shaved their beards and cut their hair to try to blend in with the civilian population. Taliban spokesmen could not immediately be reached for comment.
Three soldiers and 21 militants died in the most recent fighting in the region, the army said. Because it has blocked access to South Waziristan, independently verifying the data is all but impossible.
The government has forged ahead in South Waziristan despite a wave of violence that has put the nation on edge. Some 200 people have been killed in a variety of militant attacks across the country this month.
The U.N. says some 155,000 civilians have fled the region. In Dera Ismail Khan, a gritty town near South Waziristan where many of those fleeing have congregated, the refugees reacted to the news of Kotkai’s capture with suspicion.
“They are making tall claims of conquering Waziristan in a few weeks, but we think this is not doable even in five to six years,” said Azam Khan Mehsud, who hails from the Makeen area.
Others noted that Pakistan had failed at least three times before to wrest the region from the Taliban and said they feared the damage the army might cause.
“Years ago, the army suddenly started an operation and we all had to leave our area in the clothes we were wearing,” said Abdul Samad Khan, 65, a farmer from the Spinkai Raghzai area. “When we returned to our area all our homes were either bombed, bulldozed or torched. Our animals were missing. Now imagine, if they come with more might, what they will do with our area.”
The army has deployed some 30,000 troops to South Waziristan to take on some 12,000 Taliban militants, including up to 1,500 foreign fighters, among them Uzbeks and Arabs.
The U.S. has launched scores of missile strikes at militant targets in Pakistan’s tribal belt over the past year, killing several top insurgents including former Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud.
The latest strike hit Chuhatra village in the tribal region of Bajur on Saturday, local government official Mohammad Jamil said.
The target appeared to be Faqir Mohammad, a prominent Taliban leader, but he is believed to have escaped the hide-out by minutes, Jamil said. Most of the 22 killed were Afghan nationals, he said.
Pakistan formally protests the missile strikes, saying they violate its sovereignty and raise sympathy for the Taliban, while the U.S. rarely discusses the attacks. However, analysts believe the two sides have a secret deal allowing the strikes.
The U.S. has shown no sign of easing the drone-fired attacks even as Pakistan is waging its own fight in the tribal areas. Asked if the missile attacks are a distraction or help, the army spokesman said Pakistan would prefer to go it alone.
“We do not want any assistance or interference from outside,” Abbas said.
He added that a mysterious explosion Wednesday in North Waziristan — initially described by intelligence officials as a suspected U.S. missile attack — had turned out to be a blast caused when explosives being loaded onto a vehicle accidentally detonated.
Also Saturday, a military helicopter crashed in the Bajur tribal region, killing three officials, the army said, adding that the crash was an accident, not caused by any militant attacks.
Associated Press writers Habib Khan in Khar, Riaz Khan in Peshawar, Zarar Khan in Dera Ismail Khan, and Hussain Afzal in Parachinar contributed to this report.
President Barack Obama declared the swine flu outbreak a national emergency October 24, 2009
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WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama declared the swine flu outbreak a national emergency, giving his health chief the power to let hospitals move emergency rooms offsite to speed treatment and protect noninfected patients.
The declaration, signed Friday night and announced Saturday, comes with the disease more prevalent than ever in the country and production delays undercutting the government’s initial, optimistic estimates that as many as 120 million doses of the vaccine could be available by mid-October.
Health authorities say more than 1,000 people in the United States, including almost 100 children, have died from the flu, known as H1N1, and 46 states have widespread flu activity. So far only 11 million doses have gone out to health departments, doctor’s offices and other providers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials.
Administration officials said the declaration was a pre-emptive move designed to make decisions easier when they need to be made. Officials said the move was not in response to any single development.
Health and Human Services chief Kathleen Sebelius now has authority to bypass federal rules when opening alternative care sites, such as offsite hospital centers at schools or community centers if hospitals seek permission.
Some hospitals have opened drive-thrus and drive-up tent clinics to screen and treat swine flu patients. The idea is to keep infectious people out of regular emergency rooms and away from other sick patients.
Hospitals could modify patient rules — for example, requiring them to give less information during a hectic time — to quicken access to treatment, with government approval, under the declaration.
It also addresses a financial question for hospitals — reimbursement for treating people at sites not typically approved. For instance, federal rules do not allow hospitals to put up treatment tents more than 200 yard away from the doors; if the tents are 300 yards or more away, typically federal dollars won’t go to pay for treatment.
Administration officials said those rules might not make sense while fighting the swine flu, especially if the best piece of pavement is in the middle of a parking lot and some medical centers already are putting in place parts of their emergency plans.
The national emergency declaration was the second of two steps needed to give Sebelius extraordinary powers during a crisis.
On April 26, the administration declared swine flu a public health emergency, allowing the shipment of roughly 12 million doses of flu-fighting medications from a federal stockpile to states in case they eventually needed them. At the time, there were 20 confirmed cases in the U.S. of people recovering easily. There was no vaccine against swine flu, but the CDC had taken the initial step necessary for producing one.
“As a nation, we have prepared at all levels of government, and as individuals and communities, taking unprecedented steps to counter the emerging pandemic,” Obama wrote in Saturday’s declaration.
He said the pandemic keeps evolving, the rates of illness are rising rapidly in many areas and there’s a potential “to overburden health care resources.”
The government now hopes to have about 50 million doses of swine flu vaccine out by mid-November and 150 million in December. The flu virus has to be grown in chicken eggs, and the yield hasn’t been as high as was initially hoped, officials have said.
“Many millions” of Americans have had swine flu so far, according to an estimate that CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden gave Friday. The government doesn’t test everyone to confirm swine flu so it doesn’t have an exact count. He also said there have been more than 20,000 hospitalizations
3 killed, 2 injured in Bajaur copter crash October 24, 2009
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3 killed, 2 injured in Bajaur copter crash
Updated at: 2048 PST, Saturday, October 24, 2009
BAJAUR AGENCY: Three persons are killed and 2 others injured when an MI-17 helicopter crashed in Bajaur Agency, Geo News reported Saturday.The army helicopter MI-17 crashed in Tehsil Nawagai. Three persons on board were killed and 2 others injured, sources said.
Pakistan is done making every possible effort for resumption October 24, 2009
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LONDON: Pakistani High Commissioner in India Shahid Malik has said that Pakistan is done making every possible effort for resumption of composite dialogue with India and now India should adopt steps reflecting its willingness to improve relations.
Giving interview to a British news agency, Shahid Malik said: “It takes two to tango … we are done making every possible effort (for resumption of dialogue).”
Make the Most Money October 24, 2009
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Making money on eHow can be a nice way to supplement your income, and these secrets will prevent you from wasting too much time. Although patience is a virtue, follow these steps to make the most money on eHow.
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How Become a Pakhtoon ?? October 24, 2009
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I am a Pakhtoon Kill me and call it , A Mistake imprison me and call it security measure exile my people and masses and call it , Progress declare my nation as the enemy of our country and call it guilty of treason . Rob my rights invade my land , declare me as terorist and call it development But listen , I am Pakhtoon and will remain Pakhtoon Forever……..
But remember …. Every fall has a rise and when Pukhtoon rise everything will falls……………………
he Pashtuns are the world’s largest (patriarchal) segmentary lineage ethnic group.[16] The total population of the group is estimated to be around 42 million, but an accurate count remains elusive due to the lack of an official census in Afghanistan since 1979.[17] There are an estimated 60 major Pashtun tribes and more than 400 sub-clans.[18]
