Scientists discover meteor fragments

A search team arrives at the frozen Lake Chabarkul in the Chelyabinsk region of central Russia on Saturday to look for fragments of a meteorite that hit Friday and injured more than 1,000 people. Adam Brauner reports.

RUSSIAN scientists said they had discovered over 50 fragments of the meteor that struck the Urals last week, creating a shockwave that injured 1200 people and damaged thousands of homes.

The giant piece of space rock streaked spectacularly over the central Russian city of Chelyabinsk on Friday before exploding with the force of 30 of the nuclear bombs dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima during World War II.

There was initial disappointment when Russian emergency ministry workers who scoured a lake where at least some of the fragments were believed to have fallen were unable to find anything in their initial search over the weekend.

But members of the Russian Academy of Sciences who conducted chemical tests on some unusual rock formations they found on Sunday said the pieces had come from outer space.

"We confirm that the particles of a substance found by our expedition near Lake Chebarkul really do have the composition of a meteorite," RIA Novosti quoted Russian Academy of Sciences member Viktor Grokhovsky.

Mr Grokhovsky's Urals Federal University separately posted a statement on its website that featured a photograph of a person holding a tiny piece of a black shiny rock between his index finger and thumb.

A Urals Federal University scientist examines pieces of porous black rock, reportedly fragments of the meteor that spectacularly plunged over Russia's Ural Mountains. Picture: AFP/Ural Federal University/ Alexander Khlopotov

"This meteorite belongs to the class of regular chondrites," the university statement said, referring to specific term for a meteorite that contains small mineral granules.

Mr Grokhovsky said the rock in question - one of a set of 53 that measure no more than a couple of centimetres (less than an inch) in length - was composed in part of iron as well as chrysolite and sulfite.

The meteor's shockwave blew out the windows of nearly 5000 buildings and left 40 people - including three children - still recovering in hospital Sunday with cuts and more serious injuries.

About 24,000 emergency workers and volunteers spent the weekend replacing smashed windows in time for the resumption of school classes and work on Monday.

"The southern Urals are gradually returning to the usual rhythm of things," Chelyabinsk region governor Mikhail Yurevich said in a statement that announced the opening of the region's elementary schools.

A circular hole in the ice of Chebarkul Lake where a meteor reportedly struck. (AP Photo)

But the elusive meteorites - meteor fragments that have hit Earth - have generated almost as much attention as the enormous repair and restoration work.

Russian space debris hunters have posted ads on websites offering as much as 300,000 rubles ($9,700) for an authentic piece of the latest space rock to hit the planet.

Chelyabinsk authorities responded by cordoning off the area around the lake and not allowing any media or independent researchers hunting for meteorites near the hole that developed in its thick sheet of ice.

The region's police said they were also investigating reports that some people have put up advertisements for the sale of space fragments that were essentially guaranteed to be fakes.

Mr Grokhovsky said the tiny rocks and the others like it were found by his team in the snow not far away from the lake.

He also expressed confidence that a much larger meteorite was buried in its waters despite claims from the authorities that it was empty.

"Since we found the fragments - traces of the upper layers of the meteorite - that means that its main mass is resting in the lake," he told the Interfax news agency on Monday.

Mr Grokhovsky added that his research team had not been commissioned by the Russian government but was acting on its own because the event was so rare and required immediate inspection.

"We decided to do this on our own," he told Interfax. "I simply could not stand idly by."

VIDEO: Bizarre fireball seen across skies in California and Cuba after meteor hits Russia

Russian authorities estimate the meteor that exploded in the sky caused more than $29.12 million in damage.

Russian authorities estimate the meteor that exploded in the sky over the Ural Mountains region caused more than $US30 million ($29.12 million) in damage.

"Around 100,000 homeowners were affected (by Friday's incident). The damage is estimated at more than 1 billion rubles ($US30 million)," the governor of the central Russian region of Chelyabinsk, Mikhail Yurevich, said at a press conference.

The meteor explosion appears to be one of the most stunning cosmic events above Russia since the 1908 Tunguska Event in which a massive blast most scientists blame on an asteroid or a comet ripped through Siberia.

Scientists at the US space agency NASA estimated that the amount of energy released in the atmosphere was about 30 times greater than the force of the nuclear bomb dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima during World War II.

``We would expect an event of this magnitude to occur once every 100 years on average,'' said Paul Chodas of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office.

"When you have a fireball of this size we would expect a large number of meteorites to reach the surface and in this case there were probably some large ones,'' he said in a statement published on the NASA website.

A plunging meteor which exploded above central Russia has hurt almost 1000 people.

The drama in Russia developed just hours before an asteroid - a space object similar to a tiny planet orbiting the sun - whizzed safely past Earth at the unprecedented distance of 27,000km.

That put it closer to the ground then some distant satellites and sent off alarm bells ringing in some Russian circles about this being the time for joint global action on the space safety front.

"Instead of fighting on Earth, people should be creating a joint system of asteroid defence,'' the Russian parliament's foreign affairs committee chief Alexei Pushkov wrote on his Twitter account late Friday.

"Instead of creating a (military) European space defence system, the United States should join us and China in creating the AADS - the Anti-Asteroid Defence System,'' the close ally of President Vladimir Putin wrote.

The US space agency said the 2012 DA 14 asteroid's passing was "the closest-ever predicted approach to Earth for an object this large.''

The meteor is seen over Chelyabinsk in Russia's Ural Mountains. (AP Photo/Chelyabinsk.ru)

NASA estimates that a smallish asteroid such as the 2012 DA 14 flies close to Earth every 40 years on average while only hitting the planet once every 1200 years.

The meteor just before it exploded above the Chelyabinsk region in Russia, breaking windows and causing injuries.

A local shop that was damaged by a shockwave from a meteor in the Urals city of Chelyabinsk. Picture: AFP/74.RU/Oleg Kargopolov

23.45 | 0 komentar | Read More

Zygier 'arrested for leaking to ASIO'

SUSPECTED Australian-Israeli spy Ben Zygier is believed to have been arrested by his employer on suspicions he had informed Australia's domestic intelligence agency of his work for Mossad, reports say.

The ABC says it understands Mr Zygier met Australian Security Intelligence Organisation officers while visiting Australia, where he revealed details about several Mossad missions including a secret operation in Italy.

Mr Zygier is said to have applied for a work visa in Italy on one of his four trips to Australia before his death in an Israeli jail in 2010.

He established a communications company in Europe for Mossad, which employed two other Australian Jews, the ABC reported.

Earlier on Monday, federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said his department did not need to review what Australia's spy agencies might have known about the case of Mr Zygier.

Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr has ordered a review of his department's handling of the mysterious case of the Melbourne man, after it emerged Australian diplomats knew about his imprisonment in Israel before his death.

Mr Carr is also asking Israel for some answers over Mr Zygier's arrest by Israeli authorities in February 2010, when he was held in a maximum security cell under a false name until he died, apparently by his own hand, in December 2010.

Israel's parliament says it will conduct an "intensive" inquiry into the arrest and death of the Australian-Israeli man with Mossad links.

"The intelligence subcommittee of the (Knesset) foreign affairs and defence committee decided to hold an intensive inquiry into all aspects of the affair of the prisoner found dead in his cell," the committee spokesman, Asaf Doron, said in a statement.

23.45 | 0 komentar | Read More

'Steroids found in Pistorius' home'

The body of Reeva Steenkamp has arrived home after she was shot dead inside Oscar Pistorius' house.

BANNED steroids were reportedly found in Oscar Pistorius' home after the death of model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

South African police are now investigating whether the famed 'Blade Runner' athletics superstar was overcome with aggression, or 'roid rage', a side effect of the banned drugs, The Sun reports.

Blood samples taken from Pistorius are now being tested for steroid traces.

The star Olympian and Paralympian was charged on Friday with the Valentine's Day murder of 29-year-old Reeva Steenkamp who was shot dead at his luxury Pretoria home in a case that has gripped the world.

Cops also reportedly found a bloody bat and evidence of heavy drinking at the Pistorius' Pretoria home where Steenkamp was shot dead.

Cops are reportedly testing Oscar Pistorius' blood for traces of steroids after finding banned drugs in his home after the shooting death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Earlier, South African media reported that Pistorius nearly shot a friend at an upmarket restaurant recently when the pistol he was looking at accidentally went off.

The incident occurred less than a month before the star athlete was charged with murder after his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp was shot dead at his upscale home in the early hours of Valentine's Day.

His family has strongly denied he intentionally killed his girlfriend and the sprinter is due to appear in court on Tuesday at a bail hearing.

Reeva's skull 'crushed by bat'

Oscar Pistorius weeps as he faces court charged with the murder of his girlfriend. Picture: AP

Pistorius was looking at a friend's gun at a restaurant in Johannesburg when the firearm discharged accidentally, Kevin Lerena told the Afrikaans-language Beeld newspaper on Monday.

"I had quite a fright, because the bullet hit the ground centimetres (inches) from my foot," said Lerena, a professional boxer, who described the incident as "a freak accident".

"For some reason, it got caught on his trousers, flipped the safety pin and a shot went off. I wouldn't say he was negligent. Days afterwards he was still apologising."

"The revolver belonged to one of his friends... he wanted to have a look at it."

Oscar Pistorius posing last month with girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, whom he is accused of shooting dead at his home.

The restaurant manager heard a loud bang, but Oscar and his friends denied anything had happened, he told the newspaper.

Police also found a bloodied cricket bat at the home of Oscar Pistorius, a local newspaper reported.

Pistorius's family denies he intentionally killed the blonde covergirl, with his father telling a newspaper he had "zero doubt" his son had mistaken Steenkamp for an intruder and his 89-year old grandmother saying the killing was accidental.

The family has said the 26-year-old, who is being held until a bail hearing on Tuesday, is "numb with shock as well as grief" over Steenkamp's death.

Oscar Pistorius' lawyer Kenny Oldwage, left, and brother Carl Pistorius arrive at the Brooklyn police station in Pretoria, South Africa on Sunday.

It comes as South Africa's independent City Press newspaper quoted police sources close to the investigation saying that the cricket bat had been found and that Steenkamp's skull had been "crushed".

"There was lots of blood on the bat," one source said.

Police are investigating whether the bat was used to assault Steenkamp, who was shot four times in the early hours of Thursday, or if she may have used it to defend herself, the newspaper said.

The law student turned magazine model had been shot in the head, hip, arm and hand.

South African athletics star Oscar Pistorius runs to gold in the final of the 100m at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games.

"The suspicion is that the first shot, in the bedroom, hit her in the hip. She then ran and hid herself in the toilet... He fired three more shots," a police source told City Press.

Pistorius - and later paramedics - struggled in vain to save Miss Steenkamp's life.

As they did, police found the bloodied cricket bat in the athlete's bedroom, the paper said.

Authorities have rejected suggestions that Pistorius mistook Steenkamp for an intruder and yesterday police spokesman Neville Malila refused to comment on the reports of the cricket bat.

"I don't know where they got it from, but they didn't get it from any official source in the police," Mr Malila said.

23.45 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bodyguard on wheels built for royals

The 7-series is BMW's top-of-the-range luxury car and the super-safe royal model is valued at $450,000. Source: Supplied

LIKE a cross between a Bond car and a presidential limo, the BMW being tested as a new royal carriage in Britain is hi-tech and super secure.

Royal protection officers are road testing the bulletproof, anti-kidnap, gadget-laden limousine for use by Prince Charles and wife Camilla.

The $450,000 BMW 760 is loaded with security features including windows and bodywork capable of repelling gunfire.

Testing of the German marque comes after the future king and the Duchess of Cornwall became startled backseat targets during student protests in London in 2010.

The couple's Rolls Royce was pelted with eggs and paint bombs and Camilla was poked with a wooden pole through a window as crowds chanted "off with their heads", The Independent newspaper reported.

The BMW, which boasts a list of accessories making it suitable for a starring role in a James Bond film, is the ideal vehicle for high-profile royals, experts say.

"This is the best security car of its kind and in my view the police should be using it because they couldn't countenance another attack like the one during the student riots," former head of royal security Dai Davies said.

Remote ignition means the BMW can be started from a distance in case terrorists have wired explosives to the starter system.

Sensors are in place to detect and automatically extinguish fires underneath the vehicle and in the engine bay.

In the case of a gas attack, windows and air vents are automatically closed while a supplementary oxygen system kicks in.

The boot of the car can be locked and unlocked remotely by police so it is impossible for royal passengers to be trapped inside.

The car is promoted as the second-most secure in the world, beaten only by US President Barack Obama's custom made Cadillac One, nicknamed "the beast".

23.45 | 0 komentar | Read More

President Chavez back in Venezuela

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, center, poses for a photo with his daughters, Maria Gabriela, left, and Rosa Virginia in Havana, Cuba, on February 14, 2013. Source: AP

VENEZUELAN President Hugo Chavez returned home to Venezuela overnight after more than two months of medical treatment in Cuba following cancer surgery.

Mr Chavez's return was announced in a series of message on his Twitter account, saying "we will continue our treatment here."

"We've arrived once again in our Venezuelan homeland. Thank you, my God!!" the first of the three messages said.

They were the first messages to appear on Chavez's Twitter account since Nov. 1.

"I'm clinging to Christ and trusting in my doctors and nurses," Mr Chavez said in another tweet. "Onward toward victory always!! We will live and we will triumph!!"

Vice President Nicolas Maduro said on television that Mr Chavez at arrived at 2:30 am and was taken to the Carlos Arvelo Military Hospital in Caracas, where he will continue his treatment.

Mr Chavez also thanked Fidel and Raul Castro, who have overseen his treatment in Cuba, and thanked his country's people "for so much love."

Mr Chavez's return to Caracas came less than three days after the government released the first photos of the president in more than two months, showing images of him smiling alongside his daughters. The government didn't release any images of Mr Chavez upon his arrival in Caracas.

"We're very happy," Mr Maduro said. He said he had accompanied the president on the trip, along with Mr Chavez's daughter Rosa, his brother Adan and National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello.

The vice president said that Mr Chavez has been in a "continuous battle" and that additional details will be provided about his condition later.

The government didn't offer an explanation as to why Mr Chavez made his surprise return. Government officials have in recent weeks said that it wasn't clear when the president's medical team would allow him to return to Venezuela, though they had said they hoped it would be soon.

After the announcement of his return, state television played upbeat music from last year's presidential campaign, repeating the lyrics "Chavez, heart of the nation!"

The 58-year-old president hasn't spoken publicly since he left for Cuba on Dec. 10. He underwent his fourth cancer-related surgery on Dec. 11, and the government says that he is now breathing through a tracheal tube that makes talking difficult.

Mr Chavez is also undergoing other treatments that have not been specified.

He has been receiving cancer treatment in Cuba on-and-off since June 2011. Mr Chavez has said he has had tumors removed from his pelvic region and has undergone chemotherapy and radiation treatment.

Throughout the treatments, Mr Chavez has not revealed the type of cancer or the exact location of the tumors.

Mr Chavez was re-elected to a new six-year term in October, and his inauguration had been scheduled for Jan. 10 but was indefinitely postponed by lawmakers due to his condition after the surgery, which the government has described as delicate.

Before leaving for Cuba, Mr Chavez acknowledged there were risks and said that if his illness prevented him from staying on as president, Vice President Maduro should run in a new election to take his place.

Mr Maduro has traveled repeatedly to Havana in recent weeks and has shown documents he said were signed by Mr Chavez, insisting the president remains in charge. Last week, Mr Maduro said Mr Chavez is undergoing "extremely complex and tough" treatments, which he didn't specify.

23.45 | 0 komentar | Read More

Boxer pleads guilty over Aussie death

Police released this picture of Neil Hannah as they searched for his next of kin. Source: Supplied

AN ex-professional boxer has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of an Australian in London in what Crown prosecutors have described as a "one punch" case.

Graham Brett, 50, assaulted Australian-born Neil Hannah in early August 2012 outside The Greyhound pub at the central London suburb of Pimlico.

Hannah died in hospital a number of days later from severe head injuries as police launched a desperate search for his Australian next of kin.

London's Central Criminal Court on Monday was told that Hannah had not been aggressive on the night of the assault and that while his humour could be "in your face", he was at heart "a friendly gentle giant".

The Crown Prosecutor told the court this is a "one punch" case.

Brett is an ex-professional boxer with 70 amateur bouts to his name and four professional fights, with his last in 1984.

When first arrested, Brett said: "The geezer went to bite my nose off. I hit him and he went down."

Brett, who had been a customer at the pub on the night of the assault, claimed Hannah had called him a "Pommy c***".

CCTV footage shown in court was used to allege much of Brett's account was not true and that the Australian could not have bitten Brett as he had previously removed his dentures.

The trial continues.

23.45 | 0 komentar | Read More

Baby turned away by 10 hospitals dies

Indonesia's Health Minister Nafsiah Mboi has admitted Jakarta is under-resourced to handle complications with newborns. Picture: AFP
  Source: AFP

A ONE-WEEK-OLD baby in Indonesia has died from respiratory complications after being turned away from 10 hospitals, her street vendor father said, adding he could not pay what some demanded.

Dera Nur Anggraini was born prematurely with her twin sister Dara on February 10, with a throat deformity that obstructed her breathing, said father Elias Setya Nugroho.

He said his family searched for treatment but was turned away from 10 hospitals, with some claiming not to have the right equipment and others saying they were fully occupied.

"Dera was buried yesterday, on Sunday, not far from our home," Mr Nugroho said, adding the baby died after being taken back to the Zahira Hospital in Jakarta where she was born.

"We tried several hospitals but they were full. Finally we went to a private hospital but we couldn't pay. In total 10 hospitals rejected us," the street sandal vendor said.

He said the private hospital asked for a down payment of 15 million rupiah ($1500), even though the family held a health card that entitles low-income earners to free health services.

He said his other daughter Dara, who was born weighing 1.4 kilograms was now in a public hospital fighting for her life.

Health Minister Nafsiah Mboi said the baby who died would have had little chance of survival.

"The baby was born weighing just one kilogram, so she had little chance of survival. Usually babies are around three kilograms when they're born," she said.

But the minister admitted the city was under-resourced to handle complications with newborns.

"The family was looking for a place for their baby. There are only 10 neonatal intensive care units (in Jakarta) and they were all full," Ms Mboi told reporters.
 

23.45 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ailing billionaire commits suicide

The billionaire founder of German retail group Metro AG, Otto Beisheim, has died at 89. Picture: AP Source: AP

OTTO Beisheim, billionaire founder of retail giant Metro and one of Germany's richest people, has died aged 89, reportedly taking his life due to an incurable illness.

"He was suffering from an incurable disease and departed this life due to the hopelessness of his health situation," said a statement from the Otto Beisheim group.

Mass circulation daily Bild said he committed suicide.

Founder of Metro Group, which now comprises 2200 retail outlets in 32 countries in Europe, Asia and Africa, Mr Beisheim amassed a fortune estimated by Forbes in its 2012 billionaires list at $US3.3 billion ($3.2 billion).

According to Forbes, he was the 344th richest person in the world and the 22nd wealthiest person in Germany.

Mr Beisheim brought the concept of cash and carry wholesaling, where retailers pick up goods themselves and pay for them immediately, to Germany in the 1960s after witnessing its success in the United States.

He set up the first cash and carry shop in Muelheim an der Ruhr, in western Germany, in 1964 and almost instantly enjoyed a roaring trade.

He exported the concept first in Europe, then worldwide, establishing the "Cash and Carry", "Media Markt" and "Real" chains in countries from China to France.

"Otto Beisheim was a pioneer and a legend in the German and international retail world ... with innovation, courage and ambition, he founded one of the world's leading retail firms," Metro said in a statement.

Through his charitable foundation, he supported schools and set up sports clubs and play areas for children.

He was married for 50 years to his wife Inge, who died in 1999. The couple never had children.

For help with emotional difficulties, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or www.lifeline.org.au

For help with depression, contact Beyond Blue on 1300 22 46 36 or at www.beyondblue.org.au

The SANE Helpline is 1800 18 SANE (7263) or at www.sane.org

23.45 | 0 komentar | Read More