NASA unveils dramatic new Sun images

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124055§ionid=3510208


NASA has recently unveiled the first images and videos captured by its Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) to unlock mysteries of the Sun to scientists.

NASA's February-launched SDO took the pictures and videos exclusively for illustrating the full range of the Sun's magnetic activity in unparalleled detail.

The spacecraft's images show never-before-seen detail of material streaming outward and away from sunspots and extreme close-ups of activity on the sun's surface.

Its high-resolution measurements of solar flares in a broad range of extreme ultraviolet wavelengths offer unprecedented capability to scientists.

"These initial images show a dynamic sun that I had never seen in more than 40 years of solar research,” said Richard Fisher, director of the Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

During its five-year mission, it will examine the sun's magnetic field and also provide a better understanding of the role the sun plays in Earth's atmospheric chemistry and climate.

UN chief slams Israel plan to build new settlements

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=121163§ionid=351020202



UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has condemned Israel's announcement of 1,600 new housing units on the occupied Palestinian lands.

During a Thursday visit to Moscow, Ban Ki-moon told reporters that he was deeply concerned over developments in the occupied Palestinian territories, and called Israel's measure "counterproductive" towards a peace process.

Ban strongly condemned Israel's decision to build new settlement in East Jerusalem (al-Quds) and said that European communities are also against Israeli's move in occupied Palestinian lands.

"The recent measure by Israeli's government to expend new settlement of 1,600 new houses is quite counterproductive in this ongoing indirect negotiation between Israeli and Palestinian," Ban said.

The UN Secretary General made similar comments last week saying that "as I have said before, I say again, directly and without equivocation: settlements are illegal under international law."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed international criticism, saying on Monday that his government would keep building in East Jerusalem (al-Quds), as it has done so for the past 42 years.

Palestinian officials view the permanent termination of the settlement constructions as a precondition to peace talks with Israelis.

Las week, Ban also criticized Israel's on-going blockade of the Gaza Strip, saying it destroys hope of a better life and recovery from last year's conflict between Hamas and Israel's army.

"As a policy it is counterproductive. It undercuts moderates and empowers extremists. It destroys legitimate commerce and encourages smuggling. It blocks the road to a peaceful future for both sides in this conflict," he said on March 21.

Ban is on a two-day official visit to Moscow. The UN chief is expected to meet with the Russian leadership, and will also take part in the Middle East Quartet talks taking place on Friday.

Venezuela tests its new Chinese jets

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=120767§ionid=351020704


Venezuela has tested six training and light attack jets bought from China for defense and the campaign against drug trafficking.

President Hugo Chavez ordered a total of eighteen Chinese-built K-8 jets after a plan to buy similar jets from Brazil failed because they included US electrical systems.

Venezuelan officials say the jets will be used to train pilots and intercept drug traffickers who use Venezuela as a route to take Colombian cocaine to the United States, Europe, and Africa.

Venezuela has also bought a network of ten radars from China and has spent about four billion dollars on Russian weapons, including fighter jets.

New seismic trend to generate more quakes: Report

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=120638§ionid=3510208


Earth has entered a 'long' period of increased seismic activities that will likely trigger more violent quakes in the coming years, a report says.

The report, published by Russian news agency RIA Novosti, has identified regions around the Pacific Ocean as hotspots that might experience earthquakes and tsunamis in the years ahead.

According to the March 12 report, the Pacific seismic zone, including Russia's Far Eastern territories of Kamchatka and Chukotka, the US state of Alaska and coastal regions along South American countries are going through rising seismic activities as the globe enters another period of tectonic activity.

"Seismic activity in the Pacific belt has increased in the recent years... which means that the Earth entered another period of tectonic activity. It is a long process, which is likely to take years," said Vladimir Bormotov, a scientist at the Far Eastern Institute of Tectonics Geophysics in southeastern Russian city of Khabarovsk, quoted by RIA Novosti.

To support his claim, the scientist has pointed to the recent violent earthquakes around the world.

The report comes as another 7.2-magnitude aftershock tremor hit Chile on Thursday.

Yanukovych sworn in as Ukraine president

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=119459§ionid=351020606


Viktor Yanukovych has sworn in as Ukraine's new president, amid speculations that he will seek closer ties with Moscow.

"I, Viktor Yanukovych, elected president of Ukraine by the will of the people, swear the oath of loyalty to Ukraine," he said at a ceremony in parliament attended by a host of foreign dignitaries.

"I vow to defend through my actions the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine and the rights and freedoms of its citizens," he said.

As the supporters of Yanukovych's electoral rival, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko left their seats empty, the new president vowed to tackle Ukraine's economic problems and lead the country out of the crisis.

Tymoshenko has accused Yanukovych of winning the election through fraud and refused to attend the ceremony in the parliament.

"Yanukovich, who came to power by lies, is not our president and he will not last long," she declared in a fiery televised broadcast on Monday.

The 49-year-old premier added that she would not "under any circumstance create a coalition with Yanukovich."

The newly sworn in president has called on Tymoshenko to resign gracefully after her narrow defeat by a margin of some 3.5 percent in the February 7 presidential elections. But the charismatic prime minister has refused to budge.

LatAm nations to create new non-US bloc

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=119368§ionid=351020705


Latin American and Caribbean nations have agreed to launch a new regional body that will exclude the United States and Canada.

The new bloc will bring together some 32 nations in order to resolve regional issues and present a common position on global challenges.

The decision was made during the periodical Rio Group Summit at the resort town of Cancun, Mexico.

The new group will be an alternative to the Organization of American States (OAS), the main forum for regional affairs in the past 50 years.

The OAS has been criticized for pursuing US interests and its members have repeatedly failed to get along when it comes to economical policies and trade.

The White House has regarded the group cautiously saying it does not have any problems with it as long as it does not replace the Washington-based OAS.

Discussions about the group, which yet has to be named, are to be continued at summits in Venezuela and Chile in 2011 and 2012.

Israel considering new military attack on Gaza

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=116017§ionid=351020202


The Palestinian Islamic Jihad says Israel is mounting a fierce media campaign against the resistance before an intended military aggression on the Gaza Strip.

Islamic Jihad spokesman, Davoud Shihab, in a statement on Monday called on the Palestinian resistance factions in Gaza to coordinate their positions to confront the threats should they be translated to the ground.

Shihab also criticized some Arab media outlets for repeatedly backing Israeli propaganda and portraying Gaza as a hotbed of terrorism. He commented that such reports cripple solidarity with the Palestinian people and their right to resist the Israeli occupation.

He urged all media outlets, journalists and politicians to confront Israeli propaganda and focus on the active role of the Palestinian resistance in defending its land and people against the Israeli war machine.

Gazans are still struggling to resume ordinary life months after Operation Cast Lead which resulted in the death of over 1,500 Palestinians and the injury of about 5,450 people in the impoverished coastal sliver.

After USD 1.6 billion damage to Gaza's economy during the three weeks of relentless Israeli bombardment this past January, Palestinians in the Strip strive to survive under a siege that prevents any imports and exports. According to statistics, the unemployment rate stands at 44% in the war-wreaked enclave.

Meanwhile, a United Nations inquiry led by former South African Judge Richard Goldstone details Israeli actions "amounting to war crimes, possibly crimes against humanity," during Israel's winter offensive against Hamas-ruled Gaza.

The 575-page report by Goldstone and three other investigators asserts seven incidents in which Palestinian civilians were shot while leaving their homes, trying to run for safety or waving white flags. The report says Israel targeted a mosque at prayer time, killing 15 people, and shelled a Gaza City home where soldiers had forced Palestinian civilians to assemble. These attacks constituted war crimes, the report says.

The probe also found that Israel violated international humanitarian law in several ways. Dozens of Palestinian policemen were killed at the start of the Gaza onslaught when Israel bombed their stations. The security agents were not involved in hostilities and should have been treated as civilians. Additionally, the Palestinians were forced to walk ahead of Israeli soldiers as they searched civilian neighborhoods.

International human rights groups have previously spelled out such flagrant offenses against the Palestinians in Gaza.