| Earl's path along northeast is not well-worn By SETH BORENSTEIN 2010-09-02T21:48:16ZWASHINGTON (AP) -- Pushed by an ill-timed trough of low pressure, Hurricane Earl is heading uncomfortably close to an area relatively few hurricanes tend to go: the Northeast coastline.... hosted.ap.org |
China could make moon landing in 2025 Country also plans space station within a decade and Mars and Venus probes to be launched in next five yearsChina could put an astronaut on the moon in 2025 and launch probes to explore Mars and Venus within five years, according to the boss of a Chinese space programme.Ye Peijian said China could make its first manned moon landing in 15 years, send a probe to Mars by 2013 and to Venus by 2015."China has the full capacity to accomplish Mars exploration by 2013," he added.The remarks, by the commander in chief of the country's Chang'e lunar exploration project, were reported by the English language Global Times today and underscore the ambition of China's plans.It was understood that Ye was speaking in his capacity as an academic at an aerospace engineering forum at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, rather than unveiling official policy.It is seven years since China became only the third country to put one of its citizens in space. Another astronaut, Zhai Zhigang, conducted its first spacewalk in 2008.Yang Liwei, China's first spaceman, confirmed this weekend that the country planned to set up its first orbital space station by around 2020, according to the People's Daily website.Visiting the space centre in Xi'an, Yang said China would launch its first unmanned space laboratory, Tiangong-1, next year. It is expected to dock with the Shenzhou-8 craft in a first step towards building a space station."[The space programme] has been developing very quickly, but of course still lags far behind when compared with the US and Russia because they have the most advanced technology," Professor Fu Song, vice-dean of Tsinghua University's School of Aerospace in Beijing, told the Guardian.He said of the proposed moon landing: "It is obviously a very difficult task, but I think in terms of technology, China can do it – the US was technically able to do that almost half a century ago. So for China now it is more about whether the government will make the decision to do it, or whether it is really necessary for the country."He added: "The national pride part [of the programme] has always been one important reason, but it is more than that as well. The scientific value of space exploration is [im]measurable … The moon is an unknown world to us and there are a lot of things waiting to be explored."He said there could be energy resources still awaiting discovery, and that the moon could help in the study of the state of the Earth and universe before the dawn of humanity.Barack Obama has been criticised for dropping a plan to return Americans to the moon by 2020. Instead, the US president has announced an initiative aiming to see crewed missions beyond the moon by 2025.Although China and the US remain suspicious of each other's space plans, particularly since much of the technology could have military applications, they agreed last year to open a dialogue on space exploration.But China is also looking elsewhere for support. In late 2008, the Asia-Pacific Space Co-operation Organisation launched in Beijing.Additional research by Lin YiChinaSpaceThe moonEngineeringTania Braniganguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Open door: The readers' editor on… how a small distance can make a big difference The readers' editor on… how a small distance can make a big differenceFew places in the world are more difficult to report from than the Middle East. It is not just the physical danger that can face journalists. The unresolved religious and territorial conflicts that characterise the area are bitter, and have origins that reach through the centuries and spread out around the globe today. Passion, conviction and absolute belief confront the reporter on every side.One of the problems at the heart of the region's troubles is the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, and among the most contested issues of that conflict is the future of East Jerusalem. In its south-east corner lies the Old City and the Temple Mount (as Jews and Christians know it) or al-Haram al-Sharif (as Muslims know it). This platform of land is a holy site of great importance for the world's Jews and Muslims.The first and second temples built here by the Jews were destroyed by the Babylonians and the Romans respectively. On the site now are the al-Aqsa mosque and the Islamic shrine on the pinnacle, the Dome of the Rock. It is a constant source of tension for Israeli-Palestinian relations.On 27 May this area was the setting for a feature the Guardian ran in G2, examining the lives of the Palestinian residents in Silwan, a community that lies along the southern flank of the Old City, and the effect on them and their homes of a series of archaeological digs that are being undertaken to look for the remains of Ir David, the City of David. The Israelis believe that it lies beneath the Wadi Helweh neighbourhood in Silwan.The article reported on the actions of Elad, a Jewish group that has dug a number of tunnels in the area to look for the remains of the City of David. Its work is supported by the Israeli government and is in conflict with many of the residents, who say their houses are sinking into the earth because of the excavations.The Palestinians fear that the tunnels – originating in Silwan – either go under the al-Aqsa mosque or are intended to, undermining the mosque's foundations.In the 2,500-word feature was a sentence that examined Elad's intentions: "Elad set up a two-pronged strategy: to strengthen Israel's 'connection to Jerusalem' they started to dig – under Silwan and into the land under the al-Aqsa mosque – for the biblical City of David and to create the Ir David tourist site."We have received only one complaint about the feature, contending that the sentence above is inaccurate: that the tunnels don't go under the mosque. Initially I felt that the sentence referred to the tunnels entering the land under the platform on which the mosque stands. The complainant objected to that interpretation and I agreed to look at it again.As part of that review I consulted former Jerusalem correspondents, two non-profit organisations that work with both communities, Emek Shaveh and Ir Amim, and Professor Israel Finkelstein, a leading archaeologist from Tel Aviv University. All believe the diggings are near the Temple Mount, but not under it.Daniel Seidemann is a founder of Ir Amim, the goal of which is a "more sustainable and equitable city". Ir Amim produced a 47-page report last year – Shady Dealings in Silwan – looking at the issues in that part of Jerusalem. Seidemann said: "There is massive tunnelling under Silwan leading towards the Temple Mount, there is massive tunnelling under Palestinian housing adjacent to the Mount, but there is no indication that it is under the Temple Mount, although public scrutiny is difficult."Finkelstein said: "There is no excavation under the Temple Mount as far as I know. There are now five archaeological projects in the City of David: one is far from the Temple Mount at the southern tip of the City of David ridge; three are located about 250 metres or so away from the southern wall of the Temple platform. One is closer, about 75 metres or so, but has reached bedrock so there is no way to dig under the Temple Mount."I think there is ambiguity in the disputed sentence in the feature – the author agrees – and today a clarification has been published in the Corrections and clarification column. It took a long time – too long – to reach that conclusion, which I regret. And the decision will not settle any wider argument. Some may wonder why a few metres either way matters, or requires so much attention. Those who live in Silwan know why.The GuardianNational newspapersNewspapers & magazinesNewspapersPalestinian territoriesIsraelMiddle EastArchaeologyChris Elliottguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Denver Zoo hatches 4 Komodo dragons By 2010-10-15T02:56:52ZDENVER (AP) -- The Denver Zoo says it's become the only zoo in the world to hatch endangered Komodo dragons for a third time.... hosted.ap.org |
[news] Initialization of ice-sheet forecasts viewed as an inverse Robin problem To begin any forecast of how the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica will contribute to sea level, we first need to know the present-day shape and flow of the ice. This provides a starting point for computer models that predict how the ice will flow in future. This approach is similar in spirit to short-term weather forecasting, where an assessment of the present-day weather patterns forms the ... antarctica.ac.uk |