Saturday, September 13, 2014

Piscina da vertigini!

In Russia: lui scappa e il Tornado gli distrugge la casa

Kazakh expedition reaches Asian Rome in China

Mysterious disease in Kazakhstan resembles plot of X-Files series

X-Files sickness?

The story developing in a small settlement in northern Kazakhstan is worthy of a plot for popular American science fiction television drama series, "The X-Files."The residents of the Kazakh village of Kalachi are racking with a mysterious disease that could not be explained by a wide range of specialists in medicine and many other specialized fields, Kazinform has learnt from Trend.az.
The villagers complain of severe fatigue and constant desire to sleep. They can suddenly fall asleep in the most unexpected places - at work, at school, in the street - and sleep for several days. Nobody and nothing can wake them up. And after waking up some of them lose memory, have hallucinations, and behave like in a dream.
The first case of the manifestation of this sleeping disease occurred in Kalachi in March 2013. And the disease breaks out once every few months. Ten percent of the village population exceeding 600 people has been infected with this disease.
The strangest thing that despite the authorities' investigation with the involvement of local and invited specialists, the cause of the sickness remains a mystery. The scientists conducted thousands of experiments on soil, air and water in the village and the diseased patients, but the only thing they could say the people are quite healthy and the symptoms they experience do not fit into any of the known diseases.
Some kind of sleeping sickness, which also called "human African trypanosomiasis," is a widespread tropical disease. But besides permanent desire to sleep the symptoms of this disease are different. Moreover African disease is spread by a bite of an infected tsetse fly living dozens of thousands kilometers far from Kazakhstan. And bacteriological and viral tests on Kalachi's villagers have proved negative.
Local people are in despair. They think the authorities are hiding the truth about the disease and invent a number of fantastic explanations of its reasons from biology experiments conducted by western laboratories to aliens and God's punishment.
However there are some versions which are more real at first glance. Kalachi is located in the vicinity of former Soviet secret uranium mining town Krasnogorsk, which was closed after Soviet Union's collapse about 20 years ago. Some people associate abnormal sleep with the abandoned uranium mine. But scientists working at the scene say that the radiation level is normal across the village. Moreover the unfortunate Kalachi is the only village affected by this strange sickness and the dwellers of other settlements located nearby and even those who worked in the uranium mine for all their life are safe and sound.
Local nuclear specialists also assure that radiation sickness does not produce sleeping effects. Western experts share their opinion on this issue.
"In my work so far I have never heard of radiation causing any sleeping disease," Britt-Marie Drottz Sjoberg, psychology professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology who has lead and participated in a number of researches and projects relation to public reactions to radiation, radioactive waste and environmental issues told Trend by e-mail.
"I doubt that uranium is the cause of the sleeping sickness... There is no such thing as "normal" for radiation levels... they should be published and compared to places without uranium mining operations," Janette Sherman, M.D. specializing in internal medicine and toxicology with an emphasis on chemicals and nuclear radiation who earlier worked for the Atomic Energy Commission at the University of California in Berkeley, and for the U.S. Navy Radiation Defense Laboratory in San Francisco and published a number of researches on nuclear radiation also told Trend by e-mail.
Now all the people suffering from the disease in Kalachi are diagnosed with encephalopathy of unknown origin, i.e. brain damage by unknown substance. The substance was not defined.
Kazakh Health Ministry informed that the disease had classic signs of narcolepsy and some psychologists and psychiatrists explain the disease by massive psychosis.
"There have been many such unexplained events. Some of them have been caused by agents such as virus that were discovered later, such as von economo encephalitis, others by vaccines, most have been unexplained medically and assumed to be mass hysteria," Maurice Preter, M.D., Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry on the faculty of Columbia University's College of Physicians & Surgeons and is Adj. Associate Professor of Neurology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center told Trend by e-mail.
A special commission was created from specialists from several Kazakh ministries to investigate the situation in Kalachi. But the only problem revealed by the commission in the village so far was the higher level of radon gas in air. This gas used in anesthesiology could be the cause of the abnormal sleep, according one of the numerous versions, the scientists say. However the commission does not announce when the investigation is expected to be completed.
Meanwhile extrasensory individuals, sorcerers and ufologists explain the disease by weird by extraterrestrial reasons.
The last wave of the mysterious disease happened on September 1. Nine children fell asleep immediately after festive ceremony on the occasion of new academic year and slept for two days. And this time the patients' symptoms have aggravated compared to the last year. The diseased people have nightmares, hallucinations and some signs of insanity. Thus, the problem requires prompt solution and should not be delayed. Maybe the truth is out there.

INC News, 13/09/2014

Cetacei arenatisi in Adriatico

Latin America is more gay-friendly than ever

Latino America gays
Latino America is a staunchly conservative Catholic region with a deeply entrenched culture of machismo and homophobic attitudes. Right? Not quite. After sweeping reforms in the last five years, the region possesses some of the gay-friendliest legislation on the planet. In the latest move, lawmakers in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila on Sept. 1 voted to legalize same-sex marriage.
This change in a state known for cowboy hats, cattle farmers and coal mines means gay marriages will be able to be celebrated right up to the Rio Grande. Same-sex couples can also marry as far south as Argentina — a remarkable feat in the pope’s homeland. Like the United States, Mexico's been making these moves locally, rather than federally. But other Latin countries have passed reforms on a national level.
In fact, Latin America is home to three of the more than a dozen nations that have legalized gay marriage worldwide. The region's reforms are largely passed by leftist governments, but that’s not always the case. Coahuila’s bill was backed by the centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), while leftist stalwarts such as Venezuela are falling behind on gay rights.
There are still some strongholds bucking the trend. Take Belize, where even being homosexual remains illegal. Caribbean islands also maintain a ban, with Jamaica punishing male homosexual acts by seven years' hard labor (but allowing sex between females). Homophobic violence also persists, even in some countries with progressive legislation.

INC News, 13/09/2014

Kazakhstan celebrates the Day of Family

Kazak day of family

Today Kazakhstan celebrates the Day of Family. Head of State Nursultan Nazarbayev has congratulated all people of Kazakhstan on the Day of Family, azh.kz refers to Akorda's press service.
"Dear Kazakhstanis!
I wholeheartedly congratulate you on the Day of Family!
Family is the core of the Kazakhstani society and all achievements of our country in economy, culture and social policy.
The best moral and spiritual values of our people - tolerance, diligence, love for motherland, respect for elders, and hospitality - are handed down from generation to generation through strong family ties.
The Day of Family strengthens all these qualities and tells the youth about the importance of having responsible marriage, caring about children and elders.
Prosperity of each and every Kazakhstani family is the key goal of the Kazakhstan-2050 Development Strategy.
Today I wish all Kazakhstani families health, peace and accord!
17 million of Kazakhstanis are a big family trying to achieve ambitious goals and contribute to the development of our country in the 21st century," the congratulatory message reads.
INC News, 13/09/2014

Uccisa con 123 coltellate, 18 anni dopo assassino incastrato dal dna

                                       Dopo 18 anni trovato il colpevole

Il 28 dicembre 1996 Christelle Blétry, 20 anni, è stata assassinata con 123 coltellate a Blanzy, un centinaio di km a nord di Lione. La sua morte era considerata tra quelle causate da un serial killer: «Le scomparse dell’A6», le chiamavano.Quattordici ragazze assassinate o sparite appunto lungo quell’autostrada tra il 1986 e il 1999. Adesso un test del Dna ha permesso lo smascheramento, e la confessione, del suo omicida, diventato nel frattempo un tranquillo padre di famiglia. 
La svolta è arrivata giovedì quando l’uomo, un agricoltore di 55 anni, sposato e padre di due figli, è crollato durante l’interrogatorio ammettendo l’omicidio inizialmente negato. E si riaprono speranze anche per le altre sette vittime. Lo ha spiegato, Christophe Rode, procuratore della vicina Chalon-sur-Saône. L’uomo è stato identificato perché inserito nel registro nazionale delle impronte genetiche, nel quale il suo profilo figurava dal 2004, quando era stato arrestato per un’aggressione sessuale con un coltello. 
Quasi vent’anni dopo, quindi, Christelle potrà avere giustizia. L’uomo - la procura non ne ha divulgato le generalità - ha ammesso di essere stato sotto effetto degli stupefacenti, di aver incontrato la giovane a Montceau-les-Mines, di averla costretta a salire in auto e poi, quando lei era riuscita a fuggire, l’aveva rincorsa brandendo un coltello e uccidendola. Recentemente sui reperti di quel delitto sono stati effettuati nuovi controlli, ed è spuntata sui vestiti una traccia di Dna che coincideva con quello di una persona nel registro. L’arresto e la confessione.

INC News,13/09/2014-via Corriere della Sera

Jack lo Squartatore ora ha un nome Incastrato dal Dna 126 anni dopo

Jack lo squartatore

C’è voluto più di un secolo, ma alla fine il giallo sarebbe stato risolto. Jack lo Squartatore, uno dei serial killer più famosi della storia, avrebbe finalmente un nome e un volto. L’assassino che terrorizzò la Londra vittoriana alla fine dell’Ottocento sarebbe Aaron Kosminski, barbiere polacco che all’epoca aveva 23 anni. Il suo nome era già finito nella lista dei sospettati della polizia londinese ai tempi degli omicidi, ma ora a «incastrarlo» ci sarebbe la prova del Dna. La notizia è stata lanciata dal Daily Mail e c’è un libro, in uscita in Gran Bretagna, che promette di fare definitivamente luce su uno dei casi di cronaca nera più famosi di sempre.

INC News, 13/09/2014

I 20 anni del grande Beluga fancese!

Da 24 anni vive senza cervelletto

Senza cervelletto

 In Cina, una ragazza ha scoperto soltanto ora, dopo 24 anni, di non avere una parte fondamentale del sistema nervoso centrale: il cervelletto. È una storia affascinante. Ed è la prova di quanto il nostro cervello possa essere incredibilmente adattabile. Il cervelletto si trova al di sotto dei due emisferi del cervello, nella fossa posteriore della scatola cranica. Ma non fatevi ingannare dal nome: sebbene rappresenti circa il 10% del volume del cervello, si stima che contenga ben il 50 per cento dei neuroni. La sua funzione? Controlla i movimenti, specialmente per quanto riguarda il coordinamento fine dei movimenti muscolari complessi di natura volontaria e involontaria. E poi ha un ruolo rilevante nel mantenerci in equilibrio. Sebbene sia relativamente «piccolo», il cervelletto avrebbe anche un ruolo fondamentale nell’apprendimento della lingua e dei movimenti nelle prime fasi della crescita. Ebbene, una ventiquattrenne cinese è riuscita a farne a meno: ha scoperto di avere un «vuoto» nella sua testa. 
Solamente dopo essersi recata in un ospedale della provincia dello Shandong, dicendo ai medici di soffrire spesso di nausea e vertigini, una TAC ha permesso di capire velocemente il problema: nella scatola cranica non c’era il cervelletto. La notizia è stata riportata dalla rivista New Scientist e i primi studi dalla rivista di neurologia «Brain». I medici e la ragazza, ovviamente, sono rimasti a bocca aperta. Anche la madre, col senno di poi, ora riesce a comprendere come mai la figlia avesse iniziato a camminare tanto tardi, addirittura a sette anni, e a parlare (in modo articolato e comprensibile) appena intorno ai sei. Talvolta, quella «mancanza» le provoca qualche difficoltà a camminare e alcuni problemi motori. Ciò nonostante, la giovane donna conduce una vita sostanzialmente normale: si è sposata, ha una bimba. La parte vuota nella sua testa, dove in realtà avrebbe dovuto esserci il cervelletto, è stata colmata naturalmente dal liquido cerebrospinale, il fluido corporeo che protegge il sistema nervoso centrale. Come riferisceNew Scientist, il caso della 24enne cinese è appena il nono fino ad ora scoperto; la maggior parte degli altri sono morti prematuramente e la particolare anomalia è stata scoperta solo dopo l’autopsia. «Questi rari casi sono interessanti perché ci permettono di studiare come funziona il cervello e come compensa alle parti mancanti» ha spiegato alla rivista scientifica Mario Manto, ricercatore di disordini cerebrali presso l’università di Bruxelles.

INC News, 13/09/2014-via Corriere della Sera

«Conti correnti, mediatori, sequestri Dove finì la megatangente dell’Eni»

ENI e Nigeria

«Nessun intermediario» e «nessun pagamento alla società nigeriana Malabu Oil & Gas» ma «solo al governo della Nigeria», è la difesa ribadita da Eni e Shell per controbattere al sospetto che un fiume di tangenti abbia viziato il contratto con il quale nell’aprile 2011 pagarono 1 miliardo e 92 milioni di dollari (più Shell da sola altri 200) per aggiudicarsi la licenza di esplorare il campo petrolifero OPL245 detenuta appunto dalla Malabu: società nigeriana quasi solo con una casella postale, e tuttavia all’epoca al centro di aspre rivendicazioni di proprietà tra oligarchi nigeriani, fino a rivelarsi poi lo schermo dietro il quale l’ex ministro nigeriano del petrolio Dan Etete si era sostanzialmente autoassegnato anni prima proprio quella preziosa licenza. Ma nelle rogatorie internazionali sfociate mercoledì a Londra nel sequestro di 193 milioni disposto dalla londinese Southwark Crown Court a carico di Etete e del mediatore nigeriano Emake Obi, la Procura di Milano mostra ora di vedere nell’interposizione del governo solo una soluzione puramente tattica: una mossa (niente più intermediari, apparente rapporto esclusivo con lo Stato) finalizzata a vestire di maggiore trasparenza il perfezionamento nel 2011 di un accordo tra Eni e Malabu che invece in sostanza garantisse i medesimi impegni tangentizi sottesi per i pm alla prima fase della negoziazione, quella abortita nel 2010 dopo che per essa si erano spesi a vario titolo gli allora numeri uno e due di Eni, Paolo Scaroni e Claudio Descalzi (oggi amministratore delegato), il loro manager operativo Roberto Casula, i mediatori italiani Luigi Bisignani e Gianluca di Nardo, l’intermediario nigeriano Obi e l’ex ministro Etete. 

INC News, 13/09/2014-via Corriere

Amor di mucca, tra Mattis e Samuel

"Blue Moon" diamond unveiled in LA Origin: United States



 Los Angeles County's Natural History Museum on Friday unveiled the "Blue Moon Diamond," a 12-carat gem described as one of the rarest stones in the world, AFP reports.
Deep blue and intensely radiant, it was found in South Africa's Cullinan mine northeast of Pretoria, where the biggest ever rough diamond was unearthed a century ago.
"Fancy vivid blue diamonds are extremely rare and the Blue Moon is no exception," said Suzette Gomes, chief executive of Cora International, a leading diamond supplier from whom the gem is on loan.
"It is a historic stone that is one of the rarest gems with this color and in this size to be found in recent history," she added.
Only a few bigger blue diamonds exist, including the "Heart of Eternity," valued at $16 million, and the 45-carat "Hope" worth an estimated $350 million despite having a reputation as being cursed.
The value of "Blue Moon," which took six months to be cut from a 30-carat rough diamond, is not yet known but Gomez noted that Cora bought the rough diamond for $26 million.

INC News, 13/09/2014

For more information see:http://en.tengrinews.kz/show_and_style/Blue-Moon-diamond-unveiled-in-LA-Origin-United-States-256124/
Use of the Tengrinews English materials must be accompanied by a hyperlink to en.Tengrinews.kz

'Mowgli' caught on camera in Kazakhstan


This video was posted on the Internet under the name "Mowgli in Atyrau". Atyrau is a city located in Western Kazakhstan.
The video clearly shows how a boy on all fours runs for an apple thrown to him by the authors of the video. He picks up the fruit with his teeth, not hands.
His motions are very smooth and resemble those observed in the wild, but he wears underpants and has a hear cut.
The boy is accompanied by a big dog.
There is no detailed information about the boy, but many assume that he was raised by dogs. According to local residents the site in the video is Bereke village near Atyrau.
Local policemen are checking the authenticity of the video and searching for the boy. 

INC News, 13/09/2014



For more information see:http://en.tengrinews.kz/strange_news/Mowgli-caught-on-camera-in-Kazakhstan-256106/
Use of the Tengrinews English materials must be accompanied by a hyperlink to en.Tengrinews.kz

Nicole Kidman 'in shock' after father's sudden death

Antony Kidman dead

 Australian actress Nicole Kidman is in shock after the sudden death of her father in Singapore, her publicist said Saturday as her husband Keith Urban wrote of the couple's "deep state of grief", AFP reports.
Antony Kidman, 75, died after suffering from an apparent heart attack at an exclusive social club in Singapore, local media and emergency services said.
Nicole Kidman's publicist Leslee Dart said the Hollywood actress and her family were "in shock by the sudden death of her father". 
"She appreciates the outpouring of support and kindly requests privacy during this very difficult time," Dart told the Australian Associated Press in a statement. Nashville singer Urban cancelled a concert in the United States and said he was returning to Australia with Kidman.
"We are in a deep state of grief at the passing of Nic's father and are heading to Australia to be with family," Urban said in a statement on Facebook.
"We want to thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts for their love, prayers and support through this devastating loss."
Antony Kidman was believed to have collapsed at a restaurant at the upmarket Tanglin Club, where he was staying while visiting his daughter Antonia and her family, Singapore's Straits Times said.
INC News, 13/09/2014

For more information see:http://en.tengrinews.kz/people/Nicole-Kidman-in-shock-after-fathers-sudden-death-256134/
Use of the Tengrinews English materials must be accompanied by a hyperlink to en.Tengrinews.kz

Samantha Morton: 'I Was Abused By Care Workers'

Sex abuse on Samantha Morton
Actress Samantha Morton has said that sexual abuse she suffered as a teenager in care was never investigated, despite her reporting it to police and social services.
The 37-year-old claimed she reported the abuse by two male residential care workers in Nottingham when she was 13 years old.
Speaking to the Guardian, the Bafta award-winning actress said she decided to waive her right to anonymity in the wake of a report detailing sexual exploitation of 1,400 children over a period of 16 years in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. Fearing the issue is more widespread, she called for further investigations in other places, including her home town of Nottingham.
"I just wanted to go public with this, to say, we know it's rife but why are there not further investigations into other areas? It isn't just Rotherham, I'm sure it's not just Rotherham," she told the paper. "There was no support, no offer of counselling, no wanting to delve deeper... Maybe they just assumed I had been abused already, or was being, anyway.
"A lot of people who abused my friends were people in very, very top jobs within the social services. Nottingham in the 80s was rife with that." The actress revealed she had recently spoken to Nottinghamshire Police about her original complaint and was told the report contained only a reference to "frolicking" and no sexual abuse.
INC News, 13/09/2014-via Skynews

Ucraina: Slitta l'accordo con l'Ue

Ukraine e sanzioni
La scure delle sanzioni Ue si abbatte su Mosca colpendo i giganti del petrolio Rosneft, Gazprom Neft, e Transneft, dell'aerospazio come Opk Oboronprom e della produzione di armi, come la Khalashnikov, ma anche personalità vicine al presidente Vladimir Putin, come il top manager pubblico Serghiei Chemezov, alla guida di RosTekhnologi, principale società manifatturiera nel settore della difesa. Un'azione che in tutto colpisce 15 società e 24 personalità (anche se 'risparmia' nomi di primissimo piano, lasciando fuori il ministro della Difesa Serghiei Shoigu, indicato nei giorni scorsi come possibile bersaglio), e imprime un nuovo giro di vite alle misure di luglio contro i principali istituti di credito a controllo pubblico: Sberbank; Vnesheconombank; Rosselkhozbank; Vtb bank; e Gazprombank.

INC News, 13/09/2014-via ANSA AP

Curiosity Rover Report: We made it! Curiosity reaches Mount Sharp (Sept ...



Curiosity ha finalmente raggiunto il suo primo obiettivo: dopo due anni di cammino il rover laboratorio della Nasa è giunto alle pendici del Monte Sharp, la montagna che si trova al centro del grande Cratere Gale, nel quale Curiosity è arrivata il 6 agosto 2012.

Prossimo obiettivo di Curiosity sarà quello di 'scalare' uno dei versanti della montagna che secondo i planetologi rappresenta una 'scatola nera' del passato del pianeta rosso. "Il viaggio verso questo monte marziano è stato lungo ma di importanza storica", ha commentato John Grotzinger, del California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

Коренным британцам сложно справиться с тестом для иммигрантов

Sea of People: Up to 2 million Catalans march for Independence

The colors you'll be wearing in 2015

Solar storms could disrupt power, GPS

New Study Reveals the Real Reasons Teens Are Having Sex

Kazakh expedition reaches Tash Rabat

Ulytau to become Kazakhstan's new national park