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In a first, space probe lands on comet
22,000 dental patients face HIV test in UK
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US, China ink landmark deal on climate change
Chinese President Xi Jinping gestures to his US counterpart Barack Obama as they arrive at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday. Reuters
Arrest warrants against Imran, cleric Qadri
26/11: Pak court’s no to video trial
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In a first, space probe lands on comet
Berlin/Frankfurt, Nov 12 The box-shaped 100-kg (220-pound) lander, named Philae, touched down on schedule at about 1600 GMT after a seven-hour descent from spacecraft Rosetta around half a billion kilometres (300 million miles) from Earth. Scientists hope that samples from the surface of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko will help show how planets and life are created as the rock and ice that make up the comet preserve organic molecules like a time-capsule. Comets come from the formation of Earth's 4.6-billion-year-old solar system. Scientists believe they may have brought much of the water in Earth's oceans. "We are ready to make science fiction a science fact," ESA director of human spaceflight and operations, Thomas Reiter, said at the European Space Operations Centre in Germany before the landing. Rosetta reached the comet, a roughly 3-by-5 km rock discovered in 1969, in August after a journey of 6.4 billion km that took 10 years, five months and four days - a mission that cost close to 1.4 billion euros ($1.8 billion). Rosetta is the first spacecraft to orbit a comet rather than just flying past to take pictures. Wednesday's launch went ahead despite a problem with the thruster that meant the probe had to rely mainly on its harpoons to stop it bouncing back from the comet's surface. The three-legged lander had to be released at exactly the right time and speed because it cannot be controlled on its descent. On its way down, Philae gathered data and images, which were relayed back to Earth. Engineers designed the lander not knowing what type of terrain they would find on the comet's surface. Rosetta has been taking pictures of the comet and collecting samples from its atmosphere as it approaches the sun, showing it is not as smooth as initially hoped, making landing more tricky. The surface is also more dusty than expected, limiting light needed to charge its solar panels and power its instruments once its batteries run out after two and a half days. — Reuters Mars orbiter sends pics Chennai: On a day when European Space Agency (ESA) is attempting to place a robot Philae on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, ISRO on Wednesday released images of Comet Siding Spring, taken by its Mars Orbiter last month. ISRO's Mars Orbiter had the opportunity to witness the Comet Siding Spring approach Mars on October 19, for which the spacecraft repositioned itself for its safety. After the comet passed by, @MarsOrbiter tweeted, "Phew! Experience of a lifetime. Watched the MarsComet SidingSpring whizzing past the planet. I'm in my orbit, safe and sound." PTI |
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22,000 dental patients face HIV test in UK
London, November 12 The recall affects all patients who were treated by Desmond D'Mello, who worked at Daybrook Dental Surgery in Nottingham over a 32-year period. The National Health Service (NHS) said it appeared D'Mello failed to wash his hands and used the same instruments for more than one patient without sterilising the instruments between patients. The allegations surrounding D'Mello came after a whistleblower secretly filmed him treating 166 patients over a period of three days in June, British media reports said. D'Mello has been tested and is not HIV positive, the NHS said. “Patients seen by Mr D'Mello appear to have been placed at a possible low risk of infection from blood-borne infections, due to multiple failures in cross infection control measures," a spokesman of NHS said. A Care Quality Commission inspection in July also raised concerns about the possibility of cross-contamination at the practice. The report said the staff toilet and another room were being used as store rooms for equipment. "This posed a risk of these items coming into contact with body fluids which may be contaminated," the report said. Inspectors said new owners of the practice had renovated the property and addressed all the concerns. Amarjit Gill, of the British Dental Association, said the recall was a “sensible” move. Dentists use disinfection methods and wear gloves and masks as well as giving protective masks to patients, he said. — PTI Biggest ever recall in UK’s medical history
* Some 22,000 patients of a British dentist are to be recalled for tests to see if they have been infected with blood-borne viruses, including HIV *
The recall affects all patients who were treated by Desmond D'Mello, who worked at Daybrook Dental Surgery in Nottingham over a 32-year period *
D'Mello failed to wash his hands and used the same instruments for more than one patient without sterilising the instruments between patients |
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US, China ink landmark deal on climate change
Beijing, November 12 In a major breakthrough, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Barack Obama, announced respective post-2020 goals of coping with climate change after a comprehensive round of talks here. Under the agreement, US intends to achieve an economy-wide target of reducing its emissions by 26-28 per cent below its 2005 level in 2025 and to make best efforts to reduce its emissions by 28 per cent, a joint statement issued at the end of the talks here said. For its part, China intends to achieve the peaking of CO2 emissions around 2030 and to make best efforts to peak early and intends to increase the share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption to around 20 per cent by 2030, it said. This is the first time China has agreed to peak its CO2 emissions, US officials said. The surprise agreement between the top two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases came amid a debate in Indian official circles about the need for India to de-hyphenate itself from its long association with China on climate issues. According to a 2012 survey, the biggest contributors to fossil fuel emissions included China 27 per cent, US 14 per cent, the European Union 10 per cent, and India 6 per cent. New Railway Minister and India's "Sherpa" for the G20 summit, Suresh Prabhu has called for India and China to go their own ways on climate issues as India's near-complete alignment with China at global climate talks has been hurting New Delhi's interests. Hailing the deal, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on other nations to emulate the two world powers and also put forward "ambitious" greenhouse gas reduction programmes. "I want to commend President Xi Jinping of China and President Barack Obama of the United States for their leadership on climate change they demonstrated today in the joint announcement agreed to in Beijing," Ban said speaking on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Myanmar. Ban described the deal as an "important contribution to the new climate agreement to be reached in Paris next year." The International Energy Agency (IEA) also welcomed the deal between the world's top two polluters on curbing emissions but said it wanted to see results. "The joint commitment of US and China represents a giant leap for mankind...," said IEA chief economist Fatih Birol. He said the two countries were responsible for 45 per cent of today's emissions so the decision "entails a needed political momentum". — PTI What the agreement says * The US intends to achieve an economy-wide target of reducing its emissions by 26-28 per cent below its 2005 level in 2025 and to make best efforts to reduce its emissions by 28 per cent, a joint statement issued at the end of the talks here said * China, on its part, intends to achieve the peaking of CO2 emissions around 2030 and to make best efforts to peak early and intends to increase the share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption to around 20 per cent by 2030, it said. This is the first time China has agreed to peak its CO2 emissions
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Arrest warrants against Imran, cleric Qadri
Islamabad, November 12 Dawn online reported that the court in Islamabad also issued arrest warrants for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, PTI Vice-Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, PTI leader Asad Umar and PAT leader Raheeq Abbasi. A case was registered against these leaders at a police station in Islamabad. In September, protesters broke into the PTV headquarters and took over the programming control room and transmission was taken off air temporarily. Later, army stepped in to remove them and restore the transmission. But the protesters took away the sound system from the building's mosque. — PTi |
Replace Nawaz’s daughter as scheme head: Pak court Hong Kong protesters to occupy British consulate Nurse who was Mali's second Ebola case dies German police arrest 9 suspected IS supporters Israeli policeman held over Palestinian boy's killing Russia to build more nuclear reactors in Iran We crossed the line after 9/11 attacks, admits US |
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The world's top carbon emitters, the US and China, today reached a groundbreaking deal on climate change calling for ambitious action to limit greenhouse gases, in a move that could lead to India de-linking itself from China at future global climate negotiations.
In a major breakthrough, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Barack
Obama, announced respective post-2020 goals of coping with climate change after a comprehensive round of talks here.
The European Space Agency (ESA) landed a probe on a comet on Wednesday, a first in space exploration and the climax of a decade-long mission to get samples from what are the remnants of the birth of Earth's solar system.
