Dwarf galaxies gobbled by their giant neighbours

Astronomers have spotted the tell-tale signs of so-called dwarf galaxies being digested by bigger spiral galaxies.

Spiral galaxies are known to grow by swallowing their diminutive neighbours; as this process occurs, the dwarf galaxies become severely distorted.

An international team have now observed the characteristic signs of this process occurring in distant galaxies, beyond our cosmic neighbourhood.

The findings are published in the Astronomical Journal.

The researchers say the findings could shed further light on the evolution of galaxies.

As dwarf galaxies are digested by spirals, they form tendril-like structures and so-called stellar streams - long filaments of stars produced by the stretching action of tidal forces.

Astronomers have been observing such events in our immediate cosmic neighbourhood, known as the "Local Group" of galaxies, for more than a decade.

But the Local Group, with its three spiral galaxies, is much too small a sample to determine how common this process might be in the rest of the Universe.

David Martínez-Delgado from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Germany and colleagues carried out a survey of spiral galaxies at distances of up to 50 million light-years from Earth.

BBC News

6.3-magnitude quake strikes Fiji Islands

(CNN) -- A 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck the Fiji Islands, Wednesday at 4:13 a.m. (12:13 p.m. ET Tuesday), the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

The earthquake struck 100 miles from the city of Labasa on the island of Vanua Levu and roughly 220 miles from the capital of Fiji, Suva, located on the Island of Viti Levu.

The Labasa Police station reported a minute of mild shaking with no immediate reports of damage, said Chief Officer Patemosi Wate of the Police Command Center in the Northern Region of the Fiji Islands.

No tsunami bulletin was issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

CNN

FBI: Gunman at Army post accused of threatening to kill Obama

(CNN) -- A former soldier arrested after a hostage incident at a military base in Georgia faces multiple charges that include threatening to kill President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton, according to federal court documents filed Tuesday.

Robert Anthony Quinones, 29, of Hinesville, Georgia, was arrested Monday after the two-hour hostage situation at Winn Community Hospital on Fort Stewart, about 45 miles from Savannah, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Officials said he had demanded care at the hospital.

Quinones is charged with assault of a federal officer and kidnapping in the incident, which ended with the gunman's surrender and no injuries.

After he was taken into custody and during interviews, Quinones "expressed his plans, preparation and intentions to kill President Obama and former President Clinton," according to an affidavit filed in federal cour. "Quinones detailed his studies of Secret Service protocols, sniper techniques and means of disguise and weapons concealment to implement his assassination plans".

A search of his residence resulted in the discovery of 11 long guns, four pistols, multiple rounds of ammunition and dozens of bayonets and knives, according to the affidavit.

CNN

Killer whale dies at San Diego SeaWorld

(CNN) -- A 12-year-old male killer whale, who showed signs of being ill only the day before, died Tuesday afternoon at SeaWorld in San Diego, California, the park announced.

The cause of death for Sumar won't be known until a necropsy is complete, SeaWorld said. Results may not be known for several weeks.

"It's a very sad day," spokesman Dave Koontz told CNN. "He was a great young killer whale. He was sharp".

Sumar, who weighed about 5,000 pounds, had been at SeaWorld San Diego since 2001, coming from an Ohio park. He was one of seven killer whales at SeaWorld and was able to exhibit about 100 "behaviors," Koontz said.

The killer whale had no medical history or problems with behavior, the spokesman said, adding that there was no evidence of communicable disease. "He had a great disposition".

"Trainers had noticed that Sumar was acting lethargic yesterday (Monday) afternoon. Park veterinarians began a regimen of antibiotics to help try to stabilize his condition while they attempted to determine the cause of his illness," a SeaWorld statement said.

CNN

Hewlett Packard sues Hurd over Oracle appointment

Computer maker Hewlett Packard (HP) has filed a lawsuit against its former head Mark Hurd in an attempt to stop him joining database software maker Oracle.

Oracle announced the appointment of Mr Hurd as co-president late on Monday night.

HP said Mr Hurd's appointment would put its "most valuable trade secrets and confidential information in peril".

Mr Hurd, who resigned from HP only a month ago, is a friend of Oracle's chief executive, Larry Ellison.

Mr Hurd was forced to quit after a sexual harassment investigation. He denies any wrongdoing and was backed throughout the investigation by Mr Ellison.

The two are among the best-known figures in the technology industry.

BBC News

'Cannibal' restaurant a vegetarian hoax

BERLIN, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- A Web site for a Berlin restaurant offering "cannibal" cuisine has been revealed as a hoax perpetrated by vegetarians to highlight the "evils of meat-eating".

The German Vegetarian Society, or Vebu, revealed Tuesday the Web site for restaurant Flime, which requested diners "donate any part of their body" for cooking and sought the services of an "open-minded surgeon," was a hoax to raise awareness of the "evils of meat-eating," Britain's The Daily Telegraph reported Tuesday.

The Web site had drawn international attention and condemnation from German politicians.

UPI

Teixeira is AL Player of Week

NEW YORK, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira was named the American League's Player of the Week Monday after hitting .476 in the past week.

Teixeira got on base safely in all seven New York games in the week ending Sunday and had a .633 on-base percentage during that span as the Yankees went 6-1. He also drove in eight runs while producing a .905 slugging percentage.

It is the fifth career weekly award for Teixeira, who has 30 home runs, the seventh straight season he's reached the mark.

Others considered for the award included Teixeira teammate Curtis Granderson, Seattle's Felix Hernandez and David Aardsma, Blue Jays second baseman Aaron Hill and Angels starter Ervin Santana.

UPI

Danish rocketeers abort launch attempt

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- Danish rocket enthusiasts hoping to send a dummy 19 miles into the sky say they aborted the launch when a valve on their rocket froze up.

A group calling itself the Copenhagen Suborbitals is attempting to launch its self-built rocket from a military test area in the Baltic Sea, the BBC reported.

As the countdown reached zero Sunday, nothing happened.After inspecting the rocket, the team found a valve controlling liquid oxygen had frozen up and did not open.

The Danish government has given the team the use of its test range until Sept. 17. If their rocket cannot fly before that date, the team will have to wait until 2011 for another chance.

The goal of the group, led by engineers Peter Madsen and Kristian von Bengtson, is to develop an ultra-cheap space launch system to take a single passenger on a short hop above the atmosphere.

UPI

Brain 'atlas' could help in treatments

TEL AVIV, Israel, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- Israeli researchers say they're creating an "atlas" of human brain connections that may give insights into conditions such as autism and schizophrenia.

Yaniv Assaf of Tel Aviv University's Department of Neurobiology is investigating how different parts of the human brain "connect" to turn this information into a "brain atlas," a release from the university says.

Disorders like autism and schizophrenia are not localized, researchers say -- there is no one place in the brain they can be found.

Assaf hopes a brain atlas will help in understanding how parts of our brain connect to other parts within, leading to a deeper understanding of these diseases.

In the research, Assaf and an international team of scientists are looking at clusters of brain wiring to help researchers produce a better working map of the brain for future research.

UPI

8 Calif. babies died after late diagnoses

SACRAMENTO, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- California hospitals and clinics failed to diagnose whooping cough in eight babies until it was too late to save their lives, state health officials say.

Dr. John Talarico of the California Department of Public Health said in a letter to doctors, clinics and hospitals that doctors examining babies under the age of 6 months with trouble breathing should always suspect whooping cough or pertussis, the Los Angeles Times reportedTuesday. He said the eight who died this year were all examined several times before the correct diagnosis was made.

"In several cases, the infants were treated only for nasal congestion or mild upper respiratory infection," he wrote. "By the time these infants developed severe respiratory distress, it was usually too late for any intervention to prevent their tragic deaths.

UPI

Aerosmith may be Aerosmith reconstituted

ALGARY, Alberta, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- Aerosmith co-founder Joe Perry says he was blindsided by the news that vocalist Steven Tyler plans to join "American Idol" as a judge.

Perry's uncertainty about the band's future has been brewing for more than a year -- as fissures began during the Boston band's 2009 summer tour that was cut short when Tyler fell from a South Dakota stage and broke his shoulder, the Calgary Herald reported Tuesday.

"Technically speaking, after the gig in Vancouver (on Sept. 16), I don't have a job with Aerosmith," Perry told the Herald before the group's Friday show in Calgary. "I don't know when we'll be out there again, the five of us, so we'll be playing with everything we've got".

Perry said the group mapped out plans for two years when it decided to do the Cocked, Locked, Ready To Rock Tour, while "one of the band members knows full well he's signed a contract that's taking him out of the music business for up to seven months of the year ...".

"It's all very well to say, 'I'm going to go off and do this and it won't interfere with the band ...' but there's only so many weeks in the month and so many months in the year," said 59-year-old Perry.

Tyler, 62, also is scheduled to undergo knee surgery.

UPI

US church defiant despite condemnation of Koran burning

A small US church says it will defy international condemnation and go ahead with plans to burn copies of the Koran on the 9/11 anniversary.

The top US commander in Afghanistan warned troops' lives would be in danger if the Dove World Outreach Center in Florida went through with the stunt.

Muslim countries, the US government and Nato have also hit out at the plan.

But organiser, Pastor Terry Jones said: "We must send a clear message to the radical element of Islam".

The controversy comes at a time when the US relationship with Islam is very much under scrutiny.

There is heated debate in the country over a proposal to build a mosque and Islamic cultural centre streets from Ground Zero, site of the 9/11 attacks, in New York.

'Significant problems'

Despite having a congregation of just 50, the plans of the church in Gainesville have gained worldwide notoriety, sparking demonstrations in Afghanistan and Indonesia.

Gen David Petraeus, the top US commander in Afghanistan, said on Monday that the action could cause problems "not just in Kabul, but everywhere in the world".

"It is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses and could cause significant problems," he said in a statement.

The Vatican, the Obama administration and Nato have also expressed concern over the plan.

BBC News

Ivory Coast Presidential Candidates Agree on Voter List

Presidential candidates in Ivory Coast have accepted a new voter list for a much-postponed election now scheduled for the end of October.

Disputes over voter eligibility in Ivory Coast have been the biggest obstacle to an election that has been delayed seven times in the past five years. So all the candidates agreeing on a new electoral list is the clearest sign yet that this vote may finally take place.

Prime Minister Guillaume Soro made the announcement in a joint appearance with President Laurent Gbagbo and his electoral rivals Alassane Ouattara and Henri Konan Bedie.

Prime Minister Soro says together, the men have agreed presidential elections will actually take place on October 31. So it is necessary to move forward toward a definitive electoral list, and he says he is happy to say that all of them agree on this definitive list.

Prime Minister Soro says they are all asking the president of the independent national electoral commission to make this list available to the public this week. They are also asking the electoral chairman to make sure the vote is organized so that all ballot papers and all electoral documents are ready on schedule.

The prime minister says the men, together, agree that this vote should be held in a climate of serenity and tranquility.

VOA News

France's Roma expulsions face international probe

(CNN) -- The European Commission is looking into France's expulsion of more than 8,000 ethnic Roma, commonly referred to as gypsies, the commission's president told CNN Tuesday.

"The European Commission, working with the French authorities, is now making an independent assessment" of the situation, Jose Manuel Barroso said on CNN's "Quest Means Business".

Recent raids against camps in Lyon, France, and other cities forced out a total of 8,300 Romanian and Bulgarian nationals of Roma origin. Close to 10,000 were expelled in 2009.

Barroso said in his first state of the union speech on Tuesday that governments "must respect human rights".

That wasn't specifically aimed at France, he told CNN, though he noted that France is in the middle of a "very politicized debate".

"I do not want to interfere in that debate," he said, but he added that the commission is investigating how France is implementing European law.

The European Commission is the executive arm of the European Union.

CNN

US Investors Sue Germany Over Weimar-Era Bonds

A group of American investors have filed several lawsuits to pressure Germany to honor bonds issued by the Weimar Republic. Hitler banned repayment of the bonds and Berlin says a deadline for registering the bonds passed decades ago. Should Germany lose, it could cost the country billions.

Their age and provenance are clear enough: The bonds were issued by the Weimar Republic some 80 years ago to raise cash. Just how much they might be worth today is open for debate. But six investors in the US are taking Germany to court to find out -- and to force the country to pay up.

The certificates were issued by the Weimar Republic in the 1920s as a way to help pay debts and reparations demanded after World War I. They are still, in fact, being traded with investors hoping they can eventually be redeemed.

Now a handful of investors hope lawsuits filed in several federal courts in the US will force Germany to pay off the bonds. Their value could be hundreds of millions of dollars, with some estimates going into the billions. A month ago, a Miami court ruled against Germany's request to dismiss the lawsuits; Germany had argued that US courts did not have jurisdiction.

The investors argue that a German victory in this case could have negative consequences for the global bond market -- it would damage investors' confidence, they claim, in the security of all government bonds. "Our position is not only correct under the law, it would avoid such a potentially far-reaching precedent," investor attorney Sam Dubbin told the Associated Press.

Stolen by Soviet Soldiers

Germany says the suit is invalid. It holds that only those investors who successfully negotiate a complex validation process can be paid off. A spokesman for the German Embassy in Washington told the AP that "any bond passing the validation procedure successfully will be honored".

The certificates must be validated because thousands were stolen by Soviet soldiers in 1945. Berlin has said the stolen bonds had been redeemed, but then found their way, improperly, back to the market. Plaintiffs have accused Germany of being less than forthright in offering a list of stolen bonds.

Germany has also argued that a deadline for registering the bonds passed in 1958. "All bonds not registered by then were declared legally invalid and can only be recognized after the fact by verdict of the proper German court," the Federal Office for Central Services and Unresolved Property Issues wrote in a mail to the daily Die Welt in August.

The sale of the bonds by the Weimar government brought in hundreds of millions of dollars, as investors believed they were safe. But when Hitler came to power in 1933, he declared the certificates invalid. The bonds lost their value, making it easy for Nazi Germany to buy them up on the cheap. Dubbin's lawsuit claims that Hitler was able to use the money raised by the bond issue to "rebuild Germany's war machine," according to the AP.

Spiegel Internacional

Guard director details suicide prevention techniques

AUSTIN, Texas (Army News Service, Sept. 3, 2010) -- Enhanced leadership, ensuring recruits are compatible with military service and conducting better post-deployment screenings are among solutions the acting director of the Army National Guard recently suggested to reverse the spike in Soldier suicides.

We could be at 100 suicides by the end of the year, said Maj. Gen. Raymond Carpenter, speaking at a breakout session of 132nd General Conference of the National Guard Association of the United States here last month. 

Carpenter, who briefs the vice chief of staff of the Army on the Guard's suicide rate, said it is not an intractable problem. "We have an incredible amount of brainpower to put against this," he said. "We can solve this".

Leadership at every level has as obligation to recognize signs of depression and reckless behavior that could lead to suicide or other destructive behavior.

"If you're a squad leader, you're supposed to know your squad," Carpenter said. "You need to know whether they're married, whether they have kids, whether they're going to school, whether they have a job".

Recently, a Soldier was chaptered out of Basic Combat Training after enlisting in the active Army. He attempted to enlist in the National Guard, but failed BCT a second time.

He enlisted in the Guard again and completed BCT and Advanced Individual Training before returning home. He began having behavioral problems, including prescription drug and alcohol abuse, employment issues and a troubled marriage, which culminated in his suicide.

"I would not deny that young Soldier help," Carpenter said. "But we've got to figure out whether people are the kind of people who are going to be able to be Soldiers in our formations and do what is asked of them by this country".

The Soldier encountered severe compatibility issues, and the Army should have taken long look as to whether he was fit for military service, Carpenter said.

"It isn't a deployment problem," he added. "It has to do with significant emotional events in their lives, but beyond that it has to do with their ability to cope".

Post-deployment health assessments can determine whether Soldiers are experiencing suicidal tendencies, but only with their cooperation can behavioral adjustments succeed. 

Soldiers shouldn't discourage their spouse or other family members from helping them find treatment. Help is the only way to take aggressive efforts before problems mushroom, Carpenter said.

U.S. Army

Chicago's Mayor Daley won't run

CHICAGO, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- Longtime Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley Tuesday shocked political observers by saying he will not seek reelection to a seventh term.

Daley, 68, son of late Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley, was elected in April 1989. He said he would not be a candidate when his current term ends in 2011, the Chicago Tribune reported Tuesday.

"The truth is I have been thinking about this for the past several months," Daley said at a City Hall news conference. "In the end this is a personal decision, no more, no less".

UPI

Russia, Spain to exchange firefighting experience, technology

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Spanish King Juan Carlos I on Tuesday discussed this summer's devastating wildfires and agreed to cooperate in firefighting, the Kremlin said in a statement.

"While discussing the problems of fighting the fires that swept both countries this year, the Russian president and the Spanish King agreed to establish close cooperation...in exchanging experience and firefighting technology," the statement said.

Forest and peat bog fires raged in European Russia in July-August. The fires killed over 50 people, destroyed more than 2,000 homes and 11 million hectares of crops. Several Spanish regions were also affected by wildfires this summer.

RIA Novosti

Belarus' position on oil product duties ungrounded - Russian deputy PM

The position of Minsk on the levying of duties on Russian oil products supplied to Belarus has no legal basis, a Russian first deputy prime minister said Tuesday.

The CIS Economic Court ruled on Tuesday that Moscow and Minsk must come to an out-of-court agreement within one month on a dispute over Russian oil product export duties.

"We have believed from the start that there is no legal basis for resolving the case in Minsk's favor," said Igor Shuvalov, who supervises issues of the Customs Union between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan in the Russian government.

"We insist that our position is right and based on international treaties signed during the establishment of the Customs Union," he said.

CIS Economic Court Chairman Faizullo Abdulloyev said if the countries did not come to an agreement before October 7, the court would consider the case on its merits.

RIA Novosti

Russia shocked by Slovaks in Euro 2012 qualifier

A defensive mix-up proved fatal for Russia in Moscow on Tuesday evening as Slovakia took all three points in a Euro 2012 qualifier.

The defeat was just the second home loss in a European championship qualifier in the history of both Russian and Soviet football.

Russia started the match the brighter, with Igor Semshov, Roman Shirokov and Alan Dzagoyev going close in the opening 20 minutes.

But a badly-hit clearance by goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev in the 27th minute left CSKA Moscow teammate Vasily Berezutsky stranded and Miroslav Stoch thundered a shot into the Russian net.

Russia came forward again in search of an equalizer and Stuttgart forward Pavel Pogrebnyak wasted a great chance, shooting wide from close in.

Slovakia, proving that their progress to the last 16 at this summer’s World Cup was no fluke, always looked dangerous on the break and could have easily doubled their lead were it not for two Akinfeev saves in quick succession.

RIA Novosti