Earth Day 2016: What it's all about and why it's extremely important

Today is the day to think about the planet. Some say that today is the largest secular holiday in the world.
Earth Day, celebrated every year on 22 April, is a day to reflect on the measures all of us can take to protect the environment and life on earth.
And this year's Earth Day is significantly more important because world leaders are gathering at the United Nations on Friday to sign the Paris climate deal and get the ball rolling on a quick entry into force to start beating back global warming.

The first Earth Day was celebrated as a national holiday in the United States in 1970. According to Earth Day Network, Gaylord Nelson — Earth Day founder and US Senator from Wisconsin — announced his idea for a "national teach-in on the environment" after witnessing the destruction caused by the 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara, California.

22 April was the day selected for the event because it fell between spring break and final exams in the US. Twenty-two million Americans took part in the first Earth Day.
The first global Earth Day was celebrated in 1990.
Around 220 million people in 141 countries participated in the event which gave a "huge boost to recycling efforts worldwide and helped pave the way for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro."
Today, the day is organised by the Earth Day Network, which is "the world’s largest recruiter to the environmental movement, working with more than 50,000 partners in 196 countries to build environmental democracy."
Since its launch, Earth Day has also been supported by celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio and Emma Watson, according to Mirror.
The day has its own flag and even has its own anthem, performed to the tune of Beethoven's Ode To Joy.
For this year's Earth Day, Google has created a special map to point out the location of several events taking place across the planet to celebrate the day.
Europe on Friday is also going to launch satellites to track environmental damage to Earth, reported AFP. Setting off on a Russian Soyuz rocket will be Sentinel-1B with its Earth surveillance radar, and Microscope, a French-built orbiter seeking to poke a hole in Einstein's theory of general relativity.
They will be hoisted from Europe's launch pad in Kourou, French Guiana, at 9 pm GMT on Friday.
But the most important event on this year's Earth Day will undoubtedly be the signing of the Paris climate deal.
French President Francois Hollande and Canada's Justin Trudeau will join US Secretary of State John Kerry for the ceremony attended by more than 165 governments, the largest ever one-day signing of an international agreement.
Held on Earth Day, the ceremony comes four months after the hard-won deal was clinched in Paris and marks the first step toward binding countries to the promises they made to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Oscar winner and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio will be on hand to praise leaders for signing, urge others to do the same and appeal to all to turn their commitments into action.
While the US, China and India — the world's top greenhouse gas emitters — will not be represented at their highest level, there will be some 60 heads of state and government on hand for the signing.

With inputs from AFP








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ISIS is lost - Obama

Washington - The Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria is on the defensive and "their cause is lost," US President Barack Obama said on Wednesday after meeting with CIA chiefs and other security officials.

Obama paid a rare visit to CIA headquarters in Virginia to discuss progress of Operation Inherent Resolve, the 20-month-old US-led campaign against ISIS jihadists in Iraq and Syria.

"ISIS is on the defensive, and we are on the offensive," Obama said. "We have momentum, and we intend to keep that momentum."

Obama pointed to recent US air strikes that killed three senior ISIS leaders and a report this week showing the group's ranks are at their lowest level since 2014.

"In the days and weeks ahead we intend to take out more [leaders.] Every day, ISIS leaders wake up and understand it could be their last," Obama said.

"Their ranks of fighters are estimated to be at the lowest levels in two years and more and more are realising that their cause is lost," he added.

Obama stressed the importance of ending the five-year civil war in Syria as key to facilitating a lasting defeat of the ISIS group.

"So we continue to work for a diplomatic end to this awful conflict," he said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Baghdad-based spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said the US-led coalition campaign had successfully entered the second "phase" of operations.

The coalition is working through three main steps as it wages its 20-month-old fight against the ISIS group, Warren said.

"Our enemy has been weakened and we now are working to fracture him. Phase one of the military campaign is complete," Warren told Pentagon reporters, noting that this initial step was to "degrade" the ISIS group by stopping it from making additional territorial gains.

"We are now in phase two, which is to dismantle this enemy," he added.

Warren said the final phase of the campaign is to ensure the ISIS is dealt a lasting defeat, primarily by enabling local forces to prevent a resurgence of jihadist influence.

Though the ISIS group maintains a firm grip on vast areas of the two countries, the jihadists have suffered some serious setbacks including the loss of Ramadi in Iraq.

"While ISIS can still put together some complex attacks, they have not been able to take hold of any key terrain for almost a year now," Warren said.






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Airman shot commander at Texas base: official

   Police are seen after Texas authorities say at least one person has been killed in a shooting at an Air    Force base in            Texas on Friday, April 8, 2016.

DALLAS -- An airman shot his commander in an apparent murder-suicide Friday at a U.S. Air Force base in San Antonio, a senior U.S. official said.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to publicly discuss the shooting at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland.

Two handguns were found near the bodies of the men, which were inside a building that's used for classrooms and offices, according to Brig. Gen. Robert LaBrutta, who oversees Joint Base San Antonio.

He stressed that the shooting was not an act of terrorism, and declined to identify the two, saying their families must be notified first. The Air Force's Office of Special Investigations is leading the investigation, and the FBI is assisting.

The fatal shooting of the two is the latest to occur at a military facility in Texas in the last several years.
In January 2015, an Army veteran and former clerk at the veterans' clinic at Fort Bliss in El Paso shot and killed a psychologist, then killed himself. About a year earlier, three soldiers were killed and 16 wounded in an attack at Fort Hood near Killeen by Army Spc. Ivan A. Lopez, who also killed himself.

And in the deadliest attack to occur at a U.S. military installation, 13 people were killed and 31 were wounded in a mass shooting in 2009 at Fort Hood. Nidal Hasan, a former U.S. Army major, was convicted and sentenced to death in that shooting.

Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland is the home of Air Force basic training. The Army's Fort Sam Houston and Air Force's Lackland and Randolph bases were combined during base realignment several years ago to become the military's largest joint base.





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Barcelona v Atletico Madrid: Luis Enrique keen to move on from Clasico loss

      Apr 4, 2016 15:13:00


The Catalans' boss insists El Clasico "no longer exists" for his side as they prepare to take on another team from the Spanish capital in the Champions League


Barcelona and Atletico Madrid head into their Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday on the back of contrasting weekends in La Liga's title race.

Champions Barca lost 2-1 to bitter rivals Real Madrid in El Clasico on Saturday, with their lead at the summit cut to six points as a result of second-placed Atleti storming to a 5-1 win over Real Betis.

Atletico remain title outsiders but will be buoyed by the memory of overcoming Barcelona at the same stage of the Champions League two seasons ago before going on to achieve Liga glory.

"For me, this game [Clasico] no longer exists," said Luis Enrique, whose Barcelona side saw a phenomenal 39-match unbeaten run come to an end against 10-man Madrid.

"There is no pain or anything you can think of. We had many games without defeat, but defeat also teaches you things.

"All titles have difficulty and my players knew that. Going 39 games unbeaten means little if you don't win titles at the end of the season.

"[Atletico] will put on a lot of pressure and make it tough for us."

Enrique at least avoided any fresh injury concerns in El Clasico, meaning former Atletico midfielder Arda Turan might have to be content with a place on the bench once more.

Turan entered the fray with Saturday's match all square at 1-1, but the coach offered backing to his Turkish international after Barca struggled to control the late midfield battle.

"Ivan [Rakitic] had a card and that was enough of a risk," Luis Enrique explained. "Arda could give us even more between the lines. He has been unlucky because he entered when the game was pretty crazy."

Opposite number Diego Simeone was able to make less taxing substitutions as Betis were put to the sword, and he confirmed Fernando Torres would start against Barca having opened the scoring on Saturday.

"Every game we’ve played against them has been different," said Simeone, who will assess Saul Niguez after the midfielder was substituted with a knock to his ankle on Saturday.

"We're preparing ourselves as well as we can so the game goes the way we want it to."

Atletico were unbeaten in six matches against Barcelona during their glorious 2013/14 campaign but have lost on their previous three visits to Camp Nou.

Luis Enrique's men edged each of this season's Liga encounters 2-1, with Lionel Messi scoring on both occasions. Should the mercurial Argentinian repeat the feat on Tuesday he will register his 500th Barcelona goal.

Atletico centre-backs Diego Godin and Stefan Savic will be available to attempt to prevent Messi from doing so, having returned to training on Sunday following a hamstring strain and a nail infection respectively. 

Youngsters Lucas Hernandez and Nacho Monsalve – the latter on debut – lined up at centre-back against Betis.

Belgium international Yannick Carrasco will also come back into Simeone's plans having overcome an ankle complaint, although Luciano Vietto missed training on Sunday due to illness.


Key Opta stats
- Barcelona have won the past six games between the sides in all competitions. A seventh win would be a new record in their head-to-head history with Atletico.
- Barcelona's clean sheet against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in April 2011 is their only shutout in European games against Spanish opposition.
- Atletico have never scored more than one goal in each of their eight European encounters with Spanish clubs.
- Atletico's quarter-final win in 2014 marked the only occasion in the past eight years when Barca have failed to reach the Champions League semi-finals.

- Luis Enrique's men are unbeaten in the Champions League this season and the coach has won all 10 of his Camp Nou home games in the competition.




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Manspreading will get you laid

March 30, 2016 | 6:48pm

Want to attract women? Spread out!

According to a new study, males who engage in manspreading — sitting wide-legged and sprawling their arms — are more sexually alluring to females than fellas who keep their legs closed.

The research — conducted by the University of California, Berkeley, postdoctoral research fellow Tanya Vacharkulksemsuk — found that speed-dating manspreaders received more positive responses than those who kept their limbs compact. When manspreading lady-seekers posted their pictures on a dating site, they collectively enjoyed a 25-percent bump in matchups.

Patti Wood, author of “SNAP: Making the Most of a First Impression” and a nonverbal communication expert based in Atlanta, says it all comes down to biology. “When women see large silhouettes, their primitive brains think [the person with that silhouette] will make healthy babies and offer protection,” she says.

Ladies are even more turned on, adds Wood, when dudes augment manspreading with what’s called “up-posture” — bringing up your chest, chin and shoulders. “Think about the end of an Olympic match when the gold medal winners raise their arms,” she explains. “That is the epitome of up-posture. It conveys happiness, joy and a winning attitude.”

Though the powerful pairing may achieve good results on a dating site, don’t expect the same on a rush-hour F train. “Do it on the subway, and you are owning the space,” says Wood.

“But it’s not going to attract a woman if she can’t get a seat because you are all spread out.”

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Successful HIV-to-HIV Organ Transplants Mark a US, World Firsts

    Dorry Segev, left, and Morris Murray, previous liver transplant recipient, are interviewed about the first ever HIV-positive liver transplant in the world after a       news conference at Johns Hopkins hospital, March 30, 2016 in Baltimore.


VOA News
March 30, 2016 2:44 PM

Surgeons at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Maryland successfully completed the first U.S. liver and kidney transplants from an HIV-positive donor to an HIV-positive recipient.

It was the first ever case of a HIV-positive liver transplant and the first time in the U.S that an HIV-positive kidney has been transplanted. South African doctors have done HIV-positive kidney transplants before.

Medical center officials said the organs are working well and that the surgeries saw no complications. One patient has already been discharged and the other is expected to follow him in a matter of days.

According to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, there are nearly 400 HIV-positive people in the U.S. who could donate organs each year, saving potentially over 1,000 people.

The successful transplants come as a result of the 2013 HIV Organ Policy Equity Act, which paved the way for HIV-to-HIV organ transplants.

The United Network for Organ Sharing gave Johns Hopkins the okay in January, once candidates were identified.

“We are very thankful to Congress, the President and the entire transplant community for letting us use organs from HIV-positive patients to save lives instead of throwing them away, as we had to do for so many years,” said Dr. Dorry L. Segev, professor of surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.


There are around 122,000 people in the U.S. awaiting organ donations.







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Abu Sayyaf demands $1.5 m for Indonesia-flagged vessel taken hostage

BY AT EDITOR on MARCH 29, 2016 in ASIA TIMES NEWS & FEATURES, SOUTHEAST ASIA

         Abu Sayyaf has gained notoriety for kidnapping foreigners for ransom

(From Strait Times)

Two Indonesia-flagged vessels were taken hostage at the weekend by Abu Sayyaf militants in the Philippines, said a Foreign Affairs Ministry (Kemlu) official on Tuesday (March 29), confirming earlier media reports of the capture.

Abu Sayyaf has been gaining international notoriety for kidnapping foreigners for ransom 
Abu Sayyaf has gained notoriety for kidnapping foreigners for ransom
The militant group, based in the southern Philippines, is said to have demanded 50 million pesos (S$1.48 million) for the release of one of the vessels and its crew.


“It is confirmed that tugboats Brahma 12 and Anand 12 carrying 7,000 tonnes of coal and 10 Indonesian crew members were captured,” said Kemlu spokesman Armanatha Nasir



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