Iceland volcano ash halts European flights

An ash volcano in Iceland forced United Kingdom and Northern Europe to close airspace and ground planes from Thursday. The volcanic ashes had left passengers stranded because it was too dangerous to fly through the ashes. The volcanic ash limitted visibility and it was violent enough to damage the engines in airplanes. The safety agency of United Kingdom banned all non-emergency flights in British airspace until Friday 7 a.m. Currently, it is impossible to determine when the airplanes could resume flying. The hazardousness of the ash cloud is very high due to the additional acidity of the ash. If an airplane flies through the ash cloud, the plane will get grind away and the engine will get killed. In addition to that condition, the volcano is still erupting. This could cause bigger flight disruptions later in the future in Northern Europe.

I think the effect of volcanic ashes are very cruel that ashes can be considered the worst damage at a volcanic eruption. The volcanic eruption on Iceland is a huge disaster in Iceland, but the lava does not affect other nations near it. However, volcanic ashes do. These ashes float in the air and covers the skies of other nations, too. Because the airplanes can be crashed flying through the volcanic ashes, I think this is a huge global issue. Thinking in a way that no one from Britain can leave the country by plane towards the Atlantic, I think it could cause much bigger problems later. Therefore, people should be prepared for after effects in the future so that no further problem occur.

Article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8621407.stm

Protests erupt over Pakistan NWFP name change

Protests had acted violently over renaming North West Frontier Province (NWFP) on Monday. At least 5 people had been killed since the trouble broke out in the Hazara region on Monday. North West Frontier Province is a province where many Hazaras, who are different ethnic groups from the majority Pashtuns, are currently inhabiting. The new name for NWFP, Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, was approved by the National Assembly, but the Hazaras in the region strongly opposed to the name change.

I do not understand why the Pashtuns are trying to change the name of the region. Why not just keep it the way it was? Why would you have to change the name of a region? I don't get why having a region with a Hazara name would damage the Pashtuns' reputation. However, on the other hand, I believe that Hazaras should be very strong against the Pashtuns this time. I think the action the Hazaras took is the right choice, showing that they cannot just give into the Pashtuns everytime. I have read a book called The Kite Runner, about Afghanistan. It talks about the relationship between the Hazaras and the Pashtuns. So, I clearly understood what the situation was. Pashtuns believe they are too superior over the Hazaras that every region should be named in Pashtun words. Today, I think it is time to be strong against the Pashtuns, and show that they cannot only give in every time.

Article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8617719.stm

Animals found that live without oxygen

Scientists have recently discovered the first multiceullular creature that lives its life without any oxygen. These creatures are called new species of Loricifera; they are phylums of tiny bottom-dwelling animals who live in marine sediments. In the Mediterranean's L'Atalente basin, they were found 200 kilometres off the coast of Greek island of Crete, at a depth of more than 3000 metres. Those scientists had also discovered organisms that are could adapt to extreme conditions; they can live on without mitochondria. It was thought that only single-cellular organisms, such as bacteria, that reproduce and live without oxygen before these discoveries

I think this discovery is very interesting, and I think that this discovery could change our science education in the future. With this discovery, we can study these organisms, and learn their ways of living without oxygen. Possibly, we can then maybe apply this "way to live without oxygen" to perhaps our lives. There have been concerns that currently there are too many people on the earth, which will lead to the lack of resources on the earth soon, since humans are using so much resources. One of the resource would be oxygen, and if we find a way to live without oxygen, we can decrease the usage of oxygen, which could save people in the future. In conclusion, I think this discovery is the discovery that I think would be useful to the community and society in the future, and I insist this discovery to advance into researches for the goods of people.

Article: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/04/08/tech-animals-no-oxygen.html

Solar plane prototype in first test flight

A prototype solar-powered airplane had made its first full test flight. This airplane, Solar Impulse, has wingspan similar to a super-jumbo jet but it weighs about the same as a saloon car. It took off from Swiss airfield, and witnesses say both the take-off and landing were successfully done. This project of solar-powered airplane is being led by a "round-the-world balloonist Bertrand Piccard, and he is planning to pilot the plane along with his co-funder Andre Borschberg. The wings of the plane is covered by solar cells which powers four electric motors to fly. It is so far one of the lightest airplanes ever invented, so that the plane uses as less energy as possible to fly. A night flight is planned for later this year, then a new plane will be built based on these test flight results. The pilots will try a transatlantic flight in 2012 before attempting circumnavigating the Earth.

I hope this new invention passes through the test flights well so that we have an environment-friendly plane in the future. Since the solar energy is infinite, we would not have to worry about depletion of sources of energy. However, I am a little worried if the plane would be in similar quality as the planes we have. Today, the airplanes are very fast and could be big or small. The fuel used by the airplanes are very powerful, but I'm not sure if the solar plane could have the similar power. For now, this is all I know. Therefore, I cannot judge whether it would be popular in the future. Overall, I want this invention to improve and get involved in our life.

Article: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2009/06/26/solar-plane-around-world-swiss-explorer.html

Female suicide bombers blamed in Moscow subway attacks

An incident toook place in Moscow,Russia where female suicide bombers resulted to kill at least 38 people and wounded more than 60 people. "Our preliminary assessment is that this act of terror was committed by a terrorist group from the North Caucasus region," said the Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov after he searched one of the bombed sites. He considers this incident the most likely scenario based on investigations conducted at the site of the blast. Also, it was found out that the suicide bombers were from the North Causasus. As Bortnikov stated, it is most likely that Chechen rebels fighting for independence were behind the strike, even though they have not claimed thier responsibility.

I agree with what U.S. President Obama said about the suicide bombers. I think that violent and terrible terrorist attacks are disregard for human life and they should be stopped. This ruthless assault on innocent civilians of Moscow is a threat to peace-loving people everywhere. Jean-Michel Louboutin, as Interpol's executive director of police services called these actions "despicable and senseless attacks targeting the public"; the assaults that kill or wound innocent people should be thoroughly discussed and solutions to these terrorist acts should be carefully decided.

Article: http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/03/29/russia.subway.explosion/index.html?npt=NP1