Europe |
France to build supermax prison to isolate drug lords and Islamists in Amazon |
2025-05-24 |
[RFI.FR] La Belle France plans to build a maximum-security prison wing for narcos and radicalised Islamists near a former penal colony in its overseas department of French Guiana, sparking outcry among residents and local officials. Kids! Kids! Devil's Island is coming back! The wing will form part of a $450 million prison announced in 2017, which is expected to be completed by 2028 and hold 500 inmates. The prison is to be built in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, a town bordering Suriname that once received prisoners shipped by Napoleon III in the 1800s, some of whom were sent to the notorious Devil's Island off the coast of French Guiana. French Justice Minister G rald Darmanin announced plans to build the high-security wing during an official visit to French Guiana on Saturday, saying: "I have decided to establish La Belle France's third high-security prison in Guiana." DRUG TRAFFICKING Darmanin was quoted by French weekly newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche as saying that the prison also aims to keep suspected narcos from having any contact with their criminal networks. French prison attack probe shifts from terrorism to narco gangs ''We are seeing more and more drug trafficking networks,'' he told news hounds. "My strategy is simple — hit organised crime at all levels. Here in Guiana, at the start of the drug trafficking route. In mainland La Belle France, by neutralising the network leaders. And all the way to consumers. This prison will be a safeguard in the war against narcotrafficking." Darmanin, who forged a reputation for a tough stance on drugs in his previous role as interior minister, added that the prison's location "will serve to permanently isolate the heads of drug trafficking networks" since "they will no longer be able to contact their criminal networks". He also said in a Facebook post that 15 of the wing's 60 spaces would be reserved for Islamic murderous Moslems. French media, quoting the Justice ministry, reported that people from French Guiana and French Caribbean territories would be sent in priority to the new prison. |
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Science & Technology |
Scientists have discovered signs of possible life outside the solar system |
2025-04-18 |
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. [Regnum] Scientists have discovered signs of possible biological activity beyond the Solar System. This was reported on April 17 by the press service of the University of Cambridge. ![]() It is noted that chemical traces of two rare gases were found in the atmosphere of the exoplanet K2-18b - dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and dimethyl disulfide (DMDS). This was learned thanks to data collected using the James Webb telescope. "On Earth, DMS and DMDS are produced only by life, primarily microorganisms such as marine phytoplankton. Although the source of these molecules in K2-18b's atmosphere may be an unknown chemical process, the results provide the strongest evidence yet that life can exist on a planet outside our solar system," the paper says. The scientists also said that the findings are not conclusive and that new observations are needed to ensure that the DMS and DMDS findings were not a measurement error. As reported by the Regnum news agency, on March 6, the Metro publication stated that Joe McMonigle, who participated in a secret project of the US Department of Defense, saw evidence of life on Mars. It was noted that between 1978 and 1995, the man was engaged in telepathic research that led him to a planet one million years before our era. There he saw a giant pyramid in which very tall and thin beings in strange clothes were hiding from a powerful storm. Then he told how he saw other areas of Mars where there were supposedly bones and ruins of buildings. |
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MNRAS: Powerful shockwave from colliding galaxies reaches Earth |
2024-11-23 |
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.![]() According to scientists, the collision occurred in a group of galaxies called Stephan's Quintet, located 290 million light years from Earth. Marina Arnaudova, an astrophysicist from the British University of Hertfordshire, clarified that the galaxy NGC 7318b crashed into a debris field and compressed plasma and gas. "The intruder reactivated the plasma, causing it to glow brightly at radio frequencies and likely triggered the star formation process," she added. The event, scientists say, is a "rare chance" for humanity to see a complex combination of colliding galaxies. It could provide valuable insights into how visible galaxies form. As reported by IA Regnum, on October 31, the European Southern Observatory presented an image of a nebula called the "Dark Wolf Nebula" because its silhouette resembles the figure of a predator. Scientists discovered it in the constellation Scorpius. The nebula is located approximately 5,300 light years from Earth. Earlier, NASA's James Webb telescope captured two galaxies, NGC 2936 and NGC 2937, which together formed a figure resembling a penguin with an egg. It was noted that the "egg" and "penguin" have been approaching each other for tens of millions of years and will eventually merge into one galaxy. |
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Spaceplane developer Reaction Engines goes bankrupt |
2024-11-11 |
[SpaceNews dot com] Reaction Engines Ltd., a British company that has worked for decades on an air-breathing rocket engine for spaceplanes and other hypersonic vehicles, has filed for bankruptcy. The company formally entered administration, a process under United Kingdom law to allow for the restructuring or liquidation of companies in financial distress, on Oct. 31 after attempts to raise additional funding fell through. PricewaterhouseCoopers has been appointed as administrators of the company during the process, and under U.K. law has eight weeks to develop a plan to restructure or sell the company, or else liquidate its assets. As part of the company’s administration process, most of its approximately 200 employees have been laid off. An industry source said that, given the company’s struggles to raise money, the most likely course of action will be liquidation. The company, founded in 1989, is best known for the Synergetic Air Breathing Rocket Engine (SABRE), an engine concept proposed by the company intended for use on spaceplanes that would allow them to reach orbit without the need for boosters. SABRE would use hydrogen and oxygen, taking oxygen from the air through a unique “precooler” design at lower altitudes and speeds and switching to onboard supplies of liquid oxygen as it ascended towards orbit. The company proposed using SABRE on a spaceplane called Skylon, a single-stage vehicle that could carry 17 tons to low Earth orbit. Work on Skylon did not advance beyond the conceptual stage, and the company acknowledged that development of Skylon would have cost more than $10 billion. Reaction Engines continued to work on key technologies for SABRE, securing relatively modest government awards like an $11 million grant from the European Space Agency in 2016. Large aerospace companies, including BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce, invested in the company as it sought other applications for SABRE and its technology, such as for hypersonic vehicles. The company established an American subsidiary, Reaction Engines Inc., which set up a facility at the Colorado Air and Space Port, an airport east of Denver, for testing elements of SABRE technology like its precooler. That subsidiary is also included in the administration. Related: European Space Agency: 2024-04-17 Scientists have found the largest black hole in the Milky Way European Space Agency: 2023-03-26 Large asteroid to zoom between Earth and Moon European Space Agency: 2022-09-24 James Webb Space telescope captures striking view of Neptune's rings Related: BAE Systems 07/24/2024 British Army Chief Walker Calls on West to Prepare for War in Three Years BAE Systems 06/04/2024 Ukrainian Perspective: Invasion of Ukraine: June 3, 2024 BAE Systems 05/03/2024 Echoing US encampments, anti-Israel students across Britain launch campus protests Related: Rolls-Royce 07/09/2024 Jury Awards $687,000 to Scientist Fired for Refusing the Vax Rolls-Royce 01/06/2024 Major Democrat Just Found Guilty – She's Going Down for 1 Major Crime Against Taxpayers Rolls-Royce 12/21/2023 Former city attorney, police officer found guilty of spending PPP funds on Rolls Royce, jewelry |
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European Southern Observatory Releases Image of Dark Wolf Nebula |
2024-11-01 |
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. [Regnum] On October 31, the European Southern Observatory (ESO) presented an image of a nebula dubbed the Dark Wolf Nebula because its silhouette resembles the figure of a predator. This was reported on the institution's portal. The nebula was discovered in the constellation Scorpius and is located approximately 5,300 light years from Earth. It is noted that it is actually part of an even larger nebula called Gum 55. Its image was obtained using the VLT Survey Telescope (VST) at ESO's Paranal Observatory in Chile. The picture was made up of images taken at different times, each of which was equipped with a filter that passed a different color. In total, about 500 million Milky Way objects were examined during the photometric study. Nebulae are cold cosmic clouds that absorb visible light and allow only long-wavelength radiation to pass through. These objects are of interest to astronomers because they are often the birthplace of forming stars. On July 13, Regnum News Agency reported that NASA's James Webb telescope captured two galaxies, NGC 2936 and NGC 2937, which together form a figure resembling a penguin with an egg. It is noted that the "egg" and "penguin" have been approaching each other for tens of millions of years and will eventually merge into one galaxy. |
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Nasa JWST discovers first of its kind ''steam planet'' |
2024-10-15 |
[GEO.TV] New observations by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa's) James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) suggested a nearby alien exoplanet is shrouded in a thick envelope of steam. This world, which is located around 100 light-years away from the Earth, has been designated as GJ 9827 d, reported Space. It is around twice the size of the Earth and three times more massive than our planet with an atmosphere almost entirely composed of water vapour. "This is the first time we're ever seeing something like this," team member and former University of Michigan undergraduate student Eshan Raul, currently at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, stated. "The planet appears to be made mostly of hot water vapour, making it something we're calling a 'steam world.' To be clear, this planet isn't hospitable to at least the types of life that we're familiar with on Earth,'' the statement added. It is worth noting that astronomers have long assumed that "steam worlds" like GJ 9827 d could exist, however, this is the first time such an exoplanet has been observed. This planet is unlikely to support life, at least as we understand it, but it could help astronomers study other small exoplanets between the size of Earth and Neptune that are habitable, according to Raul. |
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Astronauts Are |
2024-07-25 |
[TheAtlqntic] Before Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams took off for the International Space Station in early June, NASA removed some of their suitcases from their Boeing-made spacecraft. The ISS was in urgent need of a new pump for the system that recycles urine into water, so the personal items had to go. There’s no laundry on the ISS, but no matter. For their inaugural mission on Boeing’s Starliner, Butch and Suni, as the astronauts are known, were planning to stay on the space station for only about a week. But one week turned into another, and then another, and then seven. Before Starliner launched, NASA had set a 45-day deadline for keeping the spacecraft in orbit for the sake of the capsule’s batteries, which hadn’t been tested in space yet. Today is day 48. According to NASA officials, the batteries are still performing well, and Starliner could remain docked to the space station as late as mid-August while the agency and its aerospace contractor troubleshoot issues with the spacecraft... Related: International Space Station: 2024-07-22 Nasa all set to replace ISS with SpaceX's 'Axiom Space' International Space Station: 2024-07-01 ISS orbit was adjusted for the autumn crew changeover International Space Station: 2024-06-24 Astronauts Stranded in Space as Boeing Starliner Faces Multiple Issues |
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NASA's James Webb Telescope Captures Unusual Space Object |
2024-07-14 |
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. [Regnum] A photograph of two galaxies, NGC 2936 and NGC 2937, in the shape of a penguin with an egg, taken by the James Webb Space Telescope, was published by NASA on July 12 in the telescope's official account on the social network X. ![]() "Penguins are great parents, even in space. <…> This new Webb image shows two galaxies: Penguin (NGC 2936) and the Egg (NGC 2937). <…> They are in a cosmic embrace, connected by a bluish haze of stars and gases," the caption to the photo explains. In addition, the publication says that the "egg" and "penguin" have been approaching each other for tens of millions of years and will eventually merge into one galaxy. At the moment, the distance between NGC 2936 and NGC 2937 is 25 times smaller than between the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxy, which is closest to it. NASA timed the publication to coincide with the second anniversary of the first images taken by the James Webb Space Telescope. To date, it is the largest and most powerful telescope ever launched by humanity. The telescope is an orbiting infrared observatory, it was launched on December 25, 2021, and its first scientific research began in the summer of 2022. Related: James Webb Space Telescope 01/19/2024 US astronomers have discovered the oldest black hole ever observed. James Webb Space Telescope 01/13/2023 James Webb Telescope discovers planet 'almost exactly' the same as Earth only 41 light years away James Webb Space Telescope 09/24/2022 James Webb Space telescope captures striking view of Neptune's rings |
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US astronomers have discovered the oldest black hole ever observed. |
2024-01-19 |
Direct Translation via Google Translate. And no it's not the Democrat National Committee. [Regnum] Astronomers have discovered the oldest black hole ever observed, dating back to the beginning of the Universe. The discovery is reported on the website of the University of Cambridge, which conducted the study. "An international team used the James Webb Space Telescope to detect a black hole that formed 400 million years after the Big Bang, more than 13 billion years ago," the researchers said. The massiveness of the black hole, several million times the mass of the Sun, has called into question assumptions about the formation and growth of black holes. The universe was not yet a billion years old when this hole was discovered. As reported by IA Regnum, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Director of the Institute of Space Research (IKI) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Anatoly Petrukovich said that powerful flares on the Sun, leading to disruption of communications and disruptions in the operation of electrical networks on Earth, will continue until 2025, as now The sun is going through a period of high activity. There is no reason to believe that the Amaterasu particle, which was discovered by astrophysicists from the Telescope Array project, could be of artificial origin. This was stated by Professor, Head of the Department of Physics and Evolution of Stars at the Institute of Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences Dmitry Vibe. |
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James Webb Telescope discovers planet 'almost exactly' the same as Earth only 41 light years away |
2023-01-13 |
Yeah? That's what they said about Planet Four, and look how that turned out. by Rachel Lang [UNILAD] NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has locked eyes with a planet that could one day be our new home. Okay, that might be jumping the gun just a tad, but LHS 475 b is almost exactly the same size as our home planet, clocking in at 99 per cent of Earth’s diameter. The planet also boasts a rocky dry land, which NASA reckons is also rather similar to Earth. But before we start sending out ships to colonise the planet, NASA needs to ascertain what sort of atmosphere the planet has. We also need a significant development in technology to allow humans to travel that far...but that sort of finer detail is future NASA's problem. Space science boffins haven't yet been able to conclude what the planet's atmosphere is made out of. They have, however, been able to rule out what it isn't. Basically, they've concluded the atmosphere is not made up of a thick methane, similar to Titan, one of Saturn's moons. Astrophysics Division director at NASA Headquarters Mark Clampin said the telescope's first discovery of a new planet will open multiple avenues for researchers trying to understand what lies amongst the stars. |
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Real-life Deep Impact: NASA will intentionally crash a spacecraft into an asteroid at 15,000mph TODAY - and the method could one day save Earth from a deadly impact |
2022-09-26 |
Related: NASA: 2022-09-25 President Zelensky confirms in an interview with CBS News that the first NASAMS advanced air defence system has been delivered to Ukraine NASA: 2022-09-25 NASA will intentionally crash a spacecraft into an asteroid at 15,000mph on Monday NASA: 2022-09-24 James Webb Space telescope captures striking view of Neptune's rings |
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James Webb Space telescope captures striking view of Neptune's rings |
2022-09-24 |
Webb’s image managed to reveal the distant planet’s delicate rings. The last time astronomers had such a clear view of the farthest planet from the sun was when NASA’s Voyager 2 became the first and only space probe to fly past the ice giant for just a few hours in 1989. Now Webb’s unprecedented infrared imaging capabilities has provided a new glimpse into Neptune’s atmosphere, said Mark McCaughrean, a senior advisor for science and exploration at the European Space Agency. The telescope "takes all that glare and background away" so that "we can start to tease out the atmospheric composition" of the planet, McCaughrean, who has worked on the Webb project for more than 20 years, told AFP. Neptune appears as deep blue in previous images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope due to methane in its atmosphere. However, it's easy to be generous with someone else's money... the near-infrared wavelengths captured by Webb’s primary imager NIRCam shows the planet as a greyish white, with icy clouds streaking the surface. "The rings are more reflective in the infrared," McCaughrean said, "so they’re much easier to see." The image also shows an "intriguing brightness" near the top of Neptune, NASA said in a statement. Because the planet is tilted away from Earth and takes 164 years to orbit the Sun, astronomers have not yet had a good look at its north pole. Webb also spotted seven of Neptune’s 14 known moons. |
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