GLOBAL VOLCANISM: The Global Volcano Report For April 27-28, 2013 - Updates On Etna, Stromboli, Batu Tara, Santa María, Santiaguito, Pacaya And Sangay!

April 28, 2013 - WORLDWIDE VOLCANOES - The following constitutes the new activity, unrest and ongoing reports of volcanoes across the globe.

Etna (Sicily, Italy): Activity is now increasing towards a new paroxysm from the New SE crater. Strong strombolian-type explosions, probably accompanied by effusion of small lava flows continued all night from the New SE crater and produced strong glow visible through the fog around the summit.

Lava fountains from the New SE crater (Etna Trekking webcam).

Rumblings were heard in nearby villages, but fog and clouds have been preventing detailed observations. The tremor has risen to high levels comparable with those during previous paroxysms, then decreased a bit and seems now to increase again. This pattern looks very similar to the 12 April paroxysm, one which was preceded by a long phase of very strong explosions, that culminated in lava fountaining only after the tremor had reached its peak.

View from Schiena dell'Asino (Etra Trekking webcam).

Activity has continued to increase with near continuous strong strombolian explosions from the New SE crater, but it seems that the climax of the paroxysm with sustained lava fountains is yet to come, possibly very soon. The tremor has reached higher levels than during most of the previous paroxysms, but still rises.

Tremor signal (ESLN station, INGV).

Judging from the webcam images, lava fountains have now started, i.e. the main phase of the paroxysm has begun. A denser plume is rising from the New SE crater. Tremor continues to climb steeply. The 13th New SE crater paroxysm is occurring this evening.

Located roughly 25 kilometers (15 miles) north-northwest of Sicily’s second-largest city, Mount Etna is a stratovolcano composed of layers of rocks, lava, and volcanic ash left by earlier eruptions. The summit reaches an altitude of 3,330 meters (10,925 feet) above sea level. People have lived around Etna for millennia, so scientists have one of the longest documented records of activity of any volcano in the world—dating back to 1500 B.C.
Image: NASA Earth Observatory.

Tall lava fountains rise from the central vent of the cone, and a lava flow has rapidly descended the slope into Valle del Bove. A dense tephra plume is rising several kilometers above the volcano and drifting to the NE where ash- and lapilli fall is occurring.


Stromboli (Eolian Islands, Italy): An increase in activity occurred yesterday. Lava started to effuse from one or two vents at the base of and on the outer flank below the NE hornito. It is currently extending on the upper part of the Sciara and produces strong rockfalls that reach the sea.

This morning's seismic signal from Stromboli (ST8 station, INGV).

Thermal webcam image of the crater area of Stromboli (INGV).

The seismic signal shows increased tremor and continuous rockfalls on the Sciara, as well as large explosion signals at intervals of approx 15-30 minutes.


Batu Tara (Sunda Islands, Indonesia): Ash plumes rising to 7,000 ft (2.1) km elevation from relatively strong strombolian activity were reported both yesterday and today. (VAAC Darwin)

Santa María / Santiaguito (Guatemala): The rate and size of explosions from the lava dome has risen a bit when compared to the previous week.

Eruption plume from Santiaguito yesterday morning.

Some of the explosions, about 1-2 per hour, produce plumes almost 1 km high.

Pacaya (Guatemala): Weak strombolian activity from the Mackenney crater, well visible at night, continues and has been showing a gradual increase over the past days.

Current seismogram from Pacaya (PCG station, INSIVUMEH).

This is also evident from the seismic recording. Some explosions can be heard in up to 3 km distance.

Fuego (Guatemala): The effusive eruptive activity continues to increase slowly. Two branches of the lava flow advanced to 500 m length towards the Ceniza and 400 m length to the Taniluyá canyon. Rockfalls from the flow fronts produce incandescent avalanches that reach the vegetation line.

At the summit, strombolian activity has been weaker today, but continues with infrequent small explosion that eject bombs to 100 m height and produce small ash plumes.

View of fire yesterday morning.

Activity has been increasing. Continuous stronger tremor today suggests an increase in effusion rate today. In INSIVUMEH's report from yesterday, the new lava flow was 400 m long and produced small avalanches towards the Ash Canyon. The number of explosions rose to 17, producing gray ash plumes rising 600 m above the crater and drifting 8-10 km to the west and SW. They were accompanied by weak rumblings and locomotive-like degassing sounds. Incandescent material was seen rising 100-200 m at night.

Sangay (Ecuador): Brief ash emissions were reported observed through satellite yesterday around noon. Ash plumes rose to about 25,000 ft (7.6 km) altitude or about 2 km above the volcano.

There is no ground monitoring, and only rarely direct observations become available from the very remote and difficult-to-access volcano. It is likely that usually small strombolian-type activity has been going on in the summit crater for some time. This activity usually goes unnoticed, unless explosions occasionally increase and produce more significant ash plumes such as yesterday.


Complete Earthquake list (worldwide) for April 27, 2013.


- Volcano Discovery.

ICE AGE NOW: Global Cooling Across The World - The U.S. Experiences Second Coolest Spring On Record; 79% Of The US Below Normal Temperature In 2013; Saskatchewan Has Coldest Spring In A Century; Unprecedented Ice Conditions In Alaska; Europe-Wide Snow Accumulation For Next 3 Days!

April 28, 2013 - EARTH - What may have been Saskatchewan's snowiest winter ever is being followed now by the coldest spring in more than a century.

Saskatchewan Has Coldest Spring In A Century.

It's been a record-cold spring so far in many Saskatchewan communities. On April 11, Regina's Wascana Park was still snowbound. (CBC)

On Monday morning, cold weather records for the day were broken in at least 12 communities, according to Environment Canada.

Among the colder communities was Weyburn, where it dipped to –13.6 C, shattering the old record for April 22 of –7.2.

Regina dipped below -10 Monday morning and crept up to 0 C later in the day. That compares with a high of about 21 a year earlier. The temperature dropped to – 15 C overnight.

For Tuesday, Environment Canada forecast a high of 3 C in Regina, compared with a normal of 15 C.

It's been the coldest March and April in 113 years, according to Environment Canada's senior climatologist David Phillips.

"You have to go back to the early 1900s to find a temperature that was as cold on this morning in both Regina and Saskatoon and I'm sure in many other parts of the province," he said.

A lack of warm air coming up from the U.S. this spring is part of the trouble, Phillips said.

Another problem is the extensive snow cover, which is reflecting a lot more sunlight than usual. That's been keeping the ground from warming up.

Ten days from now, he says, Saskatchewan may start to see the temperatures inch up toward more seasonal values.

In fact, May and June should be warmer than normal, Phillips said. - CBC.

U.S. Experiences Second Coolest Spring On Record.

The only year when the spring started colder was 1975.

79% Of The US Below Normal Temperature In 2013.

Europe-Wide Snow Accumulation For Next 3 Days.

Animated Europe-wide Snow Map

Unprecedented Ice Conditions In Alaska.

Ice Conditions and Measurements for Alaska.

WAR DRUMS: Tensions Mount On The Korean Peninsula - North Korea Set To Stage Major Military Drill!

April 28, 2013 -KOREAN PENINSULA - North Korea appears to be gearing up for a major military exercise, a report said on Sunday, amid tensions over an expected missile test and South Korea’s pullout from a joint industrial complex.

Preparations are under way near the North’s western port of Nampo for a combined live-fire drill involving artillery units and air force jets, the South’s Yonhap news agency said, citing a Seoul government source.

A North Korean soldier salutes the missile on its launch platform. (Photo courtesy: The Associated Press)

“It appears that the scale of the drill will be quite big,” the unnamed official was quoted as saying, voicing fears of military provocations against the South or a missile test by Pyongyang during the exercise.

A North Korean artillery attack on a South Korean island in November 2010 killed four people. Seoul also holds Pyongyang responsible for the sinking of one of its naval vessels with the loss of 46 sailors the same year.

WATCH: Joint US-S. Korea war games amid growing nuclear tension.

Angered by new United Nations sanctions over its third nuclear test in February and joint South Korea-U.S. military drills -- due to end on Tuesday -- the North has for weeks been issuing threats of missile strikes and nuclear war.

The expected missile launch has kept Seoul and Washington on heightened alert for the past month, particularly on key dates such as the founding anniversary of the North’s military and the birth of its late founding leader.

But Pyongyang, which has a habit of linking high-profile military tests with key dates, celebrated the key dates without the test, fanning speculations that the wait may even take months.

WATCH: South Korea holds emergency meeting on Kaesong Industrial Zone.

WATCH: North Korea rejects South's Kaesong deadline.

Another Seoul military official quoted by Yonhap said the communist North may try to “fan military tension” after South Korea pulls out all its remaining workers from a jointly run factory park.

Kaesong -- built in 2004 just north of the border as a rare symbol of inter-Korea cooperation and a valued source of hard currency for the impoverished North -- has fallen victim to the growing cross-border tensions.

Seoul on Friday announced that it would withdraw all of its remaining workers from the site after Pyongyang rejected its ultimatum to join formal negotiations on restarting the stalled operations.

Dozens of workers returned on Saturday and the remaining 50 are expected to leave on Monday, a move that experts say could lead to the permanent closure of the complex, seen as a bellwether of stability on the Korean peninsula. - Al Arabiya.

TERRORISM, ACCIDENT OR FALSE FLAG EVENT: Massive Explosion Rocks Marathon Detroit Refinery - Forcing A Mandatory Evacuation Order, 1 Injured!

Editor's Note: It's impossible to ignore the symbolic thread being played out here, explosion at the Boston MARATHON and now an explosion at the MARATHON Detroit Refinery. Pure coincidence or pattern?

April 28, 2013 -UNITED STATES  -  A tank containing diesel fuel has exploded during maintenance work at Marathon Detroit Refinery, forcing a mandatory evacuation order for a nearby area. One employee has been injured in the blast, authorities said.

Image from twitter user@itsandychoi.

Reports of the explosion and fire came in just before 6 pm local time.

Authorities on the ground say the explosion injured an employee. The incident occurred during a maintenance check.

Marathon spokesman Shane Pochard tells the Detroit Free Press the small fire Wednesday morning was extinguished quickly and the worker had minor injuries.

Image from facebook.com.

The adjacent city of Melvindale however ordered a partial evacuation due to concerns over air quality from the fire rise. State police also closed ramps from I-75 to Schaefer in both directions.

“Police have blocked Fort Street off by I-75 south … oh my goodness … there’s an ambulance out here, a fireman standing outside, you know, it doesn’t look like they are trying to get close. They are not trying to go in there,” one listener told the local radio station.

Image from instagram user@neavling.

A witness, Dan Taylor told the Detroit News that “I saw the fire ball. The whole top of the tank was on fire and you could see it melted.”

The fire erupted in one of the refinery’s smaller tanks, Pochard told the Detroit Free Press.

Marathon’s own fire crew were battling the flames, along with first responders from Detroit and surrounding areas. At least two trucks at the scene were streaming water and two trucks were streaming foam.

Image from twitter user@Publimetro.

A HazMat team from the Detroit Fire Department and Senior Fire Chief Carl Smith were at the scene as well. The fire was extinguished just before 8 pm local time.

About 300 Marathon employees and additional 300-400 contractors work at the refinery, Peter Brokas, the head of security told the Detroit Free Press. - RT.

WATCH: Detroit Oil Refinery on fire.

PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: China's H7N9 Bird Flu Cases Keep Rising - Mainland Total Reaches 120, 23 Dead; H7N9 Spread To Fujian And Nanchang Jiangxi Province! UPDATE: "Nightmare Influenza" - Authorities Should Be Alarmed And Prepare For Worst!

April 28, 2013 -CHINA - The number of confirmed H7N9 bird flu cases in mainland China stood at 120 as of yesterday at 7 p.m. Beijing time, according to China National Radio.

The number of dead was 23.

The latest case of the deadly new flu includes the first illness in Hunan Province.

Cases continued to rise after World Health Organization officials this week concluded a trip to China and lauded the country’s efforts to control the deadly new flu.

Consumers have been wary of chicken, even though the government says cooked meat is safe. Yum!, the U.S. operator of the KFC fried chicken chain that has relied on China for much of its growth in recent years, has been hit with a decline in KFC sales in the country.

The disease has continued to spread from the eastern China area where it was first discovered. Taiwan also reported its first case this week.  China’s government claims sovereignty over Taiwan, and mainland media have combined Taiwan with the mainland’s H7N9 total number of cases. - Forbes.

H7N9 Spread To Fujian Province.

Fujian Province confirmed case of human infection with H7N9 avian influenza. Patients Luomou, male, 65 years old, Yongding County, Longyan City, Fujian Beizhen. On April 18 patients no obvious incentive to repeated coughing, with active chest tightness, fever. At 14:50 on the 23rd "cough, sputum, fever, shortness of breath two days," the chief complaint of stay in Longyan City Hospital. The provinces and expert consultation diagnosis of severe pneumonia, human infection of H7N9 avian influenza be diagnosed. Given anti-viral treatment, non-invasive respiratory support and comprehensive treatment of Chinese medicine, the condition has improved.

Chinese Center for Disease Control at 11 o'clock on the April 26 review of test results for the H7N9 avian influenza virus nucleic acid positive.

The above translation describes the first confirmed H7N9 bird flu case in Fujian province. This case (65M) represents a significant geographic spread. This week cases were reported for the first time in Shandong and Jiangxi Provinces, which represented an incremental spread. Similarly, the detection of the case in Taiwan represented an infection that originated in Jiangsu, just north of Shanghai.

However, the confirmation of H7N0 represents a significant jump, and the upcoming May 1 travel will likely spread H7N9 throughout China and beyond.

Although the sequences from human cases are closely related to those found in birds in live markets, the human PB2 sequences contain mammalian adaptation changes (E627K or D701N) signaling human to human transmission.

The movement of such changes to Fujian Province raises serious pandemic concerns. - Recombinomics.

H7N9 Spreads To Nanchang Jiangxi.

Health authorities in east China's Jiangxi Province late on Thursday confirmed the province's first human case of H7N9 avian influenza.

A 69-year-old man surnamed Xiong, a local retiree in the provincial capital of Nanchang, showed symptoms of high fever, tight chest and diarrhea, and was admitted to the No. 3 Hospital in Nanchang, according to a statement issued by the provincial health department.

Xiong is in critical condition, said the statement.

The above translation describes the first confirmed H7N9 bird flu case (69M) in Jiangxi Province. As seen in the updated map, this new case represents an incremental spread of H7N9, radiating out from Shanghai.

However, H7N9 has now been confirmed in Fujian province (see map), representing a significant spread of H7N9. - Recombinomics.

WATCH: WHO Says H7N9 is "Most Lethal" Bird Flu Virus.

H7N9 - Authorities Should Be Alarmed - Prepare For Worst.

While U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention director Tom Frieden suggests there is no cause for panic over the H7N9 influenza strain and says that Americans, “go about their daily lives,” this unusually dangerous virus has concerned officials at the CDC to such an extent that they are rapidly working to develop an effective vaccine in the event it makes its way to North America.

According to the World Health Organization, the H7N9 bird flu virus is one the most lethal influenza strains ever identified. The first case appeared in China in late February and has since spread to scores of others, with at least 109 cases having been reported to WHO thus far, 22 of which have resulted in death. This amounts to a kill rate of 20%. These are laboratory confirmations, so in all likelihood there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of others who may be infected with the virus that haven’t received medical attention.

In the last 24 hours officials in Taiwan confirmed the first case of the virus outside of China. The patient was originally hospitalized on April 12, but confirmation of the virus did not come until nearly two weeks later, suggesting that the official numbers and the reality on the ground are starkly different.
Moreover, as reported by WHO, half of the H7N9 cases identified are individuals who have had no prior contact with poultry.

If true, this would be strong evidence that H7N9 has already achieved “human-to-human transmission,” turning it into a “nightmare influenza” that might already be spreading across the population.

That status is not proven yet, however, and more observation is needed before such a conclusion could be substantiated.

“If H7N9 were to stably adapt to humans, it would probably meet with little or no human immunity,” writes Peter Horby from Nature.com. “Detecting and tracking a partially human-adapted H7N9 virus in a city as vast as Shanghai or Beijing would be difficult; tracking a fully adapted virus would be impossible. And it could easily spread nationally and internationally.”

Source: Natural News

While transmission between humans is not yet confirmed, the South China Morning Post cites a frightening study that suggests the virus is  mutating at an alarming rate:

The new bird flu could be mutating up to eight times faster than an average flu virus around a protein that binds it to humans, a team of research scientists in Shenzhen says.
Dr He Jiankui, an associate professor at South University of Science and Technology of China, said yesterday that the authorities should be alarmed by the results of their research and step up monitoring and control efforts to prevent a possible pandemic.
…
“It happened in just one or two weeks. The speed may not have caught up with the HIV, but it’s quite unusual for a flu.”
The fast mutation makes the virus’ evolutionary development very hard to predict. “We don’t know whether it will evolve into something harmless or dangerous,” He said. “Our samples are too limited. But the authorities should definitely be alarmed and get prepared for the worst-case scenario.“

It’s impossible for the general public to know how this virus has mutated. Government officials in China are not sharing any specific details, and as noted, there are significant delays between the time a patient enters the hospital and when the virus is confirmed as H7N9.

Furthermore, if this virus has become transmittable by way of human to human contact it’s likely that government officials, in an effort to prevent panic, will wait as long as possible before they disseminate information to the public.

There is not much we can do unless we know it’s coming. The evidence thus far indicates the virus is continuing to spread. We really don’t know if it has gone human-to-human, and we may not know until it’s too late.

The Chinese study cited above suggests that authorities start preparing for a worst-case scenario.
We suggests individuals do the same and take steps now to prepare for a pandemic.

Stay up to date with information as it becomes available. If it’s confirmed that humans can pass this to each other, then avoid densely populated areas, especially schools, sporting events or any public gatherings. A 20% kill rate is not something to gamble with, so avoiding external human contact should this go critical is key to survival.

With the ease of travel across the globe, it won’t take long at all for this virus to appear in every major city on the planet.

The Black Death wiped out nearly one-third of Europe’s population in the mid 1300′s (incidentally, this plague reportedly started in China). The Spanish Flu infected half a billion people across the globe and killed upwards of 50 million in the early 1900′s.

It’s only a matter of time before the next mass pandemic makes its way across the world, and all of our technological advancements and modern day implements will be powerless to stop it. - SHTF Plan.

EXTREME WEATHER: Global Food Crisis - NOAA Declares That 2013 American Drought May Be Worse Than 2012, As Atlantic Ocean Off Northeast United States Experiences Warmest Sea-Surface Temperatures In 150 Years!

April 28, 2013 -UNITED STATES - The historic drought of 2011 and 2012 killed some 500 million trees in Texas, forced ranchers to slaughter cattle early, slowed barge traffic on the Mississippi River, just to mention a few negative economic impacts.

Bert Kaufmann/CC BY 2.0

Unfortunately, Suzanne Goldenberg at The Guardian reports that 2013 may be even worse, according to early forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA):

Last year produced the hottest year since record keeping began more than a century ago, with several weeks in a row of 100+degree days. It also brought drought to close to 65% of the country by summer's end.
...
But even the heavy snowfalls some parts of the country have seen were not enough to recharge the soil, the NOAA scientists said.

Despite last year's drought being the "most severe and extensive drought in at least 25 years", we're already off to a worse start than in 2011 or 2012 reports Katherine Bagley at InsideClimate News:

Nearly 80 percent of farmland experienced drought in 2012, with more than 2,000 counties designated disaster areas. By September 2012, 50 percent of the crops being harvested were in poor or very poor condition.

Last year's damaged harvest is expected to raise food prices by as much as 4 percent in 2013, particularly products like beef, which suffered from a lack of available cattle feed and viable foraging options. Overall, the 2012 drought cost an estimated $150 billion in damage, as well as an estimated 0.5 to 1 percent drop in the U.S. gross domestic product.

NOAA hopes that their forecast will encourage farmers to make adjustments to their water usage and growing techniques, but...

Bob Young, the chief economist for the American Farm Bureau Federation, the nation’s largest farm organization, said that while the heads-up may influence some crop decisions, most farmers probably won't pay attention to the scientific findings.

"They know what is going on in their own dirt," Young said. "They tend to watch their own area specifically. Some might choose more soybean than corn since it is more drought tolerant, but overall, I don’t think it will change things much."

Sigh. I guess when your losses are paid for by the government and insurance companies there's less incentive to listen to scientists, learn from recent history and adapt to a changing climate. - Treehugger.

Atlantic Ocean Off Northeast Warmest In 150 Years.

This map shows that many fish stocks have shifted to the north and northeast off northern states in recent years.
Janet Nye, NEFSC/NOAA

Atlantic sea-surface temperatures off the U.S. Northeast coast during the second half of 2012 were the highest recorded in 150 years, according to a report released on April 25 by NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center.

A deviation in average temperature by more than a degree is uncommon; this increase, from the average of 54.3 degrees F. over past 30 years to 57.2 degrees F. in the second half of last year is the highest jump measured. It is also an amount of warming not seen in any other ocean.

Warming ocean temperatures off the Northeast have meant changing distributions of some fish populations; black sea bass and summer flounder are among the species shifting northeastward.

One NOAA scientist said while it’s not yet clear what these findings will mean for the Northeast Shelf ecosystem and its marine life, that ecosystem is changing. - SFM.

PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: Rare, Deadly And Never Seen Before Virus Blamed For South Australian Dolphin Deaths - 25 Dolphins Washed Ashore Dead During Past Few Weeks?!

April 28, 2013 - AUSTRALIA - A DEADLY virus never seen before in South Australian waters is responsible for at least two of the state's recent dolphin deaths, University of Adelaide veterinary pathologists have found.

Post mortem results have revealed the morbillivirus and systemic fungal infection as the cause of the recent deaths of the juvenile dolphins.

This dead young dolphin washed ashore on Seacliff beach last week. Picture: Newsforce Source: adelaidenow

University of Adelaide veterinary pathologist Dr Lucy Woolford said she believed it was the first report of dolphin morbillivirus (DMV) in the state.

"This does raise some concern that more animals will be affected within South Australia in coming months," she said.

"We don't know how big an impact it will have on the local dolphin population, whether it will be sporadic cases or become more widespread."

Dr Woolford conducted post mortems on the dolphins with assistance from Biosecurity SA and the pathology results have now been confirmed.

The viruses have previously caused the deaths of juvenile dolphins in Queensland, northern NSW and Western Australia as well as overseas.


The results of these findings have been provided to a task force set up by the State Government.

Dr Woolford said scientists were unsure how the deadly virus came to South Australian waters, but believed it was probably through other dolphins.

"It's probably not in the water, it's probably animals that carry the virus," she said.

"Any sort of virus disease in a population is a concern if it hasn't been present before.

"It's hard to know what impact it will have animals off our coastline."

Dr Woolford said a closely related virus can affect other animals including sea lions, seals and whales.

"We have to find out how many of these animals are carrying the virus (and if) there are any other contributing factors that are causing the deaths," she said.

"It (the virus) could still be circulating in the population - this may not be the end of the dolphin deaths." - Adelaide Now.


A virus not previously detected in South Australia has been blamed for a spate of dolphin deaths along local beaches.

Veterinary pathologist Lucy Woolford said the morbillivirus and a systemic fungal infection had been detected in two of the young dolphins tested.

They were among 25 found dead and washed up in recent weeks.

She said the discovery raised concerns that more of the animals could die in coming months.

"We don't know how big an impact it will have on the local dolphin population, whether it will be sporadic cases or become more widespread," Dr Woolford said.

Dolphin morbillivirus (DMV) has previously been implicated in the death of juvenile dolphins in Queensland, northern NSW and Western Australia.

Overseas it has been thought to be the cause of die-offs of whales and dolphins.

Around the same time as the dolphin deaths, tens of thousands of small fish also washed up dead along various parts of the SA coastline.

That sparked a wider investigation with scientists later attributing the fish deaths to an algal bloom sparked by unseasonal winds. - 9NEWS.

WAR DRUMS: A Very Thin Red Line - Israel Points Finger At Iran Over Drone From Lebanon As Former IDF Intel Chief And Netanyahu Confidante Says "Iran Has Already Past Nuclear Red Line"!

April 28, 2013 -MIDDLE EAST - The United States has urged Israel to demonstrate restraint in its response to the alleged incursion, according to Lebanese media reports.

Israel Points Finger At Iran Over Drone From Lebanon.

An Israeli navy vessel and helicopter search for the wreckage of the drone shot down by the air force  Photo: AP

"The Israeli military command doesn't treat drones launched from Lebanon lightly, since their goal may be not only taking pictures, but also an assassination of senior officials, military or political," an unnamed Western diplomat is quoted in Nahar newspaper.

The Israeli prime minister was flying across northern Israel when the drone was spotted above the sea on Thursday, 10km west of the port city Haifa. Mr Netanyahu's helicopter was forced to land and was grounded until the Israeli Air Force had secured Israeli air space.

Initial media reports presumed the drone had been launched by Hizbollah. In October last year, the Lebanese militant group has claimed as a great victory their successful piloting of an unmanned drone in the skies above the Israeli Negev for more than half an hour before it was downed, several miles from Israel's Soreq nuclear facility. In fact, the Israeli military had stated only that an unmanned aircraft had been launched "from Lebanon".

Iran's involvement in this cross-border incident, and Washington's pleas for restraint, may explain Benjamin Netanyahu's failure to threaten retaliation for the incursion. The Israeli prime minister said only that he has taken "the attempt to breach our borders very seriously".

According to Syrian rebels and Israeli intelligence, Tehran has poured Revolutionary Guard soldiers into Syria and Lebanon to support its Shiite allies. The Iranian fighters, thought to include several senior commanders, have been tasked with arming and training Syrian soldiers in sophisticated weaponry, such as short and long range missiles, and upgrading Hizbollah's drone capabilities. Arab media outlets have reported that Iran transfers five tonnes of weaponry into Syria every week.

But while drone flights over Israel may be provocative, it is Bashar al-Assad's vast cache of chemical weapons in Syria that are of urgent concern to both Israel and the US. Barak Obama warned the Assad regime on Friday that proof it had used chemical weapons against its people would be a 'game-changer'.

"Israel has laid down a clear red line that if strategic weapons are moved, it will take action. Otherwise it is sticking by the international understanding that there is almost nothing Israel can do that will make the situation better. There is no great appetite in Israel to do anything," a diplomat told The Daily Telegraph. - Telegraph.

Former IDF Intel Chief Says "Iran Has Already Past Nuclear Red Line".

Amos Yadlin, former director of military intelligence, Jan 2012.
(photo credit: Gideon Markowicz/Flash90)

Iran has essentially crossed the “red line” set by Israel for its nuclear activity, and the coming few months will be a crucial period, Maj. Gen. (res.) Amos Yadlin, a former head of IDF Military Intelligence, said on Tuesday. 

Speaking at a security conference in Tel Aviv, Yadlin said that “for all intents and purposes, Iran has crossed Israel’s red line… in the summer, Iran will be a month or two away from deciding about a bomb.”

Unless there is a drastic increase in international pressure on the Islamic Republic, Yadlin said, Iran will continue to expand its nuclear program.  “There won’t be an agreement if there isn’t a price for [not] reaching one,” he added. 

In a speech before the UN last September, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu laid out a “red line” for Iran, and in later interviews he clarified that Iran’s enrichment activities must stop before they produce enough 20%-enriched uranium for a single bomb, some 240 kg. (529 lbs). 

Yadlin said that because of the June Iranian elections, Israel and the West had until then to decide on a military option to destroy or curtail Iran’s nuclear operation, and expressed assurance that Israel was up to the task with or without direct help from the US.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sets out his ‘red line’ for
Iran on a cartoon bomb drawing during a September 27 speech
to the General Assembly (photo credit: Avi Ohayun, GPO)

Also speaking at the Tel Aviv conference, former intelligence and justice minister MK Tzachi Hanegbi said time was running out.  “it’s now or never,” said Hanegbi, but “the option of never does not exist.” 

Hanegbi addressed his comments to US President Barack Obama and said, “You cannot subject your considerations to our needs,” meaning that the US has many other considerations and Israel has to act according to its own imperatives.

The possibility of an Israeli strike on Iran gained additional traction on Monday, when US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon announced in Tel Aviv an unprecedented US sale of advanced military equipment to Israel, including radar systems, missiles, refueling planes and V-22 planes, which would greatly increase the IAF’s capacity to carry out a long-range attack. - Times of Israel.

FIRE IN THE SKY: Major Solar System Disturbance - New Comet, C/2013G9 (TENAGRA), Discovered By Astronomy Students In Hawaii And Australia!

April 28, 2013 - SPACE - Astronomy students at Wakefield's Horbury Academy were in Hawaii and Australia for two nights to stargaze through the remote Faulkes telescope as part of a GCSE project.

They focused their study on a space object that had been observed before as a possible asteroid but its classification had not been formally noted.

The comet was officially registered with the centre and given the name C/2013G9 (TENAGRA) Photo: REUTERS

After studying the data, the group were able to rule out the space matter as an asteroid but also anything that had previously been discovered.

The Year 11 pupils sent off their analysis to the Minor Planet Centre in Massachusetts and were amazed to be told they had discovered a new comet.

The comet was officially registered with the centre and given the name C/2013G9 (TENAGRA).

Teacher Paul Campbell, a keen amateur astronomer, said the group couldn't believe they had managed to discover the new space object.

"The students are absolutely buzzing they just can't believe it," he said. "When we started this project never in their wildest dreams did they think they would discover a comet.

Cbet nr. 3478, issued on 2013, April 19, announces the discovery of a apparently asteroidal object (discovery magnitude ~19.6) by M. Schwartz and P. R. Holvorcem on CCD images obtained with the Tenagra II 0.41-m f/3.75 astrograph located near Nogales, AZ, U.S.A. After posting on the Minor Planet Center’s NEOCP webpage, this apparently asteroidal object has been found to show cometary features by our team. Stacking of 12 R-filtered exposures, 50-sec each, obtained remotely from Haleakala-Faulkes Telescope North on 2013, April 18.4, through a 2.0-m f/10.0 Ritchey-Chretien + CCD (operated by LCOGT), shows that this object is a comet: compact coma about 5” in diameter elongated toward PA 110.

"There are a few teams around the world using these telescopes but there was only one comet discovered in March so it is really quite a rare event to discover something new.

"It had been observed earlier as a possible asteroid. But we did some checks and reduced the data which ruled out any object which had already been discovered."

Mr Campbell added: "They will be sitting their exams in four weeks time so it's a great boost for them."

The students made the find the final weekend for their GCSE project. - Telegraph.

ENDANGERED SPECIES: Large-Scale Industrial Poaching - Central Africa Elephant Population Down 62% In Ten Years; Nearly 5,000 Lost Between 2009 And 2011?!

April 28, 2013 - CENTRAL AFRICA - Poaching on an "industrial" scale has slashed the elephant population in the countries of central Africa by nearly two-thirds, a group of international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) said on Friday.

A Kenya Wildlife Services ranger stands guard in front of an illegal ivory stockpile in Nairobi on July 20, 2011. Poaching on an "industrial" scale has slashed the elephant population in the countries of central Africa by nearly two-thirds, a group of international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) said on Friday.

"A recent study shows that the population of forest elephants has dropped by almost two-thirds or 62 percent in the past 10 years, victims of large-scale ivory poaching," the group of eight NGOs said in a statement.

"The situation is dramatic and worrying. It's very dangerous," Jerome Mokoko, assistant director of the Wildlife Conservation Society, told reporters at a news conference in Brazzaville.

"Nearly 5,000 elephants have been lost in the northern zone of Congo between 2009 and 2011," said Mokoko.

He added there were 80,000 elephants in the Central African Republic just 30 years ago but their number has been reduced to just a few thousand.

"The Democratic Republic of Congo alone is home to 70 percent of the elephant population of central Africa. But now there are only between 7,000 and 10,000 elephants in the DRC," Mokoko said.

Jules Caron, head of communications for the World Wildlife Fund in central Africa, said the elephant poaching situation had changed "dramatically."

"We are no longer talking about small-scale poaching but poaching on an industrial scale, all run by highly organised and well-armed gangs of international criminals," added Caron.

The NGOs said poachers were seizing on weapons, especially Kalashnikov rifles that have become widespread due to several civil wars flaring in the region.

"The ivory trade begins and ends in south-east Asia, notably China and Thailand, respectively the world's biggest consumer and the world's biggest legal ivory market," Caron told AFP.

He called on heads of state to "take on the fight against poaching, criminal activity surrounding animal parts and illegal trade in wild species."- PHYSORG.

MASS FISH DIE-OFF: Hundreds Of Fish Found Dead In River Stour, Ashford, England?!

April 28, 2013 - ENGLAND - Hundreds of dead fish have been found in the River Stour after a potential diesel spill, sparking an investigation by the Environment Agency.

The agency has confirmed that pollution caused the death of the fish, which were found floating in the river near Ashford last Wednesday.

Ashford Angling Society's fishery officer, Alan Sandom, said members had reported seeing them near the Riverside Inn.

He said: "A couple of our young members were watching a pike swim up and start taking some smaller fish floating on the surface – then the pike died too.

"They called me and I called the Environment Agency.

"There were some very large chubb, pike and perch, and they have all gone belly-up.

"I'm not very happy. It could have been an accident, but sometimes there will be someone disposing of waste materials with no consideration for the environment, and I find that very sad."

A spokesman for the Environment Agency said: "We had in excess of 200 dead fish."

As part of the Environment Agency investigation, an officer took water samples, the results of which are expected in the next few days.

GUTTED: Alan Sandom, fishery officer for the Ashford Angling Society Picture: Andy Jones.

Mr Sandom, who has been the society's fishery officer for 30 years, said he had seen a similar incident in the Stour many years ago when someone had thrown battery acid into the river.

On that occasion, he said, they did not catch the culprit but the Environment Agency spokesman said there was a chance of a prosecution in this case, depending on the results of the investigation. - This is Kent.

MASS BIRD DIE-OFF: Hundreds Of Birds Die Of Starvation After Spring Snowstorm In Colorado!

April 28, 2013 - UNITED STATES - Local wildlife officials have determined an estimated one to two hundred dead robins and other similar bird species that have been found in the area died of starvation due to the recent snowstorms.

It is unclear whether the birds were resident birds of the area or early migrators that were traveling through the area and were caught in the recent snowstorms.

Information about large numbers of dead or dying species can be reported to Colorado Parks and Wildlife by contacting the Hot Sulphur Springs office at 970-725-6200.

“It's not uncommon in robin populations to have a wide up and down, it's actually rather typical,” said District Wildlife Manager Mike Crosby. “Nature always persists.” The robin population should have no problem recovering from the incident, he said.

It is believed the recent snowfall covered the bird's food source and caused the birds to starve.

Robins survive mostly on insects, Crosby said. And due to the snow they were not able to get to the ground to retrieve food to keep up with their energy demands and subsequently starved to death.

Enough birds died to raise concerns about a possible outbreak of a disease, said Michelle Cowardin, a wildlife conservation biologist for Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

“When anything like this happens we want to get them to the lab to see if there is a disease problem,” Crosby said. “But this was pretty obvious.”

Necropsies completed on six birds revealed the cause of death to be starvation, Crosby said.

Anytime there are severe weather spells in the spring, wildlife populations can be affected. “We will still have plenty of robins,” Crosby said.

Wildlife officials remind the public to take precautions when handling a dead bird, such as using disposable gloves to avoid coming in contact with any diseases the bird could have.  - Sky-Hi News..