New Experiment Torpedoes Lightweight Dark Matter Particles
It’s not the result physicists were hoping for, but data from a new experiment may put an end to a contentious subplot in the search for dark matter, the mysterious stuff whose gravity binds the galaxies. Today, researchers working with the Large Underground Xenon (LUX) detector at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, South Dakota, announced that they see no signs of the lightweight dark matter particles hinted at by other experiments. “It’s a significant miss,” says Richard Gaitskell, a LUX team member from Brown University. “We should have seen thousands of events and we simply don’t see any.”LUX stalks weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), physicists’ best guess at what makes up dark matter. In addition to producing gravity, WIMPs would interact with other matter and themselves only through the weak nuclear force. And if the newborn universe swarmed with particles that can interact through only that force, then just enough of them would remain to supply the dark matter, so long as they weighed between one and 1000 times as much as a proton. WIMPs also typically emerge from a concept called supersymmetry, which posits a more massive partner for every particle in physicists’ prevailing model and suggests that WIMPs should be a few hundred times as heavy as a proton.In recent years, however, a few groups have reported signs of unexpectedly light WIMPs weighing less than 10 times as much as a proton. In 2010, physicists working with the Coherent Germanium Neutrino Technology (CoGeNT) experiment reported possible signs of lightweight WIMPs striking their 440-gram detector in the Soudan mine in northern Minnesota. However, physicists with the ongoing XENON experiment in Italy’s subterranean Gran Sasso National Laboratory argued that their data ruled out light WIMPs. A squabble then ensued over whether XENON researchers properly calibrated their detector, which was filled with 100 kilograms of frigid liquid xenon.Sign up for our daily newsletterGet more great content like this delivered right to you!Country *AfghanistanAland IslandsAlbaniaAlgeriaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBolivia, Plurinational State ofBonaire, Sint Eustatius and SabaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBrunei DarussalamBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos (Keeling) IslandsColombiaComorosCongoCongo, The Democratic Republic of theCook IslandsCosta RicaCote D’IvoireCroatiaCubaCuraçaoCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFalkland Islands (Malvinas)Faroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuatemalaGuernseyGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard Island and Mcdonald IslandsHoly See (Vatican City State)HondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIran, Islamic Republic ofIraqIrelandIsle of ManIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJerseyJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKorea, Democratic People’s Republic ofKorea, Republic ofKuwaitKyrgyzstanLao People’s Democratic RepublicLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyan Arab JamahiriyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacaoMacedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic ofMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoMoldova, Republic ofMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorwayOmanPakistanPalestinianPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairnPolandPortugalQatarReunionRomaniaRussian FederationRWANDASaint Barthélemy Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da CunhaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Martin (French part)Saint Pierre and MiquelonSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSint Maarten (Dutch part)SlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSouth SudanSpainSri LankaSudanSurinameSvalbard and Jan MayenSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyrian Arab RepublicTaiwanTajikistanTanzania, United Republic ofThailandTimor-LesteTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited StatesUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuela, Bolivarian Republic ofVietnamVirgin Islands, BritishWallis and FutunaWestern SaharaYemenZambiaZimbabweI also wish to receive emails from AAAS/Science and Science advertisers, including information on products, services and special offers which may include but are not limited to news, careers information & upcoming events.Required fields are included by an asterisk(*)By most accounts, the most credible hint of light WIMPs came in April. Physicists working with the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) in Soudan reported three clean events that were consistent with light WIMPs crashing into the ultracold disks of silicon in their detector.Now, however, LUX researchers say their results refute the CDMS signal and the other hints of light WIMPs. Lurking 1480 meters underground, LUX cost $10 million and started taking data in April. It contains 370 kilograms of liquid xenon, making it more sensitive than either XENON or CDMS. Had CDMS detected WIMPs and not extraneous background radiation, LUX researchers should have seen roughly 1600 events during the 85 days they took data, Gaitskell says. They saw none.So will the LUX results settle the debate over light WIMPs? The key is how well LUX researchers have calibrated their detector and whether they can show that it’s truly sensitive to low-mass WIMPs, says Juan Collar, a physicist at the University of Chicago in Illinois and leader of the CoGeNT team. “It will all depend on what [energy] threshold they achieve and how cautious they have been” in their analysis, Collar says.Of course, the real goal is to detect WIMPs, light or heavy. LUX researchers will take data for another 2 years. They then plan to build a 7-tonne detector called LZ. Meanwhile, XENON researchers plan to start up a 1-tonne version of their experiment next year, and CDMS researchers are upgrading their detector, too.
Kammuri turning to super typhoon less likely but possible — Pagasa Brace for potentially devastating typhoon approaching PH – NDRRMC Read Next Frontrow holds fun run to raise funds for young cancer patients US misses World Cup for 1st time since 1986 with loss Typhoon Kammuri accelerates, gains strength en route to PH BSP sees higher prices in November, but expects stronger peso, low rice costs to put up fight Raymar Jose. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.netRaymar Jose is raring to continue the tradition of Far Eastern U alumni making an impact in the PBA.After honing his craft in the international stage, the 6-foot-4 forward takes on a new challenge as he enters the 2017 PBA Rookie Draft.ADVERTISEMENT Those stops were enough to earn him a spot in the Gilas Pilipinas roster for the 2017 Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, helping the Philippines win another gold medal in men’s basketball.Jose was also part of the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas crew which competed in the 2017 Fiba Asia Champions Cup in Chenzhou, China, where he amassed averages of 5.0 markers and 3.4 boards in 11.7 minutes.What you see is what you get on the 25-year-old’s game, and he’s leaning on his strengths to establish his name in the pro league.“What I can give to the team is my hustle and defense. I’m known for doing whatever the team needs from me, so I’ll just make sure to do the little things for whatever team drafts me,” he said.ADVERTISEMENT Nonong Araneta re-elected as PFF president
Trending Articles PLAY LIST 00:50Trending Articles00:50Trending Articles00:50Trending Articles01:37Protesters burn down Iran consulate in Najaf01:47Panelo casts doubts on Robredo’s drug war ‘discoveries’01:29Police teams find crossbows, bows in HK university01:35Panelo suggests discounted SEA Games tickets for students02:49Robredo: True leaders perform well despite having ‘uninspiring’ boss02:42PH underwater hockey team aims to make waves in SEA Games View comments LOOK: Loisa Andalio, Ronnie Alonte unwind in Amanpulo for 3rd anniversary Fire hits houses in Mandaluyong City LATEST STORIES MOST READ Don’t miss out on the latest news and information. “I focused on Gilas first. But when the Champions Cup was over, I felt that I was ready,” he said.Jose has had a memorable collegiate career, establishing himself as one of the toughest bruisers in the amateur ranks in his time with the Tamaraws.FEATURED STORIESSPORTSWATCH: Drones light up sky in final leg of SEA Games torch runSPORTSSEA Games: Philippines picks up 1st win in men’s water poloSPORTSMalditas save PH from shutoutHe averaged 11.1 points and 11.0 rebounds in 27.6 minutes in his final year in Morayta before joining Kaohsiung Truth in the ASEAN Basketball League, where he netted 10.6 markers and 4.8 boards.Jose would later on sign up with Cignal HD Hawkeyes, averaging 12.27 points and 10.18 rebounds en route to him being named as the 2017 PBA D-League Foundation Cup MVP.
Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has conceded that their next ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 match against 2-time champions will be a stiff test but insisted that his team is ready for the challenge.Bangladesh thumped Afghanistan by 62 runs in Southampton on Monday to keep their hopes of reaching the World Cup 2019 semi-final alive. Some of their big names, including Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim, have been playing inspired cricket in the tournament but Bangladesh needs to win their remaining matches to do what looked improbable a week ago.Bangladesh faces India on July 2 at Edgbaston and then take on Asian rivals Pakistan at Lord’s on July 5. Having sealed 7 points from as many matches to move to the 5th spot on the points table, Bangladesh has a 6-day break before their big match against India.Speaking to the press after Bangladesh’s big win over Afghanistan, Man of the Match Shakib Al Hasan said: “We have a very important game coming against India. They are a top side, one of the title contenders. It’s not going to be easy but having said that we’ll give our best shot.”They got world class players who can win matches single-handedly. We have to be at our best. I believe as a team, we are capable enough.”Shakib Al Hasan’s fine form has been one of the major reasons for Bangladesh’s impressive performances in the World Cup 2019. The top-ranked all-rounder has become the first player to score 400 runs and pick up 10 wickets in a single edition of the quadrennial cricket tournament.advertisementOn Monday, Shakib emulated former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh’s feat by becoming only the 2nd player to score a fifty and pick up a 5-wicket haul in a World Cup match.Shakib’s return to form, especially with the ball, gives Bangladesh a big boost for the upcoming matches against India and Pakistan.Former India cricketer and the current spin coach of Bangladesh cricket team, Sunil Joshi expressed Mashrafe Mortaza’s men can deal with the spin threat of India. He also added that Bangladesh will get their plans right before the Edgbaston clash against Virat Kohli’s men.”We all know they play spin well but so do we,” Joshi said.”We have shown in the white ball formats here and before this that we are a good side. We won in Ireland, we have beaten West Indies home and away and come close to beating India three times in the past three years.”I have seen India very closely when we have played them. We know where to bowl to them.”Also Read | World Cup 2019: Bangladesh not a one-man army, says Shakib Al HasanAlso Read | World Cup 2019 scenarios: England can be knocked out, Pakistan still in the huntAlso See
Press Trust of India New DelhiMarch 6, 2019UPDATED: March 6, 2019 22:57 IST Shikhar Dhawan has scored only 21 runs in the two ODIs vs Australia. (AP Photo)HIGHLIGHTSShikhar Dhawan has scored at a below par average of 26.85 since the Asia CupDhawan’s former captain Vijay Dahiya said that Dhawan’s problem lies in the mindset and not techniqueAakash Chopra felt Dhawan could have come back to India and play Ranji Trophy after the New Zealand seriesShikhar Dhawan’s prolonged bad patch is more about his mindset rather than technique, feel former players, who have watched the Indian opener’s dip in form over the past few months.Since Asia Cup where he was the top scorer, Dhawan has scored only 376 runs in 15 innings at a below par average of 26.85 and only two half-centuries to show for his efforts.If pacer Nathan Coulter-Nile got him in the first ODI against Australia in Hyderabad, it was part-time off-spin of Glenn Maxwell that became his undoing in the second game after getting set.Both Aakash Chopra, who has opened alongside Dhawan in the first-class cricket and Vijay Dahiya, who has been Dhawan’s captain as well as coach in the Delhi team, agreed that he is going through a bad patch.But having keenly tracked his career, both the former Test players are confident that the left-hander will turn it around.Even former India keeper and analyst Deep Dasgupta thinks that “mindset is an issue as Dhawan has always found ways to score runs, working around his technique.””There is no denying Dhawan is going through a bad patch but with only three international matches left, I don’t see any drastic changes happening,” Chopra told PTI on the eve of the third game.”If he has scored 5000 plus ODI runs (5199 from 125 games), it means that he has been around for a reasonable period of time, seen ups and downs to have scored that many runs.”His record in multi-nation tournaments (World Cup, Champions Trophy, Asia Cup) is fabulous, so it could well be a matter of time that he is back in form,” feels Chopra.advertisementDahiya thinks Dhawan’s issue is that of mindset and trying to score quickly.”I won’t say technique is a big issue here as the boundaries that he got were all in-front of the wicket. May be not on the off-side but those were not behind the stumps shots either,” said Dahiya, who believes that every individual reacts to pressure in different situation.”What he was trying to do was to score quickly and that’s what happened against Maxwell. He probably felt that since Maxwell is a part-time, he can score quickly and that’s why played that pull shot,” Dahiya said.Talk about shot selection, Dasgupta feels that it happens when you are in supposedly a “bit of a comfort zone”.”He was set in Nagpur and he could have easily played it to either long-off or long-on for a single. This happens when you are a bit confused. With Shikhar, if he plays that expansive cover drive with a big front-foot stride inside the first two overs, you know that he is in good touch,” Dasgupta.The pressure of competition can at times affect the mindset and KL Rahul finding his form could be a reason, believes Dahiya.”You will only feel the pressure when someone pushes you. It is very important to know how your mind works in those situations,” said Dahiya.But Chopra ruled out the Rahul factor when it comes to choice of playing XI.”Had they split these matches (2 T20s and 5 ODIs) into seven games with 4 matches for Shikhar and 3 for Rohit with Rahul playing all seven, there could have been that possibility. But that didn’t happen,” said Chopra.But Chopra did raise a pertinent point about Dhawan not playing any first class cricket for the entire month of December.”He exactly didn’t set the stage on fire against West Indies at home and since he was not in Test side against Australia, he could have come back and played Ranji Trophy. It would have helped him as well as our domestic cricket. But that didn’t happen.”Also Read | When ‘humble’ MS Dhoni declined to inaugurate the Dhoni PavilionAlso Read | Why Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni are in love with Team India’s latest jerseyAlso Read | MS Dhoni comes home to Ranchi for India vs Australia 3rd ODIFor sports news, updates, live scores and cricket fixtures, log on to indiatoday.in/sports. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for Sports news, scores and updates.Get real-time alerts and all the news on your phone with the all-new India Today app. Download from Post your comment Do You Like This Story? Awesome! Now share the story Too bad. Tell us what you didn’t like in the comments Tags :Follow Shikhar DhawanFollow Aakash ChopraFollow India vs Australia Shikhar Dhawan could have played Ranji Trophy: Aakash Chopra on Shikhar Dhawan’s formShikhar Dhawan has not been able to perform well in the ongoing series against Australia and his form has been patchy since the Asia Cup last year, where he was the top scorer.advertisement
zoom Refinery outages caused by Hurricane Harvey have led to a jump in gasoline shipments from Asia to the US and Latin America, according to a report from Ocean Freight Exchange (OFE).The hurricane, which wreaked havoc on global oil markets as almost a quarter of US refining capacity was shut, has impacted Asia’s refined products as well as product tanker markets.Charterers have been playing it safe by adding multiple discharge options including the USWC, USGC, WC Mexico and Peru. Around 865 kt of CPP from Asia has been tentatively booked to move to the US and Latin America since August 25. In comparison, around 375 kt was fixed for August loading before Harvey while July volumes were 675 kt. While cargoes from Asia to the US typically move on MRs, some LR1s have been chartered as well.As such, MR rates in North Asia have been creeping up with rates for a South Korea/USWC voyage basis 40 kt up by USD 150,000 w-o-w to USD 1.15 million. Rates for a South Korea/Singapore run basis 40 kt grew by USD 20,000 from last week to USD 350,000. Overall sentiment in the North remains firm as a number of outstanding enquiries remain for transpacific cargoes, OFE said.“It is worth noting that quite a number of ships have failed subjects and are currently continuing to do so. Some ships were released as traders rushed to fix before they had the cargoes, while some traders were unable to find a buyer as key USGC refineries resumed operations, alleviating concerns about supply shortfalls,” OFE added.USGC shipment delays has left LatAm buyers with no choice but to turn to Asia for gasoline imports. PMI, one of the largest buyers of USGC gasoline, has provisionally fixed at least two MRs to carry gasoline from South Korea and Singapore to West Coast Mexico.
CALGARY — The arrival of a family of giant pandas to the Calgary Zoo last spring created a stampede of visitors once the guests on loan from China were introduced to an eager public.The zoo surpassed previous records for both attendance and memberships.“We got 1.48 million visitors — that’s a lot of people. If you look at the size of our community with just over 1.1 million citizens in Calgary, the penetration is immense,” Calgary Zoo CEO Clement Lanthier said Thursday.The zoo sold 100,000 annual memberships and saw an average of 4,065 visitors every day.Lanthier said the attendance actually came in slightly lower than the 1.5 million visitors the zoo expected.“We were severely hit in August when the wildfires in B.C. moved a lot of smoke within Calgary for almost 10 days, so that impacted dramatically our attendance,” he said. “Everything in Calgary went into a stall because the smoke was so intense.”Even with the lower-than-expected attendance, he said, the zoo is in good financial shape with people shelling out cash for panda stuffies, panda T-shirts and food. “On the revenue side, we are ahead of what we had budgeted.”The previous record year at the zoo was 2012 when 1.45 million visitors came to see the penguin exhibit, suggesting black-and-white attractions are the quickest way to stay in the black.“We also had the ring-tailed lemur, which was also black and white, and the snow leopard — arguably they’re black and white — so maybe that’s the way to go forward,” Lanthier said with a laugh.He isn’t expecting another attendance record in 2019.“Typically, with the second year of any attraction, panda or anything else, you have a little decline of the attendance.”The adult pandas, Da Mao and Er Shun, along with their cubs, Jia Panpan and Jia Yueyue are housed in a 2,000-square-metre, indoor-outdoor habitat.The furry foursome was shipped to Calgary from Toronto in April and spent about a month in quarantine.The two adults are on loan to Canadian zoos from China as part of a 10-year deal signed in 2012. The cubs were born in Toronto in 2015.It cost around $30 million to house the pandas in Calgary, including $14.4 million for the exhibit itself. Expanded parking lots, washrooms and restaurants were also required to accommodate more visitors.The adult pandas are to remain in Calgary for the next five years, while the cubs are expected to return to China before their parents.— Follow @BillGraveland on TwitterBill Graveland, The Canadian Press
APTN National NewsIn just over a week, chiefs from across Canada will converge on Winnipeg to decide who will be the next national chief of the Assembly of First Nations.They’ll have three choices – Perry Bellegarde, Leon Jourdain and Ghislain Picard.One of them will need about 300 votes to win and the chiefs are the people who decide.Left out of the equation are the people, the so-called grassroots who do not get a vote.Regardless, APTN National News took questions to the candidates.The same eight questions were emailed to the candidates who were allowed an unfiltered chance to speak directly to the people.We begin with Picard, an Innu who stepped in as interim national chief of the AFN when Shawn Atleo abruptly quit earlier this year.APTN: Why do you want the job of national chief? GP: Because the future of our national organization is too important to stay idle. Over the years, my region and its Chiefs have always stood by the national organization independently of the circumstances, because they always believed that there is a purpose for a national political process, lobbying and advocating on behalf of First Nations.APTN: What effect is funding cuts having on the AFN’s ability to lobby for First Nation interests, essentially where’s the money going to come from to get the job done?GP: The funding cuts have definitely an impact on the AFN operations and limit its ability to do the important work needed. While we have to look at the resourcing issue on the longer term, I feel there is enough work to count on the support of the leadership across the country. Some Chiefs have offered to lend a hand in the collective task of lobbying and advocating on behalf of First Nations. To see the AFN be more self-sustaining as a national organization, is a longer term goal that will need the guidance of the leadership across the country.APTN: How will you work with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, or whoever wins the next general election?GP: Part of that response could be provided through a First Nations’ platform leading into the next federal election. Moreover, I feel that First Nations have the ability to determine the conditions that should prevail in trying to engage government for whichever party might become the next government. I fail to see a purpose in engaging with a government, such as the current one, that continues to deny fundamental principles related to Aboriginal and Treaty Rights.APTN: To your critics, the AFN is fractured and unworkable. What will you do to unite the organization and make it effective? The AFN is a national political organization. With all due respect to our specific realities, we have the ability to agree on overarching principles that would support and guide our national process. It is a challenge before us.APTN: The chair of the Specific Claims Tribunal wrote in a report that if it doesn’t get more resources it will fail. What will you do? GP: Here is another example where government has the upper hand when it sets limitations on a situation that has been outstanding for far too long. Beyond major flaws such as the federal government continually challenging claims by First Nations, there needs to be a framework that calls for parties, especially government, to act in good faith. The Specific Claims Tribunal should stand alone and not be part of the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada and receive adequate funding to conduct the work and pursue the objective of a more efficient process of resolving claims.APTN: What are you going to do with the First Nations Control of First Nations Education Act? GP: The position with regard to the Act is very clear: the federal government needs to withdraw the Act. The outcomes of the Halifax Assembly gave clear direction in terms of how we need to engage with ourselves, based on the regional diversity, and with government. The process is in place and the discussion so far refers to the need of a broader fiscal framework to address the issue of underfunding. Any process for reform, if mutually agreed, must see First Nations’ interests represented by First Nations leadership.APTN: Chief’s salaries are a big topic at the grassroots level. For example, should a chief make $400,000 a year when 80 per cent of his or her band members live on $400 a month, should there be limits?GP: All Chiefs are supportive of the principles of transparency and accountability. It is understood that the Assembly of First Nations has a clear mandate of advocating on behalf of First Nations with little to say on local governance. The AFN does not have the authority to determine the principles that should guide local governance but it could provide the forum to address issues related to code of ethics.APTN: What do you want to see accomplished after your term in office? GP: We definitely need to have a strong and relevant national organization. That’s want I want to see. I also want to see a national organization reflecting on the realities of the Nations and Peoples it represents. Making sure that the national organization is a strong voice for all of our Nations and gain the credibility from our Nations and their Peoples as well as respect from governments would be a significant achievement.Tomorrow: Perry Bellegarde.
New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Thursday said Article 35A, which restricts non-permanent residents to buy property in Jammu and Kashmir, is “constitutionally vulnerable” and also hampering economic development of the state.The statement comes amidst the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) pressing for early elections to the state assembly in the state. The state is under President’s rule and the Union Cabinet takes all policy decisions related to the militancy-hit state. Also Read – Uddhav bats for ‘Sena CM’In a blog, Jaitley said the seven-decade history of the state of Jammu and Kashmir confronts changing India with several questions. “Was the Nehruvian course, which the state had embarked, a historical blunder or was it the correct course to follow? Most Indians today believe that it is the former. “Does our policy today have to be guided by that erroneous vision or an out of box thinking which is in consonance with ground reality?” Jaitley questioned. The senior BJP leader and in-charge of the party’s campaign committee for general elections said Article 35A was “surreptitiously” included by a presidential notification in the Constitution in 1954. Also Read – Farooq demands unconditional release of all detainees in J&KArtcle 35A, he said, was neither a part of the original Constitution framed by the Constituent Assembly, nor did it come as a Constitutional Amendment under Article 368 of the Constitution which requires an approval by two-third majority of both Houses of Parliament. “It came as a presidential notification and is a surreptitious executive insertion in the Constitution.” Jaitley further said the Article gives the right to the state government to discriminate between two state citizens living in the state on the basis of declaring some as permanent residents while leaving out the others. It also discriminates between permanent residents of the state and all other Indian citizens living elsewhere, he added. “Lakhs of Indian citizens in J&K vote in Lok Sabha elections but not in Assembly, municipal or Panchayat polls. Their children cannot get government jobs. They cannot own property and their children cannot get admitted to governmental institutions. “The same applies to those who live elsewhere in the country. The heirs of ladies marrying outside the state are disinherited from owing or inheriting property,” the minister added. He said the state does not have adequate financial resources and its ability to raise more has been crippled by Article 35A.
New Delhi: DU Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Tyagi met the office-bearers of the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) for the first time in eight months, the students’ body said Friday.According to the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, which has three office-bearers in the students’ union, a delegation of the student outfit met the V-C Thursday. This is the first time since the students union’s election that the V-C has met DUSU president Shakti Singh and DUSU Joint Secretary Jyoti Chaudhary.
Ahead of the Water Management article in the March issue of International Mining, Golder Associates reports on several cutting-edge mine water reclamation and reuse projects in which it has been involved. One such example is a South African project for Optimum Coal where reclaimed mine water was converted into a clean supply of drinking water for communities in neighbouring areas. For this project, Golder designed and engineered the entire water management system, and secured all regulatory approvals, including the Environmental Impact Assessments. Andre Van Niekerk, Principal Water Engineer comments: “A major challenge here was that the designs had to consider various aspects, such as geological formations, existing services, proximity to existing and future mining, and the presence of local settlements.“Another big challenge was that the Golder team had to negotiate the project authorisations with four different regulatory authorities. Despite the challenges presented during the project, the mine water reclamation for Optimum Coal was very successful.In general, Golder helps mining operations to recycle and reuse return water from the tailings, and from waste disposal and storage facilities. It’s common for modern mines to capture impacted mine water for reclamation and reuse within the mining operations, minerals processes operations, and waste handling and disposal operations. The main advantages of this are that it reduces the freshwater intake to the mining operations and that it reduces the discharge of impacted mine water.”He adds: “In addition to the South African project for Optimum Coal, Golder has been involved in a wide range of other complex water management projects, which have incorporated water recycling, desalination and tailings. When recycling mine wastewater for mineral processing, it is important consider the volumetric aspect. In other words, there must be sufficient levels of water available to satisfy the different mineral processes. It is, therefore, vital to understand the integrated water balance of a mine before proceeding with specific water recycling and reuse activities. In general, for reclaimed water to be fed back into the processing lines at mines, it needs to have a near neutral pH and a low potential for precipitation of nuisance compounds, such as gypsum. This can typically be achieved by lime and limestone treatment, gypsum crystallisation and clarification to remove suspended solids.”Golder regularly uses a diverse range of mine water treatment technologies. These can be broadly classified in terms of the pollutants contained with the impacted mine water. For acidic/low pH water, the use of lime and limestone, as well as other alkaline solutions, is common. Constructed wetlands are often a good way of introducing alkalinity into mine water. For water with heavy metals, such as iron, aluminium and manganese, lime and limestone treatments are also common. Essential here is the creation of a biological sulphate reduction that allows for sulphide precipitation within the minerals. Once again, constructed wetlands are often used to achieve this.“For water with high salinity, our recommended methods of treatment would include membrane-based nanofiltration and reverse osmosis, ionexchange technologies, and certain precipitation technologies for sulphate removal – such as using the sulphate mineral ettringite. Golder regularly works with all of these methods in projects across the globe.”On water sourcing trends, he told IM: “Over the last five or ten years, water in mining has become an increasingly important area of focus and is driven by changing legislation and climatic conditions. In water scarce locations, reusing water has become essential in making mining operations efficient. This is particularly relevant in areas such as southern Africa and the west coast of South America. Additionally, many regions that are less water scarce have also put great emphasis on recycling water. Several of these, such as Sweden and the UK, are driven by regulatory policies and country-specific legislation. In the future, competition for scarce water resources in mining areas will lead to increased competition in the impacted water recycling sector. This is compounded by local regulatory pressures, global expectations on conducting sustainable mining, and increased calls for responsible use of limited resources.”
There’s no denying that Call of Duty: Black Ops was a success before it even got released. The desire for the next CoD episode among gamers grew to the point where it broke sales records in its first 24 hours on sale. In total, it amassed $360 million on day one, easily covering all the development and marketing costs of the game.By the end of 2010 it had surpassed $1 billion in total sales revenue around the world, and it’s with little surprise that NPD is now reporting Black Ops has become the best selling game ever released. If further proof of that were needed, just look at sales of the game for the U.S. alone, which currently total 13.7 million copies.To put the success of Black Ops into perspective NPD also reported in January of this year that total spending for game content during 2010 was $15.6 billion. That’s across just about every sales platform you can think of from brand new retail store bought games, to digital downloads, used game sales, and even rentals. Black Ops alone accounted for $1 billion of that accrued in a single month.While successful, the game has not been a favorite with all gamers and has left a bad taste in the mouth of PS3 gamers. A petition signed by over 8,800 gamers who bought the game demanded a refund due to the sheer number of issues the title had, a number of which are still awaiting fixes. This also led to talk of Activision considering a PS3 Black Ops server shutdown as a viable option.Substantial sales of the game are no doubt going to continue for several months yet, pushing the record up even further. But there are concerns that Activision will now look to new ways of generating even more revenue from future games in the series. Top of the list is a subscription service for online play and premium content which would surely meet with some anger from gamers.Read more at Industry Gamers
ASA President Danny Murphy and First Vice President Ray Gaesser joined USB Secretary Lewis Bainbridge and Director Dwain Ford, and USSEC Director Vanessa Kummer in visits to industry organizations and soy operations in Beijing, Harbin, Qiqihar and Nenjiang late last month as part of Global Partnership Mission to China.While in Beijing, Murphy and Gaesser discussed the biotechnology approvals process before meeting with Zhang Taolin, Vice Minister of China’s Ministry of Agriculture. Vice Minister Zhang reiterated to the American contingent that cooperation is in the mutual benefit of both countries and that the Ministry would proactively support cooperation between the Chinese and American soybean industries. The Vice Minister also noted that the U.S. advantage on biotechnology research and production and China’s rapidly-growing plant breeding program create a natural opportunity to share information for mutual benefit, although he did note that certain social barriers to biotech still remain.Murphy, Gaesser and the American group visited with the Heilongjiang State Farm Bureau in Harbin, which imports 5.5 million metric tons (approximately 202 million bushels) of soy each year. While in Harbin, the group also toured the facilities of 93 Group, a processing and ingredient company that makes tofu, soy milk, isolates, lecithin and other soy-based products. Additionally, the group toured growing operations, research and equipment stations and a co-op.“The Chinese market is so, so important to American soy,” said Murphy. “Trips like this one help the American industry better understand our Chinese counterparts, and help us to find those areas of mutual benefit in which we can work together.”
PORTLAND — The Portland Trail Blazers key to success without LaMarcus Aldridge boils down to one thing: energy. After trailing by as much as 18 points on Sunday, the Blazers received a major lift from Thomas Robinson and their bench to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 108-97.Damian Lillard scored 32 points to lead the Blazers, as he and the rest of Portland’s supporting cast made a major second-half push to comeback for a big win. Robinson finished with 14 points and career-high 18 rebounds off the bench in a major match-up against Minnesota’s Kevin Love at the Moda Center. Robinson did start the second half and played more than in any game of his two-year career.The energetic Will Barton got extended minutes for the second straight game and he, along with Robinson and Spanish forward Victor Claver, helped propel the Blazers to a dominating run. The three combined for the play of the game at the 8:39 mark of the fourth quarter, moments after a dust-up between Minnesota’s Corey Brewer and Lillard, that led to Lillard’s fifth foul. “I was going to let it slide, but then he kept going. I wasn’t going to let somebody play me like that. So, he had to get off me,” said Lillard who felt like Brewer fell on him and locked legs on purpose.
00:00 /03:49 Listen X To embed this piece of audio in your site, please use this code: Karla Leyja On June 15, Houston City Hall hosted a candlelight vigil, in remembrance of the victims of the Orlando massacre. City Council Member Ellen Cohen invoked Edmund Burke, saying that the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing.“For those of us who are elected officials,” Cohen said, “we have a responsibility to pass legislation that ensures equality for all.”Cohen was the council member who drafted the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, or HERO. Speaking by phone, she said Orlando makes clear the need for Houston to adopt fresh protections, but, “we don’t want to repeat what happened previously, and that is, we’ll pass it around the horseshoe, and then because nothing has changed in Houston, we’ll end up with the same result if it goes to a vote.”The opposition to a revived HERO, or anything like it, remains just as entrenched as it was before Orlando.“Any effort to relate the act of terror in Orlando to the lack of any Houston type of ordinance, or any efforts to oppose those ordinances, is just simply irrational,” says Dave Welch, executive director of the Texas Pastor Council. There’s just no correlation between the two.”The City Hall vigil and others like it that took place around Houston suggest there are many groups that disagree.Lane Lewis, chairman of the Harris County Democratic Party, organized one of these events. Groups that showed up ranged from LGBT organizations, such as the Montrose Center, to the ACLU and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. I spoke with Lewis on the sidelines of the state Democratic convention.“My message was simple,” Lewis said. “To the 2,000 people that sat there for two hours listening to speakers, I said, ‘I don’t care which one of these organizations you get involved in. If you don’t want to be partisan and get involved with the Democratic Party, then get involved in the health clinic. Get involved in the counseling center. Pick something, and call them tomorrow and get involved.’”That’s the real question: Can these groups keep the spirit of solidarity alive to accomplish common goals?“We’re able with this to see who’s standing up now, and those that are seeking our endorsement, we’re seeing where they stand on these issues,“ says Fran Watson, president of the Houston GLBT Political Caucus. She says the politicians her group has endorsed in the past rushed to help after Orlando. That’s the yardstick she’ll be using when her caucus endorses candidates in August.“There are just all of these issues that are coming out of this that really need to be addressed,” Watson says, “and it can only be addressed if all of these groups, populations, communities are in one accord or coming together to talk about these.”Not all advocates are as hopeful as Watson or Lewis.“The media’s going to stop talking about it in another week and a half. The news cycle’s going to die down,” says Ashton P. Woods, an LGBT activist and a member of the Houston chapter of Black Lives Matter.The victims of the Pulse nightclub shootings cut across multiple lines of race and ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender identity. But Woods says that doesn’t mean those groups will hold together in a common front.“As a black man,” he says, “people equate being LGBT with whiteness, and because of that, it’s almost as if, all of a sudden, I cease to experience racism, I cease to experience discrimination in housing and in employment, but in actuality, I can go and get gay married, and still get shot by a cop. And people don’t understand that.”Woods says words come easy. He’s waiting to see how people will act.Karla Leyja contributed reporting to this story. Share
Top Movie and TV Trailers You Might Have Missed This WeekAmerican Horror Story Takes Us Back to the Days of Witches and Warlocks Let us know what you like about Geek by taking our survey. Remember how this season started off terrible? The first few episodes were a collection of half-gestures to well-known political phrases and images, interspersed with scenes of Sarah Paulson screaming at nothing. Then, miraculously, it managed to turn it all around. It took that mess and shaped it into something it could build off of. It produced some episodes that were incredibly scary, or at least interesting. Last night’s American Horror Story wasn’t one of those. It felt a lot closer to those first few.OK, that may be a little harsh. It wasn’t anywhere near the horrendous slog that was the first few weeks of this season. One scene elevated this episode above those. The show gave Kai a legitimately scary origin. As the women grow even more disgruntled with the way Kai’s cult is headed, what with them being in the kitchen serving his new army of white supremacist/misogynist bros, Winter tells them why she still trusts Kai. A few years ago, they were internet trolls on various forums. Their anti-abortion troll posts caught the attention of a man who invited them to his house. They decide to go because at this point, they’re stupid horror movie protagonists. Stretch this one sequence into 90 minutes, and it’d make for a pretty great horror movie.Rick Springfield (Photo via FX)Initially, Kai and Winter think it’s a haunted house. It soon becomes clear that the people inside are not actors. The religious nut who runs the house captured people from clinics that provide abortions, drug treatment, and AIDS treatment, torturing them for the sins of being gay, an addict or having an abortion. The scenes where Kai and Winter run through the house, trying to save people and escape are incredibly tense, and easily the scariest part of the entire episode. Kai eventually frees everyone and kills the man running the house. That experience changes him. He began abusing Adderall and going deeper into the dark web. That’s how we got to where we are today.Unfortunately, outside of that one sequence, the episode is a real mess. Winter promises to talk to Kai, and they do that Pinky Power thing again. As ridiculous as it looked before, it’s even worse when it causes Kai to break down in tears. He’s clearly going off the deep end, as he reveals to his sister his plan to create a Messiah. Instead of going full incest, he plans for Samuels to have sex with Winter while he has sex with Samuels at the same time. It’s like somebody watched The Handmaid’s Tale (which gets name-dropped earlier in the episode), thought of a way to make the ritual even creepier, but decided not to go through with it at the last minute. I’m happy the scene didn’t go all the way through with it, as it was gross and uncomfortable, and not in a good horror movie way. But then, what was the point of this? Nothing changes or really even happens in this scene, so why is it here? It’s also unclear if it’s supposed to be funny. Kai is deadly serious about everything, but then he turns on All-4-One’s “I Swear” for mood music. So we have an attempted rape, or at least coercion, played for laughs. This season’s real bad, folks.Alison Pill, Billie Lourd (Photo via FX)All it leads to is Samuels’s death, and not even in that scene. Seriously, how do you have that many candles lying around in a scene where no one gets burned? If you’re going to force us to sit through a near sexual assault, you could at least have Winter melt someone’s face off. That’d give us a Freddy Krueger looking monster to be scared of for the last few episodes. But no. For her insubordination, Winter is forced to pick up trash while wearing a dunce cap. She then has to re-litter because “global warming is a hoax.” Samuels tries to prove he can still get it up for a woman, leading to our second attempted rape of the episode. This one ends with Winter shooting him in the head. She’s turning against Kai, right? Well, no. She tells Kai that Beverly did it, and Kai exiles Beverly to an isolation chamber.Winter accuses Kai of not having an end goal in this episode. Of fully committing to ideas he only just made up. There’s an idea that Kai really doesn’t have a grand plan for his cult, that he’s just making it up as it goes along. That’s what it feels like the show is doing. Does it have any ideas for how the remaining three episodes will play out? It sure doesn’t seem like it. Ally is back, but she’s not obnoxiously scared of everything anymore. She’s come out the other side and fears nothing now. After her therapist confesses that he’s Kai’s brother, and that Kai must have broken into his office to read his files, she gets her revenge. She invites Kai over for Sloppy Joes and tells him that his brother is planning to have him committed. In exchange, she wants her kid back. Where Ozy has been all this time is never explained. Presumably, Ivy has found another babysitter now that she and Winter are both busy with cult stuff.Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson (Photo via FX)How will Kai get Ally her son back? Well, after he kills his brother (admittedly, slicing off his pinky during Pinky Power was a nice shocking moment), all the clowns take their masks off to reveal the newest member of the cult: Ally. Does it make sense? No, but nothing else does anymore. Increasingly, this season feels like it’s written itself into a corner. It’s hard to see where the story can possibly go from here. Whatever they have planned for the finale had better be something truly spectacular if it can redeem this pile.Also, goodbye Cheyenne Jackson. It was nice having you around this long. See you next season, I guess.
Stay on target