Home  »  Headline News

On:

The United Nations is searching the former Soviet Republic of Georgia for radioactive equipment they know was abandoned there after the break-up of the Soviet Union. This material could be sold on the Russian black market to terrorists and used to build a dirty bomb.

Radiation experts from the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are searching for two Strontium 90 generators. Six Strontium 90 generators have been recovered from Georgia since 1998, but 2 are still missing. In February, 2002, two woodsmen stumbled across 2 of them, which had been discarded in a forest. The men are still being treated for radiation sickness and burns in France and Russia. An IAEA spokeswoman says, “Strontium 90 is probably one of the most potent radioactive sources.?
read more

On:

In our June 11 news story ?FBI Prevented Dirty Bombing of D.C.,? we said, ?This FBI announcement comes just in time to save their reputation, after weeks of revelations that the FBI ignored the many warnings they received about September 11. We hope this is a real story and not just a face-saving puff piece and that the FBI is becoming productive and efficient once again.? Now it looks like other news organizations are having the same kinds of reservations.

The June 11 New York Times says, ?Some Democrats and civil liberties advocates have questioned whether the disclosure was timed to help counter criticism that the authorities, especially those at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, had mishandled signals that might have uncovered the Sept. 11 plot.?
read more

On:

Your next cellphone may not look anything like the one you have now?no matter which phone service you use. A new cellphone will be available soon that?s as thin as a piece of paper?so thin, you can keep it in your wallet next to your credit cards.

Designer Stephen Forshaw has developed a thin phone that?s stuck onto a piece of paper. The only problem?it can only be used for one call, so you?ll stick it in your wallet (or give it to your kids) in case of emergency. The design won first prize in a competition sponsored by Sony.
read more

On:

The melting ice sheets in Antarctica are a major news item. However, Antarctica is having a lesser-known problem as well: it has become a new tourist destination. The bacteria from the feet of thousands of visitors could cause ecological devastation in the area.

Almost 15,000 tourists a year visit this pristine wilderness area, arriving on the continent and offshore islands by ship. Australian Infection Control Association researchers found that although visitors are told to wash their boots in seawater before setting foot on the ice, this isn?t enough to protect the local wildlife from potentially deadly bacteria.
read more