Microsoft's Gates to start multi-billion-dollar clean tech initiative

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates gestures as he meets with China's Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing, November 12, 2015. REUTERS/China Daily/Files

NEW YORK: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates will launch a multi-billion-dollar clean energy research and development initiative with heads of state on Monday, the opening day of the U.N. climate change summit in Paris, the French government said Friday.

Gates and a group of developing and developed countries will launch the Clean Tech Initiative, in which countries will commit to doubling their clean energy technology research and development budgets by 2020 and private investors will boost their own investments in the sector.

Access to clean energy technology will play a key role in a global agreement to combat climate change. More than 190 countries will negotiate a new pact in Paris from Nov. 30 to Dec. 11 at the 21st U.N. Conference of the Parties summit.

France, the United States, India, South Korea, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Canada and Norway have said they will join, a source close to the conference presidency told Reuters.

“Gates' announcement should prompt other countries to follow suit," the source said.

Gates will join Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, U.S. President Barack Obama and French President Francois Hollande to announce the initiative on the opening day of the two-week summit, according to an agenda released Friday.

For India, the world's third largest greenhouse gas emitter, access to clean energy technology is at the core of its national strategy to combat climate change.

India has argued that developed countries need to help poorer countries gain access to renewable energy or zero-emission technologies by helping reduce costs and removing barriers such as intellectual property rights.

On the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in September, Gates attended a bilateral meeting focused on climate change between Hollande and Modi.

The French presidency source said India will be one of the founding beneficiaries of the new initiative.

“This is one of the main points of the negotiation: how to improve clean technologies and give the poorest countries access to these technologies," the source said.

This summer Gates pledged $2 billion of his personal wealth over the next five years to "bend the curve" on climate change.

In a blog post in July, he said more breakthrough technologies are needed to combat climate change and that current technologies reduce emissions at a cost that his “beyond astronomical."

- Source: Reuters | November 28, 2015

Pengebom wanita letupkan diri, 5 maut di Cameroon

YAOUNDE: Lima terbunuh dalam dua serangan pengebom nekad wanita di utara Cameroon, lapor pejabat gabenor wilayah hari ini.

"Dua wanita masing-masing meletupkan diri kira-kira jam 6 petang waktu tempatan di Pekan Dabanga," kata Gabenor Utara, Midjiyawa Bakary.

"Angka kematian awal ialah tujuh orang termasuk dua pengebom wanita," katanya.

Dua anggota tentera yang ditempatkan untuk memerangi Kumpulan Bola Haram di pekan itu juga parah.

Midjiyawa berkata, pengebom pertama meletupkan diri di dalam sebuah rumah manakala pengebom kedua berdekatan kedai kimpalan.

Ini adalah kali pertama pengebom berani mati menyerang Dabanga, pekan kecil yang terletak di antara jalan raya ke pos sempadan Kousseri yang dipisahkan oleh sungai dengan Nigeria.

Wilayah itu sering menjadi sasaran kumpulan Boko Haram, pejuang Sunni yang mahu menubuhkan negara Islam di timur laut Nigeria. 

- Sumber: AFP | 29 November 2015

Saya sekadar berkongsi bakal dapat anak kedua - Black

GAMBAR yang dimuat naik oleh Black di laman Instagram. - Foto ihsan Instagram Black

KUALA LUMPUR: Penyanyi, Black menjelaskan tindakan beliau memuat naik gambar ujian alat kehamilan isterinya, Naquia Yasirah sebagai berkongsi saat indah dalam hidupnya kepada umum.

Black atau nama sebenarnya, Hanifah Hanafiah, 28, berkata, beliau akan membawa isterinya berjumpa doktor bagi mendapatkan kepastian mengenai keputusan ujian alat kehamilan itu.

"Saya tahu pasti ada pihak yang mempertikaikan tindakan saya memuat naik gambar keputusan alat kehamilan itu kerana belum berjumpa doktor lagi. 

"Namun, kami sudah menjalani ujian kehamilan itu sebanyak dua kali dan yakin ia tepat," katanya kepada BH Online sebentar tadi.

Sesetengah peminat dikatakan kurang sedang dengan tindakan memuat naik gambar keputusan ujian kehamilan isterinya itu di media sosial yang disifatkan masih terlalu awal.

Menurut Black, mengikut pengiraan Naquia Yasirah atau dipanggil sebagai Cira, isterinya sedang hamil kira-kira sebulan lebih. 

"Saya memilih untuk memuat naik gambar itu kerana ingin orang ramai sama-sama mendoakan perkara baik buat kami sekeluarga dan supaya semuanya berjalan lancar.

"Bagi saya tiada apa yang ingin disorokkan. Benda baik harus dikongsi bersama umum kerana mereka akan turut sama bergembira dengan cerita saya bakal mendapat cahaya mata kedua. 

"Masih terlalu awal untuk meneka sama ada kandungan itu lelaki atau perempuan. Lebih manis sekiranya Cira mengandung bayi perempuan kerana saya akan mendapat sepasang cahaya mata. Namun pucuk pangkalnya, yang penting kandungan itu sihat," katanya.

Dalam perkembangan terkini, Black bakal berentap di pusingan Separuh Akhir Muzik Muzik mempertaruhkan lagu Mana Mungkin esok. Selain sibuk dengan latihan untuk bertanding esok, jadual kerjanya turut padat dengan komitmen untuk program Juara Parodi.

Pelantun lagu Teman Pengganti itu berkongsi, beliau terpilih sebagai mentor untuk rancangan baharu kelolaan TV3 berjudul Mentor Milenia. Selain Black, program itu turut menampilkan Hazama dan Akim Ahmad sebagai mentor untuk mendidik tiga orang protege.

"Saya baru saja dimaklumkan mengenai program Mentor Milenia itu. Buat masa ini fokus diberikan sepenuhnya terhadap Juara Parodi namun saya begitu teruja untuk berkongsi ilmu kepada anak-anak muda yang berbakat dan ingin menceburi bidang nyanyian.

"Mereka yang berminat untuk menjadi protege saya boleh menghadiri sesi uji bakat pada 26 Disember ini bertempat di Sri Pentas 2, Plaza Alam Sentral, Shah Alam bermula pada jam 10 pagi. Penyertaan terbuka kepada mereka yang berumur antara 17 hingga 21 tahun," kata Black.

- Sumber: BH Online 

Angelina tingkat minat buang payudara cegah kanser

Angelina Jolie. - Foto AP

MANCHESTER: Pengumuman aktres terkenal Angelina Jolie bahawa beliau sudah menjalankan pembedahan pembuangan payudara atau 'mastectomy' menarik perhatian media.

Aktres itu didapati membawa gen BRCA1 seperti ibunya yang maut akibat kanser payudara. 

Beliau melakukan pembedahan itu untuk menghapuskan 87 peratus risiko menghidap kanser payudara.

Keputusan Jolie menyaksikan pembaharuan dalam minat kajian genetik kanser. Sebuah klinik pencegahan kanser payudara di Hospital Universiti Manchester Selatan mengambil keputusan untuk melakukan siasatan. 

Dalam kajian mereka yang diterbitkan dalam jurnal Kanser Payudara pada 25 November lalu, pengkaji mengesahkan bahawa jumlah pembedahan mastectomy mereka meningkat sekali ganda.

Antara Januari 2014 hingga Jun 2015, sebanyak 83 pembedahan dilakukan berbanding hanya 29 pembedahan antara Januari 2011 hingga Jun 2012.

Walaupun individu yang melakukan prosedur itu tidak menyatakan sebab mempengaruhi mereka, profesor klinik genetik, Gareth dan pasukannya berkata "kesan Angelina Jolie" banyak mempengaruhi mereka. 

- Sumber:  AFP

Ferrari 488 Spider makes ASEAN debut - Malaysian pricing estimated at RM1.2 million

Two months after its 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show premiere, the Ferrari 488 Spider has made its ASEAN debut – the regional launch for the droptop version of the 488 GTB took place in Phuket earlier today.

The Spider, which was first revealed in July, was introduced at the event in Thailand in its new Blu Corsa finish. Visually, the exterior lines generally mirror its coupe sibling, though there are some design differences brought about by the exclusion of the roof.

Flying buttresses replace the conventional pillars of the coupe, and there’s a new engine cover as result of the restyling. The latter features longitudinal ribs for a three-dimensional effect, and new sculpted mesh grilles help evacuate heat from the engine bay.

Despite the omission of a fixed roof, the 488 Spider has the same torsional rigidity and beam stiffness figures as the coupe, and compared to its predecessor, the 458 Spider, the new car – claimed by the maker to be its most aerodynamic spider ever – is equipped with a chassis that is said to be 23% stiffer.

The car features a RHT (retractable hard top), which weighs 25 kg less than an equivalent soft-top setup. The folding unit stows away in two overlapping sections, with the entire assembly sandwiched between the mid-mounted engine and the seats in a small cavity, occupying only 100 litres of space when folded.

The entire operation to retract or deploy the RHT takes 14 seconds, and it can be opened or closed at speeds of up to 45 km/h.

Also unique to the Spider is a small rear window that offers three stages of operation when the top is lowered to reduce wind buffering – the electrically-operated wind stop can also be lowered with the top in place to obtain a louder soundtrack.

The 488 Spider is equipped with the same F154 CB mill as seen in the 488 Coupe – the 3,902 cc twin-turbo V8 is related to the 3,855 cc V8 in the California T, but the latter puts out less power, and there are mechanical differences.

Power output is identical to the coupe, with 670 PS at 8,000 rpm and 760 Nm of torque at 3,000 rpm. To recap, the blown CB’s output is a significant jump over that available rom the 4.5 litre normally-aspirated F136 F V8 in the 458 Speciale, which has 605 PS and 540 Nm.

Like the coupe, the Spider is only available with a Getrag seven-speed dual-clutch F1 gearbox, which is based on that seen in the 458 but revised for use here with slightly longer ratios and Variable Torque Management. Upshifts are 30% faster while downshifts are 40% quicker than that on the Italia. Response times are touted to be nine percent faster than the 458 Spider.

Performance figures largely mirrors that of the coupe, despite the Spider being a bit heavier at 1,525 kg (1,475 kg for the 488 GTB). The 0-100 km/h time identical at three seconds, though the droptop’s 0-200 km/h time is a shade slower at 8.7 seconds (8.3 seconds for the coupe) and top speed is five km/h less than the coupe at 325 km/h. 

Elsewhere, the architecture first seen on the 488 GTB gets carried over – driver assistance systems include a Side Slip Angle Control 2 (SSC2) system, which results in a 12% improvement in acceleration out of corners compared to the 458 Spider. There’s also E-Diff 3, F1-Trac as well as an ABS system with Ferrari Pre-Fill.

As standard, the 488 Spider comes equipped with a SCM 3 magnetorheological suspension control system and, like the coupe, rides on 20-inch wheels and staggered 245/35 front and 305/30 rear tyres.

The first Ferrari 488 Spider examples are set to begin arriving in the region sometime in the second quarter of next year (Malaysia, mid-year), and as you’d expect, Ferrari Far East says demand for the car has been high, with wait times now expected to be as long as that for the coupe.

Locally, a Naza Italia representative said that the entire allocation of the 488 GTB for 2016 has been spoken for, which means that of the Spider should soon follow suit (if it hasn’t already). Malaysian market pricing for the 488 Spider has yet to be finalised, but the indications are that it will command a 10% premium over its coupe sibling.

As an indicator, the 488 GTB was priced at an introductory RM1,068,800 (excluding import duty and options) when it made its local premiere in June, so the Spider should come in at close to the RM1.2 million mark sans duties and taxes. Like the coupe, it can be customised via the various trim options available in the automaker’s Tailor Made programme, adding to the final price.

- Source: paultan.org

Maria Farida kahwin buat kali kedua

MARIA Farida dijabkabulkan dengan usahawan yang dikenali sebagai Datuk Rahman.

KUALA LUMPUR: Pelakon, Maria Farida, 45, bergelar isteri buat kali kedua, selepas dijabkabulkan dengan usahawan yang dikenali sebagai Datuk Rahman, 62.

Majlis pernikahan bintang Datin Diaries yang diadakan di Kelab Golf Kuala Lumpur (KLGCC) selepas Zuhur itu turut dihadiri keluarga dan teman artis.

Maria mengenakan persalinan sedondon rona putih duduk di pelamin dan berkongsi saat indah itu di laman Instagram miliknya.

Antara rakan selebriti yang berkongsi berita dan gambar pernikahannya termasuk Puan Sri Tiara Jacquelina serta Fasha Sandha yang turut menyertakan #kisahcintamariarahman.

Terdahulu, ibu kepada seorang anak tunggal berusia 18 tahun itu dituduh cuba merampas suami kepada rakan baiknya sendiri, Karen Rahman, yang juga pengasas produk kecantikan KR Beauty Care.

- Sumber: BH Online 

Perhimpunan UMNO: "Orang dah jemput, saya pergi lah" - Tun M

DR MAHATHIR: Sepatutnya tiada ahli yang dihalang untuk datang ke perhimpunan parti.

KUALA LUMPUR: Mantan presiden UMNO, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad memaklumkan bahawa beliau akan hadir dalam Perhimpunan Agung UMNO 2015 yang akan bermula 8 Disember ini.

"Orang dah jemput saya, saya pergi lah. Ini parti saya, dan juga parti untuk semua orang Melayu.

"Sepatutnya tiada siapa pun ahli yang dihalang untuk datang ke perhimpunan ini," katanya selepas menutup Kuala Lumpur Summit 2015 di sebuah hotel di sini hari ini.

Semalam, Naib Presiden UMNO Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi memberitahu bahawa Dr Mahathir dijemput untuk hadir ke perhimpunan terbabit kerana ahli-ahli parti masih menghormatinya.

- Sumber: Astro Awani | November 29, 2015

Bapa terkejut mesej WeChat dedah anak gadis lakukan hubungan seks

Seorang bapa kepada remaja 13 tahun membuat laporan polis susulan penemuan bukti anaknya melakukan hubungan seks dengan lelaki 23 tahun. -Gambar hiasan

KAMPAR: Seorang bapa kepada remaja perempuan berusia 13 tahun membuat laporan polis susulan penemuan bukti anaknya telah melakukan hubungan seks dengan seorang lelaki berusia 23 tahun.

Ketua Polis Daerah Kampar, Superintendan Ng Kong Soon berkata bapa mangsa terkejut apabila terbaca pesanan ringkas tentang kejadian tersebut melalui aplikasi WeChat di telefon bimbit milik anaknya. 

Bapa remaja bawah umur berkenaan kemudian membuat laporan polis yang menjurus kepada penangkapan suspek yang disyaki merogol anak perempuannya itu.

Menurut Ng, kejadian berlaku apabila suspek dan mangsa berkenalan pada 8 Nov lalu melalui aplikasi mudah alih berkenaan sebelum bersetuju untuk bertemu di Pekan Kampar enam hari kemudian.

"Selang beberapa hari, suspek dan mangsa kemudian berjumpa lagi pada 20 Nov dan suspek kemudian mengajak mangsa melakukan hubungan seks di Tandas Awam Plaza Kranji, Jalan Market.

"Walau pada awalnya mangsa menolak, dia akhirnya akur dengan kehendak suspek setelah suspek berjanji tidak akan meninggalkannya," katanya kepada Astro AWANI.

Tambah Ng, suspek mengulangi perlakuannya itu dua hari kemudian di tempat yang sama.

Menurutnya lagi, kejadian itu akhirnya terbongkar‎ apabila bapa mangsa terbaca mesej berkaitan di aplikasi WeChat anak perempuannya itu.

"Mangsa kemudian menceritakan kejadian sebenar kepada bapanya sebelum dibawa ke Balai Polis Malim Nawar untuk membuat laporan polis.

Mangsa kini dihantar ke unit pakar O&G di Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun (HRPB) bagi tujuan pemeriksaan.

[UNDIAN] Patutkah ibu-bapa memantau sistem aplikasi pesanan anak-anak mereka?

Ya 91.89%  

Neutral  5.02%  

Tidak setuju 3.09%  

[UNDIAN] Jika anda seorang anak, adakah anda akan memberikan telefon bimbit anda diperiksa oleh ibu-bapa anda?

Ya 50.32%  

Tidak 30.11%  

Neutral  19.57%  

- Sumber: Astro Awani 

Tyson Fury beats Wladimir Klitschko to become world champion

Tyson Fury secured a unanimous points decision to become the new world heavyweight champion

Britain's Tyson Fury pulled off one of the great boxing upsets as he outpointed Wladimir Klitschko to become heavyweight champion of the world. 

It was a dour and often messy fight but Fury, courtesy of his superior boxing skills, fully deserved to be awarded a unanimous decision. 

Klitschko, whose nine-year reign as champion was brought to an end, simply could not work the challenger out and did not do enough to win.

Fury, who was awarded the fight 115-112, 115-112, 116-111 on the judges' scorecards, is now the WBA, IBF and WBO champion.

The 27-year-old Manchester fighter is only Britain's fifth bona fide heavyweight world champion after Bob Fitzsimmons, Lennox Lewis, Frank Bruno and David Haye.

Fun and games pay off for Fury

"You're a great champion Wlad, thanks very much for having me," said Fury, moments after his win was announced in Dusseldorf. 

The self-styled 'Gypsy King' had taunted his opponent ahead of the fight and even dressed as Batman at one news conference.

"It was all fun and games in the build-up, I just wanted to be confident, young and brash," said Fury, who had complained about the thickness of the foam under the ring canvas before the bout.

To the delight of British fans in the 50,000-capacity Esprit Arena, he burst into a rendition of Aerosmith's hit ballad I Don't Want To Miss A Thing, dedicating it to his wife and his fans in Ireland, the UK, the United States and Germany.

Confounding the doubters

Klitschko had not been beaten since 2004 and his second reign as champion included 19 successful defences.

This represented a big step up in class for Fury, whose biggest previous win was against fellow Briton Dereck Chisora (twice).

After a build-up which included Fury impersonating Bette Midler at a public workout, few expected the Englishman to make good on his promises and dethrone Klitschko.

But Fury's mobility and head movement, as well as his ability to switch between orthodox and southpaw, added up to a puzzle the 39-year-old champion simply could not work out

How the fight unfolded

Fury came charging out of his corner at the sound of the first bell but thereafter it was a cagey first round which the challenger probably won courtesy of a couple of ramrod jabs.

The second was another tight affair but with Klitschko unwilling to open up and unleash his fabled right cross, the more ambitious Fury - who looked remarkably relaxed given the circumstances - probably nicked it again.

Fury's switch to southpaw at the start of the third failed to draw Klitschko out of his shell and it was becoming apparent that the champion was finding his English rival more difficult to work out than perhaps he had anticipated.

After the fourth, during which Klitschko was again frustrated, there was a sense of disbelief among the German fans, that their hero was finding the task so onerous.

Klitschko did finally land with a big right hand in the fifth but Fury took it well and in the following round Fury openly taunted his rival, dropping his gloves and offering his chin, which Klitschko was still unable to locate.

Klitschko looks his age:

In the seventh, Fury went one stage further, crossing his arms behind his back, and at the end of the eighth there were plenty of concerned looks in Klitschko's corner. The cut champion, all of a sudden, looked every one of his 39 years. 

Both men showed more willingness to engage in the ninth, with Fury sending Klitschko staggering towards the ropes with a meaty overhand right, and by the 10th the champion was showing real signs of fatigue.

The fight became messier in the 11th, with American referee Tony Weeks frequently having to pull the boxers apart, and Fury was docked a point for punching the back of the head.

With the result in the balance, both men went at it in the final three minutes but neither of them was able to land a clean, knockout blow. Scientists 

Five facts about Tyson FuryBackground: Fury was born into a family of Irish travellers. His father, John Fury, was a bare-knuckle fighter in the 1980s, who was jailed in 2011 for gouging a man's eye out.

Lightweight to heavyweight: Tyson was born three months premature and weighed in at 1lb - doctors described his chances of survival as slim.

What's in a name? His father named him 'Tyson' as world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson was in his pomp when Fury was born in August 1988.

Father time: Fury and wife Paris have a five-year-old daughter called Venezuela and three-year old son Prince.

Sporting chance: Fury, a keen Manchester United fan, represented both Ireland and England at amateur level

Tyson Fury - champion of the world

Fury has won all 25 of hisfights, 18 of them by knockout

Unbeaten Fury, written off beforehand by many pundits, was clocking up his 25th straight win.

Before Saturday, Klitschko had 65 wins from 68 professional fights stretching back to 1996, and he can take some consolation from the fact he surpassed Joe Louis' previous record of 28 heavyweight world title fights.

There may yet be a rematch although victory over America's WBC champion Deontay Wilder, if that fight could be made, would make Fury the first undisputed world heavyweight champion since Britain's Lewis in 2000.

Scientists 

Other potential opponents include compatriot David Haye - who twice pulled out of a fight against Fury in 2013 and is making a comeback in January - and Britain's Olympic champion Anthony Joshua, who is currently unbeaten in 14 pro fights, all by knockout.

Joshua's next fight is against Dillian Whyte for the vacant British title on 12 December and while 2016 is probably too soon for a fight against Fury, it could happen the following year.

- Source: BBC

Johor negeri pertama haramkan penjualan vape

Sultan Johor beri masa sebulan untuk peniaga vape menutup operasi mereka.

KUALA LUMPUR: Sultan Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Almarhum Sultan Iskandar, menitahkan penjualan rokok elektronik atau vape adalah diharamkan di negeri tersebut.

Laporan akhbar, The Star menyebut baginda memberi tempoh sebulan kepada semua peniaga vape di negeri itu untuk menutup premis perniagaan mereka bermula 1 Januari 2016.

"Ini adalah isu kesihatan dan bagaimana ia akan memberi kesan kepada generasi muda. Ia tidak ada kena-mengena dengan perniagaan dan sama sekali tidak ada kaitan dengan bangsa," titah baginda.

Kerajaan negeri juga diarahkan agar bersidang minggu hadapan untuk mempercepatkan proses tersebut.

Baginda juga mempersoalkan tindakan sesetengah ahli politik yang dilihat mengalah kepada kehendak dan permintaan peniaga vape.

"Beta mahu tahu jika peniaga vape akan membenarkan ahli keluarga atau anak-anak mereka menghisap vape, jika benar ia selamat seperti yang digembar-gemburkan," baginda bertitah.

Dengan perkembangan terbaharu ini telah menjadikan Johor negeri pertama yang mengharamkan penjualan vape.

Setakat ini, belum ada kajian saintifik yang membuktikan bahawa vape boleh membantu menghentikan ketagihan rokok, sebaliknya pakar percaya vape akan menyebabkan satu bentuk ketagihan baharu di kalangan golongan muda.

- Sumber: Astro Awani 

Lakes expanding 'dangerously' in Everest glacier

Scientists are warning that superglacial ponds like this one are expanding to form lakes

Lakes that have been forming near Mount Everest could threaten settlements downstream if they overflow.

Ponds on the surface of the Khumbu glacier in the Himalayas have expanded and joined together to form larger bodies of water.

Climbers need to cross the glacier, including the treacherous Khumbu Icefall, to climb the mighty peak.

The accelerated meltdown of glaciers in the region is causing concern against a backdrop of rising global temperatures.

Scientists say the warning is the first of its kind for Khumbu, although other glaciers in the Himalayas have seen an increase in the number of lakes formed.

Such newly formed glacial lakes can overflow causing flooding, and with it loss of life and damage downstream. 

Disintegrating glaciers

This is the first scientific team to visit the region after the devastating earthquake last April.

"A decade or so ago, there were individual ponds on the Khumbu glacier but in the past five years or so they have begun to get larger and join up," said Ann Rowan, who led the field study team from the universities of Sheffield and Leeds.

Dr Rowan's team has been studying the behaviour of debris-covered glaciers, focusing on Khumbu.

"Particularly, on the left hand side of the lower reaches of the glacier, there is a series of about seven or eight large ponds that are now starting to link and form a big chain," she told the BBC.

"There is water flowing from the upper part of the glacier through the series of these ponds and that is going to encourage them to join up. 

"At present, the glacier appears to be disintegrating, and may form a few large and potentially hazardous lakes on the glacier surface."

It is the first scientific expedition to assess the glacier since the earthquake in April. Image: C. Scott Watson, University of Leeds

Dr Rowan's team has studied satellite images of the Khumbu glacier dating back 15 years and has also conducted three ground surveys since 2009.

The scientists found that parts of the lower region of the debris-covered glacier have been shrinking because of loss of ice underneath. This has allowed the formation and expansion of water bodies.

The study says measurements for the past 15 years show that the surface of the debris-covered glacier has been declining at the rate of two metres per year.

Unlike the usually smooth-iced glaciers elsewhere, many in the Himalayan region are debris covered, meaning they are coated by a layer of sand, gravel and rock.

Scientists say since the upper parts of many Himalayan glaciers are losing ice mass due to rising temperatures. The supply of ice to the lower part of the glacier is therefore decreasing, causing the shrinkage.

Worrying pattern

Other experts on debris-covered glaciers in the region say they too have also noticed similar developments

"The surface lowering makes it difficult for the glacier to evacuate water from the surface past the large bounding moraines," said Lindsey Nicholson, from the University of Innsbruck.

"The level of the runoff stream that cuts across the terminal moraines sets a 'base level' for the glacier's internal water table and it seems that rapidly coalescing lakes are usually associated with this water table."

Hydrologist Jeffrey Kargel from the University of Arizona has been studying glacial lakes in the Himalayas for several years and said a pattern was developing. 

"The worrisome thing is that if the process continues, then there will be a new glacial lake to worry about in a populated and heavily used valley," he said.

The Dig Tsho glacial lake in the Khumbu valley burst in 1985, destroying a hydropower plant and other infrastructure downstream.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep), there have been at least 35 events of glacial lake outbursts in Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan and China over the past century.

Mountaineers seeking to scale Everest must pass through the Khumbu glacier. Image: C. Scott Watson, University of Leeds.

Records show ponds developed and drained on the Khumbu glacier in the past too but scientists say the rising temperatures and accelerated meltdown of glaciers in recent years is causing concern.

"As the glacier continues to lower down, it gets more and more disconnected with the Khumbu Icefall, which means mountaineers could find it increasingly hard to climb," said Cameron Watson, a researcher with the Leeds University. 

While some members of the Sherpa community that inhabits the Khumbu valley are concerned, others say they are not worried.

"We hear such alarmist reports every now and then," said Ang Kami Sherpa, the head of a Sherpa team known as ice fall doctors who fix the route on the Khumbu Icefall for climbers every year.

"The ponds will come and go but as long as we keep our gods on the mountains happy, we have nothing to fear."

- Source: BBC | 27 November 2015

iPhone 7 tidak akan mempunyai Jack Fon kepala?

Ketika diperlihatkan kepada umum pada tahun 2007, iPhone menurut mendiang Steve Jobs ialah sebuah iPod, telefon yang akan mengubah dunia dan peranti pelayar web mudah alih terbaik.

Kemunculan iPhone adalah antara sebab mengapa jualan iPod mengalami kejatuhan mendadak. Dalam sekelip mata iPhone menggantikan iPod sebagai peranti paling dimahukan pernah dihasilkan oleh Cupertino. Telefon pintar ini memang terkenal dengan kemampuan audio yang baik terutamanya sekiranya ia dipadankan dengan fon kepala Beats.

Sambungan audio dilakukan dengan menggunakan jack fon kepala 3.5mm. Saiz piawai ini sudah digunakan sejak 1970an. Jika iPhone membunuh iPod, kini wujud ura-ura iPhone 7 akan membunuh jack fon kepala 3.5mm.

Ura-ura mengatakan iPhone 7 tidak akan dilengkapi jack fon kepala dan kesemua sambungan audio dilakukan menggunakan port Lightning. Dengan penggunaan port Lightining, ketebalan iPhone 7 akan dapat dikurangkan berbanding iPhone 6S sekarang.

Di pasaran sekarang sudahpun wujud beberapa fon kepala dan telinga yang menggunakan sambungan Lightning. Ini pastinya penyelesaian yang lebih mudah berbanding penggunaan jack fon kepala baru yang dipatenkan oleh mereka beberapa tahun yang lalu.

Sekiranya ura-ura ini menjadi kenyataan adakah ianya mungkin akan menjadi ikutan sepertimana pengguna skrin sesentuh seakan 3D Touch mula wujud pada beberapa peranti Android sekarang.

- Sumber: Amanz & 9to5mac

Warga emas sesat di Ulu Chepor ditemui tidak bermaya

Wan Thot, 80 dilaporkan telah hilang pada malam semalam ( Sabtu) ketika sedang melakukan 'jungle-trekking' sebelum sesat dan tidak menemui jalan keluar.

CHEMOR: Seorang warga emas yang dilaporkan sesat di sekitar tapak perkelahan Ulu Chepor di sini berjaya ‎ditemui dalam keadaan lemah dan tidak bermaya ‎pada pagi Ahad.

Mangsa, Foo Wan Thot, 80 dilaporkan telah ‎hilang pada malam semalam ( Sabtu) ketika sedang melakukan aktiviti 'jungle-trekking' sebelum sesat hampir 10 jam sebelum berjaya ditemui pagi tadi.

Ketua Operasi Balai Bomba dan Penyelamat ( BBP) Meru Raya, Penolong Kanan Penguasa Bomba, Mohd Zamri Awang Long berkata pihaknya menjalankan aktiviti pencarian sekitar 8 malam, pada Sabtu.

"Foo sebenarnya sudah biasa melalui jalan ini untuk melaksanakan rutin senaman harian di sekitar tapak perkelahan ini namun semalam, dia tidak berjaya menemui jalan keluar.

" Mangsa kini telah dihantar ke hospital dengan menggunakan ambulans bagi mendapatkan pemeriksaan rawatan lanjut,"katanya ketika dihubungi Astro Awani.

Mohd Zamri berkata, pihaknya menerima panggilan mengenai kehilangan warga emas itu daripada ahli keluarga Foo pada malam Sabtu dan segera menggerakan jentera operasi mencari dan menyelamat.

"Kita telah menubuhkan 2 kumpulan dan mencari mangsa secara bergilir-gilir sehingga mangsa ditemui pagi ini.

"Seramai 27 orang yang terdiri daripada anggota Bomba, JPAM, PDRM, MUST Team, pasukan perubatan dan orang awam yang membantu sebagai penunjuk arah telah terlibat dalam operasi ini," katanya lagi.

Menurut Mohd Zamri, Foo, ketika ditemui berasa lega dan be‎rterima kasih kepada pasukannya yang sanggup bersengkang mata untuk mencarinya walau keadaan tanah agak lembap berikutan hujan pada hari sebelumnya. 

- Sumber: Astro Awani 

Raja Muda Kedah mangkat pagi tadi

Almarhum Tunku Abdul Malik Sultan Badlishah. - Foto The Star

ALOR SETAR - Raja Muda Kedah, Tunku Abdul Malik Sultan Badlishah mangkat di Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah, Alor Setar, kira-kira jam 1 pagi tadi.

Difahamkan, kemangkatan almarhum akibat sakit tua.

Menteri Besar Kedah, Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir berkata, jenazah almarhum akan disembahyangkan di Dewan Penghadapan, Istana Anak Bukit pada jam 1 petang.

“Jenazah almarhum akan disemayamkan di Dewan Penghadapan, Istana Anak Bukit, Alor Setar bagi maksud penghormatan terakhir.

“Mulai jam 1.30 hingga 2.30 petang untuk orang ramai. Sementara 2.30 hingga 3.30 petang bagi orang kenamaan,” katanya kepada media di Wisma Darul Aman, di sini, hari ini.

Beliau berkata, Almarhum akan dimakamkan di Makam Di Raja Langgar pada jam 4.45 petang ini.

“Jenazah almarhum akan dibawa melalui jalan-jalan Lebuhraya Darul Aman, Lebuhraya Sultanah Bahiyah, Jalan Langgar dan terus ke Makam Di Raja Langgar.

“Bendera negeri, persekutuan dan lain-lain hendaklah dikibarkan separuh tiang selama tiga hari mulai hari ini,” katanya.

Menurutnya, tempoh perkabungan perkabungan selama tujuh hari sehingga Sabtu ini.

“Sepanjang waktu itu semua bentuk hiburan, keramaian dan perayaan dibatalkan.

“Bagi pihak kerajaan negeri, saya ucapkan takziah kepada seluruh Kerabat Diraja Kedah atas kemangkatan Tunku Abdul Malik,” katanya.

Al Fatihah.- Sumber: Sinar Harian | 29 November 2015