Saturday, May 28, 2016

M6.6 - SOUTH OF THE FIJI ISLANDS

M6.6 - SOUTH OF THE FIJI ISLANDS

Preliminary Earthquake Report

Magnitude 6.6

Date-Time28 May 2016 05:38:51 UTC27 May 2016 17:38:51 near epicenter 28 May 2016 00:38:51 standard time in your timezone
Location22.021S 178.161WDepth416 km

Distances161 km (99 mi) SSE of Ndoi Island, Fiji321 km (199 mi) WSW of Nuku`alofa, Tonga557 km (345 mi) SE of Suva, Fiji657 km (407 mi) SE of Nadi, Fiji671 km (416 mi) SSE of Lambasa, FijiLocation UncertaintyHorizontal: 8.8 km; Vertical 5.3 kmParametersNph = 239; Dmin = 617.1 km; Rmss = 1.18 seconds; Gp = 19°
Version =Event IDus 20005yqp

For updates, maps, and technical information, see: Event Page or USGS Earthquake Hazards Program

M7.3 - SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS REGION

M7.3 - SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS REGION

Preliminary Earthquake Report

Magnitude7.3
Date-Time28 May 2016 09:47:02 UTC28 May 2016 07:47:02 near epicenter
28 May 2016 04:47:02 standard time in your timezoneLocation56.257S 27.036WDepth93 km

Distances50 km (31 mi) NNE of Visokoi Island, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands2571 km (1594 mi) ESE of Ushuaia, Argentina2772 km (1718 mi) ESE of Rio Gallegos, Argentina2787 km (1727 mi) SE of Puerto Deseado, Argentina2065 km (1280 mi) ESE of Stanley, Falkland IslandsLocation UncertaintyHorizontal: 9.3 km; Vertical 6.5 kmParametersNph = 82; Dmin = 639.7 km; Rmss = 1.23 seconds; Gp = 27°
Version =Event IDus 20005ysu

For updates, maps, and technical information, see: Event Page or USGS Earthquake Hazards Program

Monday, May 23, 2016

Pope and top imam embrace in historic Vatican meeting

Pope and top imam embrace in historic Vatican meeting

AFP

May 23, 2016

Pope Francis (right) talks with Al-Azhar's Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb during a private audience at the Vatican, on May 23, 2016

Pope Francis (right) talks with Al-Azhar's Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb during a private audience at the Vatican, on May 23, 2016 (AFP Photo/Max Rossi)

Vatican City (AFP) - Pope Francis embraced the grand imam of Cairo's Al-Azhar Mosque at the Vatican on Monday in a historic encounter both sides hope will lead to greater understanding and dialogue between the two faiths.

The first Vatican meeting between the leader of the world's Catholics and the highest authority in Sunni Islam marks the culmination of a significant improvement in relations between the two faiths since Francis took office in 2013.

"Our meeting is the message," Francis said in a brief comment at the start of his meeting with Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, shortly after he had hugged and kissed his guest, Vatican officials told a small pool of reporters covering the event.

In a statement on the trip, Al-Azhar, an institution that also comprises a prestigious seat of learning, said the two sides had agreed to convene a "peace conference".

A statement quoted Tayeb as telling Francis: "We need to take a joint stance, hand in hand, to bring happiness to humanity. Divine religions were revealed to make people happy, not to cause them hardship."

The imam's deputy, Abbas Shuman, told Egyptian TV channel CBC that the two leaders had agreed to resume dialogue and that the proposed conference would cover the issues of poverty, extremism and terrorism.

The Vatican did not immediately confirm the conference plans. A spokesman said the talks had been "very cordial" with the imam spending 30 minutes with the pope and just over an hour in total at St Peter's.

Tayeb's decision to fly to Rome, unexpectedly announced last week, followed the easing of serious tensions that marked the reign of Francis's predecessor, Benedict XVI.

Ties were badly soured when the now-retired Benedict made a September 2006 speech in which he was perceived to have linked Islam to violence, sparking deadly protests in several countries and reprisal attacks on Christians.

Pope John-Paul II met the then-grand imam of Al-Azhar in Cairo in 2000, a year before the September 11 attacks on New York transformed relations between the West and the Islamic world.

Monday's visit was effectively the long-delayed reciprocal meeting and the Vatican said that both clerics had "underlined the great significance of this new meeting".

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said in a statement that the pope and the imam had "mainly addressed the common challenges faced by the authorities and faithful of the major religions of the world."

These included working together for world peace, rejecting violence and terrorism, and the situation and protection of Christians against a backdrop of conflict and terrorism in the Middle East."

- Promoting 'true Islam' -

The pope presented the imam with a copy of his recent encyclical, Laudato Si', a letter to the faithful in which he urges the world to wake up to the threat posed by climate change and economic inequality.

Tayeb decided to accept the invitation to Rome as a result of the numerous conciliatory gestures Francis has made to the Muslim world since being elected in early 2013.

"If it were not for these good positions the meeting would not be happening," Shuman told AFP on Sunday, adding that the imam wanted to promote "true Islam and to correct misunderstandings created by extremist terrorist groups."

"He encourages countries not to deal with their Muslim citizens as groups that present a threat," Shuman said.

"And he encourages Muslims in Western society to meld with their societies... it is a message for both sides."

After the tensions of the Benedict years, Francis moved quickly to set a new tone, sending a personal message to the Muslim world to mark the end of the first month of Ramadan of his pontificate.

The Argentinian pontiff followed up by pushing various inter-faith initiatives and he was accompanied by both Rabbi Abraham Skorka and Islamic studies professor Omar Abboud when he visited Jordan and Israel in 2014.

But perhaps the gesture that clinched the deal was the most dramatic piece of political theatre of his papacy: his April visit to the migrant crisis island of Lesbos which concluded with him bringing three Syrian Muslim families back to the Vatican.

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Magnitude 6.7 - NEAR THE COAST OF ECUADOR

M6.7 - NEAR THE COAST OF ECUADOR

Preliminary Earthquake Report Magnitude 6.7

Date-Time18 May 2016 07:57:05 UTC18 May 2016 02:57:05 near epicenter

18 May 2016 02:57:05 standard time in your time zone

Location0.428N 79.765WDepth32 km Distances34 km (21 mi) WNW of Rosa Zarate, Ecuador35 km (21 mi) ESE of Muisne, Ecuador56 km (34 mi) S of Propicia, Ecuador101 km (62 mi) NW of Santo Domingo de los Colorados, Ecuador156 km (96 mi) WNW of Quito, Ecuador

Location UncertaintyHorizontal: 7.0 km; Vertical 4.9 kmParametersNph = 101; Dmin = 147.6 km; Rmss = 1.03 seconds; Gp = 60°
Version =Event IDus 10005i5t

For updates, maps, and technical information, see: Event Page or USGS Earthquake Hazards Program

Saturday, May 14, 2016

Resisting The Bathroom Bully

After learning of the Obama administration’s letter insisting public schools open their restrooms to transgender students based on gender identity, evangelist Franklin Graham was quick to post his response on Facebook.

In the post, Graham first addressed government overreach. “Who does President Barack Obama think he is? The sultan of Washington?” he asked. Graham went on to ask the question many across the country wish they could ask the president, writing, “What about the privacy and protection of all the other students? Isn’t this discrimination against all of them?” According to Graham, this decision will expose many students to sexual predators.

Pope: Poverty, Politics and Profit Need Global Unity

Sunday, May 8, 2016

WARNING: Geomagnetic K-index of 7 or greater expected

Space Weather Message Code: WARK07 Serial Number: 66 Issue Time: 2016 May 08 2359 UTC

WARNING: Geomagnetic K-index of 7 or greater expected Valid From: 2016 May 08 2355 UTC Valid To: 2016 May 09 0400 UTC Warning Condition: Onset NOAA Scale: G3 or greater - Strong to Extreme

NOAA Space Weather Scale descriptions can be found at www.swpc.noaa.gov/noaa-scales-explanation

Potential Impacts: Area of impact primarily poleward of 50 degrees Geomagnetic Latitude. Induced Currents - Power system voltage irregularities possible, false alarms may be triggered on some protection devices. Spacecraft - Systems may experience surface charging; increased drag on low Earth-orbit satellites and orientation problems may occur. Navigation - Intermittent satellite navigation (GPS) problems, including loss-of-lock and increased range error may occur. Radio - HF (high frequency) radio may be intermittent. Aurora - Aurora may be seen as low as Pennsylvania to Iowa to Oregon.

Sunday, May 1, 2016

WARNING: Geomagnetic K-Index of 6 expected

Space Weather Message Code: WARK06 Serial Number: 329 Issue Time: 2016 May 02 0100 UTC WARNING: Geomagnetic K-Index of 6 expected

Valid From: 2016 May 02 0100 UTC Valid To: 2016 May 02 0400 UTC Warning Condition: Onset NOAA Scale: G2 - Moderate

NOAA Space Weather Scale descriptions can be found at www.swpc.noaa.gov/noaa-scales-explanation

Potential Impacts: Area of impact primarily poleward of 55 degrees Geomagnetic Latitude. Induced Currents - Power grid fluctuations can occur. High-latitude power systems may experience voltage alarms. Spacecraft - Satellite orientation irregularities may occur; increased drag on low Earth-orbit satellites is possible. Radio - HF (high frequency) radio propagation can fade at higher latitudes. Aurora - Aurora may be seen as low as New York to Wisconsin to Washington state.