Wikinews:Audio Wikinews/Transcripts/May 25, 2005

Audio Wikinews transcript – 2005 05 25 – 2100 UTC
As reported by Nicholas Gerda

May 25, 2005. This is Wikinews.

Lead Story
Marshall Islands to request $3 billion more from U.S. for health effects of nuclear testing The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) is petitioning for $3 billion in additional compensation from the U.S. government, after receiving $270 million in an agreement which expired in 2001. The U.S. government performed a series of 67 tests of nuclear weapons in the Marshall Islands between 1946 and 1958. Fallout from the testing is claimed to have affected some of the island's near 60,000 inhabitants. "We're finding people on remote islands with high percentages of cancers," said RMI Foreign Minister Gerald Zackios. A report last year from the U.S. National Cancer Institute estimated that about 530 total cancers could appear, almost double the amount currently known. The U.S. government disagrees over which islands were affected by the testing. Also, U.S. agencies have concluded that there is no further legal requirement for compensation above what has already been provided, unless the situation changes substantially. The government of the Marshall Islands plans to "work tirelessly together to make certain that the nuclear issue is settled in a fair and just manner", said RMI President Kessai Note. Both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate plan to hold hearings on the claim as soon as May 25.

Headlines
Democratic Republic of Congo adopts new constitution, plans elections The Democratic Republic of the Congo adopted a new constitution on May 13, and elections are being planned for the first time in more than 40 years. The Congo has been torn by five years of civil war. Peace was declared in 2003, but hunger and disease continue to trouble the country. The U.S. State Department praised recent political developments in the African nation. Spokesman Richard Boucher made a statement that the new constitution "establishes a balance of powers between the branches of government, ensures protection and development of minorities, and provides for a limit of two presidential terms. We note the flexibility shown by all members of the transitional Congolese government in reaching this agreement." Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht asked for civil calm as the difficult process of preparing for elections goes forward. The election has already been delayed by the government for several months, and further postponements are expected. Congo was once a Belgian colony, and the two governments are working together to prevent the outbreak of more rioting such as happened after the last election delay in January. Congolese President Joseph Kabila has requested military assistance from the European Union to help restrain and instruct the Congolese army and integrate it better with the government. The EU announced Monday that ten of its member nations plan to participate. This is the first such deal made by the EU.

Ebola outbreak in Congo Reuters reports that nine people have died from Ebola in the Republic of Congo this month. The outbreak is in the Cuvette-Ouest region near the Gabon border, where a previous outbreak had occurred in 2003. The government of Congo and the United Nations World Health Organization have announced a quarantine of the Etoumbi and Mbomo districts. They are monitoring 84 suspected cases in the two regions. Jean-Vivien Mombouli, advisor to the Congolese Ministry of Health, pointed out the individuals may not actually have the virus; only one confirmed case of Ebola has been diagnosed thus far. "We will wait for 21 days just to be sure then after that, if the person does not get sick, he is out of danger," Mr. Mombouli said of the patients. Ebola has a five to ten day incubation period. Neighbouring Uganda has stepped up its surveillance in response to the outbreak. No cure exists for Ebola, and between 50-90% of those who contract it die. Zaire/Congo has sustained the largest number, and most severe, outbreaks of the Ebola virus. Although no cure exists, work continues on a vaccine and it is in the human trial stages, as well as research into pharmaceutical treatments.

Voyager 1 enters heliosheath at edge of solar system The Voyager 1 spacecraft, launched in 1977 to explore the planets, is now agreed by scientists to have entered the heliosheath at the edge of the solar system 8.7 billion miles (14 billion kilometers) from the Sun. In a few years, Voyager 1 is expected to become the first man-made object to cross into interstellar space. "Voyager has entered the final lap on its race to the edge of interstellar space, as it begins exploring the solar system's final frontier," said Dr. Edward Stone, Voyager project scientist at the California Institute of Technology. As long ago as 2003, scientists thought Voyager 1 was entering the termination shock region of the solar system, but there was some dispute. The termination shock is the area preceding the heliosheath, where the electrically charged solar wind is slowed and concentrated by contact with interstellar gas. The heliosheath is considered the outer edge of our solar system. Around it is the heliopause, a cosmic bubble where the pressure of solar wind and interstellar wind is in balance. The solar system as a whole is in orbit around the center of the Milky Way galaxy. As it plows through clouds of interstellar gas and dust, a bow shock forms ahead of it, which has been compared to the turbulence a ship creates as it sails through ocean currents. Voyager 1 is still operational and sending back reams of scientific data. Already notable for more than 27 years of successful operation, Voyager 1 is projected to continue operating on its plutonium power source possibly until the year 2020. Voyager 2, its companion probe launched the same year, has visited more planets than any other spacecraft. It too is eventually expected to exit the solar system at a more downward angle, but is currently only 80% as far from the sun as Voyager 1. The Voyagers are not only gathering data about the cosmos, they are sending the greetings of the human world out to it. Each Voyager contains what is known as the "Golden Record", which is an audio recording on a 12-inch gold plated copper disc. The discs contain samples of nature sounds, spoken greetings in 55 human languages, and musical compositions. The collection of samples was supervised by astronomer Carl Sagan, and is intended to convey the hopefulness of life on Earth for possible discovery by alien races or retrieval by some advanced human civilization.

Wikipedia Current Events

 * The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, the world's longest oil pipeline, is opened in Baku, Azerbaijan.
 * Voyager 1, the most distant man-made object, has entered the heliosheath and is on the cusp of leaving the Solar System and entering the interstellar medium.
 * Nambaryn Enkhbayar of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party is elected President of Mongolia.
 * Chancellor Gerhard Schröder of Germany announces early federal elections to be held later this year, after his Social Democrats lose the state election in North Rhine-Westphalia to the Christian Democrats, ending 39 years in government.
 * Helena Paparizou becomes the first contestant from Greece to win the Eurovision Song Contest.

Today in History provided by Wikipedia
May 25: Independence Day in Jordan since 1946.


 * 1420 - Henry the Navigator became Grandmaster of the Order of Christ, the Portuguese successor to the Knights Templar.
 * 1521 - Martin Luther was declared an outlaw and a heretic by the Diet of Worms.
 * 1810 - May Revolution: Citizens of Buenos Aires ousted the Spanish viceroy and established the first independent local government in Argentina.
 * 1895 - The Republic of Formosa was inaugurated in Taiwan, proclaiming independence from Qing China.
 * 1961 - Project Apollo, with the goal of "landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth before the decade is out" was announced by President John F. Kennedy.

Today's fact provided by Wikipedia
William Bergsma wrote an opera about a dog who turned into a man in 1920s Moscow as the result of a crazy experiment.

Thank you for joining us for today's segment. Join us again tomorrow for more headlines, news, facts, and anniversaries; and next week will have our very first Special Report.

I'm Nicholas Gerda.

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