February 2014 – Page 3 – GREEK WORLD MEDIA

Ancient footprints 800,000 years old found in England; oldest outside Africa

Early steps…These fossilised human footprints, thought to be more than 800,000 years old, were discovered in silt on the beach at Happisburgh on the Norfolk coast of England. Picture: AP/British Museum Source: AP

FOOTPRINTS left by ancient humans 800,000 years ago have been found in Britain, the earliest evidence of such markings outside Africa, scientists say.

Researchers discovered the footprints, which were left by both adults and children, in ancient estuary mud at Happisburgh in Norfolk, eastern England.

The only older footprints found so far are at Laetoli in Tanzania, at about 3.5 million years old, and at Ileret and Koobi Fora in Kenya at about 1.5 million years, they added.

“This is an extraordinarily rare discovery,” said Nick Ashton of the British Museum, who led the research team, which also involved the National History Museum and Queen Mary University London.

The discovery came at an archaeological site that has yielded several previous discoveries of stone tools and fossil bones, including mammoth remains.

The researchers found the prints at low tide when waves washed away much of the beach sand to expose the silt below.

“At first we weren’t sure what we were seeing but as we removed any remaining beach sand and sponged off the seawater, it was clear that the hollows resembled prints, perhaps human footprints, and that we needed to record the surface as quickly as possible before the sea eroded it away,” Ashton said.

The group of early humans that left the footprints appeared to have consisted of at least one male and several smaller people believed to be females and youngsters, the researchers said.

“They are clearly a family group rather than a hunting party,” said Ashton.

The footprints were dated at 800,000 years old partly on the basis of the site’s geological position beneath glacial deposits, but also because the fossils there come from now-extinct types of mammoth and horse and early forms of vole that were alive at that time.

A team from the British Museum, the Natural History Museum and the University of London uncovered imprints from up to five individuals in ancient estuary mud at Happisburgh on the country’s east coast.

British Museum scientist Nick Ashton says the prints are “a tangible link to our earliest human relatives.”

The scientists say the humans who left the footprints may have been related to Homo antecessor, or “pioneer man,” whose fossilised remains have been found in Spain and who died out 800,000 years ago.

The find was announced Friday, and published in the journal PLOS ONE.

SeaOrbiter is the world’s first non-stop research vessel hoping to find Atlantis

Souce: News.com.au

Oceanographic research right ahead! The SeaOrbiter is a multipurpose super vessel designed to search the world’s oceans for new life forms and lost civilisations. Source: SeaOrbiter Source: Supplied

THE world’s oceans are big, dark and full of mystery. How to unlock the secrets of the deep? With the SeaOrbiter – a gigantic, solar-powered, floating aquatic observation vessel that will scour the seas non-stop for new life and sunken civilisations.

It might look like something out of a James Cameron dream but this 190ft tall floating behemoth is taking to open water as the world’s first non-stop exploration vessel, complete with submarine drones, underwater living quarters and space training simulator.

Oceanographer Jacques Rougerie is the mastermind behind the SeaOrbiter – a creation he’s been designing for over a decade – and secured the final 30 per cent of the A$53 million build cost from crowdfunding site KissKissBankBank.

Constantly roaming the oceans and with over half of the 190ft ship under the water’s surface the SeaOrbiter offers an alternative exploration proposition to current research projects. Missions have been mapped out when it sets sail to get an in-depth look at seabeds, search for lost civilisations, find mythical deep sea creatures and find new life forms.

With 90 per cent of the world’s oceans still unexplored it’s estimated that there are millions more species not yet recorded or observed and Rougerie aims to scan the planet’s abysses to find them.

A plan of the SeaOrbiter. Sun lounge deck nowhere to be found. Source: SeaOrbiter Source: Supplied

So if you’re going to discover new forms of life, why not do it in style. This mega craft looks to blow all other research vessels out the water being decked out in some high-tech tech kit including being built from Sealium – a recyclable aluminium designed for marine environments – and powered through a ‘solar skin’ which will let it sail in silence.

On-board there’s a hive of high-tech devices from which large numbers of subsea exploration devices leave daily like sub-aquatic bees to gather data and return at the end of each trip.

With ten accommodation levels there is room for 22 permanent inhabitants, including four above the water for sea bird and surface observation and six decks below the water that will let residents continuously peek out into the big blue. Pressurised hyperbaric quarters are also found below, which are intended to save deep sea divers the bother of having to go through the decompression process.

Work will begin later this year and when fully operational it will spend its time scanning the Mediterranean. There are plans to eventually have a fleet of floating SeaOrbiters. Watch out Nessie!

Aquanauts and robotic submarines will be able to freely go to and from the vessel as part of uninterrupted research. Source: SeaOrbiter Source: Supplied

SeaOrbiter specs:

• Solar powered and can roam the seas in silence

• Wind turbine for extra power

• 190ft high (100ft below water)

• On-board laboratory

• Ten accommodation levels (four above, six below water level) for 22 permanent residents

• Hyperbaric laboratory to carry out unrestricted dives at depths of between 10m and 100m without the inconvenience of decompression stops. Aquanauts stay in a pressurised chamber which keeps them at the same pressure as the surrounding underwater environment. They can then stay on extended dives among the marine creatures, especially during the night, a critical period when unknown animals rise to the surface from the deep.

• Remote-operated underwater vehicle which can film and take samples up to 1000m

• Has an autonomous drone submarine that will plunge to 6000m

• Has an on-board space simulator thanks that mimics the conditions in space so astronauts can train for future expeditions including preparations for Mars

Human Memory’s brain yields new evidence

Source: Neuroscience News

3D model of famous amnesiac’s brain helps illuminate human memory.

During his lifetime, Henry G. Molaison (H.M.) was the best-known and possibly the most-studied patient of modern neuroscience. Now, thanks to the postmortem study of his brain, based on histological sectioning and digital three-dimensional construction led by Jacopo Annese, PhD, at the University of California, San Diego, scientists around the globe will finally have insight into the neurological basis of the case that defined modern studies of human memory.

Jacopo Annese examines final brain tissue slides, which were also digitized for study by researchers worldwide. Credit UCSD.
The microscopic anatomical model of the whole brain and detailed 3D measurements of the medial temporal lobe (MTL) region are described in a paper to be published online in Nature Communications on January 28.

H.M. was an epileptic patient whose severe and almost total amnesia was the unexpected result of a bilateral surgical ablation of the MTL, including the hippocampus, in 1953. Until his death in 2008, the purity and severity of H.M.’s memory impairment, along with his willingness to participate in continual testing, made his case uniquely influential.

While his intellectual abilities, personality, language and perceptual skills remained intact, he was unable to store information in long-term memory. After his brain operation, H.M. was profoundly impaired in forming new declarative memories. This unfortunate outcome became the catalyst for over 50 years of scientific discoveries (and thousands of publications) that have radically changed scientists’ basic understanding of memory function. His case was significant because it provided the first conclusive evidence for the involvement of the hippocampus in forming new memories.

In December 2009, Annese and his team dissected H.M.’s brain into 2,401 thin tissue slices that were then preserved cryogenically in serial order. While the brain was being sliced, the researchers collected an unabridged series of digital images of the surface of the block, corresponding to each tissue section. These images were archived and used to create a three-dimensional microscopic model of the whole brain. The model of H.M.’s brain contains clues to help understand the surgery performed in 1953, and the level of sampling and image quality afforded by this study represents a significant advance over the MRI scans performed with H.M. when he was alive.

“Our goal was to create this 3D model so we could revisit, by virtual dissection, the original surgical procedure and support retrospective studies by providing clear anatomical verification of the original brain lesion and the pathological state of the surround areas of H.M.’s brain,” Annese said. But the study reveals a small, circumscribed lesion in the left orbitofrontal cortex that had been previously undiscovered, showing the power of the technique. Based on the 3D geometry of the lesion and the type of the lobectomy that was performed in 1953, Annese thinks this lesion was very likely created by Scoville during the surgery.

The findings reported in Nature Communications constitute new evidence that may help scientists today understand more fully the consequences of H.M.’s operation in the context of modern knowledge on memory of the functional anatomy of the hippocampus.

Annese and his team at UCSD also created a web-based atlas of H.M.’s brain, meant to support collaboration and preserve an archive of anatomical images relative to the case. The atlas contains structural delineations and digitized versions of the stained histological slides that can be viewed at the cellular-level using Google maps, a level of detail not seen before.

Notes about this memory and neuroscience research

For more information on the H.M. project and the Brain Observatory, visit: thebrainobservatory.org/hm2. To view a Google maps version of the slice featured in the paper (Fig. 5), go to: thedigitalbrainlibrary.org

Funding for the study was provided by grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF-SGER 0714660), the Dana Foundation Brain and Immuno-Imaging Award, and by private contributions from viewers of the web broadcast of the dissection. In the course of the study, Annese was supported in part by research grants from the National Eye Institute, R01EY018359–02 and ARRA R01 EY018359–02S1 and the National Institute of Mental Health, R01MH084756.

My Kitchen Rules twins Helena and Vikki reveal tragic secret

Cooking for their late father - My Kitchen Rules' competitors, twins Helena and Vikki with their mum Sophie Mour...

Cooking for their late father – My Kitchen Rules’ competitors, twins Helena and Vikki with their mum Sophie Moursellas. Picture: Tricia Watkinson. Source: News Limited

THEY’RE young, fun and obsessed with super-bright lippy, but MKR’s outgoing twins Helena and Vikki Moursellas, 25, have revealed a family tragedy which inspires their efforts in the competition.

The sisters are cooking their trademark “Greek with a modern twist” in honour of their late father.

“He passed away when we were 12-years-old,” Vikki said. “We’ve got heart disease in our family, so he suffered from a heart attack and passed away suddenly.

“Our mum has been absolutely amazing. She’s been a very strong lady. She made sure that she took us on lots of holidays as kids. Made sure that we knew everything was going to be OK.”

Helena and Vicki on their competitors:

Annie and Jason, NSW, cheesemakers: (Vikki) We love Annie and Jason. Traditional, country bumpkins. They’ve got beautiful hearts.
Chloe and Kelly, WA, well-travelled friends: (Helena) One word, fake.
Paul and Blair, QLD, surfer dads: (Vikki) We got very, very close to them, the older brothers we’ve never had.
Deb and Rick, SA, married 38 years: (Helena) They were our MKR parents.
Andrew and Emilia, ACT, newly dating: (Vikki): We felt so bad for them. They are really nice. He might come across as awkward but they’re great, humble people.

Although they were young when he died, Helena said the pair have good memories of their father, and like to think he would be impressed by their efforts in My Kitchen Rules.

“Dad would be very proud of us,” she said. “He’s always in our heads. Throughout the show it was something that kept us going. There were times when it was pretty hard. He has definitely pushed us through.”

Helena (the brunette one) and Vikki (the blonde one) have burst into MKR’s fifth season brimming with confidence and catchphrases, such as “We got this” and the less-catchy, “t-winning”.

Tragic family secret revealed … Helena and Vikki Moursellas at the launch of the 2014 season of Channel 7’s My Kitchen Rules. Source: News Limited

Vikki in particular has quickly become known for her not-so-savvy comments, suggesting they each have “half a brain”. Or, put differently,”We’re one brain, and two people.”

“I’ve said some silly things, but that’s all right, it’s entertaining,” Vikki said. “I never regret anything I said. Obviously … I’m like, `oops’ but I’m just being me, and I say funny, silly things.”

WILL WILL WIN MY KITCHEN RULES? TELL US BELOW

Helena and Vikki grew up in Adelaide, with no other siblings. Mum Sophie says they were outgoing from a young age.

“It was hard being a mother and father to my daughters since my husband passed away, but I was lucky because I had a lot of help from my mother and father bringing them up,” she said. “Their father Nick loved food, cooking and entertaining and was very good at all three. Nick would be so proud of the girls.”

On MKR, close friends Chloe and Kelly expressed their distaste for the tart served by Andrew and Emelia. Courtesy: My Kitchen Rules, Seven Network

The sisters moved to Melbourne a couple of years ago, where Vikki studied graphic design and Helena attended Melbourne Radio School.

“We just felt like Adelaide was too small for us, not many opportunities (there) for us,” Helena said.

“We want to try everything,” Vikki said. “Travel the world, try different types of … what’s the word? Different types of jobs and stuff.”

The girls are well-travelled, although they don’t drop it into every conversation like WA competitors Chloe and Kelly, who have described Helena and Vikki as “not the sharpest tools in the shed”. Helena reckons the two teams share a love-hate relationship.

“More on the hate side, as bad as that sounds,” she said. “We just clashed all the time. We’re actually very similar, we love to travel, we love food, and in conversations, we just tried outdoing each other.

“Throughout the competition it got more and more feisty, we wanted to beat them more than anyone else.”

MKR, hosted by celeb chefs Pete Evans and Manu Fieldel, has been a consistent ratings winner for Channel 7 since it premiered in 2010. Last year’s final – which saw Dan and Steph declared the winners – was watched by over two million people.

Greek chic: London exhibition unveils the beauty of Hellenic fashion

Source: theguardian.com

From pleats to geometric designs and intricate embroidery, the full splendour of Greek fashion is on display at a new show called Patterns of Magnificence

Peloponnese mid-19th century Kondogouni 'Amalia' jacket

Peloponnese mid-19th century Kondogouni ‘Amalia’ jacket. Photo: Hellenic Centre

The history of Greek fashion is the focus of a new exhibition at London’s Hellenic Centre, revealing the biggest collection of traditional Greek costumes ever seen outside the country. Two years in the making, the Patterns of Magnificence exhibition, which opens on Tuesday, is a partnership with the Peloponnesian Folklore Foundation Museum, which boasts a staggering 45,000 items. While the selection here is much smaller, it’s rich in detail.

Most of the costumes date from the late 18th century to the middle of the 19th. The vast array of designs would have been worn not only for everyday wear but for weddings and formal dances. They range from geometric patterns on a late-18th-century kaftan to velvet jackets embroidered in gold thread – work that would have taken a master craftsmen months to complete. “I wanted to call it ‘Greek chic’,” smiles curator Ioanna Papantoniou, “but you can see the influence of everything from the Roman empire to the Muslims.”

Cult brand Ancient Greek Sandals has been a huge success since launching in 2011.

This exhibition makes it clear that national dress is never singular – influences from other cultures meld to form something that we think of as distinctly “Greek”. One particularly intriguing influence is German-born Queen Amalia, who was on the throne from 1836. A fashion fan, she adapted the Greek dress of the day to feature the fashions of mainland Europe. The result was the “Amalia jacket”, a cropped, form-fitting bolero style, which used traditional embroidery. It became the statement item of Greek fashion in the mid-19th century, endlessly copied by women all over the country. “She was a style icon of her day,” says Papantoniou, “and her influence spread far – to Cyprus and the Balkans.” Marios Schwab, the Greek-born, London-based designer, who will give a talk at the exhibition on 21 February, is thrilled that stories such as these will be told to a wider audience. “I am obsessed with Greek costume, having seen these pieces in museums as a child,” he says. “This exhibition will show the younger generation why it’s so influential.”

The timing of this exhibition is canny. There is a burgeoning Greek-inspired aesthetic in fashion for spring. Ancient Greek Sandals, founded in 2011 by Greek designers Christina Martini and Nicholas Minoglou, has become a cult success. Sales of the sandals, which have been worn by Hollywood stars including Anne Hathaway and Amanda Seyfried, rose by 30% in 2013. The trend for pleats featured in collections by Burberry and JW Anderson can be traced back to Greek traditional dress too. Papantoniou says pleats are “at the base of all of the clothes”. An early example shows a kind of bodice from the 19th century with tightly packed pleats, reminiscent of those used by Anderson, covering the back. The bodice is red, which was an expensive colour to dye at the time; this piece would have been worn by a wealthy woman.

Schwab puts the continued influence of Greek style on fashion down to an essentially timeless geometry of design. The embroidery may be complicated but “the lines are very simple”. He credits the sleeve of a man’s uniform from the Attica region as an influence on the cuts of his spring/summer collection.

The sculptural use of fabrics and classical lines of Greek costume have long been familiar to fashion, of course. Designers ranging from Madame Grès to Madeleine Vionnet used pleats for designs in the early 20th century. More recently, John Galliano, Jil Sander and Jean Paul Gaultier have been inspired by the Greek design tradition. The dates of this exhibition, running over London fashion week, are no coincidence: the idea is to underline this connection – and reveal more Greek design culture to the wider world.

• Patterns of Magnificence: tradition and reinvention in Greek women’s costume is at the Hellenic Centre in London until 2 March

Tents set up for homeless from Greek earthquake in Kefalonia

Associated Press

Feb. 4, 2014: A woman carries food in front of tents at a local soccer stadium after Monday’s strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude between 5.7 and 6.1, in Lixouri, on the island of Kefalonia, western Greece. (AP)
A ferry is docked at the damaged port after Monday’s strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude between 5.7 and 6.1, in Lixouri, on the island of Kefalonia, western Greece Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2014. Authorities said about 16 people had been slightly hurt, mainly by falling objects, while roads, homes and shops were damaged and some areas suffered power and water supply cuts. Islanders also had to contend with intense bad weather, with strong rain and low temperatures. (AP Photo/Nikiforos Stamenis) (The Associated Press)
Residents, staying at the indoor stadium are joined by others transferred from the hospital, after Monday’s strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude between 5.7 and 6.1, in Lixouri, on the island of Kefalonia, western Greece Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2014. Authorities said about 16 people had been slightly hurt, mainly by falling objects, while roads, homes and shops were damaged and some areas suffered power and water supply cuts. Islanders also had to contend with intense bad weather, with strong rain and low temperatures. (AP Photo/Nikiforos Stamenis) (The Associated Press)
A coastguard vessel is docked next to yachts knocked off their stands at the damaged port after Monday’s strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude between 5.7 and 6.1, in Lixouri, on the island of Kefalonia, western Greece Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2014. Authorities said about 16 people had been slightly hurt, mainly by falling objects, while roads, homes and shops were damaged and some areas suffered power and water supply cuts. Islanders also had to contend with intense bad weather, with strong rain and low temperatures. (AP Photo/Nikiforos Stamenis) (The Associated Press)
A local resident looks at his damaged living room after Monday’s strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude between 5.7 and 6.1, in Lixouri, on the island of Kefalonia, western Greece Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2014. Authorities said about 16 people had been slightly hurt, mainly by falling objects, while roads, homes and shops were damaged and some areas suffered power and water supply cuts. Islanders also had to contend with intense bad weather, with strong rain and low temperatures. (AP Photo/Nikiforos Stamenis) (The Associated Press)

ATHENS, Greece – Greek authorities set up tents Tuesday for those left homeless by a series of earthquakes on the western island of Kefalonia and were sending in dozens of prefabricated classrooms so children can go back to school safely.

A strong quake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.7 hit Kefalonia on Monday, a week after a 5.9-magnitude temblor. Hundreds of aftershocks have shaken the island and seismologists have been cautious as to whether another large earthquake could strike.

Lines of tents filled a sports field near Lixouri, Kefalonia’s second-largest town and the most severely hit area. The town’s port was badly damaged and police were allowing only emergency vehicles along the road linking it to the rest of the island for fear of rock slides.

More than 100 civil engineers were inspecting structures across the island, with 760 of the 1,680 checked so far deemed unfit. Authorities have been urging residents to stay away from damaged buildings — in response, hundreds of people have been spending their nights sleeping in cars, in a sports hall or on a ferry.

While the electricity supply has been mostly restored, the Lixouri area still has no running water.

The Greek police, coast guard and fire service agencies have all sent reinforcements to the island, and the military was sending in doctors, mobile kitchens and digging machinery.

Kefalonia lies in a highly seismically active area. The temblors have revived memories of devastating quakes in August 1953, when a 7.2 earthquake hit three days after a 6.4 temblor, killing hundreds, injuring thousands and leveling nearly every building on the island and on neighboring Zakinthos.

Russell Crowe’s new movie “The Water Diviner” is a script written by Greek screenwriter Andrew Anastasios

Russell Crowe will direct The Water Diviner

Russell-Crowe-directorial-debut

While he’s currently starring on screen in Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel,” Russell Crowe will soon be going behind the camera for his directorial debut.

Over the years, the Oscar-winning actor has considered a number of projects for his first time at the helm, including the WWII pic “The Long Green Shore,” a Bill Hicks biopic, the James Ellroy adaptation “77” and the surfing drama “Bra Boys.” However, it now seems that “The Water Diviner,” scripted by Australian television writing duo Andrew Knight and Andrew Anastasios, will be the one for which Crowe will make his debut as a director, according to Deadline.

“The Water Diviner” will take the Australian actor back to his country’s roots. The film is set in 1919 and centers on an Australian father traveling to Turkey in order to find his two sons, who have gone missing after the battle of Gallipoli. It also appears that Crowe will not only be directing, but looking to star in the drama, presumably in the role of the father.

After “Man of Steel,” we won’t be seeing Crowe until next year when he stars in Akiva Goldsman’s “Winter’s Tale” and in the title role of Darren Aronofsky’s “Noah.”

“The Water Diviner” is expected to begin shooting in Australia and Turkey later this year. Hopscotch Features’ Troy Lum and Andrew Mason and Fear of God Films’ Keith Rodger will produce. To read more on the project, head over to the screenwriters’ official website by clicking HERE.

What are your thoughts on Russell Crowe set to make his directorial debut with “The Water Diviner”?

Russell Crowe and Ryan Corr on THE WATER DIVINER.

Russell Crowe with Ryan Corr on the set of The Water Diviner. Photo: Mark Rogers

This is a not a war story, says Russell Crowe. It’s a story about fathers and sons. He is on set, in the middle of shooting his directing debut, The Water Diviner, a tale of loss and discovery, of lives affected by the battle of Gallipoli.

Yet – apart from flashbacks – most of it takes place in 1919, in the aftermath of World War I. Crowe talks about Peter Weir’s film Gallipoli, and how it ends with a freeze-frame of a soldier caught in the moment of death. ”This is what happens afterwards, in a funny sort of way,” he says. ”To the people back home, the father and mother of the kid that got shot.”

Most of it, however, is set outside Australia. Crowe, who stars as well as directs, plays Connor, a man who lost three sons at Gallipoli and travels halfway across the world to reclaim their bodies. Much of the film is being shot in South Australia, including many of the Turkish scenes; the production travels to Turkey for four weeks in March. There is, Crowe is keen to point out, a strong emphasis on the Turkish perspective.

On set, Crowe looks about as busy as it’s possible for a person to be. The scenes being shot today, under a blazing sun in the red dust of the Flinders Ranges, involve a train ambush. Connor is travelling in the company of Turkish fighters; the train is ambushed by Greek troops.

Crowe is checking camera set-ups, watching rehearsals, poring over details on the monitors – everything from the angle of a falling body to the rhythm of gunfire – then leaving to play his part in the scene itself. And amid all this, he finds time to reflect on his directing debut.

The Water Diviner is written by Andrew Anastasios and Andrew Knight, and it grew out of a letter that Anastasios found in an archive, referring to a father’s visit to Turkey on just such a quest. Crowe had been looking for a script to direct, and immediately fell in love with this one.

The title of the film comes from Connor’s skill – it’s an intuitive job, Crowe says, but there’s no attempt to mystify this. There’s a line in the film, he adds wryly, in which Connor says that he’s dug a lot of wells that turned out be holes.

Casting the film, Crowe says, ”I’ve chosen actors from a like-minded tribe”. He is quick to enthuse about the performances of actors such as Steve Bastoni and Jacqueline McKenzie – ”I watched one of her scenes, and I had goosebumps and a tear in my eyes” – and to sing the praises of Turkish actors Yilmaz Erdogan and Cem Yilmaz, who have roles in the film.

He’s loving directing, he says, and looking forward to editing. ”Film is in my DNA, I did my first TV show at six, I’ve worked in front of the camera since I was a kid, and I’ve had access over my career to some of the greatest minds in the business.”

Greek Cyprus accuses Turkey of ‘harassment’ in energy search

NICOSIA – Agence France-Presse

Greek Cyprus said on Feb. 3 it would not accept Turkey’s “provocations” after claims a Norwegian ship was ‘harassed’ while surveying for offshore oil and gas reserves.

Greek Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides said the vessel was undertaking seismic research for French oil giant Total near Blocks 10 and 11 off the south coast when a radio communication ordered it to “abandon position.”

He said the incident came at a time when the United Nations was trying to find a formula for long-stalled Cyprus peace talks to begin.

Officials said that Turkish frigate “Giresun” had ordered Norwegian seismic vessel “Princess” to “leave Turkish waters” while it was within the island’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The government said it would not be swayed from its aim to exploit energy riches beneath the east Mediterranean.

“Verbal provocation from Ankara does not affect us exercising our sovereignty,” government spokesman Victoras Papadopoulos said.

“The republic of Cyprus, with a steady confidence given it by international law, will continue its efforts to find hydrocarbons in its EEZ.” Papadopoulos said the incident happened on Feb. 1 when the Turkish warship was some 16.5 nautical miles from the research vessel, “but there was no pursuit as Turkey has alleged.”

Turkey, has reacted angrily to the Greek Cypriot-led internationally recognised government’s search for energy. Ankara has branded Nicosia’s gas hunt as illegal and begun its own exploratory drilling off the north coast.

The almost bankrupt Greek Cyprus government is hoping so far untapped offshore energy resources can pull it back from the financial brink after a banking meltdown prompted an EU-IMF bailout last March.

The eastern Mediterranean has been a hive of exploratory activity, with Greek Cyprus granting permits to international prospectors after Israel discovered massive offshore gas deposits in 2010.

U.S. firm Noble Energy made the first find off Greek Cyprus’s southeast coast in 2011 near the Israeli maritime boundary, in a test well named Aphrodite-1 after the island’s mythical goddess of love.

Based on a preliminary 4.5 trillion cubic feet assessment of reserves by Noble, the government expects a profit of $12-18 billion (9-13 billion euros) over a 14-year period.

Greek Cyprus has signed agreements with Total and a consortium between ENI of Italy and South Korea’s Kogas for oil and gas exploration in its waters. Nicosia is hoping to commercially export its gas, and maybe oil riches, by 2020.

Greek island of Kefalonia hit by second strong earthquake in a week

Kefalonia earthquake

Earthquake damage at Lixouri port on Kefalonia. Photograph: AP

A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude between 5.7 and 6.1 hit the western Greek island of Kefalonia before dawn on Monday, sending frightened residents into the streets just over a week after a similar quake damaged hundreds of buildings.

Officials said about 16 people had been slightly hurt, mainly by falling objects, while roads, homes and shops were damaged and some areas suffered power and water supply cuts. Islanders also had to contend with heavy rain and cold temperatures.

Kefalonia’s mayor, Alexandros Parisis, said the port at the island’s second largest town of Lixouri had been damaged. Images from the area showed part of the pier breaking off and boats that had been on land for repair toppling over.

Earthquakes have been rattling Kefalonia for the past week, after a 5.9-magnitude tremor struck on 26 January.

The fire department said an eight-member rescue team with a sniffer dog was heading to the island as a precaution. The public order minister, Nikos Dendias, and his ministry’s secretary general were also heading to Kefalonia to co-ordinate the response.

The defence ministry said it was sending two military transport aircraft carrying 30 personnel and three doctors as well as tents and emergency supplies, and a military ship with digging vehicles, a mobile kitchen and a water tanker.

Seismologists said more aftershocks were to be expected on the island.

Cancer now biggest killer in Australia, ahead of heart disease: WHO report

Source: ABC.news.com.au

BY MEDICAL REPORTER SOPHIE SCOTT AND ALISON BRANLEY

Cancer has surpassed heart disease as the biggest killer in Australia, according to a new report from the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The WHO’s World Cancer Report found that 8.2 million people died from cancer globally in 2012, including 40,000 Australians.

The report was last released six years ago and this is the first major international update on the disease since then.

It found that cancer surpassed heart disease as the world’s biggest killer in 2011, with 7.87 million cancer deaths compared to 7.02 million from heart disease. Stroke was considered separately.

In Australia and other Western countries, the rise in cancer cases has been attributed to ageing populations and increased screening.

Lifestyle has also been highlighted as a major factor, with the population of countries such as Australia more likely to have a poor diet, inactive lifestyles and be smokers.

Doctors predict global cancer rates will increase by three-quarters over the next two decades and they expect 20 million new cases by 2025.

Prevention is better than cure
The report says 3.7 million cancer deaths could have been avoided by lifestyle changes, such as quitting smoking, reducing alcohol intake and maintaining a healthy weight.

“About 5 per cent of all cancers is due to alcohol consumption – that’s an important part of the preventable cancer story,” said Cancer Council Australia’s Terry Slevin.

“Let’s make no bones about it, alcohol is a class one known carcinogen, it’s listed by the World Health Organisation as such.”

Research shows women’s risk of breast cancer can increase by having as little as one alcoholic drink a day. For men, the risk of tumours increases with two to three drinks a day.

WHO report quote
Lung cancer was the biggest killer globally. It was also the biggest killer among men, while breast cancer killed more women.

Mr Slevin said lung cancer was an area where treatments were less successful than other areas.

“That’s why prevention, when it comes to lung cancer, is so important,” he said.

Melanoma continued to be more of a problem in Australia than overseas, with Australians and New Zealanders twice as likely to be diagnosed than anywhere else in the world.

Worldwide there are more than 14 million cancer diagnoses each year, the report found, and it costs the world more than $1 trillion each year.

It says one-fifth of that could be avoided by investing in prevention strategies.