Amateur video: Sarajevo protesters pelt cops with missiles as violent cl...

Protesters clashed with police on the streets of Sarajevo on February 7. A series of demonstrations that began over factory closures in Tuzla spread to other Bosnian towns and cities, becoming increasingly violent. Footage from Sarajevo shows riot police being driven back as they are pelted with missiles.

Sicilia - Salvataggio di immigrati (06.02.14)

Curiosity Sees Earth and Moon From Mars | Video

The Mars Science Laboratory captured imagery of the brightest object in its twilight sky, Earth and its orbiting Moon. The rover's Mast Camera imaged them on January 31st, 2014, its 529th day on the Red Planet.

The Golden Ticket!!

Cyclops is a trademark of OceanGate Inc.

CYCLOPS SUBMERSIBLE

In May 2013, OceanGate announced the launch of Project Cyclops, a collaboration with the University of Washington’s Applied Physics Lab to build a revolutionary new manned submersible. With a depth range of 3000 meters (9840 feet), Cyclopswill usher in a new era of increased access to the deep ocean for commercial exploration and research ventures.

Use mouse to click, hold and drag over image to rotate.

Scheduled to debut commercially in 2016, Cyclops will allow up to five crew members -- a pilot and four passengers -- to travel to the oceans’ depths for a myriad of tasks and operations, including environmental assessments, inspection, equipment testing, mapping, data collection and overall subsea operations. Featuring a large 180-degree viewing dome for collaborative observation, state-of-the-art building materials, and a lightweight design, Cyclops is designed to be the most advanced and mobile deep-sea manned submersible in the world.

Project Cyclops was born out of OceanGate’s appreciation for the complexity of subsea environments and the need for a diverse set of tools and technology to address operational requirements below 500 meters. Through strategic partnerships, OceanGate has been able to apply recent advances in material science and technology from other industries to meet the challenges faced in exploration. With the majority of the ocean's seabed still unexplored, and as commercial and scientific entities continue to expand initiatives to access potential resources from the ocean seabed, OceanGate recognizes there is an unanswered demand for a practical subsea vessel capable of frequently accessing these resources. This unique vision led to the conclusion that a new type of manned submersible was needed to enable a giant step in harnessing these subsea opportunities.

Cyclops is a trademark of OceanGate Inc.

Watch a video showing OceanGate's portable system to transport, launch and retrieve manned submersibles from a variety of ships.

Cyclops rotating from horizontal to a more streamlined vertical attitude to begin a deep dive.

http://oceangate.com/capabilities/cyclops.html

Is this the future of mountain biking?

Is this the future of mountain biking?

Bring your own uplift

With their flashy graphics, angular silhouettes, aggressive component choices, and 120-180mm of travel, Haibike had some of the most eye-catching bikes at last month’s Winter Bike PressCamp.  But it wasn’t the colours that had attendees talking; it was the motors.  Built around 250W Bosch electric drive systems (350W in the US), the bikes’ drivetrains amplify the rider’s pedaling input by 50-275%, making short work of uphills.

You got a motor on that thing?
Erm, yes.

With their jackshaft-enhanced four-bar suspension design and travel-appropriate component spec, the Pro-level Haibike models on show certainly looked the part.  The NDURO Pro shown here has a lustworthy SRAM XX1 drivetrain, Fox 36 Talas fork and Float X shock, and Mavic Crossmax Enduro wheelset.  Given that a motor and battery are thrown in, the £6,000/$8,600 price almost seems reasonable.

150mm Xduro AMT Pro 27.5

But who are they for?

The president of US distributor Currie Technologies, Larry Pizzi, was adamant that adding a motor to a bike does not a motorbike make.  The company sees e-bikes as a way for mountain bikers to share the sport they love with those who, for reasons of age, illness, or lack of time, cannot currently participate in the sport.  From his perspective, e-bikes give those riders the boost they need to join us on the trails.

Who wouldn’t want a Horst Link and XX1 drivetrain?

But are 5-8in motorised full-sussers really being targeted at the aged and infirm?

Lookin’ good, Grandpa!

While e-bikes up to a certain output are in many places lumped in with bicycles in terms of (lack of) licensing, on the trail things are a bit fuzzier.  Though e-bike output and speeds are capped in both Europe and the US, given the electronics and mountain bike communities’ propensity for tinkering there’s little reason to think that factory limits will stand.  After all, here in the States it’s difficult to find a motorbike with its factory emissions or noise controls in place.  Given the challenges in gaining and maintaining trail access, an informal poll of attendees found many conflicted about (or outright hostile to) the idea of e-bikes on non-motorised trails.

IMBA, for its part, has issued a position paperdrawing a firm line between muscle-powered and motorised vehicles, with e-bikes on the motorised side.  The organisation only supports “the use of e-Bikes anywhere that [it] could also support other motorised uses.”  In the UK, e-bikes limited to 250W and 15mph (such as those shown by Haibike) are currently legal on those public rights of way open to bicycles.

The people bringing e-bikes to market seem truly to believe that their efforts will introduce more riders to the sport while extending existing riders’ careers.  During our discussion with Pizzi, we found our impulse to limit e-bikes to motorised trails in the uncomfortable position of being portrayed as exclusionary and elitist.  His position was that that mountain biking would only benefit from broadening its self-image and broadening its user base.

While there may well be a ‘we were here first’ aspect to many mountain bikers’ negative reactions and a desire to defend the physical aspects of the sport, the discomfort among PressCamp attendees to calling anything with a motor of any type or output a “bicycle” suggests that off-road e-bikes will likely not be met with open arms.

While the debate is likely to continue for some time, from a technical perspective the Haibike range is impressive.  Some narrow bars aside, the e-models ride well and seem well suited to their intended use.  After all, it’s hard not to enjoy the feeling of having one’s effort multiplied by nearly a factor of four and the low positioning of the weighty Bosch battery and motor assemblies does wonders for the e-bikes’ handling.

But we found ourselves asking: are e-bikes a gateway drug for mountain biking or for motorbiking?

Haibike is distributed in the US by Currie Technologies and in the UK by Raleigh.

10 Photos of Indonesia's Deadly Volcanic Eruption

10 Photos of Indonesia's Deadly Volcanic Eruption


BY FRAN BERKMAN1 day ago

At least 14 people died when an Indonesian volcano erupted Saturday, following months of increased activity.

As of Saturday afternoon, the reported death toll was 14, but that number could increase, according to the Associated Press, citing officials. Four high-school students and their teacher, as well as a local television journalist, were among those killed by Mount Sinabung's eruption.


SEE ALSO: Erupting Volcano Seen From Space

The eruption was not entirely unexpected. As Sinabung became increasingly volatile, tens of thousands of people evacuated the regions around the volcano in Namantaran, North Sumatra over the past few months.

Following decreased activity, nearly 14,000 people who lived outside a three-mile volcanic danger zone were allowed to return to their homes on Friday, the AP reported. Just a day later, the volcano erupted multiple times, sending lava up to 2.8 miles away.

Indonesia is no stranger to volcanic and seismic events. The Southeast Asian country is part of the "Ring of Fire" encircling the Pacific Ocean; it contains 75% of the world's active volcanos, and nearly 90% of the world's earthquakes take place there.

Take a look at 10 photos, below, which show the scale and devastation of Saturday's eruption.

Warning: Some of the images below are graphic in nature.






A resident looks at giant volcanic ash clouds from a village in Karo district during the eruption of Mount Sinabung. Fourteen people, including four schoolchildren, were killed after they were engulfed by scorching ash clouds, officials said.
IMAGE: CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES





A resident runs away to escape from hot volcanic ash clouds engulfing villages in Karo district during the eruption of Mount Sinabung.
IMAGE: SUTANTA ADITYA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES





A giant cloud of hot volcanic ash clouds engulfs villages in Karo district.
IMAGE: CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES





Indonesian residents attempt to rescue victims following the eruptions.
IMAGE: SUTANTA ADITYA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES





Relatives carry a coffin containing the body of a victim of the Mount Sinaburg eruption, at a hospital in Kabanjahe, North Sumatra, Indonesia.
IMAGE: BINSAR BAKKARA/ASSOCIATED PRESS





Residents flee from the hot volcanic ash clouds engulfing villages in Karo district.
IMAGE: SUTANTA ADITYA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES





A victim's body lies amongst ash following eruptions of Mount Sinabung.
IMAGE: SUTANTA ADITYA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES





Villagers watch as Mount Sinabung releases pyroclastic flows during the eruption. The rumbling volcano in western Indonesia has unleashed fresh clouds of searing gas, killing a number people and injuring few others.






Rescuers recover the body of a victim covered with hot volcanic ash at a village in Karo district .
IMAGE: SUTANTA ADITYA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES





A relative weeps after identifying a victim of the eruption of Mount Sinabung, at a hospital in Kabanjahe, North Sumatra, Indonesia.
IMAGE: BINSAR BAKKARA/ASSOCIATED PRESS