NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

WORLD/ NEW IMAGE OF SHUTTLE AT ISS RELEASED: A stunning image has just been released by NASA that will endure within the history of the US space shuttle. The picture was taken by Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli as he left the International Space Station in May in a Soyuz capsule to return to Earth. It makes this the 1st ever image of an American orbiter docked to the ISS. Endeavour sits firmly on the bow of the station, which is moving across the surface of the Earth at a speed of 17000mph and at an altitude of approximately 220 miles. Nespoli's camera is looking along the ISS's truss, or backbone, which carries the 4 sets of giant solar wings. The stern is occupied by Europe's robotic freighter, the Johannes Kepler ship. The pictures were acquired on May 23 but were only released by the US space agency NASA on Tuesday.

WORLD/ NEW ELEMENTS ADDED TO PERIODIC TABLE: 2 new elements have been added to the periodic table after a 3 year review by the governing bodies of chemistry and physics. The elements are currently unnamed, but they are both highly radioactive and exist for less than a second before decaying into lighter atoms. The table is the official compedium of known elements, organised according to properties of their atomic structure. In recent years, there have been several claims by laboratories for the discovery of new chemical elements at positions 113, 114, 115, 116 and 118 on the periodic table. A working group concluded that elements 114 and 116 fulfilled criteria for official inclusion in the table. The others, as yet, do not. The new elements have temporary titles of ununquadium and ununhexium, but final names have yet to be settled on. Details on the new elements can be found in a report published in the journal Pure and Applied Chemistry.

WORLD/ LONDON 2012 TORCH UNVEILED: The London 2012 Olympic torch will be a 3 sided golden cone with the flame burning through its perforated shell. The prototype, created by east London designers Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, has been unveiled at St Pancras station. Made from an aluminium alloy, it is light enough to be carried by young people who are expected to make up 1/2 of the 8000 torchbearers. The 70 day relay will take in most of the UK ahead of next year's Games. It will start at Land's End on May 19 and travel 8000 miles before arriving at the Olympic Stadium on July 27 for the lighting of the cauldron at the opening ceremony. London 2012 organizers say the torch will come within an hour's travelling time of 95% of the UK population and thousands of people are expected to celebrate along the route, with shows and concerts planned on 66 of the 70 days. Nominations are currently under way to find "inspirational" members of the public to carry the torch.

WORLD/ ELEPHANTS GOE ON RAMPAGE IN INDIAN CITY: 2 wild elephants have gone on a rampage in southern India today, killing at least 1 person. The elephants left a trail of destruction in a suburb of the city of Mysore, in the state of Karnataka. Officials say the animals walked into the city from a nearby forest, leaving residents running for their lives. They said that 1 elephant barged into a women's college compound and wandered the grounds, while the other wreaked havoc in a residential area. Forest rangers and officials from Mysore Zoo later captured and tranquilized the animals. 2 other elephants remain at large on the outskirts of Mysore. A 55 year old man who left his house in the Bamboo Bazaar area of Mysore after hearing the commotion was trampled to death. State forest department officials said the young elephants came from forest about 22 miles from the city. A Mysore official blamed the rampage on human encroachment into areas traditionally inhabited by elephants. Officials did say that the 2 captured elephants would be released back into the wild.

WORLD/ AUSSIE GOV BANS CATTLE TO INDONESIA: The Australian government has suspended all live cattle exports to Indonesia until safeguards are adopted to end the brutal slaughter of animals. The move follows an investigation into Indonesian abattoirs by Australia's ABC broadcaster, which showed graphic footage of animals being mistreated. It prompted a public outcry and demands for the government to act. Last week, the government suspended exports to abattoirs shown in the program, but now it has issued a blanket ban. Indonesian officials have rebuffed claims of widespread animal cruelty in their abattoirs. Indonesia's Vice Minister of Agriculture said that the coverage had created a negative perception of Indonesia overseas. "I think ABC practiced unfair journalism, only the bad practices were portrayed. We see this as an isolated incident. It's against the law in Indonesia to be so harsh and cruel to anmials. Indonesian regulations explicity say we must practice animal welfare in handling animals in the slaughterhouse". He acknowledged that it could hurt the country's ability to procure cattle. He said that New Zealand and the US were being looked at as possible alternative suppliers, but Jakarta had not yet contacted either. The ban is the result of public revulsion and outrage at the gruesome footage from Indonesia's abattoirs that was broadcast last week. It showed steers being whipped, beaten and slashed repeatedly, and suffering terrible pain before they are slaughtered.

US/ MISSOURI CONGRESSWOMAN PREACHES HATE: A secret recording has emerged on YouTube in which Missouri Repubican congresswoman Vicky Hartzler is seen comparing gay marriage to incest, pedophilia and allowing 3 year olds to drive. Hartzler, a member of the Tea Party, was addressing a conference of college students at the Eagle Forum Collegians Summit in Washington last Thursday. She said that if same-sex marriages were allowed, it would lead to pedophiles and polygamists also being allowed to marry. In the uncovered footage, Hartzler says “Well, think about it, if you just cared about somebody, have a committed relationship, why not allow 1 man and 2 women or 3 women to marry? There are a lot of people in this country that support polygamy. Why not? They’re committed to each other. Why should you care? Why not allow group marriage? There are people out there who want that". She continued: “Well, is that the best policy? Why not allow an uncle to marry his niece? Why not allow a 50 year old man to marry a 12 year old girl if they love each other and they’re committed? So pretty soon if you don’t set parameters, you don’t have any. We’re saying marriage is between a man and a woman. It’s not a right in the Constitution as far as that goes either. It’s not a right of anybody to have a 3 year old to be able to drive a car. The government has to set some parameters". The Eagle Forum promotes conservatism on college campuses. Its annual conference is attended by around 200 students. Hartzler deemed the conference a success, writing on Twitter afterwards: “Spoke to almost 200 college students today at the Eagle Forum Collegiate Leadership Conference. A great group of sharp enthusiastic leaders". Hartzler was elected in 2010 to represent Missouri’s 4th Congressional District. She is an evangelical Christian and staunch opponent of gay marriage. She is also a spokesman for the Coalition to Protect Marriage in Missouri, which successfully campaigned to ban same-sex marriage in the state.