| Chad accepts international probe
The decision came after Deby's meeting with his French counterpart, Nicolas Sarkozy, in the Chadian capital of Ndjamena. Sarkozy, on an African tour with wife, Carla Bruni, made a brief stop in Chad to persuade Deby to accept an international investigation into the alleged crackdown on political dissidents. Weeks earlier France helped deliver the country from a rebel attack on its capital. Rights groups have charged that the government declared a state of emergency on February 14 as an excuse to terrorise peaceful political opponents. 'Credible probe' Sarkozy had said he wanted a "credible" international commission to probe the whereabouts of two political opponents who had gone missing since the coup attempt.
NASA robot to find water on moon
WASHINGTON: NASA has demonstrated the functioning of a robot rover equipped with a drill designed to find water and oxygen-rich soil on the moon.
Exhibited during the 3rd Space Exploration Conference (Feb. 26-28) in Denver, USA, the new robot technology was a tough project for NASA.
The challenges the design team faced during the production were numerous.
First of all, a robot rover designed for prospecting within lunar craters has to operate in continual darkness at extremely cold temperatures with little power.
Secondly, the moon has one-sixth the gravity of Earth, so a lightweight rover will have a difficult job resisting drilling forces and remaining stable.
Also, lunar soil, known as regolith, is abrasive and compact, so if a drill strikes ice, it likely will have the consistency of concrete.
New vision for Youngstown advances; old challenges hinder progress
Today, the IT consultant is rearing his young family on Fifth Avenue and keeping a Web blog to chronicle the city's rebirth. “We'd been thinking about it for a while," said Clark. “We really did feel like there was a renaissance happening and we wanted to be part of it." .
Sounds of Summer: NT intervention
NADINE WICKER: It's good, high school. Good fun at school. You learn, get more education, you know.
SARA EVERINGHAM: Nadine Wicker was trying to regularly attend school in spite of the difficulties.
NADINE WICKER: It's really hard sometimes with families and friends, when you get friends and all that.
SARA EVERINGHAM: What do you mean it can be hard?
NADINE WICKER: Fighting, people yelling, families drinking and smoking.
SARA EVERINGHAM: And in spite of pressure from her peers.
NADINE WICKER: There's too much sniffing. I used to sniff when I was 12, I used to smoke, drink but I stopped them now.
SARA EVERINGHAM: The conference had workshops for the girls not only on drugs and alcohol but also domestic violence and sexual abuse.
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