21 dead in Japan from virus spread by mites

Authorities in Japan are warning people about deadly poisonous mites. The cause for concern is the SFTS virus.

SFTS is an abbreviation for severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome, and it's every bit as gruesome as its name implies. Aside from the obvious fever, symptoms include vomiting and diarrhea, and in more advanced cases lowered white blood cell and platelet counts, organ failure, and even death.

The majority of SFTS cases so far have been in China, which is also where researchers first isolated the virus in 2009. A recent outbreak has occurred in west Japan, however, with 53 people reported as having been infected so far, with 21 losing their lives to the syndrome's effects.

The vector through which the contamination is spreading has been reported to be tick bites.


I've always think how a microscopic particle can create such a big deal concerning health. Japanese authorities should act immediately if they want to avoid more live losts.

Situation in Ukraine

(CNN) - The world's eyes may have been focused on the breathtakingly fast political changes unfolding in Ukraine's capital Kiev this week, but it is the Crimean peninsula, where dozens of gunmen raised the Russian flag over parliament Thursday, that should now be the primary source of concern for Ukraine's fledgling government and world leaders.

Crimea is an autonomous republic whose history has long been marred by political tension. Gifted to Ukraine by Soviet Union leader Nikita Khrushchev in 1954, its population is ethnic Russian by just over half and Ukrainian by a quarter, while more than ten percent are Crimean Tatars who are fiercely anti-Russian as a result of Joseph Stalin's repression of the group a half century ago.


The situation in Ukraine, specially in Kiev, is critic. Insted of getting to an accord to stop the disturbances, they are not solving anything. As Chriatians, our obligation is to be constantly praying for them. Until they turn their eyes to Christ, their sitution will remain unchanged.

Children in pollution zone Delhi have the lungs of chain-smokers!

Delhi has turned into a pollution zone so deadly that children in the Capital have the lungs of chain-smokers, and all the associated respiratory ailments. Living and breathing in Delhi is taking years off their lives, and marking what is left with bronchitis, asthma, sinusitis, coughs, colds and all kinds of chest and throat infections. Faced with a relentlessly increasing number of children and infants developing respiratory diseases, doctors have sounded the alarm in the Capital.


This condition in Delhi, is evidently influencing not only the smokers but also the nonsmokers. Persobally, I perceive this act as selfish since the smokers don't care if they are affecting others with their own actions. It's not fair for the people who take care of their health, to be contaminated with a smoke they are not responsible for. As the Bible says, we should take care of our body since it is the temple of the Holy Ghost.

Uncertainty in Ukraine after landmark deal

Kiev, Ukraine (CNN) - Three months of political unrest, one week of horrific internecine violence, a few frenetic hours of negotiations -- it all culminated in a breakthrough deal In Ukraine to cut the president's powers, reinvent the Constitution and pave the way to free a key opposition leader.


This drastic situation is affecting not only Kiev, but also the near countries. It resembles in many ways the struggle in Venezuela, with the difference that Ukrain is experiencing a harsher situation. In this moments, only God can get them out from this situation. Without God's help, we are lost!

Gaza fisherman hooks statue of ancient Greek god Apollo

Gaza (CNN) -- When Jwdat Abu Ghrb spotted a dark shape last summer in the waters off Gaza, where he was diving for fish, he initially thought it was a corpse.

"I was afraid," he told CNN. "I put on my goggles, dove underneath and still couldn't tell what it was. I resurfaced and got some help from other people and family members and came back, and after full four hours of trying we managed to get it out of the water and I was shocked by what I found."

It was a life-size bronze statue, believed to be a 2,500-year-old depiction of the ancient Greek god Apollo.

He described the half-ton object as "treasure pulled out of the sea."

"I thought it was made of gold; I was going to be rich," Ghrb said. "So I took it home to hide it." 
But then others got involved. A local armed brigade took control of the statue, and someone listed it for sale on the online auction site eBay, with a starting price of about $500,000, according to authorities.

It´s interesting how this statue lasted for so long without being ruined and founded approximately 2500 years later. Events like this help history to be more vivid, since we an appreciate with our own eyes, a piece o Greek culture.

Mystery of Mars 'doughnut rock' solved

Scientists are baffled by the sudden appearance of a jelly doughnut-like rock that the Opportunity rover spotted in January 2014. These are images of the same location; the rock on the right was not there 12 days earlier. Researchers now believe the rover's wheels flicked the rock into its current spot.

Psalms 19:1 says "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." Recently, scientists were amazed when they found a jelly-doughnut like rock. In my concern, they shouldn´t be investigating that much every new thing they discover, since the Universe is full of mysteries that only God knows.

Sarah Palin for president? Media debate whether she’ll make a political comeback

Bill Kristol stirred up a bit of a fuss yesterday by declaring that there’s no reason Sarah Palin shouldn’t run for president. Kristol, whose Weekly Standard was a major Palin booster in 2008, didn’t predict she would win, but he said she'd have a major impact on the race.

Kristol, a former Fox News contributor, also forecast on “Morning Joe” that two other Fox contributors would run: Mike Huckabee and former U.N ambassador John Bolton. (Both have said they’re looking at the race.)

I have no inside information here, but Palin certainly wouldn’t lack for media attention. Kristol, who worked in the Bush 41 White House, is a well-connected Republican, and if this was a trial balloon, it raises intriguing questions.

On the MSNBC morning show, Chuck Todd pushed back, saying that if Palin ran it would be for “a financial reason, to get back into the spotlight. Get the speaking fees back up.”

This annoyed Kristol, who said that the establishment takes seriously such candidates as Jon Huntsman (who flopped), but dismisses the likes of Palin and Huckabee as people who “just want to make money.” Host Joe Scarborough (also named by Kristol as a 2016 dark horse) said Palin’s populist message could resonate in the GOP primaries but that she hurt herself by resigning as Alaska governor.

There are, of course, multiple reasons that folks jump into a White House race, from increased visibility to boosting career prospects to positioning for a VP slot. Just ask Herman Cain, Michele Bachmann, Dennis Kucinich, Al Sharpton and many others.

Palin has a passionate following among Tea Party types, but she would also expose herself again to mockery from the mainstream media. She would have to decide whether the grueling nature of a campaign is worth giving up her television gigs.

Much of this talk is being spurred by the Christie vacuum in the wake of the bridge scandal. Even Mitt Romney, who’s been on the TV circuit after that favorable Netflix documentary, is being asked whether he’d give it a third try. His answer is no way.

There is chatter now about other governors, such as Scott Walker. Perhaps the most important name on Kristol’s list is Jeb Bush, who says he is looking at the race but won’t decide soon. The media would immediately treat Bush as a heavyweight and he would in effect become the establishment candidate.

The dilemma for the former Florida governor is that he has openly questioned how far to the right his party has moved. He would be, fairly or not, saddled with defending his brother’s presidential record. And, by the way, Bush’s own mother doesn’t want him to run.

In The Week, Damon Linker all but declares the primaries over:

“It's beginning to dawn on me that Jeb Bush is probably going to be the Republican Party's nominee for president in 2016.

My opinion is that she should be chosen according to her professional skills, not beacuse she has had familiy members in politics or what others comment about her.

Sochi 2014 begins with teams, classical music and a flying girl

With lights, floats and flying, Russia kicked off the opening ceremony in Sochi as the world turns its attention to the costliest Olympic Games in history.

Spectators from all over the world watched the introduction of athletes that marked the official start of the Winter Olympics.

"Most of the ceremony focuses heavily on Russian classical music," said Konstantin Ernst, the main creative producer of the ceremony.

"Unfortunately, unlike London, we cannot boast a plethora of famous world-known pop performers. This is why we are now focusing on what Russia is best known for musically around the world; namely, classical music."

Russia´s amazing history was showed off since the very first second the opening ceremony began. They´ve surpassed every obstacle and make their beautiful country, the most appealing country.