12 November 2014 Last updated at 08:12
A physical engineer by training, Zschaege isn't, of course, sitting on board the spacecraft himself. His work station is in an open-plan office not far from the central train station in Darmstadt. It is from this sparsely decorated space that he controls the unmanned space probe Rosetta.
Arab media withers to mockery
By Ramzy Baroud
As I was finalizing my research for this article, I found myself browsing through a heap of hilarious videos including by Egyptian TV show hosts Tawfiq Okasha and Amr Adeeb.
In one of his numerous videos on YouTube, Okasha, the star and host of the Cairo-based privately funded al-Faraeen channel, tries to explain the differences between the brains of humans and water buffaloes. Along with Adeeb, they occupy a large space of Egyptian media discourse, wreaking much havoc with their mostly unsubstantiated and outrageous claims.
Their demagogic discourse presented through daily campaigns of misinformation and vilification of those perceived to be enemies of the state is dangerous, especially when there is little room to
counter these claims through critical thinking and sensible discussions.
US and China leaders in 'historic' greenhouse gas emissions pledge
China and the US have unveiled new pledges on greenhouse gas emissions, as the leaders of the two countries met for talks in Beijing.
US President Barack Obama said the move was "historic", as he set a new goal of reducing US levels between 26%-28% by 2025, compared with 2005 levels.
China did not set a specific target, but said emissions would peak by 2030.
The two countries also agreed to reduce the possibility of military accidents in the air and sea.
The news came during a state visit by Mr Obama to Beijing, which followed a major Asian regional summit.
It is the first time China, the world's biggest polluter, has set an approximate date for emissions to peak.
India mass sterilisation: women were ‘forced’ into camps, say relatives
Brother-in-law of one victim says women were ‘herded like cattle’ after 12 die and scores injured following botched operations
Relatives of the 12 women who have died after a state-run mass sterilisation campaign in India went horribly wrong have told local media they were “forced” by health workers to attend the camp.
More than 80 women underwent surgery for laparoscopic tubectomies at a free government-run camp in the central state of Chhattisgarh on Saturday. About 60 fell ill shortly afterwards, officials in the state said. At least 14 were in a very serious condition by Wednesday and the death toll was expected to rise.
“The [health workers] said nothing would happen, it was a minor operation. They herded them like cattle,” Mahesh Suryavanshi, the brother-in-law of one casualty, told the Indian Express newspaper.
Fantastic Voyage: Europe Prepares First Comet Landing
By Olaf Stampf
On Wednesday, astronomers with the European Space Agency will attempt a maneuver that has never been tried before. A probe from the spacecraft Rosetta is to land on a comet some 500 million kilometers away. The mission could teach us about life on Earth.
Achim Zschaege's hands are calm as he steers the spaceship through the vast expanse that no human has ever seen before. "We are currently somewhere between Mars and Jupiter," he says.
On this night, Zschaege is the "Spacecraft Controller" (Spacon) on duty at the European Space Operations Center. Dressed casually in jeans and a sweater, his eight-hour shift has just gotten underway. He regularly checks the columns of numbers streaming across his computer screen, helping ensure that the probe stays on course.
Malala Yousafzai assailed by Pakistani schools group
November 12, 2014 - 3:41PMSalman Masood
Islamabad: A network of private schools has unleashed a public attack on Malala Yousafzai, the teenage Nobel laureate, in the most concerted assault yet on her reputation in her home country.
The All Pakistan Private Schools Federation, which claims to represent 150,000 schools across Pakistan, declared that Monday would be "I am not Malala" day and urged the government to ban her memoir I Am Malala because it offended Islam and the "ideology of Pakistan".
"We are all for education and women's empowerment," said the organisation's president Mirza Kashif Ali. "But the West has created this persona who is against the constitution and Islamic ideology of Pakistan."
Iran nuclear deal: What's at stake for Rouhani and his agenda of 'moderation'
Expectations for change have been high in Iran since President Hassan Rouhani's election. There have been some improvements, analysts say, but his ability to make deeper change may depend on the result of nuclear talks.
TEHRAN, IRAN — As nuclear negotiations reach a crescendo between Iranand six world powers, there is much at stake at home for Iran’s centrist president, Hassan Rouhani: a popular agenda of “moderation” that has so far seen mixed results.
Hardline and conservative opponents have challenged President Rouhani at every turn, charging him with eroding the values of Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution on issues as diverse as reaching out to the West and questioning the need for morality police and a “security state.”
Since Rouhani’s election in 2013, Iranian analysts say, there have been widespread – if gradual and incomplete – improvements in many social and political issues. But the president’s ability to make deeper change, and limit the influence of his opposition, they say, may depend on the outcome of the nuclear talks, which face a Nov. 24 deadline in Vienna.
Middle East
Nov 12, '14
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Arab media withers to mockery
By Ramzy Baroud
As I was finalizing my research for this article, I found myself browsing through a heap of hilarious videos including by Egyptian TV show hosts Tawfiq Okasha and Amr Adeeb.
In one of his numerous videos on YouTube, Okasha, the star and host of the Cairo-based privately funded al-Faraeen channel, tries to explain the differences between the brains of humans and water buffaloes. Along with Adeeb, they occupy a large space of Egyptian media discourse, wreaking much havoc with their mostly unsubstantiated and outrageous claims.
Their demagogic discourse presented through daily campaigns of misinformation and vilification of those perceived to be enemies of the state is dangerous, especially when there is little room to
counter these claims through critical thinking and sensible discussions.
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