Black holes, dying seas, and dirty bombs

[unixronin]

A new multi-spectrum sky survey, the first to be performed solely using the Astronomical Virtual Observatory, has detected hundreds of supermassive black holes dating from as early as 1.5Gy after the Big Bang.  Theorists are puzzled as to how black holes could grow so large so quickly, but the discovery of entire galaxies totally shrouded in dust provides a possible clue.

Meanwhile, here on Earth, Jordan has proposed a plan to pump two billion cubic meters of desalinated water from the Red Sea into the Dead Sea, raising its level by 15 meters.  Hazem Nasser, Jordanian Minister for Water and Agriculture, warns that if nothing is done the Dead Sea will dry up and disappear in the next 50 years.  The project is backed by both Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

And last, the UN International Atomic Energy Agency warns of "a dramatic rise in smuggling of radiological materials", and suggests that the risks of a "dirty bomb" attack are growing.  The IAEA reports 300 confirmed cases of radiological smuggling since 1993, 215 of them in the past five years, and a further 315 unconfirmed incidents during the same period.  51 incidents occured last year, compared to 8 in 1996.  These figures do not include radiological materials which have simply gone missing; an average of one per day is reported to the US NRC as lost, stolen or abandoned.