The world - Oct. 28, 2010

THURSDAY

NASA officials reported a find of several hundred pounds of water, silver, mercury and other chemicals from a rocket crash into the permanently shadowed crater Cabeus last October.

Suffolk County, New York, created the nation’s first animal abuser registry. Similar to a sex offender registriy, the list names adults who have been convicted of high-level crimes against animals.

FRIDAY

Astronomers reported a smudge seen by the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope has been confirmed as the oldest galaxy ever seen. By measuring the intensity of light photons emitted from the galaxy, named UDFy-38135539, they determined it was born just 600 million years after the Big Bang.

Unemployment rates dropped in September from the same point in 2009 in 29 states and the District of Columbia, according to the U.S. Labor Department. Nevada again had the highest unemployment rate, unchanged from August at 14.4 percent. North Dakota had the lowest rate at 3.7 percent.

The French Senate approved an unpopular pension reform in a victory for President Nicolas Sarkozy, although unions opposed to raising the retirement age have vowed to keep up protests that have crippled the nation’s transportation system. The law raises the French retirement age from 60 to 62.

A 19-year-old man died shortly after he was attacked by a shark between 14 and 20-feet long while boogie boarding off Surf Beach near Vandenberg Air Force Base in Santa Barbara County, Calif.

German anatomist Gunther von Hagens, famous for plastinating bodies, began a new business selling human and animal body parts online. A whole body costs about $97,400, while heads can be ordered for about $77,411, plus shipping and handling.

WEEKEND

Italian police said Saturday they had arrested Gerlandino Messina, 38, a top mafia boss who had been on the run since 1999 and was on the list of Italy’s 30 most wanted fugitives. He was considered the Sicilian Mafia’s number two man, and was wanted for several murders and criminal association with the mafia. Top boss Matteo Messina Denaro is still on the run.

Pedro Soria Lopez, an unemployed Ecuadorian security guard, won Spain’s first national siesta championship by sleeping for 17 minutes in a busy shopping mall. Judges praised the volume of his snoring, which won him extra points.

The Texas Rangers booked their first ever World Series appearance after rookie closer Neftali Feliz struck out Yankees star Alex Rodriguez for the final out of a 6-1 Rangers victory Friday. Texas will face the San Francisco Giants, who topped the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 Saturday. The Fall Classic was set to start Wednesday night.

MONDAY

Ford Motor Co announced plans to spend $850 million upgrading at least four Michigan plants to make more fuel-efficient vehicles and to hire 1,200 workers, spurred by $400 million in tax relief from the state of Michigan. The upgrades will help Ford to make a wide range of fuel-efficient cars and trucks.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature released a report that said a fifth of the world’s verterbrates are threatened with extinction. The report states an average of 50 species of mammals, birds and amphibians move closer to extinction each year because of expansion of farms and plantations, logging and over-hunting. The report was published in the journal Science just as global environment talks begin in Japan.

Somali pirates seized control of the German-owned merchant vessel Beluga Fortune in the Indian Ocean, following a hijacking of the Greek-managed MV York off Kenya Saturday.

TUESDAY

Russia’s space command ordered the International Space Station to change its orbit slightly to avoid collision with a piece of floating debris that could cause serious damage. Rockets were fired for 180 seconds to shift the orbit by 700 meters. The new orbit will allow the unidentified object to pass a mile away from the station. NASA has catalogued more than 15,000 items such as jettisoned rockets, shuttle detritus, and bits of destroyed satellites floating in space.

WEDNESDAY

Scientists discovered a new type of snub-nosed monkey while working on a dam project in a remote forested region of northern Myanmar. Hunters reported the long-tailed black monkey, with white-tufted ears and a white beard, could often be tracked in the rain because its upturned nostrils made it prone to sneezing.

Under a new law, Spanish prostitutes have begun wearing reflective yellow jackets. Police say the women congregate at roundabouts, and without the jackets they pose a traffic hazard.

Compiled by the Gazette from a variety of sources.