US State Department spokesperson Mathew Miller, while speaking about an Indian citizen's indictment in an alleged foiled assassination plot, on Tuesday (Dec 5) said that the country takes the matter 'very seriously', adding that an investigation has been launched by India into the matter and they are waiting for the findings from the probe. 
 
"I said I wouldn't comment on the underlying substance because it is an ongoing law enforcement matter and it would be inappropriate for me to do so when DOJ (US Department of Justice) is presenting a case in court. I also made clear that we have noted at the most senior levels of this government, the Secretary of State has raised this directly with his foreign counterpart that we take this issue very seriously," said Miller, while speaking at a media briefing in Washington DC on Tuesday. 
 
"They told us they would conduct an investigation. They have publicly announced an investigation and now we'll wait to see the results of the investigation. It's something we take very seriously," he said. 
 
The statement by Miller comes at a time when an indictment has been unsealed by the US Justice Department against an Indian national who has been accused of allegedly being involved in a foiled plan to assassinate a leader of the Sikh Separatist Movement, who is based in the US and is a citizen in New York. It is believed that the target of the foiled assassination plot was&nbsp;Khalistani terrorist and leader of the banned Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) outfit Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-charges-indian-national-with-conspiracy-to-assassinate-sikh-separatist-664387">US charges Indian national with conspiracy to assassinate Khalistani separatist Pannun</a>

The Justice Department said that an Indian national named Nikhil Gupta was working for an Indian government employee (whose identification has not been revealed in the indictment filed in a federal court in Manhattan) and was given the task of hiring a hitman for carrying out the assassination which was foiled by the authorities in the US authorities. 
 
While wrapping up his high-profile visit to India, the White House stated that Finer "acknowledged" the establishment of a committee of enquiry by India for investigating the "lethal plotting" and emphasised the need for holding the people responsible accountable. 
 
"Finer acknowledged India's establishment of a committee of enquiry to investigate lethal plotting in the United States and the importance of holding accountable anyone found responsible," said the White House&nbsp;in a readout while speaking about his meetings in the national capital.

<h2>India calls indictment a “matter of concern”</h2>

India's Ministry of External Affairs, reacting to the indictment filed by the Justice Department, called it a "matter of concern" and said that it is contrary to government policy.

Watch:&nbsp;Gravitas: 'Go home Indian': Sikh man faces racism in Australia

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-go-home-indian-sikh-man-faces-racism-in-australia-659855/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

"We cannot share any further information on such security matters. As regards the case against an individual that has been filed in a US court allegedly linking him to an Indian official, this is a matter of concern. We have said and let me reiterate that this is contrary to government policy,” said Arindam Bagchi, MEA spokesperson. 
 
"The nexus between organised crime, trafficking and gun running and extremists at an international level is a serious issue for law enforcement agencies and organisations to consider and it is precisely for that reason that a high-level committee has been constituted and we will, obviously, be guided by its results," the spokesperson said.

(With inputs from agencies)

US State Department spokesperson Mathew Miller, while speaking about an Indian citizen's indictment in an alleged foiled assassination plot, on Tuesday (Dec 5) said that the country takes the matter 'very seriously', adding that an investigation has been launched by India into the matter and they are waiting for the findings from the probe.

US State Department spokesperson Mathew Miller, while speaking about an Indian citizen's indictment in an alleged foiled assassination plot, on Tuesday (Dec 5) said that the country takes the matter 'very seriously', adding that an investigation has been launched by India into the matter and they are waiting for the findings from the probe. "I said I wouldn't comment on the underlying substance because it is an ongoing law enforcement matter and it would be inappropriate for me to do so when DOJ (US Department of Justice) is presenting a case in court. I also made clear that we have noted at the most senior levels of this government, the Secretary of State has raised this directly with his foreign counterpart that we take this issue very seriously," said Miller, while speaking at a media briefing in Washington DC on Tuesday. "They told us they would conduct an investigation. They have publicly announced an investigation and now we'll wait to see the results of the investigation. It's something we take very seriously," he said. The statement by Miller comes at a time when an indictment has been unsealed by the US Justice Department against an Indian national who has been accused of allegedly being involved in a foiled plan to assassinate a leader of the Sikh Separatist Movement, who is based in the US and is a citizen in New York. It is believed that the target of the foiled assassination plot was Khalistani terrorist and leader of the banned Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) outfit Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. Also read: US charges Indian national with conspiracy to assassinate Khalistani separatist Pannun The Justice Department said that an Indian national named Nikhil Gupta was working for an Indian government employee (whose identification has not been revealed in the indictment filed in a federal court in Manhattan) and was given the task of hiring a hitman for carrying out the assassination which was foiled by the authorities in the US authorities. While wrapping up his high-profile visit to India, the White House stated that Finer "acknowledged" the establishment of a committee of enquiry by India for investigating the "lethal plotting" and emphasised the need for holding the people responsible accountable. "Finer acknowledged India's establishment of a committee of enquiry to investigate lethal plotting in the United States and the importance of holding accountable anyone found responsible," said the White House in a readout while speaking about his meetings in the national capital. India calls indictment a “matter of concern” India's Ministry of External Affairs, reacting to the indictment filed by the Justice Department, called it a "matter of concern" and said that it is contrary to government policy. Watch: Gravitas: 'Go home Indian': Sikh man faces racism in Australia "We cannot share any further information on such security matters. As regards the case against an individual that has been filed in a US court allegedly linking him to an Indian official, this is a matter of concern. We have said and let me reiterate that this is contrary to government policy,” said Arindam Bagchi, MEA spokesperson. "The nexus between organised crime, trafficking and gun running and extremists at an international level is a serious issue for law enforcement agencies and organisations to consider and it is precisely for that reason that a high-level committee has been constituted and we will, obviously, be guided by its results," the spokesperson said. (With inputs from agencies)

US says taking matter 'seriously' as India probes 'murder plot' against Khalistani terrorist Pannun

Scientists have solved a&nbsp;longtime mystery of the cosmos by determining&nbsp;of the most precise measurements ever made of the total amount of matter in the Universe.

The matter-energy density of the Universe consists of a dark energy, a mysterious unknown force drving it's expansion. The rest is matter, both normal and dark.

Determining the exact proportions of these three is not an easy feat by any means. But a&nbsp;team of US astrophysicists have determined&nbsp;that matter accounts for 31.5 percent of the total amount of matter and energy that make up the Universe.

The remaining 68.5 percent is dark energy, a mysterious force that is causing the expansion of the Universe to accelerate over time, and was first inferred by observations of distant supernovae in the late 1990s.

Their findings were published on Monday in&nbsp;The Astrophysical Journal.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/hints-of-life-on-mars-scientists-find-three-lakes-buried-under-the-red-planets-surface-331094">Hints of life on Mars? Scientists find three lakes buried under the red planet's surface!</a>

Put another way, this means the total amount of matter in the observable Universe is equivalent to 66 billion trillion times the mass of our Sun, Mohamed Abdullah, a University of California, Riverside astrophysicist and the paper's lead author said.

Most of this matter, 80 percent,&nbsp;is called dark matter. Its nature is not yet known, but it may consist of some as-yet-undiscovered subatomic particle.

The latest measurements correspond well with values previously found by other teams using different cosmological techniques, such as measuring temperature fluctuations in the low-energy radiation left over from the Big Bang.

"This has been a long process over the course of 100 years where we're gradually getting more and more precise," Gillian Wilson, the study's co-author and a professor at UCR said.

"It's just kind of cool to be able to make such a fundamental measurement about the Universe without leaving planet Earth," she added.

So how exactly do you weigh the Universe?

The team honed a 90-year-old technique that involves observing how galaxies orbit inside galaxy clusters -- massive systems that contain thousands of galaxies.

These observations told them how strong each galaxy cluster's gravitational pull was, from which its total mass could then be calculated.&nbsp;

Fate of the Universe

In fact, explained Wilson, their technique was originally developed by the pioneering astronomer Fritz Zwicky, who was the first person to suspect the existence of dark matter in galaxy clusters, in the 1930s.

He noticed that the combined gravitational mass of the galaxies he observed in the nearby Coma galaxy cluster was insufficient to prevent those galaxies from flying away from one another, and realized there must be some other invisible matter at play.

The UCR team, whose research received money from the US National Science Foundation and NASA, refined Zwicky's technique, developing a tool they called GalWeight that determines more accurately which galaxies belong to a given cluster and which do not.

They applied their tool to the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the most detailed three-dimensional maps of the Universe currently available, measuring the mass of 1,800 galaxy clusters and creating a catalog.

Finally, they compared the number of clusters observed per unit volume in their catalog against a series of computer simulations, each of which was fed a different value for the total matter of the Universe.

Simulations with too little matter had too few clusters, while those with too much matter had too many clusters.

The "Goldilocks" value they found fit just right.

Wilson explained that having a more precise measure of the total amount of matter in the Universe may take us a step closer to learning the nature of dark matter,&nbsp;because "we know just how much matter we should be looking for" when scientists carry out particle experiments, for example at the Large Hadron Collider.

What's more, "the total amount of dark matter and dark energy tells us the fate of the Universe," she added, with the current scientific consensus being that we are headed for a "Big Freeze" where galaxies move further and further apart, and the stars in those galaxies eventually run out of fuel.&nbsp;

Scientists have solved a longtime mystery of the cosmos by determining of the most precise measurements ever made of the total amount of matter in the Universe. The matter-energy density of the Universe consists of a dark energy, a mysterious unknown force drving it's expansion.

Scientists have solved a longtime mystery of the cosmos by determining of the most precise measurements ever made of the total amount of matter in the Universe. The matter-energy density of the Universe consists of a dark energy, a mysterious unknown force drving it's expansion. The rest is matter, both normal and dark. Determining the exact proportions of these three is not an easy feat by any means. But a team of US astrophysicists have determined that matter accounts for 31.5 percent of the total amount of matter and energy that make up the Universe. The remaining 68.5 percent is dark energy, a mysterious force that is causing the expansion of the Universe to accelerate over time, and was first inferred by observations of distant supernovae in the late 1990s. Their findings were published on Monday in The Astrophysical Journal. Also read: Hints of life on Mars? Scientists find three lakes buried under the red planet's surface! Put another way, this means the total amount of matter in the observable Universe is equivalent to 66 billion trillion times the mass of our Sun, Mohamed Abdullah, a University of California, Riverside astrophysicist and the paper's lead author said. Most of this matter, 80 percent, is called dark matter. Its nature is not yet known, but it may consist of some as-yet-undiscovered subatomic particle. The latest measurements correspond well with values previously found by other teams using different cosmological techniques, such as measuring temperature fluctuations in the low-energy radiation left over from the Big Bang. "This has been a long process over the course of 100 years where we're gradually getting more and more precise," Gillian Wilson, the study's co-author and a professor at UCR said. "It's just kind of cool to be able to make such a fundamental measurement about the Universe without leaving planet Earth," she added. So how exactly do you weigh the Universe? The team honed a 90-year-old technique that involves observing how galaxies orbit inside galaxy clusters -- massive systems that contain thousands of galaxies. These observations told them how strong each galaxy cluster's gravitational pull was, from which its total mass could then be calculated. Fate of the Universe In fact, explained Wilson, their technique was originally developed by the pioneering astronomer Fritz Zwicky, who was the first person to suspect the existence of dark matter in galaxy clusters, in the 1930s. He noticed that the combined gravitational mass of the galaxies he observed in the nearby Coma galaxy cluster was insufficient to prevent those galaxies from flying away from one another, and realized there must be some other invisible matter at play. The UCR team, whose research received money from the US National Science Foundation and NASA, refined Zwicky's technique, developing a tool they called GalWeight that determines more accurately which galaxies belong to a given cluster and which do not. They applied their tool to the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the most detailed three-dimensional maps of the Universe currently available, measuring the mass of 1,800 galaxy clusters and creating a catalog. Finally, they compared the number of clusters observed per unit volume in their catalog against a series of computer simulations, each of which was fed a different value for the total matter of the Universe. Simulations with too little matter had too few clusters, while those with too much matter had too many clusters. The "Goldilocks" value they found fit just right. Wilson explained that having a more precise measure of the total amount of matter in the Universe may take us a step closer to learning the nature of dark matter, because "we know just how much matter we should be looking for" when scientists carry out particle experiments, for example at the Large Hadron Collider. What's more, "the total amount of dark matter and dark energy tells us the fate of the Universe," she added, with the current scientific consensus being that we are headed for a "Big Freeze" where galaxies move further and further apart, and the stars in those galaxies eventually run out of fuel.

What's the matter with the Universe? Scientists have the answer

Rio de Janeiro&#39;s air is dirtier and deadlier than portrayed by authorities, and the Olympics&#39; promised legacy of cleaner winds has not remotely been met, an analysis of government data and Reuters&#39; own testing found. 
 
Brazil declared in its official bid for the Olympic Games, which open on Friday, that Rio&#39;s air quality was &quot;within the limits recommended by the World Health Organization&quot;. 
 
That was not true when Rio won the right to host the Games in 2009 and it is not true now. 
 
Rio for years has surpassed WHO limits for the most dangerous air pollutant,&nbsp;called particulate matter (PM),&nbsp;spewed from millions of vehicles clogging the city&#39;s roads. 
 
Thousands die annually in Rio&#39;s metropolitan area of 12 million people because of complications related to the air. People exposed to the pollution have higher risks of lung cancer, heart attacks, strokes, asthma and other diseases. 
 
&quot;This is definitely not &#39;Olympic air&#39;,&quot; said Paulo Saldiva, a University of Sao Paulo pathologist and member of the WHO committee that set tougher global pollution standards in 2006. 
 
&quot;A lot of attention has been paid to Rio&#39;s water pollution, but far more people die because of air pollution than the water,&quot; he said. &quot;You are not obligated to drink water from Guanabara Bay, but you must breathe Rio&#39;s air.&quot; 
 
Rio&#39;s contaminated Olympic waterways have drawn attention as the city suffers endemic levels of gastrointestinal diseases from a lack of sewage collection. Reuters recently reported that Rio&#39;s Olympic water venues and favourite beaches also tested positive for drug-resistant &quot;super bacteria&quot;. 
 
But there has been no talk of Rio&#39;s air pollution, three-quarters of which is caused by exhaust fumes from the 2.7 million vehicles on its roads, according to Rio state&#39;s environmental protection agency, Inea. 
 
Its data shows that since 2008, Rio&#39;s air has consistently been two to three times above WHO&#39;s annual limit for PM 10 - so called because the particulate matter has a diameter of 10 microns or less, seven times smaller than that of a human hair. 
 
That means Rio has the dirtiest air of any Olympic host city since scientists began consistently tracking PM 10 in the late 1980s, with the exception of Beijing in 2008. 
 
Tania Braga, head of sustainability and legacy for the Rio Olympics organising committee, said air quality cannot be judged on PM data alone and other pollutants are at low levels. 
 
Saldiva dismissed that, saying &quot;the health damages associated with PM pollution are the most severe of all pollutants&quot; and, because of that, Rio&#39;s air is of poor quality. 
 
The WHO says on its website that &quot;PM affects more people than any other pollutant,&quot; that outdoor pollution caused 3.7 million premature deaths worldwide in 2012 and that those deaths were due to exposure to PM 10.&nbsp;The UN&nbsp;body did not respond to requests for comment on Rio&#39;s air quality. 
 
Using the WHO&#39;s methodology on estimating mortality, Saldiva calculates some 5,400 people died in Rio because of air pollution in 2014, the most recent year that data is available.&nbsp;By comparison, Rio&#39;s infamous murder levels resulted in 3,117 deaths last year. 
 
From 2010 to 2014, metropolitan Rio had an annual average PM 10 reading of 52 per cubic meter of air, according to Inea statistics. The WHO&#39;s limit for the annual average is 20. 
 
Jamie Mullins, a professor of resource economics at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, estimates that for every 10 units above the WHO limit on PM 10 levels, track athletes across all events see their performances diminished by 0.2 per cent.&nbsp;Mullins based that calculation on an examination of nearly 656,000 results from U.S. track athletes over eight years, and the air pollution during each. 
 
&#39;Sad Reality&#39; 
 
During the Beijing Olympics, the PM 10 level was 82, well above Rio&#39;s. When London held its Games in 2012, the PM 10 level was 23, government data showed. 
 
The PM level was 44 during the 2004 Olympics in Athens, 24 in Sydney in 2000 and 28 in Atlanta in 1996, said Staci Simonich, a professor at Oregon State University who published a 2009 study on pollution at the Beijing Games. 
 
&quot;Rio&#39;s numbers are all too common for the developing world. That is the sad reality,&quot; said Simonich. 
 
Air quality varies depending on weather, as&nbsp;rains temporarily clean PM from the air. But Rio is in its dry season and pollution is at its peak. 
 
Inea denied Reuters&#39; requests to see monthly data on PM levels for 2015 and this year.&nbsp;Some experts even question the reliability of Inea&#39;s data,&nbsp;noting that three-quarters of its 64 automatic monitoring stations are run by private companies that pollute, as a condition for them winning environmental licenses. 
 
&quot;The local agency should be fully and independently managing the stations,&quot; said James Lents, an air pollution expert who designed southern California&#39;s anti-smog effort.&nbsp;Inea did not respond to requests for comment on the private stations. 
 
Saldiva and his top researcher Mariana Veras teamed with Reuters to analyse Inea&#39;s data and carry out independent testing on PM 2.5,&nbsp;fine particles that pose the most serious health risks.&nbsp;Inea&#39;s data shows that since 2011, Rio&#39;s PM 2.5 levels surpassed WHO&#39;s annual limits 83 per cent of the time. 
 
Reuters conducted 22 separate hour-long tests for PM 2.5 levels: in front of the Olympic Park and the Olympic Village, next to the beach volleyball arena on Copacabana beach and just outside the Olympic stadium where track athletes will compete. 
 
There are no standards for one-hour tests for PM 2.5 &ndash; instead the WHO sets a 24-hour average level of 25 and an annual average of 10. But Saldiva and other experts said the results show athletes, fans and Rio residents are exposed to high levels of PM 2.5. 
 
The highest readings were at the Olympic stadium &ndash; with a peak of 65 PM 2.5 during a June 30 test taken mid-morning, the same time of day athletes will compete.&nbsp;The Copacabana site had a 57 reading the same day, while the Olympic Village where athletes will sleep hit a maximum of 32. 
 
Rio&#39;s mayor, Eduardo Paes, has been praised by experts for creating Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) routes and extending a subway line, but Rio&#39;s fleet of vehicles still grows by 100,000 a year. 
 
The mayor&#39;s office told Reuters improvements in public transport would significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.&nbsp;It said the BRTs had already resulted in 750 smaller-capacity buses being removed from roads.&nbsp;But Saldiva said mass transport must be vastly expanded to significantly impact pollution levels, given the number of cars and trucks on Rio&#39;s roads. 
 
&quot;The idea of an Olympic legacy in terms of diminishing air pollution is Utopian. It is unimaginable that a few BRT routes will substantially change the quality of the air,&quot; he said. &quot;For the Brazilians remaining in Rio after the Olympics have come and gone, there is no clean air legacy.&quot; 
 
(Reuters)

Rio surpasses WHO limits for particulate matter, the most dangerous air pollutant. Of recent Olympic hosts only Beijing had dirtier air

Rio de Janeiro's air is dirtier and deadlier than portrayed by authorities, and the Olympics' promised legacy of cleaner winds has not remotely been met, an analysis of government data and Reuters' own testing found. Brazil declared in its official bid for the Olympic Games, which open on Friday, that Rio's air quality was "within the limits recommended by the World Health Organization". That was not true when Rio won the right to host the Games in 2009 and it is not true now. Rio for years has surpassed WHO limits for the most dangerous air pollutant, called particulate matter (PM), spewed from millions of vehicles clogging the city's roads. Thousands die annually in Rio's metropolitan area of 12 million people because of complications related to the air. People exposed to the pollution have higher risks of lung cancer, heart attacks, strokes, asthma and other diseases. "This is definitely not 'Olympic air'," said Paulo Saldiva, a University of Sao Paulo pathologist and member of the WHO committee that set tougher global pollution standards in 2006. "A lot of attention has been paid to Rio's water pollution, but far more people die because of air pollution than the water," he said. "You are not obligated to drink water from Guanabara Bay, but you must breathe Rio's air." Rio's contaminated Olympic waterways have drawn attention as the city suffers endemic levels of gastrointestinal diseases from a lack of sewage collection. Reuters recently reported that Rio's Olympic water venues and favourite beaches also tested positive for drug-resistant "super bacteria". But there has been no talk of Rio's air pollution, three-quarters of which is caused by exhaust fumes from the 2.7 million vehicles on its roads, according to Rio state's environmental protection agency, Inea. Its data shows that since 2008, Rio's air has consistently been two to three times above WHO's annual limit for PM 10 - so called because the particulate matter has a diameter of 10 microns or less, seven times smaller than that of a human hair. That means Rio has the dirtiest air of any Olympic host city since scientists began consistently tracking PM 10 in the late 1980s, with the exception of Beijing in 2008. Tania Braga, head of sustainability and legacy for the Rio Olympics organising committee, said air quality cannot be judged on PM data alone and other pollutants are at low levels. Saldiva dismissed that, saying "the health damages associated with PM pollution are the most severe of all pollutants" and, because of that, Rio's air is of poor quality. The WHO says on its website that "PM affects more people than any other pollutant," that outdoor pollution caused 3.7 million premature deaths worldwide in 2012 and that those deaths were due to exposure to PM 10. The UN body did not respond to requests for comment on Rio's air quality. Using the WHO's methodology on estimating mortality, Saldiva calculates some 5,400 people died in Rio because of air pollution in 2014, the most recent year that data is available. By comparison, Rio's infamous murder levels resulted in 3,117 deaths last year. From 2010 to 2014, metropolitan Rio had an annual average PM 10 reading of 52 per cubic meter of air, according to Inea statistics. The WHO's limit for the annual average is 20. Jamie Mullins, a professor of resource economics at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, estimates that for every 10 units above the WHO limit on PM 10 levels, track athletes across all events see their performances diminished by 0.2 per cent. Mullins based that calculation on an examination of nearly 656,000 results from U.S. track athletes over eight years, and the air pollution during each. 'Sad Reality' During the Beijing Olympics, the PM 10 level was 82, well above Rio's. When London held its Games in 2012, the PM 10 level was 23, government data showed. The PM level was 44 during the 2004 Olympics in Athens, 24 in Sydney in 2000 and 28 in Atlanta in 1996, said Staci Simonich, a professor at Oregon State University who published a 2009 study on pollution at the Beijing Games. "Rio's numbers are all too common for the developing world. That is the sad reality," said Simonich. Air quality varies depending on weather, as rains temporarily clean PM from the air. But Rio is in its dry season and pollution is at its peak. Inea denied Reuters' requests to see monthly data on PM levels for 2015 and this year. Some experts even question the reliability of Inea's data, noting that three-quarters of its 64 automatic monitoring stations are run by private companies that pollute, as a condition for them winning environmental licenses. "The local agency should be fully and independently managing the stations," said James Lents, an air pollution expert who designed southern California's anti-smog effort. Inea did not respond to requests for comment on the private stations. Saldiva and his top researcher Mariana Veras teamed with Reuters to analyse Inea's data and carry out independent testing on PM 2.5, fine particles that pose the most serious health risks. Inea's data shows that since 2011, Rio's PM 2.5 levels surpassed WHO's annual limits 83 per cent of the time. Reuters conducted 22 separate hour-long tests for PM 2.5 levels: in front of the Olympic Park and the Olympic Village, next to the beach volleyball arena on Copacabana beach and just outside the Olympic stadium where track athletes will compete. There are no standards for one-hour tests for PM 2.5 – instead the WHO sets a 24-hour average level of 25 and an annual average of 10. But Saldiva and other experts said the results show athletes, fans and Rio residents are exposed to high levels of PM 2.5. The highest readings were at the Olympic stadium – with a peak of 65 PM 2.5 during a June 30 test taken mid-morning, the same time of day athletes will compete. The Copacabana site had a 57 reading the same day, while the Olympic Village where athletes will sleep hit a maximum of 32. Rio's mayor, Eduardo Paes, has been praised by experts for creating Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) routes and extending a subway line, but Rio's fleet of vehicles still grows by 100,000 a year. The mayor's office told Reuters improvements in public transport would significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It said the BRTs had already resulted in 750 smaller-capacity buses being removed from roads. But Saldiva said mass transport must be vastly expanded to significantly impact pollution levels, given the number of cars and trucks on Rio's roads. "The idea of an Olympic legacy in terms of diminishing air pollution is Utopian. It is unimaginable that a few BRT routes will substantially change the quality of the air," he said. "For the Brazilians remaining in Rio after the Olympics have come and gone, there is no clean air legacy." (Reuters)

Rio's air dirty, deadly and not Olympic-like

Black holes may be a portal that can transfer matter to another part of the universe, rather than destroying it, a new study has claimed. 
 
One of the biggest problems when studying black holes is that the laws of physics as we know them cease to apply in their deepest regions. 
 
Large quantities of matter and energy concentrate in an infinitely small space, the gravitational singularity, where space-time curves towards infinity and all matter is destroyed. 
 
However, a new study at the Institute of Corpuscular Physics (IFIC) in Spain suggests that matter might, in fact, survive its foray into these space objects and come out the other side. 
 
Scientists propose considering the singularity as if it were an imperfection in the geometric structure of space-time. 
 
By doing so they resolve the problem of the infinite, space-deforming gravitational pull. 
 
Black holes- a theoretical laboratory 
 
&quot;Black holes are a theoretical laboratory for trying out new ideas about gravity,&quot; said Gonzalo Olmo, a researcher at the University of Valencia (UV) in Spain. 
 
Specifically, in this work he has applied geometric structures similar to those of a crystal or graphene layer, not typically used to describe black holes, since these geometries better match what happens inside a black hole. 
 
&quot;Just as crystals have imperfections in their microscopic structure, the central region of a black hole can be interpreted as an anomaly in space-time, which requires new geometric elements in order to be able to describe them more precisely,&quot; said Olmo. 
 
Using these new geometries, the researchers obtained a description of black holes whereby the centre point becomes a very small spherical surface.geometries, the researchers obtained a description of black holes whereby the centre point becomes a very small spherical surface. 
 
This surface is interpreted as the existence of a wormhole within the black hole. 
 
&quot;In the first instance we resolve the problem of the singularity, since there is a door at the centre of the black hole, the wormhole, through which space and time can continue,&quot; Olmo said. 
 
The wormhole predicted by the equations is smaller than an atomic nucleus, but gets bigger with the charge stored in the black hole. 
 
So, a hypothetical traveller entering a black hole of this kind would be stretched to the extreme, or &quot;spaghettified,&quot; and would be able to enter the wormhole. Upon exiting they would be compacted back to their normal size. 
 
Seen from outside, these forces of stretching and compaction would seem infinite, but the traveller himself, living it first-hand, would experience only extremely intense, and not infinite, forces. 
 
The model proposed by the researchers posits that matter would not be lost inside the singularity, but rather would be expelled out from the other side through the wormhole at its centre to another region of the universe. 
 
The study was published in the journal Classical and Quantum Gravity. 
 
(PTI) 
 
 
&nbsp;

One of the biggest problems when studying black holes is that the laws of physics as we know them cease to apply in their deepest regions ?

Black holes may be a portal that can transfer matter to another part of the universe, rather than destroying it, a new study has claimed. One of the biggest problems when studying black holes is that the laws of physics as we know them cease to apply in their deepest regions. Large quantities of matter and energy concentrate in an infinitely small space, the gravitational singularity, where space-time curves towards infinity and all matter is destroyed. However, a new study at the Institute of Corpuscular Physics (IFIC) in Spain suggests that matter might, in fact, survive its foray into these space objects and come out the other side. Scientists propose considering the singularity as if it were an imperfection in the geometric structure of space-time. By doing so they resolve the problem of the infinite, space-deforming gravitational pull. Black holes- a theoretical laboratory "Black holes are a theoretical laboratory for trying out new ideas about gravity," said Gonzalo Olmo, a researcher at the University of Valencia (UV) in Spain. Specifically, in this work he has applied geometric structures similar to those of a crystal or graphene layer, not typically used to describe black holes, since these geometries better match what happens inside a black hole. "Just as crystals have imperfections in their microscopic structure, the central region of a black hole can be interpreted as an anomaly in space-time, which requires new geometric elements in order to be able to describe them more precisely," said Olmo. Using these new geometries, the researchers obtained a description of black holes whereby the centre point becomes a very small spherical surface.geometries, the researchers obtained a description of black holes whereby the centre point becomes a very small spherical surface. This surface is interpreted as the existence of a wormhole within the black hole. "In the first instance we resolve the problem of the singularity, since there is a door at the centre of the black hole, the wormhole, through which space and time can continue," Olmo said. The wormhole predicted by the equations is smaller than an atomic nucleus, but gets bigger with the charge stored in the black hole. So, a hypothetical traveller entering a black hole of this kind would be stretched to the extreme, or "spaghettified," and would be able to enter the wormhole. Upon exiting they would be compacted back to their normal size. Seen from outside, these forces of stretching and compaction would seem infinite, but the traveller himself, living it first-hand, would experience only extremely intense, and not infinite, forces. The model proposed by the researchers posits that matter would not be lost inside the singularity, but rather would be expelled out from the other side through the wormhole at its centre to another region of the universe. The study was published in the journal Classical and Quantum Gravity. (PTI)

Are black holes hiding secret portals to other parts of the universe?

The International Boxing Association (AIBA) has dismissed allegations of corruption within the organisation and demanded proof after a British newspaper reported that some bouts in the Rio Olympics could be fixed. 
 
According to The Guardian, citing multiple sources, a group of senior referees and judges met before a major championship to decide on how to score certain bouts having earlier relied on hand and head signals to select a winner. 
 
&quot;We reiterate that, unless tangible proof is put forward, not just rumours, we cannot further comment on these allegations,&quot; the paper quoted the sport&#39;s global governing body as saying. 
 
&quot;Our role is to ensure a fair and transparent competition and that the thousands of spectators and millions of fans enjoy an amazing tournament with 13 great and undisputed gold medallists. It is not a matter for AIBA to interfere with the decision made by the judges under sporting rules.&quot; 
 
Irish judge Seamus Kelly, one of the sources named in the report, said he had been asked to fix bouts at the Arab Games in Doha in 2011 using signals, and that his fellow officials were afraid to speak out. 
 
&quot;People are afraid... because if they are judges they will be sidelined and won&#39;t get to go to the Olympics or other championships. If they are officials, they fear their country&#39;s boxers will be targeted,&quot; he said. 
 
AIBA executive committee member Terry Smith said he was not aware of the allegations, and challenged officials to take up the matter using established channels within the organisation. 
 
&quot;I wish they&#39;d confide a little bit internally,&quot; he added. &quot;I would like them to challenge it where it takes place. These are the types of rumours we certainly don&#39;t want with the Olympics coming up.&quot; 
 
(Reuters)

Executive committee member Terry Smith has challenged officials to take up the matter using established channels within the organisation

The International Boxing Association (AIBA) has dismissed allegations of corruption within the organisation and demanded proof after a British newspaper reported that some bouts in the Rio Olympics could be fixed. According to The Guardian, citing multiple sources, a group of senior referees and judges met before a major championship to decide on how to score certain bouts having earlier relied on hand and head signals to select a winner. "We reiterate that, unless tangible proof is put forward, not just rumours, we cannot further comment on these allegations," the paper quoted the sport's global governing body as saying. "Our role is to ensure a fair and transparent competition and that the thousands of spectators and millions of fans enjoy an amazing tournament with 13 great and undisputed gold medallists. It is not a matter for AIBA to interfere with the decision made by the judges under sporting rules." Irish judge Seamus Kelly, one of the sources named in the report, said he had been asked to fix bouts at the Arab Games in Doha in 2011 using signals, and that his fellow officials were afraid to speak out. "People are afraid... because if they are judges they will be sidelined and won't get to go to the Olympics or other championships. If they are officials, they fear their country's boxers will be targeted," he said. AIBA executive committee member Terry Smith said he was not aware of the allegations, and challenged officials to take up the matter using established channels within the organisation. "I wish they'd confide a little bit internally," he added. "I would like them to challenge it where it takes place. These are the types of rumours we certainly don't want with the Olympics coming up." (Reuters)

International Boxing Association dismisses corruption allegations as 'rumours'

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