29 killed in fire at Istanbul nightclub undergoing renovations
Images | aa.com.tr
The death toll has risen to 29 at a nightclub in the Turkish metropolis Istanbul after a fire broke out during renovation work in the venue, local authorities confirmed on Tuesday, Anadolu reports.
Casualties occurred among construction workers at the nightclub where the blaze broke out on the minus-first and -second floors of a 16-story building in the Besiktas district of the city, the Istanbul Governorship announced in an official statement.
The specific cause of the fire remains unknown, but the statement said it originated from the renovation work.
Upon receiving the alert, firefighters, medical teams, and police swiftly arrived at the scene, with law enforcement securing the area.
Firefighters, with 31 vehicles and 86 personnel, quickly extinguished the flames and brought the situation under control.
Efforts by rescue teams are ongoing at the site of the incident," the statement added.
This information may not be reproduced without reference to Kazakhstan Today. Copyright of materials of News Agency Kazakhstan Today.
relevant news
China launches Shenzhou-18 manned spaceship
Images | Xinhua/Li Gang
China on Thursday launched the Shenzhou-18 manned spaceship to send three taikonauts to its orbiting Tiangong space station for a six-month mission, Xinhua reports.
The spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.
The Shenzhou-18 crew members are Ye Guangfu, Li Cong and Li Guangsu, with Ye as the mission commander, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
The Shenzhou-18 mission marks Ye's second journey into space, following his previous role as a crew member during the Shenzhou-13 mission from October 2021 to April 2022. Li Cong and Li Guangsu are both on their first-ever space adventure.
The crew will utilize the scientific experiment cabinets and extravehicular payloads to carry out more than 90 experiments in the fields of basic physics in microgravity, space material science, space life science, space medicine and space technology, said Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the CMSA, at Wednesday's press conference.
A unique task for the three pilot-turned taikonauts is to create an "aquarium" and raise fish in zero gravity.
They will create a simplified version of an aquatic ecosystem using zebrafish and algae to study how the space environment affects their growth and system balance.
The "aquarium" is 1.25 liters in volume and can accommodate four small fish. But if the experiment succeeds, it will be a significant breakthrough to cultivate vertebrates in China's space program. Not only will the taikonauts find joy in the space "aquarium," but it may also pave the way for their future counterparts to enjoy nutritious fish from their own in-orbit harvests.
The next step in our research involves conducting experiments on fruit flies and mice," said Cang Huaixing, a chief researcher for the space station's scientific experiments, at the Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Taikonauts in orbit will also be involved in an experiment of cultivating plants. The purpose is to analyze the changes in the function and gene expression of plant stem cells in a microgravity environment. According to scientists, this research will provide theoretical support for designing crops that can adapt to outer space conditions.
More than 100 Arabidopsis seeds will be grown and nurtured in space for approximately four weeks. The crew aboard the space station will freeze them at minus 80 degrees Celsius in real-time and bring them back to Earth for further analysis and research.
In addition to the two experiments related to fish and plant, the crew will also conduct molecular research on the co-origin of proteins and nucleic acids, as well as the origin of codons. Furthermore, they will test a newly developed spacecraft coating material.
This information may not be reproduced without reference to Kazakhstan Today. Copyright of materials of News Agency Kazakhstan Today.
China's gigantic telescope detects over 900 new pulsars
Images | Xinhua/Ou Dongqu
China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), the world's largest single-dish radio telescope, has identified more than 900 new pulsars since its launch in 2016, its operator said Wednesday, Xinhua reports.
Pulsars, or fast-spinning neutron stars, originate from the imploded cores of massive dying stars through supernova explosions.
Han Jinlin, a scientist with the National Astronomical Observatories under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC), said that the pulsars included over 120 binary pulsars, more than 170 millisecond pulsars, and 80 faint and intermittent pulsars.
Han added that over the past 50-plus years since the discovery of the first pulsar, less than 3,000 pulsars were discovered worldwide, and the number of new pulsars discovered by FAST is more than three times the total number of pulsars found by foreign telescopes during the same period.
The study has important implications for understanding the dense remnants of dead stars in the Milky Way and their radiation characteristics," Han said.
Pulsar observation is an important task for FAST, which can be used to confirm the existence of gravitational radiation and black holes, and help find answers to many other major questions in physics.
Jiang Peng, chief engineer of the FAST, said that all staff members make every effort to improve the performance of the telescope. At present, the annual observation time of the telescope is about 5,300 hours, and it plays an important role in the continuous output of scientific research achievements.
Located in a deep and round karst depression in southwest China's Guizhou Province, FAST started formal operation in January 2020. It is believed to be the world's most sensitive radio telescope.
This information may not be reproduced without reference to Kazakhstan Today. Copyright of materials of News Agency Kazakhstan Today.
Middle Corridor holds significant importance for Kyrgyzstan - ambassador
Images | trend.az
The Middle Corridor (Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, or TITR) holds significant importance for Kyrgyzstan, the country's Ambassador to Azerbaijan Kairat Osmonaliev told Kyrgyz media, Trend reports.
The topic of the Middle Corridor is currently under active discussion. Essentially, it revives the operation of the old classical Silk Road, which originally passed through Central Asian countries, including the Caucasus. We are continuously working on this issue, including maximizing multimodal transportation along the corridor," the ambassador said.
He noted that Baku is now becoming a regional logistics hub, with the Baku Alat International Sea Trade Port and the Baku Hovsan International Sea Trade Port. According to him, discussions are currently underway for cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and both ports.
The Middle Corridor is a transportation and trade route that connects Asia and Europe, passing through several countries in the region. It is an alternative route to the traditional Northern Corridor and Southern Corridor. The route starts in China and crosses Central Asian countries. It then passes through the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye before reaching Europe.
This information may not be reproduced without reference to Kazakhstan Today. Copyright of materials of News Agency Kazakhstan Today.