Coast | Common News Update

Oct92018 by adminNo Comments

Seafloor mapping XPRIZE final will be in the Mediterranean, off Greek coast

The final of the ocean XPRIZE, which will see fleets of robots compete to map the largest area of seafloor inside 24 hours, will take place in deep waters off the coast of Greece. Teams will be invited in turn to showcase their technologies, starting in early November. They will have to chart at least 250 sq km at depths down to 4,000m, and image 10 items of interest. The group that comes out on top will win $ 4m. Second place earns $ 1m. The Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE was launched in 2015 to find systems and approaches that could finally map the world's ocean basins to an acceptable precision. Currently, less than 15% of their bathymetry (depth) has been measured in a meaningfully accurate way. It is one of those truisms that ...

Sep152018 by adminNo Comments

HoF turmoil spurs new bid to find buyer for Coast

Business

The owner of Coast, the women's fashion retailer, ‎has accelerated plans to find a buyer after being hit by the fallout from House of Fraser's (HoF) recent collapse into administration. Sky News has learnt that Aurora Fashions, which also owns the Oasis and Warehouse chains, has begun contacting prospective buyers in the last fortnight about a deal to sell the Coast brand.It marks the latest chapter in efforts by Kaupthing, the Icelandic bank, to offload part or all of Aurora.Kaupthing came close to selling the entire business last year to Emerisque Brands, a business owned by an entrepreneur who was at the time the subject of an international arrest warrant issued by Interpol.That‎ deal fell through, and talks about a sale are understood to have been dormant sinc...

Sep112018 by adminNo Comments

Migrant crisis: Scores drown off Libyan coast

World

More than 100 migrants died in a shipwreck off the Libyan coastline earlier this month, an aid agency says.According to Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) two rubber boats set off on 1 September, but one of the vessels deflated and sank.The 276 survivors were eventually taken to the Libyan port city of Khoms, around 100 km (62 miles) to the south-east of the capital Tripoli.MSF says the group is now being held in "arbitrary detention".The survivors, including pregnant women, children and infants, have been treated by MSF for pneumonia or burns from leaked fuel.Over 1,500 migrants have died while attempting to cross the Mediterranean so far this year, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Many more have been...

Sep62018 by adminNo Comments

Earliest evidence of cheese-making in the Mediterranean found along Croatian coast

Science

Sept. 5 (UPI) -- Scientists have discovered the earliest evidence of cheese-making in the Mediterranean along Croatia's Dalmatian Coast. Fatty residue left on the insides of ancient pottery suggests the people of the Middle Neolithic were making cheese as early as 7,200 years ago. "This pushes back cheese-making by 4,000 years," Sarah B. McClure, an associate professor of anthropology at Penn State University, said in a news release. As confirmed by the new analysis, the emergence of cheese-making corresponded with a shift in pottery technology. "Cheese production is important enough that people are making new types of kitchenware," said McClure. "We are seeing that cultural shift." During the Early Neolithic, populations along the Dalmatian Coast produced "impressed ware" pottery. But d...

Jul172018 by adminNo Comments

Massive iceberg threatening Greenland village moves away from coast

World

A massive iceberg that has been floating close to a village in Greenland and threatening its residents appears to be veering away from the coast, toward the north, officials said. The village of Innaarsuit is home to 169 residents, some of whom have been evacuated as the iceberg looms over the coast. “Fortunately, the iceberg moved further north over the weekend,” Jakob Rousøe, head of operations for Joint Arctic Command, an authority within the Danish Defense, which is supporting local police and emergency services. “Powerful wind from the south and a current headed north pushed the iceberg to the north.” It is not clear if the iceberg will continue to move north or if it could move back closer to the village. As the iceberg melts, the fear is that gr...