A Nepali migrant worker, Govind BK of Saljhandi VDC of Kapilvastu district was found dead in the company's camp in Dubai on Friday, the RSS reported today.
However, the family of the deceased came to know about his death only on Sunday, according to Govind’s brother Ganesh BK.
Ganesh mentioned that his brother was learnt to have gone to sleep after attending duty on Thursday night, but didn't wake up till late morning the next day.
"When his friends tried to wake him up, they found him dead," RSS reported quoting Ganesh.
The family of the deceased have appealed to the authorities concerned to help them receive compensation from the Dubai-based company and bring home his dead body. BK is survived by wife, one son and two daughters
Monday, August 30, 2010
Nepal media aggressively targets Indian Embassy, Kantipur takes the lead
Including several professional media organizations, Nepal’s main opposition Unified Maoists’ Party and the leaders of various political parties have heavily come down against the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, under the dynamic leadership of Ambassador Rakesh Sood, for violating diplomatic norms and also blamed for blatant interference in Nepal’s media.
The media organizations, the main-opposition and leaders have been criticizing a press-release issued by the Indian mission which claimed referring to Indian Joint-Ventures in Nepal that certain print and television media houses (in Nepal) had approached them for release of advertisements.
The Indian embassy press release also claimed that the Indian JVs were threatened with negative publicity if requests for release of advertisements were not met with.
Money matters!
The Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ), Revolutionary Journalists’ Association and the Press Council-a statutory body constituted and controlled by Nepal government have collectively deplored the press-statement of the Indian Embassy.
Jolt in series. Bad days for India in Nepal. Poor India.
“The Indian Embassy in the past had threatened the media here in Nepal for publishing the news of blocking consignment of newsprints at the Kolkata port by India”, the joint statement made by FNJ-Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur district chapters read.
Friendship shattered! So sad.
“Such events have exposed Indian Interference in series”, the statement also adds insult to injury.
Narayan Sharma of Press-Council states that India has been ignoring diplomatic norms and that it has begun interfering in affairs exclusive to Nepali media.
Mr. Sharma was handpicked by the Maoist led government and made the Press Council Chairman.
Similarly, Nepal’s main opposition Unified Maoists’ Party has also deplored the act of the Indian Embassy in making a statement against the Nepali media. The party has also demanded apology from Indian Embassy to the free media here.
Asking the absurd. Good joke indeed.
“Our central committee meeting has deplored the act of Interference of the Indian Embassy”, said vice chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha.
The so-called democratic parties, the Nepali Congress and the UML are yet to criticize the event.
This has some meaning underneath.
Similarly, making exclusive comments to the Kantipur National Daily August 30, 2010, Chakra Prasad Bastola of the Nepali Congress, Pradip Nepal of UML, Devendra Poudel of Unified Maoists’ Party, Jay Prakash Gupta of Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum-Nepal and Sarita Giri of Sadvawana Party too have criticized the Indian Embassy for targeting the Nepali media.
Those who have made scathing comments against the Indian Embassy, mentioned above, were at one time in the not so distant past very very friendly to India.
But why they are distancing themselves? Naughty Nepali political animals.
Some may have, it could be presumed, talked against the Embassy with “heavy hearts”.
The Kantipur, Nepal’s largest circulating daily has penned an editorial in the issue.
The media organizations, the main-opposition and leaders have been criticizing a press-release issued by the Indian mission which claimed referring to Indian Joint-Ventures in Nepal that certain print and television media houses (in Nepal) had approached them for release of advertisements.
The Indian embassy press release also claimed that the Indian JVs were threatened with negative publicity if requests for release of advertisements were not met with.
Money matters!
The Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ), Revolutionary Journalists’ Association and the Press Council-a statutory body constituted and controlled by Nepal government have collectively deplored the press-statement of the Indian Embassy.
Jolt in series. Bad days for India in Nepal. Poor India.
“The Indian Embassy in the past had threatened the media here in Nepal for publishing the news of blocking consignment of newsprints at the Kolkata port by India”, the joint statement made by FNJ-Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur district chapters read.
Friendship shattered! So sad.
“Such events have exposed Indian Interference in series”, the statement also adds insult to injury.
Narayan Sharma of Press-Council states that India has been ignoring diplomatic norms and that it has begun interfering in affairs exclusive to Nepali media.
Mr. Sharma was handpicked by the Maoist led government and made the Press Council Chairman.
Similarly, Nepal’s main opposition Unified Maoists’ Party has also deplored the act of the Indian Embassy in making a statement against the Nepali media. The party has also demanded apology from Indian Embassy to the free media here.
Asking the absurd. Good joke indeed.
“Our central committee meeting has deplored the act of Interference of the Indian Embassy”, said vice chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha.
The so-called democratic parties, the Nepali Congress and the UML are yet to criticize the event.
This has some meaning underneath.
Similarly, making exclusive comments to the Kantipur National Daily August 30, 2010, Chakra Prasad Bastola of the Nepali Congress, Pradip Nepal of UML, Devendra Poudel of Unified Maoists’ Party, Jay Prakash Gupta of Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum-Nepal and Sarita Giri of Sadvawana Party too have criticized the Indian Embassy for targeting the Nepali media.
Those who have made scathing comments against the Indian Embassy, mentioned above, were at one time in the not so distant past very very friendly to India.
But why they are distancing themselves? Naughty Nepali political animals.
Some may have, it could be presumed, talked against the Embassy with “heavy hearts”.
The Kantipur, Nepal’s largest circulating daily has penned an editorial in the issue.
Stand aside, the behe-moths of the insect world have arrived
With their stunning colours and 12in wingspan they're not the sort of insect you could ignore.
And now not just one but nine of the world's largest moths have hatched at a butterfly sanctuary in Gloucestershire.
The giant Atlas moths emerged from their chrysalises at Berkeley Castle Butterfly House
Atlas moths are named after the intricate, colourful map-like patterns on their wings It is the first time the moths have successfully bred and hatched offspring in two years.
The moths, which do not have fully-formed mouths and survive off fat they built up as caterpillars, only live for a maximum of two weeks.
They are unsteady fliers and they do not stray far. Their sole purpose of life as a moth is to breed. Atlas moths are found in the tropical and subtropical forests of South-East Asia and are common across the Malay archipelago.
And now not just one but nine of the world's largest moths have hatched at a butterfly sanctuary in Gloucestershire.
The giant Atlas moths emerged from their chrysalises at Berkeley Castle Butterfly House
Atlas moths are named after the intricate, colourful map-like patterns on their wings It is the first time the moths have successfully bred and hatched offspring in two years.
The moths, which do not have fully-formed mouths and survive off fat they built up as caterpillars, only live for a maximum of two weeks.
They are unsteady fliers and they do not stray far. Their sole purpose of life as a moth is to breed. Atlas moths are found in the tropical and subtropical forests of South-East Asia and are common across the Malay archipelago.
Wales set to confirm 2011 World Cup warm-up schedule
Wales are in the process of finalising details for four summer Test matches next year as they build towards the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.
They will play a June game at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium to mark the 130-year anniversary of the Welsh Rugby Union.
Home and away fixtures against England follow on 6 and 13 August, the details of those games yet to be confirmed.
Another August Test could follow at the Millennium Stadium against a southern hemisphere side, probably Argentina.
"We've got something special in June to celebrate 130 years of the WRU," said the Union's group chief executive Roger Lewis.
Wales face England warm-ups, despite unhappy experiences in 2003 & 2007
"There are a couple of very special warm-up matches in August against England and perhaps something else as well.
"We've got a very big meeting with our friends from another southern hemisphere country."
While the August fixtures are restricted to World Cup years, Wales are looking to make the June Test a regular fixture of the international calendar to help boost finances.
This June's 34-31 defeat to a second-string South Africa side attracted over 60,000 fans to the Millennium Stadium.
Wales open their World Cup campaign against holders South Africa in Wellington on 11 September, with group games to follow against Samoa, Namibia and Fiji.
They will play a June game at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium to mark the 130-year anniversary of the Welsh Rugby Union.
Home and away fixtures against England follow on 6 and 13 August, the details of those games yet to be confirmed.
Another August Test could follow at the Millennium Stadium against a southern hemisphere side, probably Argentina.
"We've got something special in June to celebrate 130 years of the WRU," said the Union's group chief executive Roger Lewis.
Wales face England warm-ups, despite unhappy experiences in 2003 & 2007
"There are a couple of very special warm-up matches in August against England and perhaps something else as well.
"We've got a very big meeting with our friends from another southern hemisphere country."
While the August fixtures are restricted to World Cup years, Wales are looking to make the June Test a regular fixture of the international calendar to help boost finances.
This June's 34-31 defeat to a second-string South Africa side attracted over 60,000 fans to the Millennium Stadium.
Wales open their World Cup campaign against holders South Africa in Wellington on 11 September, with group games to follow against Samoa, Namibia and Fiji.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Millions of rural poor in Nepal could face more hunger as a result of climate change; situation “deeply worrying”
Poor crop yields, water shortages and more extreme temperatures are pushing rural villagers closer to the brink as climate change grips Nepal, according to a new report launched by the international aid agency Oxfam.
In the report, “Even the Himalayas Have Stopped Smiling: Climate Change, Poverty and Adaptation in Nepal”, farmers told Oxfam that changing weather patterns had dramatically affected crop production, leaving them unable to properly feed themselves and getting into debt. Oxfam called the situation “deeply worrying.”
“Communities told us crop production is roughly half that of previous years. Some said that while they used to grow enough food for three to six months of the year, last year many could only grow enough for one month’s consumption,” said Oxfam’s Nepal country director, Wayne Gum. ”Poor farmers rely on rainfall. They farm small areas of land which, at the best of times, can barely produce enough food for the family.”
Currently, more than 3.4 million people in Nepal are estimated to require food assistance, due to a combination of natural disasters, including last year’s winter drought - one of the worst in the country’s history. Higher food prices have also reduced people’s ability to purchase food. Although single drought events cannot be attributed to climate change, climate models predict less winter rain, indicating how the current situation could get worse.
Among recent changes in weather patterns in Nepal are an increase in temperature extremes, more intense rainfall and increased unpredictability in weather patterns, including drier winters and delays in the summer monsoons. The melting of the Himalayan glaciers will also be felt well beyond Nepal’s borders. Scientists warn that if the Himalayan glaciers disappear – with some predicting this could happen within 30 years – the impact would be felt by more than one billion people across Asia.
Some of the heaviest burdens have fallen on women who are on the frontline of climate change. They have to travel further distances to fetch water and take on the responsibility for feeding the family as men in many poor households migrate seasonally to seek work.
“The predicted impacts of climate change will heighten existing vulnerabilities, inequalities and exposure to hazards”, said the report.
“Poor and marginalized communities tend to be those most vulnerable to climate change and least able to cope with weather-related disasters because of lack of access to information and resources to reduce their risk.”
Nepal is one of the world’s poorest nations, with 31% of its 28 million population living below the poverty line. Most of Nepal’s poor live in rural areas that are most at risk to disasters such as floods and landslides.
Oxfam says more work needs to be done in Nepal by the government and international organisations to create greater awareness about climate change and its likely impacts, to prioritize and institutionalize actions at national level; and help communities to play a greater role themselves in initiatives to reduce their vulnerability.
Nepal is extremely vulnerable to climate change; yet has one of the lowest emissions in the world – just 0.025% of total global greenhouse gas emissions
In the report, “Even the Himalayas Have Stopped Smiling: Climate Change, Poverty and Adaptation in Nepal”, farmers told Oxfam that changing weather patterns had dramatically affected crop production, leaving them unable to properly feed themselves and getting into debt. Oxfam called the situation “deeply worrying.”
“Communities told us crop production is roughly half that of previous years. Some said that while they used to grow enough food for three to six months of the year, last year many could only grow enough for one month’s consumption,” said Oxfam’s Nepal country director, Wayne Gum. ”Poor farmers rely on rainfall. They farm small areas of land which, at the best of times, can barely produce enough food for the family.”
Currently, more than 3.4 million people in Nepal are estimated to require food assistance, due to a combination of natural disasters, including last year’s winter drought - one of the worst in the country’s history. Higher food prices have also reduced people’s ability to purchase food. Although single drought events cannot be attributed to climate change, climate models predict less winter rain, indicating how the current situation could get worse.
Among recent changes in weather patterns in Nepal are an increase in temperature extremes, more intense rainfall and increased unpredictability in weather patterns, including drier winters and delays in the summer monsoons. The melting of the Himalayan glaciers will also be felt well beyond Nepal’s borders. Scientists warn that if the Himalayan glaciers disappear – with some predicting this could happen within 30 years – the impact would be felt by more than one billion people across Asia.
Some of the heaviest burdens have fallen on women who are on the frontline of climate change. They have to travel further distances to fetch water and take on the responsibility for feeding the family as men in many poor households migrate seasonally to seek work.
“The predicted impacts of climate change will heighten existing vulnerabilities, inequalities and exposure to hazards”, said the report.
“Poor and marginalized communities tend to be those most vulnerable to climate change and least able to cope with weather-related disasters because of lack of access to information and resources to reduce their risk.”
Nepal is one of the world’s poorest nations, with 31% of its 28 million population living below the poverty line. Most of Nepal’s poor live in rural areas that are most at risk to disasters such as floods and landslides.
Oxfam says more work needs to be done in Nepal by the government and international organisations to create greater awareness about climate change and its likely impacts, to prioritize and institutionalize actions at national level; and help communities to play a greater role themselves in initiatives to reduce their vulnerability.
Nepal is extremely vulnerable to climate change; yet has one of the lowest emissions in the world – just 0.025% of total global greenhouse gas emissions
Gurkha rifleman killed in Afghanistan is named
Musa Qala The first Nepalese Gurkha soldier to be killed in Afghanistan has been named as Yubraj Rai, 28, of the 2nd Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles. He died on Tuesday in Musa Qala, southern Afghanistan, when a joint patrol with the Afghan National Security Forces was attacked. Rifleman Rai, from the Khotang district of eastern Nepal, had joined the Army in 1999. His commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Chris Darby, said: “He was an extraordinary character and a hard professional soldier with a proven operational record.”
List of UFO sightings
List of UFO sightings
Before 2000
Date Name City, State Country Description Kind of Close Encounter Sources
1886-08-12 José Bonilla Observation Zacatecas Observatory Mexico While observing sun spots, Director Bonilla of Zacatecas Observatory counted at least 283 objects crossing the disc of the sun. He was not able to maintain his count as so many objects appeared simultaneously. Some photographs were taken, however, and are said to be the oldest photographs of UFOs in the world. 0 [1]
1886-10-24 Maracaibo Incidence Maracaibo Venezuela In a letter printed in the December 18, 1886 issue of Scientific American, page 389, the US consul of Venezuela in Maracaibo reported the sighting of a UFO. A bright object, accompanied with a humming noise, appeared during thunderstorm over a hut near Maracaibo. Afterward, the people in the hut displayed symptoms similar to radiation poisoning. Nine days later the trees surrounding the hut withered and died. 2 [2][3][4]
1897-04-19 Aurora Texas UFO Incident Aurora, Texas United States There were reports of an alleged UFO crash and a burial of its alien pilot in the local cemetery. 3 [5][6]
1908-06-30 Tunguska event Podkamennaya Tunguska River Russian Empire A massive explosion, conjectured to be from a comet or meteoroid. But it is also believed by UFO conspiracy theorists to be an exploding UFO. 2 [7][8]
1917-08-13, 09-13, 10-13 The Miracle of the Sun Fatima Portugal Thousands of people witnessed what looked like the sun gyrate and descend. This was later reinterpreted by Jacques Vallée, Joaquim Fernandes and Fina d'Armada as a possible UFO sighting, but not recognized as such due to cultural differences. 1 [9][10][11]
1926 Sightings by Nicholas Roerich Unknown, possibly Nepal (the Himalayas) Nicholas Roerich's travel diary mentions that his travelling party encountered a metallic silver disc hovering above the Himalayas. They observed the disc through binoculars for some time until it disappeared behind the peaks. 1 [12]
1940s Foo fighter Small metallic spheres and colorful balls of light repeatedly spotted and occasionally photographed by bomber crews all over the world during World War II. 1 [13][14]
1942 Hopeh Incident Hopeh China A UFO was spotted and photographed. 1 [15]
1942-02-24 Battle of Los Angeles Los Angeles, California United States Unidentified aerial objects trigger the firing of thousands of anti-aircraft rounds and raise the wartime alert status. 1 [16][17]
1946 Ghost rockets Scandinavia Objects were sighted repeatedly over Scandinavia; Swedish Defense Staff expressed concern. 1 [18]
1946-05-18 UFO-Memorial Ängelholm Ängelholm Municipality Sweden Gösta Karlsson reports seeing a UFO and its alien passengers. A model of a flying saucer is now erected at the site. 3 [19]
1947-06-21 Maury Island incident Washington United States Harold A. Dahl reported that his dog was killed and his son was injured by encounters with UFOs. He also claimed that a witness was threatened by the Men in Black. 2 [20]
1947-06-24 Kenneth Arnold Unidentified Flying Object Sighting Washington United States The UFO sighting that sparked the name flying saucers. 2 [21]
1947-07-08 Roswell UFO incident Roswell, New Mexico United States United States Army Air Forces allegedly captures a flying saucer. 3 [22]
1948 Green fireballs United States Objects reported over several United States military bases; an official investigation followed. 1 [23]
1948-01-07 Mantell UFO Incident Kentucky United States US Air Force sent a fighter pilot to investigate a UFO sighting over Fort Knox, Kentucky; the pilot was killed while pursuing the UFO. 2 [24]
1948-10-01 Gorman Dogfight North Dakota United States A US Air Force pilot sighted and pursued a UFO for 27 minutes over Fargo, North Dakota. 1 [25][26]
1950 Mariana UFO Incident Great Falls, Montana United States The manager of Great Falls' pro baseball team took color film of two UFOs flying over Great Falls. The film was extensively analyzed by the US Air Force and independent investigators. 1 [27]
1951-08-25 Lubbock Lights Lubbock, Texas United States Lights were repeatedly spotted flying over the city. Witnesses included professors from Texas Tech University and photographed by a Texas Tech student. 1 [28]
1952-07-13 1952 Washington D.C. UFO incident Washington, D.C. United States A series of sightings in July 1952 accompanied radar contacts at three separate airports in the Washington area. The sightings made front page headlines around the nation, and ultimately lead to the formation of the Robertson Panel by the CIA. 1 [29]
1952-07-24 Carson Sink UFO incident Nevada United States Two pilots saw three unusual Delta-wing aircraft flying in a V-formation over Carson Sink. 1 [30]
1952-09-12 Flatwoods monster Flatwoods, West Virginia United States 6 local boys and a woman report seeing a UFO land and a bizarre-looking creature near the landing site. 3 [31][32][33]
June, 1953 Otis AFB Falmouth, Massachusetts United States A U.S Air Force radar operator and pilot bailed out over Otis Air Force Base because of engine failure. They were chasing a UFO. Plane and operator never seen again. Pilot lives and the canopy is the only thing recovered. 1 [34]
1953-08-12 Ellsworth UFO Case Bismarck, North Dakota United States A UFO appearing as a red glowing light is witnessed by 45 people. The sighting takes place over a two night period. 1 [35]
1953-11-23 Felix Moncla Lake Superior United States - Canada U.S Air Force Pilot disappears while pursuing a UFO. 1 [36]
1955-08-21 Kelly-Hopkinsville encounter Kentucky United States A group of strange, goblin-like creatures are reported to have attacked a family. The family shot at them several times with little or no effect. 3 [37]
1957 Antonio Villas Boas São Francisco de Sales Brazil Antonio Villas Boas claimed to have been abducted and examined by aliens. He also claimed to have had sex with an alien woman while aboard the UFO. 4 [38]
1957-05-20 Milton Torres 1957 UFO Encounter East Anglia United Kingdom US Air Force fighter pilot Milton Torres reports that he was ordered to interecept and fire on a UFO displaying "very unusual flight patterns" over East Anglia. Ground radar operators had tracked the object for some time before Torres' plane was scrambled to intercept. 1 [39]
1957-11-02 Levelland UFO Case Levelland, Texas United States Numerous motorists reported seeing a glowing, egg-shaped object which caused their vehicle's engines to shut down. When the object flew away, their vehicles restarted without a problem. 2 [40]
1959 Dyatlov Pass incident Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Mysterious deaths of experienced skiers in the Urals is believed to have been caused by "unidentified orange spheres" and an "unknown compelling force". 2 [41]
1961-09-19 Betty and Barney Hill abduction New Hampshire United States A widely publicized alien abduction experience. 4 [42]
1964-04-24 Lonnie Zamora Socorro, New Mexico United States Police officer Zamora reports a close encounter. 3 [43]
1965 Exeter incident Exeter, New Hampshire United States UFO observed by a teenager and two police officers. 1 [44]
1965-12-01 Adhara Observatory UFO Lunar Transit San Miguel Argentina At 8.30 pm the Adhara Observatory received several calls concerning strange objects visible on the moon. The staff of the observatory photographed the moon in fixed intervals, which revealed disk shaped objects flying in front of the moon. A few minutes later, three strange luminous objects flew over La Plata. 0 [45]
1965-12-09 Kecksburg UFO incident Kecksburg, Pennsylvania United States Mass sighting of a falling UFO, followed by a cordoning-off of the crash site. 1 [46]
1966 The Mothman Prophecies Point Pleasant, West Virginia United States A wave of sightings of a winged humanoid is reported to be connected to other mysterious events including sightings of UFOs. 1 [47]
1966-01-11 Wanaque Reservoir UFO Wanaque Reservoir, Wanaque, New Jersey United States UFO in the form of a bright light seen in the vicinity of Wanaque Reservoir, led to traffic jams and overloaded police communications networks. The UFO shifted color on a continuing basis. It shot a beam of light down towards the ice near the dam, maintained its position for another half hour and flew off to the southeast. Another UFO, sighted the next night near Wanaque, was observed flying in zigzag pattern. The mayor, Warren Hagstrom, as well as Chief of Police Floyd Elston and captain Joe Sisco watched the craft for some time.Two reserve officers, Sgt.Ben Thompson and patolman Edward Wester, also witnessed the craft along with a number of other observers. 1 [48]
1966-04-06 Westall UFO Clayton South, Victoria Australia A sighting by hundreds of people. Witnesses of "The Clayton Incident" still gather for reunions. 1 [49]
1966-04-17 Portage County UFO chase Ohio United States Several police officers pursue a UFO for 30 minutes. 1 [50]
1966-10-11 The Grinning Man Elizabeth, New Jersey United States A Tall man with no nose or ears is sighted in a neighborhood shortly after UFO sighting. 2
1967-03-05 Minot Air Force Base UFO Incidents Minot/Minot A.F.B., North Dakota United States UFO appears to hover over area, strike teams are called in to confront the vessel. 1 [51]
1967-03-?? Malmstrom AFB Incident Malmstrom A.F.B. United States 1 [51]
1967-05-20 Falcon Lake Incident Falcon Lake, Manitoba Canada A UFO's exhaust allegedly burns a man. 2 [52]
1967-08-29 Close encounter of Cussac Cussac, Cantal France A young brother and sister claim to have witnessed a UFO and its occupants. 3 [53]
1967-10-04 Shag Harbour incident Shag Harbour, Nova Scotia Canada A UFO was seen crashing into Shag Harbor. A Canadian naval search followed, and the incident is officially referred to as a UFO crash. 2 [54][55]
1967-12-03 Schirmer Abduction Ashland, Nebraska United States Sergeant Herbert Schirmer claimed he was abducted. 4 [56]
1967 Minot Air Force Base UFO Incidents Minot/Minot A.F.B., North Dakota United States Air Force claims unidentifiable craft "attacks" air base, specifically the missile silos. (the "attack" was two beams of light, one of which appeared to be an offensive weapon. One of numerous cases involving the base, which is home to a nuclear weapon launch silos and stockpiles.) 1 [51]
1968-6-6 Minot Air Force Base UFO Incidents Minot/Minot A.F.B., North Dakota United States UFO hovers over a silo, then leaves. After the UFO leaves, personnel discover that the missile was armed and in launch mode, and the nuclear warhead was armed. 2 [51]
1968-10-25 Minot Air Force Base UFO Incidents Minot/Minot A.F.B., North Dakota United States 1 [51][57][58]
1969-01-01 Prince George sightings Prince George, British Columbia Canada Three unrelated witnesses reported a strange, round object in the late afternoon sky. The sphere radiated a yellow-orange light and appeared to ascend from 2,000 feet (610 m) to 10,000 feet (3,000 m). 1 [59]
1969 Jimmy Carter UFO incident Leary, Georgia United States Jimmy Carter's sighting. 1 [60]
1970s Barry DeLong UFO incident Somerset County, Maine United States Sheriff Barry A. DeLong witnessed a UFO: "They were hovering about 15 feet (4.6 m) from my cruiser, late at night. It had fixed, spinning lights. The craft was a huge oval shape. I knew it wasn't a jet fighter. It slowly started backing off toward Sugarloaf, and then at a terrific speed." 1 [61]
1970-04-24 Border incident between Russia and China 1000 kilometres north-east of Ulan Bator Mongolia In the border area between Russia and China, air traffic controllers from both nations observe multiple unidentified flying objects. The Russians believed they were Chinese and vice versa. On April 24, 1970, a Russian bomber disappeared during a flight from Moscow to Vladivostok. On the same day many of these objects were observed, with attempts to shoot them down a failure. Using triangulation it was calculated that the UFOs came from an area 1000 kilometres north-east of Ulan Bator. The area was bombed by a hundred Russian planes, allegedly destroying a secret tunnel system. There were also rumours that nuclear weapons were used in the attack. This was officially referred to as a spring maneuver and a small border conflict. 2 [62][63]
1971-09-04 Lake Cote UFO Arenal, Alajuela Costa Rica An UFO was photographed during a mapping mission from an airborne camera over Lake Cote, Costa Rica. No crew member saw the object at the time, but the image was captured on film. 1 [64][65]
1973-10-11 Pascagoula Abduction Mississippi United States Alien abduction occurs while the victims were fishing on the Pascagoula River. 4 [66]
1974-01-23 Berwyn Mountain UFO incident Llandrillo, Merionethshire, North Wales United Kingdom An alleged UFO crash involving lights in the sky being observed moments before a large impact shock. The cause of the incident was soon revealed as a 3.5 magnitude earthquake. 1 [67][68]
1975-01-12 North Hudson Park UFO sightings North Bergen, New Jersey United States Considered a close encounter of the second and third kind, the case introduced Budd Hopkins to UFO research, a key figure in future alien abduction research. Researcher Jerome Clark cites the incident as one of the best-documented, since the story was corroborated by numerous independent witnesses. 2 [69]
1975-11-05 Travis Walton Arizona United States Logger Travis Walton reports being abducted by aliens for five days. Walton's six workmates claimed to have witnessed the UFO at the start of his abduction. Walton described the event and its aftermath in The Walton Experience, which was dramatized in the film Fire in the Sky. 4 [66]
1976-06-22 1976 Canary Isles sightings Canary Islands Spain Several lights and a spherical transparent blue craft, piloted by two beings was reported. 1 [70]
1976-08-20 Allagash Abductions Maine United States Four campers claimed to have been abducted by alien beings in the Allagash wilderness. 4 [71]
1976-09-19 1976 Tehran UFO incident Tehran Iran A UFO disabled the electronic equipment of two F-4 interceptor aircraft, along with ground control equipment. The event is well documented in the U.S. DIA report. The Iranian generals involved in the incident stated object was extraterrestrial. 2 [72]
1977 Colares UFO flap Colares Brazil A bewildering account of an island attacked by UFOs shooting harmful beam sof radioactive light at the residents. 2 [73]
1978-05-10 Emilcin Abduction Emilcin Poland A man in Emilcin, Poland is said to have been abducted by "grays." There is now a memorial at the site. 4 [74]
1978-10-21 Valentich Disappearance Victoria Australia Contacting air traffic control, an Australian pilot reported sighting a UFO before his aircraft vanished. 1 [75][76]
1978-12-21 Kaikoura lights South Island New Zealand A series of sightings by a Safe Air freight plane; the airplane was escorted by strange lights that changed color and size. 1 [77]
1979-08-27 Val Johnson Incident Marshall County, Minnesota United States A deputy sheriff spotted a bright light which appeared to have collided with his patrol car and damaged it. The deputy also suffered temporary retinal damage from the "light". 2 [78][79]
1979-11-09 Robert Taylor incident Livingston United Kingdom A forester, Bob Taylor, was pulled by two spiked globes towards a UFO, which stood on a clearing. He lost consciousness and afterwards had trouble walking and speaking. He also was constantly thirsty for several days. 4 [80]
1979-11-11 Manises UFO Incident Valencia Spain Three large UFOs forced a commercial flight to make an emergency landing at Manises airport. 1 [81]
1980s Hudson Valley UFO sightings Hudson Valley United States A UFO flap during the eighties and early nineties, involving thousands of reports of similarly-shaped UFOs. They were first observed by a retired policeman in Kent, New York, late on New Year's Eve, 1981. The 1984 "Incident at Indian Point" was one of these sightings. 1 [82]
1980-12-28 Rendlesham Forest Incident Suffolk, England United Kingdom A sighting which was first thought to be a downed aircraft. 2 [83]
1980-12-29 Cash-Landrum incident Dayton, Texas United States A huge diamond-shaped UFO irradiates three witnesses, who all needed treatment for radiation poisoning. The UFO was escorted by military helicopters. The victims have since sued the US Government. 2 [84]
1986-11-17 Japan Air Lines flight 1628 incident Alaska United States A group of UFOs flew alongside Japan Air Lines Flight 1628 for 50 minutes above Northeastern Alaska. One of the objects trailing behind the Boeing 747 was detected by military radar. 1 [85]
1990-03-30 Belgian UFO wave Ans, Wallonia Belgium Mass sighting of large, silent, low-flying black triangles, which were tracked by multiple NATO radar and jet interceptors, and investigated by Belgium's military. Photographic evidence exists. 1 [86]
[87]
1990-11-07 1990 Montreal UFO Montreal, Quebec Canada More than 40 witnesses, including police, observed a UFO above Place Bonaventure for more than 3 hours. 1 [88]
1991-04-21 Achille Zaghetti London, England United Kingdom Alitalia pilot Achille Zaghetti reports a cigar-shaped UFO flying past his plane at high speed during his descent to Heathrow Airport on a flight from Milan to London. Immediately following the near-miss, Zaghetti contacted the radar control center, which confirmed an unidentified target was observed 10 nautical miles behind the plane. British defence officials ruled out a missile, but offered no explanation for the sighting. 1 [89][90]
1991 STS-48 incident Orbit, Space Discovery, STS-48 Video apparently taken during missionSTS-48, appears to show objects flying in an artificial fashion. NASA explained the objects as ice particles reacting to engine jets. Philip C. Plait discussed it in Bad Astronomy, agreeing with NASA. A Florida Today article in 2000 quoted Dr. Jack Kasher stating that he found the footage to actually depict independently operated spacecraft, see "Journal for UFO Studies". 1 [91]
1993 Kelly Cahill Victoria Australia East of Melbourne's Dandenong foothills Kelly Cahill and five others observed a flying saucer that appeared shortly after midnight. They were also confronted by tall, slim, black aliens with glowing red eyes. 5 [92]
1994-06 Meng Zhaoguo Incident Wuchang China Meng claimed to have been abducted and forced to have sexual intercourse with a 10 feet (3.0 m), six fingered, female alien with braided leg fur. 4 [93]
1996-01-20 Varginha UFO incident Varginha, Minas Gerais Brazil Multiple sightings and an allegedly captured alien by the Brazilian military. 3 [94]
1997-08-06 Mexico City skyline UFO Mexico City Mexico An amateur with a digital camera captured footage of a UFO passing behind and above several buildings. Air traffic was restricted that day except for two helicopters. 1 [95]
2000-01-05 Southern Illinois UFO St. Clair County, Illinois United States Between 4:00 and 7:00 am, six people, including police officers, observed a large, triangular object a few hundred feet over St. Clair County. The object glided silently and slowly to the southwest over several villages before vanishing near the town of Dupo. The object, studded with several bright lights, was as tall as a two-story house and as long as a football field. 1 [96]
[edit] After 2000
Date Name City, State Country Description Kind of Close Encounter Sources
2002-01-14 Paintsville UFO/Train Collision Paintsville, Kentucky United States A train struck a UFO that was hovering over the tracks. The train was heavily damaged, along with two other railroad cars. 1 [97]
2004-03-05 2004 Mexican UFO Incident Mexico A drug-smuggling air patrol recorded on infrared camera what some claimed to be UFOs. The footage was released by Jaime Maussan. Others suggest the objects are oil platform burn-off flares. 1 [98]
2004-10-31 The Tinley Park Lights Tinley Park, Illinois United States A sequence of five mass UFO sightings, first on August 21, 2004, two months later on October 31, 2004, again on October 1 of 2005, and once again on October 31, 2006, in Tinley Park and Oak Park, Chicago. 1 [99][100][101]
2005-04-27 Washington, D.C. United States The White House was evacuated when a UFO entered restricted air space, then disappeared. It was explained as: "probably a cloud or several birds". 1 [102]
2006-11-07 Chicago O'Hare UFO sighting 2006 Chicago, Illinois United States United Airlines employees and pilots claimed sightings of a saucer-shaped, unlit craft hovering over a Chicago O'Hare Airport terminal, before shooting up vertically. The FAA initially denied having received reports, but information gained by means of the Freedom of Information Act revealed otherwise. 1 [103]
2007-02-02 Islington, London, England United Kingdom Ten to fifteen UFOs are spotted. 1 [104]
2007-02-16 Kaliningrad Russian Federation A student records a UFO on his video camera. 1 [105]
2007-03-03 New Delhi India A green fireball was seen over Delhi by ten pilots. 1 [106]
2007-03-07 New Delhi India Two UFOs were detected near the prime minister's residence. 1 [107]
2007-03-10 Cleveland, Ohio United States UFO seen over a peace rally. 1 [108]
2007-04-23 Channel Islands Two airline pilots on separate flights spot UFOs off the coast of Alderney. 1 [109]
2007-05-02 Sutton, England United Kingdom John Gregory spotted a UFO after 10 pm. As he was observing the sky he noticed a very bright object, which at first he considered to be a star. Later he began to doubt this, and was very surprised by the very unusual and clear phenomenon, which was visible for miles around. The image, which seemed to be shaped like a face, nose and mouth, remained for about 20 minutes and then just vanished. 1 [110]
2007-05-11 Massillon, Ohio United States At 10:40 pm, Rosemary Lyons and a co-worker were taking a smoke break outside the Loyal Order of Moose Lodge, located at 2935 Lincoln Way West, when they witnessed a UFO. They estimated its size as 60 feet (18 m) in diameter. Lyons: "The first thing I said was 'Oh my gosh. Look at that,' We saw it for 20 to 25 seconds. It was round and luminous underneath. It wasn't a plane, it wasn't a helicopter, it wasn’t a blimp and it wasn't a balloon. It made absolutely no sound. It was flying over just carefree – like it was no one's business." 1 [111]
2007-05-12 Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland United Kingdom Orange colored UFOs were spotted during the evening. Clifford Rossbottom said, "There were three orange globes, nearly in a straight line, ... an absolutely fascinating sight. I watched them for five minutes, and then very slowly, they just disappeared. The only thing I thought it could have been was three high-flying aircraft. If that is not the case, then I have no idea, and the only other thing I can think of is in fact that they were UFOs." Belfast International Airport's air traffic control received calls from people (including the Coastguard) who spotted the objects, but the airport reported no aircraft in the area during the time of the sightings. A company called UFO Balloons later claimed their product was responsible for the events. One month later two similar aircraft were sighted over Buela, Colorado.[112] 1 [113]
2007-05-27 Chilliwack, British Columbia Canada Dave Francis and Kelly McDonald witnessed a UFO over UCFV campus. Francis said, "I really think it was a UFO. I don’t really care if anybody else believes me ... it was the craziest thing I ever saw. Whatever it was, they were moving from place to place as a unit [and then] just faded away." McDonald said, "I know that I saw something that wasn’t from here. I’ve never seen anything move that way. It wasn’t birds. [As the UFO approached] it broke apart into 20 or more of these little spheres ... birds don’t dive-bomb in at each other. " 1 [114]
2007-05-28 Bangalore India Afzal Khan told CNN IBN that he photographed a UFO, "Today (Monday) at around 9 pm (IST), I and my brothers saw a bright, slow-moving object which looked like a group of lights moving in a triangular formation in the sky towards west/north-west direction. This object was definitely not an aeroplane as it was moving very slowly. We observed the object from around 9 pm until 9.30 pm before it disappeared into the distance. During this time we managed to take some pictures with my camera. The astronomical/space/science departments of any activity in the sky during the above time can be confirmed. We live in Jayanagar area of Bangalore. Another thing that we noticed during this time was an aircraft that took-off from Bangalore Airport was flying very close to this object. It is possible that the pilot of that aircraft could have spotted this object as well." 1 [115]
2007-07-23 Warwickshire, England United Kingdom Crowd of 100 persons saw a formation of strange lights in the sky for 30 minutes. 1 [116]
2007-09-25 Kodiak Island UFO, 2007 Kodiak, Alaska United States On September 25, 2007, around 6:45am, a bright red light was flying fast over Alaska's Kenai Peninsula. Within seconds, it travelled to Kodiak Island air space, over 300 miles away. Many claimed to have seen it descend behind a mountain. Local troopers and Coast Guard personnel were unable to find traces. 1 [117]
2007-10-30 Kolkata India Many people claimed to see a UFO near Eastern Metropolitan Bypass, Calcutta. It was also recorded by an amateur videographer. It was like a ball of light which some time hovered, sometimes moved very fast and changed shape and size. The video was broadcasted on local news channels. 1 [118][119]
2007-11-08 Larnaca Cyprus UFO reported to have come from the coast inland near a village called Catalkoy in small and rapid zigzags, then stopped and hovered for approximately 30 seconds before making a smooth ascent at 45 degrees east. 1 [120]
2008-01-01 San Diego, California United States Nine separate lights were spotted moving in an arc formation across the sky at around half past midnight on New Years Day. Around the globe, many people are said to have reported the same exact lights in the sky. A later Fox News San Diego report by anchor Jim Patten showed these lights to be Chinese New Year floating Lanterns. On February 16, 2008, two individuals reported seeing a large, pulsing orb of light hovering in place above Miramar Air Base. 1 [121]
2008-01-08 to 2008-02-09 Stephenville, Texas UFO sightings Stephenville, Texas, Dublin, Texas, Crawford, Texas United States UFOs were, and still are, sometimes reported in this area. One was an object that was described as 1 mile (1.6 km) by 1.5 miles (2.4 km) in size, spotted over Bush Ranch in Crawford, Texas. The Air Force has identified the objects as training fighter jets that went unreported due to a "communications problem". 1 [122]
May–Sept, 2008 2008 Turkey UFO Sightings Istanbul Turkey Over a four month span in 2008, a night guard at the Yeni Kent Compound videotaped one or more UFOs over Turkey at nighttime. Many witnesses confirmed the two and a half hours' worth of video, leading the Sirius UFO Space Science Research Center to dub it the "most important images of a UFO ever filmed". 1 [123]
2008-05-14 Needles, California United States A flaming object crashed near the Colorado river. Several witnesses claim to have seen five helicopters picking up the strange object after 17 minutes and heading into direction of Las Vegas. 1 [124]
2008-06-20 Wales UFO sightings Different cities, Wales United Kingdom After media reports of a police helicopter that was almost hit by a UFO, before it tried to pursue it, hundreds of people reported to have witnessed a UFO on the same or preceding days, from different areas of Wales. 1 [125]
2008-06-21 Moscow UFO sightings Moscow Russian Federation Different people and media (including state-owned) reported sightings of 11 orange UFOs. Further confirmation came from Saint Petersburg and Novosibirsk. On June 25 a similar report, now with 13 objects, was claimed in the UK. 1 [126][127][128]
2008-06-29 Weston-super-Mare, Somerset United Kingdom Royal Navy aircraft engineer Michael Madden watched a UFO hover above the M5 motorway near Weston-super-Mare for around three minutes before it disappeared at high speed. Madden described the UFO as looking "like alien aircraft in the films". 1 [129][130]
2008-12-10 Zagreb Croatia Bright lights were seen over an insurance building in Zagreb. They were filmed and put on the news. The UFO was actually a misidentified media stunt. [131]
2009-01-05 Morristown UFO Morristown, New Jersey United States A confirmed hoax in Morristown, New Jersey, perpetrated by Chris Russo & Joe Rudy who sent up different sets of helium balloons with attached flares. [132][133][134]
2009-03-18 London, England United Kingdom A group of UFOs appear on a photo, even though they were invisible to the naked eye. 1 [135]
2009-05-31 Kolkata India UFOs detected by Kolkata ATC 1 [136]
June, 2009 Wisconsin, Texas, Nevada, Mexico City, Tijuana United States, Mexico Scattered reports of UFO sightings all over the United States from June 3 to 22, 2009. 1, 2 [137]
2009-08-05 Northern England United Kingdom UFO captured on BBC camera. 1 [138]
2009-08-16 Ural Russia Alleged disappearance of an 11 year old girl in a UFO sighting 1 [139]
2009-10-20 Florida United States Report of a nearly 200-foot-long triangle-shaped craft spotted flying at 100 feet altitude. 1 [140]
2010-06-05 New South Wales, Queensland Australia Scores of people across Australia's east coast say they saw bizarre yellow-green light zooming across the sky "like a lollipop swirl" between 5.45am and 6am. 1 [141]
2010-07-09 Zhejiang China According to the Xinhua news agency, after the unidentified flying object was spotted, airport authorities stopped passengers from boarding planes, and outgoing flights were grounded for an hour in Hangzhou, the capital city of China's Zhejiang province. When officials closed the airport, incoming flights were rerouted to other airports. So far, no explanation has been offered to explain the UFO. However, several hours before the airport incident, many Hangzhou residents described seeing a large, brightly lit, elongated object in the sky.
Before 2000
Date Name City, State Country Description Kind of Close Encounter Sources
1886-08-12 José Bonilla Observation Zacatecas Observatory Mexico While observing sun spots, Director Bonilla of Zacatecas Observatory counted at least 283 objects crossing the disc of the sun. He was not able to maintain his count as so many objects appeared simultaneously. Some photographs were taken, however, and are said to be the oldest photographs of UFOs in the world. 0 [1]
1886-10-24 Maracaibo Incidence Maracaibo Venezuela In a letter printed in the December 18, 1886 issue of Scientific American, page 389, the US consul of Venezuela in Maracaibo reported the sighting of a UFO. A bright object, accompanied with a humming noise, appeared during thunderstorm over a hut near Maracaibo. Afterward, the people in the hut displayed symptoms similar to radiation poisoning. Nine days later the trees surrounding the hut withered and died. 2 [2][3][4]
1897-04-19 Aurora Texas UFO Incident Aurora, Texas United States There were reports of an alleged UFO crash and a burial of its alien pilot in the local cemetery. 3 [5][6]
1908-06-30 Tunguska event Podkamennaya Tunguska River Russian Empire A massive explosion, conjectured to be from a comet or meteoroid. But it is also believed by UFO conspiracy theorists to be an exploding UFO. 2 [7][8]
1917-08-13, 09-13, 10-13 The Miracle of the Sun Fatima Portugal Thousands of people witnessed what looked like the sun gyrate and descend. This was later reinterpreted by Jacques Vallée, Joaquim Fernandes and Fina d'Armada as a possible UFO sighting, but not recognized as such due to cultural differences. 1 [9][10][11]
1926 Sightings by Nicholas Roerich Unknown, possibly Nepal (the Himalayas) Nicholas Roerich's travel diary mentions that his travelling party encountered a metallic silver disc hovering above the Himalayas. They observed the disc through binoculars for some time until it disappeared behind the peaks. 1 [12]
1940s Foo fighter Small metallic spheres and colorful balls of light repeatedly spotted and occasionally photographed by bomber crews all over the world during World War II. 1 [13][14]
1942 Hopeh Incident Hopeh China A UFO was spotted and photographed. 1 [15]
1942-02-24 Battle of Los Angeles Los Angeles, California United States Unidentified aerial objects trigger the firing of thousands of anti-aircraft rounds and raise the wartime alert status. 1 [16][17]
1946 Ghost rockets Scandinavia Objects were sighted repeatedly over Scandinavia; Swedish Defense Staff expressed concern. 1 [18]
1946-05-18 UFO-Memorial Ängelholm Ängelholm Municipality Sweden Gösta Karlsson reports seeing a UFO and its alien passengers. A model of a flying saucer is now erected at the site. 3 [19]
1947-06-21 Maury Island incident Washington United States Harold A. Dahl reported that his dog was killed and his son was injured by encounters with UFOs. He also claimed that a witness was threatened by the Men in Black. 2 [20]
1947-06-24 Kenneth Arnold Unidentified Flying Object Sighting Washington United States The UFO sighting that sparked the name flying saucers. 2 [21]
1947-07-08 Roswell UFO incident Roswell, New Mexico United States United States Army Air Forces allegedly captures a flying saucer. 3 [22]
1948 Green fireballs United States Objects reported over several United States military bases; an official investigation followed. 1 [23]
1948-01-07 Mantell UFO Incident Kentucky United States US Air Force sent a fighter pilot to investigate a UFO sighting over Fort Knox, Kentucky; the pilot was killed while pursuing the UFO. 2 [24]
1948-10-01 Gorman Dogfight North Dakota United States A US Air Force pilot sighted and pursued a UFO for 27 minutes over Fargo, North Dakota. 1 [25][26]
1950 Mariana UFO Incident Great Falls, Montana United States The manager of Great Falls' pro baseball team took color film of two UFOs flying over Great Falls. The film was extensively analyzed by the US Air Force and independent investigators. 1 [27]
1951-08-25 Lubbock Lights Lubbock, Texas United States Lights were repeatedly spotted flying over the city. Witnesses included professors from Texas Tech University and photographed by a Texas Tech student. 1 [28]
1952-07-13 1952 Washington D.C. UFO incident Washington, D.C. United States A series of sightings in July 1952 accompanied radar contacts at three separate airports in the Washington area. The sightings made front page headlines around the nation, and ultimately lead to the formation of the Robertson Panel by the CIA. 1 [29]
1952-07-24 Carson Sink UFO incident Nevada United States Two pilots saw three unusual Delta-wing aircraft flying in a V-formation over Carson Sink. 1 [30]
1952-09-12 Flatwoods monster Flatwoods, West Virginia United States 6 local boys and a woman report seeing a UFO land and a bizarre-looking creature near the landing site. 3 [31][32][33]
June, 1953 Otis AFB Falmouth, Massachusetts United States A U.S Air Force radar operator and pilot bailed out over Otis Air Force Base because of engine failure. They were chasing a UFO. Plane and operator never seen again. Pilot lives and the canopy is the only thing recovered. 1 [34]
1953-08-12 Ellsworth UFO Case Bismarck, North Dakota United States A UFO appearing as a red glowing light is witnessed by 45 people. The sighting takes place over a two night period. 1 [35]
1953-11-23 Felix Moncla Lake Superior United States - Canada U.S Air Force Pilot disappears while pursuing a UFO. 1 [36]
1955-08-21 Kelly-Hopkinsville encounter Kentucky United States A group of strange, goblin-like creatures are reported to have attacked a family. The family shot at them several times with little or no effect. 3 [37]
1957 Antonio Villas Boas São Francisco de Sales Brazil Antonio Villas Boas claimed to have been abducted and examined by aliens. He also claimed to have had sex with an alien woman while aboard the UFO. 4 [38]
1957-05-20 Milton Torres 1957 UFO Encounter East Anglia United Kingdom US Air Force fighter pilot Milton Torres reports that he was ordered to interecept and fire on a UFO displaying "very unusual flight patterns" over East Anglia. Ground radar operators had tracked the object for some time before Torres' plane was scrambled to intercept. 1 [39]
1957-11-02 Levelland UFO Case Levelland, Texas United States Numerous motorists reported seeing a glowing, egg-shaped object which caused their vehicle's engines to shut down. When the object flew away, their vehicles restarted without a problem. 2 [40]
1959 Dyatlov Pass incident Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Mysterious deaths of experienced skiers in the Urals is believed to have been caused by "unidentified orange spheres" and an "unknown compelling force". 2 [41]
1961-09-19 Betty and Barney Hill abduction New Hampshire United States A widely publicized alien abduction experience. 4 [42]
1964-04-24 Lonnie Zamora Socorro, New Mexico United States Police officer Zamora reports a close encounter. 3 [43]
1965 Exeter incident Exeter, New Hampshire United States UFO observed by a teenager and two police officers. 1 [44]
1965-12-01 Adhara Observatory UFO Lunar Transit San Miguel Argentina At 8.30 pm the Adhara Observatory received several calls concerning strange objects visible on the moon. The staff of the observatory photographed the moon in fixed intervals, which revealed disk shaped objects flying in front of the moon. A few minutes later, three strange luminous objects flew over La Plata. 0 [45]
1965-12-09 Kecksburg UFO incident Kecksburg, Pennsylvania United States Mass sighting of a falling UFO, followed by a cordoning-off of the crash site. 1 [46]
1966 The Mothman Prophecies Point Pleasant, West Virginia United States A wave of sightings of a winged humanoid is reported to be connected to other mysterious events including sightings of UFOs. 1 [47]
1966-01-11 Wanaque Reservoir UFO Wanaque Reservoir, Wanaque, New Jersey United States UFO in the form of a bright light seen in the vicinity of Wanaque Reservoir, led to traffic jams and overloaded police communications networks. The UFO shifted color on a continuing basis. It shot a beam of light down towards the ice near the dam, maintained its position for another half hour and flew off to the southeast. Another UFO, sighted the next night near Wanaque, was observed flying in zigzag pattern. The mayor, Warren Hagstrom, as well as Chief of Police Floyd Elston and captain Joe Sisco watched the craft for some time.Two reserve officers, Sgt.Ben Thompson and patolman Edward Wester, also witnessed the craft along with a number of other observers. 1 [48]
1966-04-06 Westall UFO Clayton South, Victoria Australia A sighting by hundreds of people. Witnesses of "The Clayton Incident" still gather for reunions. 1 [49]
1966-04-17 Portage County UFO chase Ohio United States Several police officers pursue a UFO for 30 minutes. 1 [50]
1966-10-11 The Grinning Man Elizabeth, New Jersey United States A Tall man with no nose or ears is sighted in a neighborhood shortly after UFO sighting. 2
1967-03-05 Minot Air Force Base UFO Incidents Minot/Minot A.F.B., North Dakota United States UFO appears to hover over area, strike teams are called in to confront the vessel. 1 [51]
1967-03-?? Malmstrom AFB Incident Malmstrom A.F.B. United States 1 [51]
1967-05-20 Falcon Lake Incident Falcon Lake, Manitoba Canada A UFO's exhaust allegedly burns a man. 2 [52]
1967-08-29 Close encounter of Cussac Cussac, Cantal France A young brother and sister claim to have witnessed a UFO and its occupants. 3 [53]
1967-10-04 Shag Harbour incident Shag Harbour, Nova Scotia Canada A UFO was seen crashing into Shag Harbor. A Canadian naval search followed, and the incident is officially referred to as a UFO crash. 2 [54][55]
1967-12-03 Schirmer Abduction Ashland, Nebraska United States Sergeant Herbert Schirmer claimed he was abducted. 4 [56]
1967 Minot Air Force Base UFO Incidents Minot/Minot A.F.B., North Dakota United States Air Force claims unidentifiable craft "attacks" air base, specifically the missile silos. (the "attack" was two beams of light, one of which appeared to be an offensive weapon. One of numerous cases involving the base, which is home to a nuclear weapon launch silos and stockpiles.) 1 [51]
1968-6-6 Minot Air Force Base UFO Incidents Minot/Minot A.F.B., North Dakota United States UFO hovers over a silo, then leaves. After the UFO leaves, personnel discover that the missile was armed and in launch mode, and the nuclear warhead was armed. 2 [51]
1968-10-25 Minot Air Force Base UFO Incidents Minot/Minot A.F.B., North Dakota United States 1 [51][57][58]
1969-01-01 Prince George sightings Prince George, British Columbia Canada Three unrelated witnesses reported a strange, round object in the late afternoon sky. The sphere radiated a yellow-orange light and appeared to ascend from 2,000 feet (610 m) to 10,000 feet (3,000 m). 1 [59]
1969 Jimmy Carter UFO incident Leary, Georgia United States Jimmy Carter's sighting. 1 [60]
1970s Barry DeLong UFO incident Somerset County, Maine United States Sheriff Barry A. DeLong witnessed a UFO: "They were hovering about 15 feet (4.6 m) from my cruiser, late at night. It had fixed, spinning lights. The craft was a huge oval shape. I knew it wasn't a jet fighter. It slowly started backing off toward Sugarloaf, and then at a terrific speed." 1 [61]
1970-04-24 Border incident between Russia and China 1000 kilometres north-east of Ulan Bator Mongolia In the border area between Russia and China, air traffic controllers from both nations observe multiple unidentified flying objects. The Russians believed they were Chinese and vice versa. On April 24, 1970, a Russian bomber disappeared during a flight from Moscow to Vladivostok. On the same day many of these objects were observed, with attempts to shoot them down a failure. Using triangulation it was calculated that the UFOs came from an area 1000 kilometres north-east of Ulan Bator. The area was bombed by a hundred Russian planes, allegedly destroying a secret tunnel system. There were also rumours that nuclear weapons were used in the attack. This was officially referred to as a spring maneuver and a small border conflict. 2 [62][63]
1971-09-04 Lake Cote UFO Arenal, Alajuela Costa Rica An UFO was photographed during a mapping mission from an airborne camera over Lake Cote, Costa Rica. No crew member saw the object at the time, but the image was captured on film. 1 [64][65]
1973-10-11 Pascagoula Abduction Mississippi United States Alien abduction occurs while the victims were fishing on the Pascagoula River. 4 [66]
1974-01-23 Berwyn Mountain UFO incident Llandrillo, Merionethshire, North Wales United Kingdom An alleged UFO crash involving lights in the sky being observed moments before a large impact shock. The cause of the incident was soon revealed as a 3.5 magnitude earthquake. 1 [67][68]
1975-01-12 North Hudson Park UFO sightings North Bergen, New Jersey United States Considered a close encounter of the second and third kind, the case introduced Budd Hopkins to UFO research, a key figure in future alien abduction research. Researcher Jerome Clark cites the incident as one of the best-documented, since the story was corroborated by numerous independent witnesses. 2 [69]
1975-11-05 Travis Walton Arizona United States Logger Travis Walton reports being abducted by aliens for five days. Walton's six workmates claimed to have witnessed the UFO at the start of his abduction. Walton described the event and its aftermath in The Walton Experience, which was dramatized in the film Fire in the Sky. 4 [66]
1976-06-22 1976 Canary Isles sightings Canary Islands Spain Several lights and a spherical transparent blue craft, piloted by two beings was reported. 1 [70]
1976-08-20 Allagash Abductions Maine United States Four campers claimed to have been abducted by alien beings in the Allagash wilderness. 4 [71]
1976-09-19 1976 Tehran UFO incident Tehran Iran A UFO disabled the electronic equipment of two F-4 interceptor aircraft, along with ground control equipment. The event is well documented in the U.S. DIA report. The Iranian generals involved in the incident stated object was extraterrestrial. 2 [72]
1977 Colares UFO flap Colares Brazil A bewildering account of an island attacked by UFOs shooting harmful beam sof radioactive light at the residents. 2 [73]
1978-05-10 Emilcin Abduction Emilcin Poland A man in Emilcin, Poland is said to have been abducted by "grays." There is now a memorial at the site. 4 [74]
1978-10-21 Valentich Disappearance Victoria Australia Contacting air traffic control, an Australian pilot reported sighting a UFO before his aircraft vanished. 1 [75][76]
1978-12-21 Kaikoura lights South Island New Zealand A series of sightings by a Safe Air freight plane; the airplane was escorted by strange lights that changed color and size. 1 [77]
1979-08-27 Val Johnson Incident Marshall County, Minnesota United States A deputy sheriff spotted a bright light which appeared to have collided with his patrol car and damaged it. The deputy also suffered temporary retinal damage from the "light". 2 [78][79]
1979-11-09 Robert Taylor incident Livingston United Kingdom A forester, Bob Taylor, was pulled by two spiked globes towards a UFO, which stood on a clearing. He lost consciousness and afterwards had trouble walking and speaking. He also was constantly thirsty for several days. 4 [80]
1979-11-11 Manises UFO Incident Valencia Spain Three large UFOs forced a commercial flight to make an emergency landing at Manises airport. 1 [81]
1980s Hudson Valley UFO sightings Hudson Valley United States A UFO flap during the eighties and early nineties, involving thousands of reports of similarly-shaped UFOs. They were first observed by a retired policeman in Kent, New York, late on New Year's Eve, 1981. The 1984 "Incident at Indian Point" was one of these sightings. 1 [82]
1980-12-28 Rendlesham Forest Incident Suffolk, England United Kingdom A sighting which was first thought to be a downed aircraft. 2 [83]
1980-12-29 Cash-Landrum incident Dayton, Texas United States A huge diamond-shaped UFO irradiates three witnesses, who all needed treatment for radiation poisoning. The UFO was escorted by military helicopters. The victims have since sued the US Government. 2 [84]
1986-11-17 Japan Air Lines flight 1628 incident Alaska United States A group of UFOs flew alongside Japan Air Lines Flight 1628 for 50 minutes above Northeastern Alaska. One of the objects trailing behind the Boeing 747 was detected by military radar. 1 [85]
1990-03-30 Belgian UFO wave Ans, Wallonia Belgium Mass sighting of large, silent, low-flying black triangles, which were tracked by multiple NATO radar and jet interceptors, and investigated by Belgium's military. Photographic evidence exists. 1 [86]
[87]
1990-11-07 1990 Montreal UFO Montreal, Quebec Canada More than 40 witnesses, including police, observed a UFO above Place Bonaventure for more than 3 hours. 1 [88]
1991-04-21 Achille Zaghetti London, England United Kingdom Alitalia pilot Achille Zaghetti reports a cigar-shaped UFO flying past his plane at high speed during his descent to Heathrow Airport on a flight from Milan to London. Immediately following the near-miss, Zaghetti contacted the radar control center, which confirmed an unidentified target was observed 10 nautical miles behind the plane. British defence officials ruled out a missile, but offered no explanation for the sighting. 1 [89][90]
1991 STS-48 incident Orbit, Space Discovery, STS-48 Video apparently taken during missionSTS-48, appears to show objects flying in an artificial fashion. NASA explained the objects as ice particles reacting to engine jets. Philip C. Plait discussed it in Bad Astronomy, agreeing with NASA. A Florida Today article in 2000 quoted Dr. Jack Kasher stating that he found the footage to actually depict independently operated spacecraft, see "Journal for UFO Studies". 1 [91]
1993 Kelly Cahill Victoria Australia East of Melbourne's Dandenong foothills Kelly Cahill and five others observed a flying saucer that appeared shortly after midnight. They were also confronted by tall, slim, black aliens with glowing red eyes. 5 [92]
1994-06 Meng Zhaoguo Incident Wuchang China Meng claimed to have been abducted and forced to have sexual intercourse with a 10 feet (3.0 m), six fingered, female alien with braided leg fur. 4 [93]
1996-01-20 Varginha UFO incident Varginha, Minas Gerais Brazil Multiple sightings and an allegedly captured alien by the Brazilian military. 3 [94]
1997-08-06 Mexico City skyline UFO Mexico City Mexico An amateur with a digital camera captured footage of a UFO passing behind and above several buildings. Air traffic was restricted that day except for two helicopters. 1 [95]
2000-01-05 Southern Illinois UFO St. Clair County, Illinois United States Between 4:00 and 7:00 am, six people, including police officers, observed a large, triangular object a few hundred feet over St. Clair County. The object glided silently and slowly to the southwest over several villages before vanishing near the town of Dupo. The object, studded with several bright lights, was as tall as a two-story house and as long as a football field. 1 [96]
[edit] After 2000
Date Name City, State Country Description Kind of Close Encounter Sources
2002-01-14 Paintsville UFO/Train Collision Paintsville, Kentucky United States A train struck a UFO that was hovering over the tracks. The train was heavily damaged, along with two other railroad cars. 1 [97]
2004-03-05 2004 Mexican UFO Incident Mexico A drug-smuggling air patrol recorded on infrared camera what some claimed to be UFOs. The footage was released by Jaime Maussan. Others suggest the objects are oil platform burn-off flares. 1 [98]
2004-10-31 The Tinley Park Lights Tinley Park, Illinois United States A sequence of five mass UFO sightings, first on August 21, 2004, two months later on October 31, 2004, again on October 1 of 2005, and once again on October 31, 2006, in Tinley Park and Oak Park, Chicago. 1 [99][100][101]
2005-04-27 Washington, D.C. United States The White House was evacuated when a UFO entered restricted air space, then disappeared. It was explained as: "probably a cloud or several birds". 1 [102]
2006-11-07 Chicago O'Hare UFO sighting 2006 Chicago, Illinois United States United Airlines employees and pilots claimed sightings of a saucer-shaped, unlit craft hovering over a Chicago O'Hare Airport terminal, before shooting up vertically. The FAA initially denied having received reports, but information gained by means of the Freedom of Information Act revealed otherwise. 1 [103]
2007-02-02 Islington, London, England United Kingdom Ten to fifteen UFOs are spotted. 1 [104]
2007-02-16 Kaliningrad Russian Federation A student records a UFO on his video camera. 1 [105]
2007-03-03 New Delhi India A green fireball was seen over Delhi by ten pilots. 1 [106]
2007-03-07 New Delhi India Two UFOs were detected near the prime minister's residence. 1 [107]
2007-03-10 Cleveland, Ohio United States UFO seen over a peace rally. 1 [108]
2007-04-23 Channel Islands Two airline pilots on separate flights spot UFOs off the coast of Alderney. 1 [109]
2007-05-02 Sutton, England United Kingdom John Gregory spotted a UFO after 10 pm. As he was observing the sky he noticed a very bright object, which at first he considered to be a star. Later he began to doubt this, and was very surprised by the very unusual and clear phenomenon, which was visible for miles around. The image, which seemed to be shaped like a face, nose and mouth, remained for about 20 minutes and then just vanished. 1 [110]
2007-05-11 Massillon, Ohio United States At 10:40 pm, Rosemary Lyons and a co-worker were taking a smoke break outside the Loyal Order of Moose Lodge, located at 2935 Lincoln Way West, when they witnessed a UFO. They estimated its size as 60 feet (18 m) in diameter. Lyons: "The first thing I said was 'Oh my gosh. Look at that,' We saw it for 20 to 25 seconds. It was round and luminous underneath. It wasn't a plane, it wasn't a helicopter, it wasn’t a blimp and it wasn't a balloon. It made absolutely no sound. It was flying over just carefree – like it was no one's business." 1 [111]
2007-05-12 Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland United Kingdom Orange colored UFOs were spotted during the evening. Clifford Rossbottom said, "There were three orange globes, nearly in a straight line, ... an absolutely fascinating sight. I watched them for five minutes, and then very slowly, they just disappeared. The only thing I thought it could have been was three high-flying aircraft. If that is not the case, then I have no idea, and the only other thing I can think of is in fact that they were UFOs." Belfast International Airport's air traffic control received calls from people (including the Coastguard) who spotted the objects, but the airport reported no aircraft in the area during the time of the sightings. A company called UFO Balloons later claimed their product was responsible for the events. One month later two similar aircraft were sighted over Buela, Colorado.[112] 1 [113]
2007-05-27 Chilliwack, British Columbia Canada Dave Francis and Kelly McDonald witnessed a UFO over UCFV campus. Francis said, "I really think it was a UFO. I don’t really care if anybody else believes me ... it was the craziest thing I ever saw. Whatever it was, they were moving from place to place as a unit [and then] just faded away." McDonald said, "I know that I saw something that wasn’t from here. I’ve never seen anything move that way. It wasn’t birds. [As the UFO approached] it broke apart into 20 or more of these little spheres ... birds don’t dive-bomb in at each other. " 1 [114]
2007-05-28 Bangalore India Afzal Khan told CNN IBN that he photographed a UFO, "Today (Monday) at around 9 pm (IST), I and my brothers saw a bright, slow-moving object which looked like a group of lights moving in a triangular formation in the sky towards west/north-west direction. This object was definitely not an aeroplane as it was moving very slowly. We observed the object from around 9 pm until 9.30 pm before it disappeared into the distance. During this time we managed to take some pictures with my camera. The astronomical/space/science departments of any activity in the sky during the above time can be confirmed. We live in Jayanagar area of Bangalore. Another thing that we noticed during this time was an aircraft that took-off from Bangalore Airport was flying very close to this object. It is possible that the pilot of that aircraft could have spotted this object as well." 1 [115]
2007-07-23 Warwickshire, England United Kingdom Crowd of 100 persons saw a formation of strange lights in the sky for 30 minutes. 1 [116]
2007-09-25 Kodiak Island UFO, 2007 Kodiak, Alaska United States On September 25, 2007, around 6:45am, a bright red light was flying fast over Alaska's Kenai Peninsula. Within seconds, it travelled to Kodiak Island air space, over 300 miles away. Many claimed to have seen it descend behind a mountain. Local troopers and Coast Guard personnel were unable to find traces. 1 [117]
2007-10-30 Kolkata India Many people claimed to see a UFO near Eastern Metropolitan Bypass, Calcutta. It was also recorded by an amateur videographer. It was like a ball of light which some time hovered, sometimes moved very fast and changed shape and size. The video was broadcasted on local news channels. 1 [118][119]
2007-11-08 Larnaca Cyprus UFO reported to have come from the coast inland near a village called Catalkoy in small and rapid zigzags, then stopped and hovered for approximately 30 seconds before making a smooth ascent at 45 degrees east. 1 [120]
2008-01-01 San Diego, California United States Nine separate lights were spotted moving in an arc formation across the sky at around half past midnight on New Years Day. Around the globe, many people are said to have reported the same exact lights in the sky. A later Fox News San Diego report by anchor Jim Patten showed these lights to be Chinese New Year floating Lanterns. On February 16, 2008, two individuals reported seeing a large, pulsing orb of light hovering in place above Miramar Air Base. 1 [121]
2008-01-08 to 2008-02-09 Stephenville, Texas UFO sightings Stephenville, Texas, Dublin, Texas, Crawford, Texas United States UFOs were, and still are, sometimes reported in this area. One was an object that was described as 1 mile (1.6 km) by 1.5 miles (2.4 km) in size, spotted over Bush Ranch in Crawford, Texas. The Air Force has identified the objects as training fighter jets that went unreported due to a "communications problem". 1 [122]
May–Sept, 2008 2008 Turkey UFO Sightings Istanbul Turkey Over a four month span in 2008, a night guard at the Yeni Kent Compound videotaped one or more UFOs over Turkey at nighttime. Many witnesses confirmed the two and a half hours' worth of video, leading the Sirius UFO Space Science Research Center to dub it the "most important images of a UFO ever filmed". 1 [123]
2008-05-14 Needles, California United States A flaming object crashed near the Colorado river. Several witnesses claim to have seen five helicopters picking up the strange object after 17 minutes and heading into direction of Las Vegas. 1 [124]
2008-06-20 Wales UFO sightings Different cities, Wales United Kingdom After media reports of a police helicopter that was almost hit by a UFO, before it tried to pursue it, hundreds of people reported to have witnessed a UFO on the same or preceding days, from different areas of Wales. 1 [125]
2008-06-21 Moscow UFO sightings Moscow Russian Federation Different people and media (including state-owned) reported sightings of 11 orange UFOs. Further confirmation came from Saint Petersburg and Novosibirsk. On June 25 a similar report, now with 13 objects, was claimed in the UK. 1 [126][127][128]
2008-06-29 Weston-super-Mare, Somerset United Kingdom Royal Navy aircraft engineer Michael Madden watched a UFO hover above the M5 motorway near Weston-super-Mare for around three minutes before it disappeared at high speed. Madden described the UFO as looking "like alien aircraft in the films". 1 [129][130]
2008-12-10 Zagreb Croatia Bright lights were seen over an insurance building in Zagreb. They were filmed and put on the news. The UFO was actually a misidentified media stunt. [131]
2009-01-05 Morristown UFO Morristown, New Jersey United States A confirmed hoax in Morristown, New Jersey, perpetrated by Chris Russo & Joe Rudy who sent up different sets of helium balloons with attached flares. [132][133][134]
2009-03-18 London, England United Kingdom A group of UFOs appear on a photo, even though they were invisible to the naked eye. 1 [135]
2009-05-31 Kolkata India UFOs detected by Kolkata ATC 1 [136]
June, 2009 Wisconsin, Texas, Nevada, Mexico City, Tijuana United States, Mexico Scattered reports of UFO sightings all over the United States from June 3 to 22, 2009. 1, 2 [137]
2009-08-05 Northern England United Kingdom UFO captured on BBC camera. 1 [138]
2009-08-16 Ural Russia Alleged disappearance of an 11 year old girl in a UFO sighting 1 [139]
2009-10-20 Florida United States Report of a nearly 200-foot-long triangle-shaped craft spotted flying at 100 feet altitude. 1 [140]
2010-06-05 New South Wales, Queensland Australia Scores of people across Australia's east coast say they saw bizarre yellow-green light zooming across the sky "like a lollipop swirl" between 5.45am and 6am. 1 [141]
2010-07-09 Zhejiang China According to the Xinhua news agency, after the unidentified flying object was spotted, airport authorities stopped passengers from boarding planes, and outgoing flights were grounded for an hour in Hangzhou, the capital city of China's Zhejiang province. When officials closed the airport, incoming flights were rerouted to other airports. So far, no explanation has been offered to explain the UFO. However, several hours before the airport incident, many Hangzhou residents described seeing a large, brightly lit, elongated object in the sky.
.Moon is shrinking, NASA's LROC mission discovers evidence of lunar contraction
A team of scientists led by Thomas Watters announced in the August 20, 2010 issue of Science that the Moon is shrinking. According to their paper, the radius of the Moon has decreased by about 100 meters in the last billion years or less.
Watters' team studied images of the Moon's surface made with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC). The astronomers studied geologic features on the Moon known as lobate scarps with the LROC. Scarps are cliffs caused by fault lines or vertical movement of the crust. Lobate scarps are curved and are indicative that the Moon or planet is shrinking.
The planet Mercury, whose surface is very similar to the cratered highland areas of the Moon, also has many scarps indicating that Mercury has shrunk. Mars also has scarps. The lunar scarps are smaller scale structures than the scarps on Mercury or Mars. Scarps on Mercury or Mars can be more than a kilometer high and extend for hundreds of kilometers. Lunar scarps are less than 100 meters high and a few dozen kilometers long at most.
The Apollo missions imaged scarps near the Moon's equator, but did not study the entire Moon. The new LROC images discovered 14 new scarps distributed over the entire Moon. The global distribution indicates that the Moon is shrinking globally.
Astronomers estimate the age of geologic features on the Moon by the number of craters. More heavily cratered areas are geologically older. The lunar scarps are the youngest tectonic features on the Moon and are less than a billion years old. The scarps most likely formed from the stress on the surface as the Moon contracted, and their scale indicates that the Moon's radius has decreased by about 100 meters.
The Moon has shrunk by about 100 meters in less than the last 1 billion years. Why?
The Moon was hot and molten when it first formed. The Moon gradually cooled and solidified. The lunar interior, while not as hot as Earth's interior, is still warm. So the Moon continues to cool and shrink slightly as it cools.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
condition of nepalese student in London
condition of nepalese student in London
this video is copied from youtube.com composed by bikram shrestha under the heading
dream turning into nightmare for all nepali students in abroad
this video is copied from youtube.com composed by bikram shrestha under the heading
dream turning into nightmare for all nepali students in abroad
Nepal is the land of thrilling adventures, irresistible natural beauties and fabulous cultural diversity. The most extremely varied landscape and the
Nepal is the land of thrilling adventures, irresistible natural beauties and fabulous cultural diversity. The most extremely varied landscape and the amazingly ideal geographical location of this Himalayan Paradise makes it the first choice for exciting adventure trips.
Nepal is a wondrous crossroads of religions, cultures, and geography. Hinduism holds sway throughout the country’s south while Buddhism flows across the northern border from the Tibetan Plateau. Both great faiths uniquely fuse with ancient animist beliefs and shaman rituals. Nepal is home to dozens of linguistic groups, tribes and castes, forming a rich and varied cultural mosaic.
Much of Nepal’s landscape formed from the crash of two continental plates, and the result includes most of the world’s highest and most dramatic peaks—including, of course, Mount Everest. As Rudyard Kipling wrote, the Himalaya is “a revelation of all might, majesty, dominion and power, henceforth, and for ever, in color, form, and substance indescribable.”
There’s hardly a traveler who doesn’t want to go to Nepal to see the world’s highest and most impressive mountains, who doesn’t want to meet its famously big-hearted people, and who isn’t lured by the country’s vibrant, madly chromatic culture.
Geography
Climate
Custom and Religion
Festivals
Currency
Visa Information
Vaccinations
Additional Sources
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Nepal is a wondrous crossroads of religions, cultures, and geography. Hinduism holds sway throughout the country’s south while Buddhism flows across the northern border from the Tibetan Plateau. Both great faiths uniquely fuse with ancient animist beliefs and shaman rituals. Nepal is home to dozens of linguistic groups, tribes and castes, forming a rich and varied cultural mosaic.
Much of Nepal’s landscape formed from the crash of two continental plates, and the result includes most of the world’s highest and most dramatic peaks—including, of course, Mount Everest. As Rudyard Kipling wrote, the Himalaya is “a revelation of all might, majesty, dominion and power, henceforth, and for ever, in color, form, and substance indescribable.”
There’s hardly a traveler who doesn’t want to go to Nepal to see the world’s highest and most impressive mountains, who doesn’t want to meet its famously big-hearted people, and who isn’t lured by the country’s vibrant, madly chromatic culture.
Geography
Climate
Custom and Religion
Festivals
Currency
Visa Information
Vaccinations
Additional Sources
View all Trips
History of Nepal
The history of Nepal is characterized by its isolated position in the Himalayas and its two dominant neighbors, India and China.
Due to the arrival of disparate settler groups from outside through the ages, it is now a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-lingual country. Its population is predominantly Hindu with significant presence of Buddhists, who were in majority at one time in the past. Nepal was split in three kingdoms from the 15th to 18th century, when it was unified under a monarchy. The national language of Nepal is called 'Nepali', a name given - long after unification of Nepal - to the language called Khas Kura.
Nepal experienced a failed struggle for democracy in the 20th century. During the 1990s and until 2008, the country was in civil strife. A peace treaty was signed in 2008 and elections were held in the same year.
Many of the ills of Nepal have been blamed on the royal family of Nepal. In a historical vote for the election of the constituent assembly, Nepalis voted to oust the monarchy in Nepal. In June 2008, Nepalis ousted the royal household. Nepal was formally renamed the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal when it became a federal republic.
Due to the arrival of disparate settler groups from outside through the ages, it is now a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-lingual country. Its population is predominantly Hindu with significant presence of Buddhists, who were in majority at one time in the past. Nepal was split in three kingdoms from the 15th to 18th century, when it was unified under a monarchy. The national language of Nepal is called 'Nepali', a name given - long after unification of Nepal - to the language called Khas Kura.
Nepal experienced a failed struggle for democracy in the 20th century. During the 1990s and until 2008, the country was in civil strife. A peace treaty was signed in 2008 and elections were held in the same year.
Many of the ills of Nepal have been blamed on the royal family of Nepal. In a historical vote for the election of the constituent assembly, Nepalis voted to oust the monarchy in Nepal. In June 2008, Nepalis ousted the royal household. Nepal was formally renamed the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal when it became a federal republic.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Poor in Nepal face growing hardships
International aid agency Oxfam today warned that the poor people in Nepal are facing growing hardships.
"Economic growth is slowing down to two per cent, inflation is approaching double digits, and public services are not effectively functioning," said Sarah Ireland, Oxfam's Program Manager for South Asia.
Nepal was already one of the poorest countries in Asia. Now, on top of a decade of conflict, life has become even more difficult, as poor people are facing physical insecurity, shortages, rising costs of basic goods, difficulties in making a living, and reduced access to health, education, clean water and sanitation.
Oxfam is urging the international community to facilitate a rapid resolution to the current crisis.
"Overcoming poverty in Nepal is dependent upon peace, and peace is dependent on an inclusive process through which Nepalis determine their own future and where everyone's social, economic and human rights are respected," said Ireland.
"Economic growth is slowing down to two per cent, inflation is approaching double digits, and public services are not effectively functioning," said Sarah Ireland, Oxfam's Program Manager for South Asia.
Nepal was already one of the poorest countries in Asia. Now, on top of a decade of conflict, life has become even more difficult, as poor people are facing physical insecurity, shortages, rising costs of basic goods, difficulties in making a living, and reduced access to health, education, clean water and sanitation.
Oxfam is urging the international community to facilitate a rapid resolution to the current crisis.
"Overcoming poverty in Nepal is dependent upon peace, and peace is dependent on an inclusive process through which Nepalis determine their own future and where everyone's social, economic and human rights are respected," said Ireland.
Bermuda Triangle
The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is a region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean where a number of aircraft and surface vessels allegedly disappeared mysteriously. Popular culture has attributed these disappearances to the paranormal or activity by extraterrestrial beings.[1] Documented evidence indicates that a significant percentage of the incidents were inaccurately reported or embellished by later authors, and numerous official agencies have stated that the number and nature of disappearances in the region is similar to that in any other area of ocean.
The Triangle area
The area of the Triangle varies by authorThe boundaries of the triangle cover the Straits of Florida, the Bahamas and the entire Caribbean island area and the Atlantic east to the Azores. The more familiar triangular boundary in most written works has as its points somewhere on the Atlantic coast of Miami, San Juan, Puerto Rico; and the mid-Atlantic island of Bermuda, with most of the accidents concentrated along the southern boundary around the Bahamas and the Florida Straits.
The area is one of the most heavily traveled shipping lanes in the world, with ships crossing through it daily for ports in the Americas, Europe, and the Caribbean Islands. Cruise ships are also plentiful, and pleasure craft regularly go back and forth between Florida and the islands. It is also a heavily flown route for commercial and private aircraft heading towards Florida, the Caribbean, and South America from points north.
History
Origins
The earliest allegation of unusual disappearances in the Bermuda area appeared in a September 16, 1950 Associated Press article by Edward Van Winkle Jones.[2] Two years later, Fate magazine published "Sea Mystery At Our Back Door",[3] a short article by George X. Sand covering the loss of several planes and ships, including the loss of Flight 19, a group of five U.S. Navy TBM Avenger bombers on a training mission. Sand's article was the first to lay out the now-familiar triangular area where the losses took place. Flight 19 alone would be covered in the April 1962 issue of American Legion Magazine.[4] It was claimed that the flight leader had been heard saying "We are entering white water, nothing seems right. We don't know where we are, the water is green, no white." It was also claimed that officials at the Navy board of inquiry stated that the planes "flew off to Mars." Sand's article was the first to suggest a supernatural element to the Flight 19 incident. In the February 1964 issue of Argosy, Vincent Gaddis's article "The Deadly Bermuda Triangle" argued that Flight 19 and other disappearances were part of a pattern of strange events in the region.[5] The next year, Gaddis expanded this article into a book, Invisible Horizons.[6]
Others would follow with their own works, elaborating on Gaddis's ideas: John Wallace Spencer (Limbo of the Lost, 1969, repr. 1973);[7] Charles Berlitz (The Bermuda Triangle, 1974);[8] Richard Winer (The Devil's Triangle, 1974),[9] and many others, all keeping to some of the same supernatural elements outlined by Eckert.[10]
Larry Kusche
Lawrence David Kusche, a research librarian from Arizona State University and author of The Bermuda Triangle Mystery: Solved (1975)[11] argued that many claims of Gaddis and subsequent writers were often exaggerated, dubious or unverifiable. Kusche's research revealed a number of inaccuracies and inconsistencies between Berlitz's accounts and statements from eyewitnesses, participants, and others involved in the initial incidents. Kusche noted cases where pertinent information went unreported, such as the disappearance of round-the-world yachtsman Donald Crowhurst, which Berlitz had presented as a mystery, despite clear evidence to the contrary. Another example was the ore-carrier recounted by Berlitz as lost without trace three days out of an Atlantic port when it had been lost three days out of a port with the same name in the Pacific Ocean. Kusche also argued that a large percentage of the incidents that sparked allegations of the Triangle's mysterious influence actually occurred well outside it. Often his research was simple: he would review period newspapers of the dates of reported incidents and find reports on possibly relevant events like unusual weather, that were never mentioned in the disappearance stories.
Kusche concluded that:
The number of ships and aircraft reported missing in the area was not significantly greater, proportionally speaking, than in any other part of the ocean.
In an area frequented by tropical storms, the number of disappearances that did occur were, for the most part, neither disproportionate, unlikely, nor mysterious; furthermore, Berlitz and other writers would often fail to mention such storms.
The numbers themselves had been exaggerated by sloppy research. A boat's disappearance, for example, would be reported, but its eventual (if belated) return to port may not have been.
Some disappearances had, in fact, never happened. One plane crash was said to have taken place in 1937 off Daytona Beach, Florida, in front of hundreds of witnesses; a check of the local papers revealed nothing.
The legend of the Bermuda Triangle is a manufactured mystery, perpetuated by writers who either purposely or unknowingly made use of misconceptions, faulty reasoning, and sensationalism.[11]
Further responses
When the UK Channel 4 television program "The Bermuda Triangle" (c. 1992) was being produced by John Simmons of Geofilms for the Equinox series, the marine insurer Lloyd's of London was asked if an unusually large number of ships had sunk in the Bermuda Triangle area. Lloyd's of London determined that large numbers of ships had not sunk there.[12]
United States Coast Guard records confirm their conclusion. In fact, the number of supposed disappearances is relatively insignificant considering the number of ships and aircraft that pass through on a regular basis.[11]
The Coast Guard is also officially skeptical of the Triangle, noting that they collect and publish, through their inquiries, much documentation contradicting many of the incidents written about by the Triangle authors. In one such incident involving the 1972 explosion and sinking of the tanker SS V. A. Fogg in the Gulf of Mexico, the Coast Guard photographed the wreck and recovered several bodies,[13] in contrast with one Triangle author's claim that all the bodies had vanished, with the exception of the captain, who was found sitting in his cabin at his desk, clutching a coffee cup.[7]
The NOVA/Horizon episode The Case of the Bermuda Triangle, aired on June 27, 1976, was highly critical, stating that "When we've gone back to the original sources or the people involved, the mystery evaporates. Science does not have to answer questions about the Triangle because those questions are not valid in the first place... Ships and planes behave in the Triangle the same way they behave everywhere else in the world."[14]
David Kusche pointed out a common problem with many of the Bermuda Triangle stories and theories: "Say I claim that a parrot has been kidnapped to teach aliens human language and I challenge you to prove that is not true. You can even use Einstein's Theory of Relativity if you like. There is simply no way to prove such a claim untrue. The burden of proof should be on the people who make these statements, to show where they got their information from, to see if their conclusions and interpretations are valid, and if they have left anything out."[14]
Skeptical researchers, such as Ernest Taves[15] and Barry Singer,[16] have noted how mysteries and the paranormal are very popular and profitable. This has led to the production of vast amounts of material on topics such as the Bermuda Triangle. They were able to show that some of the pro-paranormal material is often misleading or inaccurate, but its producers continue to market it. Accordingly, they have claimed that the market is biased in favor of books, TV specials, and other media that support the Triangle mystery, and against well-researched material if it espouses a skeptical viewpoint.
Finally, if the Triangle is assumed to cross land, such as parts of Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, or Bermuda itself, there is no evidence for the disappearance of any land-based vehicles or persons.[citation needed] The city of Freeport, located inside the Triangle, operates a major shipyard and an airport that handles 50,000 flights annually and is visited by over a million tourists a year.[17]
Supernatural explanations
Triangle writers have used a number of supernatural concepts to explain the events. One explanation pins the blame on leftover technology from the mythical lost continent of Atlantis. Sometimes connected to the Atlantis story is the submerged rock formation known as the Bimini Road off the island of Bimini in the Bahamas, which is in the Triangle by some definitions. Followers of the purported psychic Edgar Cayce take his prediction that evidence of Atlantis would be found in 1968 as referring to the discovery of the Bimini Road. Believers describe the formation as a road, wall, or other structure, though geologists consider it to be of natural origin.[18]
Other writers attribute the events to UFOs.[19] This idea was used by Steven Spielberg for his science fiction film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which features the lost Flight 19 aircrews as alien abductees.
Charles Berlitz, author of various books on anomalous phenomena, lists several theories attributing the losses in the Triangle to anomalous or unexplained forces.[8]
Natural explanations
Compass variations
Compass problems are one of the cited phrases in many Triangle incidents. While some have theorized that unusual local magnetic anomalies may exist in the area,[20] such anomalies have not been shown to exist. Compasses have natural magnetic variations in relation to the magnetic poles, a fact which navigators have known for centuries. Magnetic (compass) north and geographic (true) north are only exactly the same for a small number of places - for example, as of 2000 in the United States only those places on a line running from Wisconsin to the Gulf of Mexico.[21] But the public may not be as informed, and think there is something mysterious about a compass "changing" across an area as large as the Triangle, which it naturally will.[11]
Deliberate acts of destruction
Deliberate acts of destruction can fall into two categories: acts of war, and acts of piracy. Records in enemy files have been checked for numerous losses. While many sinkings have been attributed to surface raiders or submarines during the World Wars and documented in various command log books, many others suspected as falling in that category have not been proven. It is suspected that the loss of USS Cyclops in 1918, as well as her sister ships Proteus and Nereus in World War II, were attributed to submarines, but no such link has been found in the German records.
Piracy—the illegal capture of a craft on the high seas—continues to this day. While piracy for cargo theft is more common in the western Pacific and Indian oceans, drug smugglers do steal pleasure boats for smuggling operations, and may have been involved in crew and yacht disappearances in the Caribbean. Piracy in the Caribbean was common from about 1560 to the 1760s, and famous pirates included Edward Teach (Blackbeard) and Jean Lafitte.[citation needed]
False-color image of the Gulf Stream flowing north through the western Atlantic Ocean. (NASA)Gulf Stream
The Gulf Stream is an ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and then flows through the Straits of Florida into the North Atlantic. In essence, it is a river within an ocean, and, like a river, it can and does carry floating objects. It has a surface velocity of up to about 2.5 metres per second (5.6 mi/h).[22] A small plane making a water landing or a boat having engine trouble can be carried away from its reported position by the current.
Human error
One of the most cited explanations in official inquiries as to the loss of any aircraft or vessel is human error.[23] Whether deliberate or accidental, humans have been known to make mistakes resulting in catastrophe, and losses within the Bermuda Triangle are no exception. For example, the Coast Guard cited a lack of proper training for the cleaning of volatile benzene residue as a reason for the loss of the tanker SS V.A. Fogg in 1972[citation needed]. Human stubbornness may have caused businessman Harvey Conover to lose his sailing yacht, the Revonoc, as he sailed into the teeth of a storm south of Florida on January 1, 1958.[24]
Hurricanes
Hurricanes are powerful storms, which form in tropical waters and have historically cost thousands of lives lost and caused billions of dollars in damage. The sinking of Francisco de Bobadilla's Spanish fleet in 1502 was the first recorded instance of a destructive hurricane. These storms have in the past caused a number of incidents related to the Triangle.
Methane hydrates
Main article: Methane clathrate
Worldwide distribution of confirmed or inferred offshore gas hydrate-bearing sediments, 1996.
Source: USGSAn explanation for some of the disappearances has focused on the presence of vast fields of methane hydrates (a form of natural gas) on the continental shelves.[25] Laboratory experiments carried out in Australia have proven that bubbles can, indeed, sink a scale model ship by decreasing the density of the water;[26] any wreckage consequently rising to the surface would be rapidly dispersed by the Gulf Stream. It has been hypothesized that periodic methane eruptions (sometimes called "mud volcanoes") may produce regions of frothy water that are no longer capable of providing adequate buoyancy for ships. If this were the case, such an area forming around a ship could cause it to sink very rapidly and without warning.
Publications by the USGS describe large stores of undersea hydrates worldwide, including the Blake Ridge area, off the southeastern United States coast.[27] However, according to another of their papers, no large releases of gas hydrates are believed to have occurred in the Bermuda Triangle for the past 15,000 years.[12]
Rogue waves
In various oceans around the world, rogue waves have caused ships to sink[28] and oil platforms to topple.[29] These waves, until 1995, were considered to be a mystery and/or a myth.[30][31]
Notable incidents
Main article: List of Bermuda Triangle incidents
Flight 19
US Navy TBF Grumman Avenger flight, similar to Flight 19. This photo had been used by various Triangle authors to illustrate Flight 19 itself. (US Navy)Flight 19 was a training flight of TBM Avenger bombers that went missing on December 5, 1945 while over the Atlantic. The squadron's flight path was scheduled to take them due east for 120 miles, north for 73 miles, and then back over a final 120-mile leg that would return them to the naval base, but they never returned. The impression is given[citation needed] that the flight encountered unusual phenomena and anomalous compass readings, and that the flight took place on a calm day under the supervision of an experienced pilot, Lt. Charles Carroll Taylor. Adding to the intrigue is that the Navy's report of the accident was ascribed to "causes or reasons unknown."
Adding to the mystery, a search and rescue Mariner aircraft with a 13-man crew was dispatched to aid the missing squadron, but the Mariner itself was never heard from again. Later, there was a report from a tanker cruising off the coast of Florida of a visible explosion[32] at about the time the Mariner would have been on patrol.
While the basic facts of this version of the story are essentially accurate, some important details are missing. The weather was becoming stormy by the end of the incident, and naval reports and written recordings of the conversations between Taylor and the other pilots of Flight 19 do not indicate magnetic problems.[33]
Mary Celeste
The mysterious abandonment in 1872 of the 282-ton brigantine Mary Celeste is often but inaccurately connected to the Triangle, the ship having been abandoned off the coast of Portugal. The event is possibly confused with the loss of a ship with a similar name, the Mari Celeste, a 207-ton paddle steamer that hit a reef and quickly sank off the coast of Bermuda on September 13, 1864.[34][35] Kusche noted that many of the "facts" about this incident were actually about the Marie Celeste, the fictional ship from Arthur Conan Doyle's short story "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" (based on the real Mary Celeste incident, but fictionalised).
Ellen Austin
The Ellen Austin supposedly came across a derelict ship, placed on board a prize crew, and attempted to sail with it to New York in 1881. According to the stories, the derelict disappeared; others elaborating further that the derelict reappeared minus the prize crew, then disappeared again with a second prize crew on board. A check from Lloyd's of London records proved the existence of the Meta, built in 1854 and that in 1880 the Meta was renamed Ellen Austin. There are no casualty listings for this vessel, or any vessel at that time, that would suggest a large number of missing men were placed on board a derelict that later disappeared.[36]
USS Cyclops
The incident resulting in the single largest loss of life in the history of the US Navy not related to combat occurred when USS Cyclops, under the command of Lt Cdr G.W. Worley, went missing without a trace with a crew of 309 sometime after March 4, 1918, after departing the island of Barbados. Although there is no strong evidence for any single theory, many independent theories exist, some blaming storms, some capsizing, and some suggesting that wartime enemy activity was to blame for the loss.[37][38]
Theodosia Burr Alston
Theodosia Burr Alston was the daughter of former United States Vice President Aaron Burr. Her disappearance has been cited at least once in relation to the Triangle.[39] She was a passenger on board the Patriot, which sailed from Charleston, South Carolina to New York City on December 30, 1812, and was never heard from again. The planned route is well outside all but the most extended versions of the Bermuda Triangle. Both piracy and the War of 1812 have been posited as explanations, as well as a theory placing her in Texas, well outside the Triangle.
Spray
S.V. Spray was a derelict fishing boat refitted as an ocean cruiser by Joshua Slocum and used by him to complete the first ever single-handed circumnavigation of the world, between 1895 and 1898.
In 1909, Slocum set sail from Vineyard Haven bound for Venezuela. Neither he nor Spray were ever seen again.
There is no evidence they were in the Bermuda Triangle when they disappeared, nor is there any evidence of paranormal activity. The boat was considered in poor condition and a hard boat to handle that Slocum's skill usually overcame.[11]
Schooner Carroll A. Deering, as seen from the Cape Lookout lightship on January 29, 1921, two days before she was found deserted in North Carolina. (US Coast Guard)Carroll A. Deering
A five-masted schooner built in 1919, the Carroll A. Deering was found hard aground and abandoned at Diamond Shoals, near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina on January 31, 1921. Rumors and more at the time indicated the Deering was a victim of piracy, possibly connected with the illegal rum-running trade during Prohibition, and possibly involving another ship, S.S. Hewitt, which disappeared at roughly the same time. Just hours later, an unknown steamer sailed near the lightship along the track of the Deering, and ignored all signals from the lightship. It is speculated that the Hewitt may have been this mystery ship, and possibly involved in the Deering crew's disappearance.[40]
Douglas DC-3
On December 28, 1948, a Douglas DC-3 aircraft, number NC16002, disappeared while on a flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Miami. No trace of the aircraft or the 32 people onboard was ever found. From the documentation compiled by the Civil Aeronautics Board investigation, a possible key to the plane's disappearance was found, but barely touched upon by the Triangle writers: the plane's batteries were inspected and found to be low on charge, but ordered back into the plane without a recharge by the pilot while in San Juan. Whether or not this led to complete electrical failure will never be known. However, since piston-engined aircraft rely upon magnetos to provide spark to their cylinders rather than a battery powered ignition coil system, this theory is not strongly convincing.[41]
Star Tiger and Star Ariel
G-AHNP Star Tiger disappeared on January 30, 1948 on a flight from the Azores to Bermuda; G-AGRE Star Ariel disappeared on January 17, 1949, on a flight from Bermuda to Kingston, Jamaica. Both were Avro Tudor IV passenger aircraft operated by British South American Airways.[42] Both planes were operating at the very limits of their range and the slightest error or fault in the equipment could keep them from reaching the small island. One plane was not heard from long before it would have entered the Triangle.[11]
KC-135 Stratotankers
On August 28, 1963 a pair of US Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft collided and crashed into the Atlantic. The Triangle version (Winer, Berlitz, Gaddis[5][8][9]) of this story specifies that they did collide and crash, but there were two distinct crash sites, separated by over 160 miles (260 km) of water. However, Kusche's research[11] showed that the unclassified version of the Air Force investigation report stated that the debris field defining the second "crash site" was examined by a search and rescue ship, and found to be a mass of seaweed and driftwood tangled in an old buoy.
SS Marine Sulphur Queen
SS Marine Sulphur Queen, a T2 tanker converted from oil to sulfur carrier, was last heard from on February 4, 1963 with a crew of 39 near the Florida Keys. Marine Sulphur Queen was the first vessel mentioned in Vincent Gaddis' 1964 Argosy Magazine article,[5] but he left it as having "sailed into the unknown", despite the Coast Guard report, which not only documented the ship's badly-maintained history, but declared that it was an unseaworthy vessel that should never have gone to sea.[43][44]
Raifuku Maru
The Japanese vessel Raifuku Maru (sometimes misidentified as Raikuke Maru) sank with all hands in 1925 after sending a distress signal which has never been fully understood. She left Boston for Hamburg, Germany, on 21 April and was caught in a severe storm in the North Atlantic, nowhere near the Triangle. RMS Homeric unsuccessfully attempted a rescue,[45] and a photograph of the vessel sinking appeared in the New York Times. Nonetheless, some writers speculated that a waterspout was the likely cause of the sinking (Winer).
Connemara IV
A pleasure yacht was found adrift in the Atlantic south of Bermuda on September 26, 1955; it is usually stated in the stories (Berlitz, Winer[8][9]) that the crew vanished while the yacht survived being at sea during three hurricanes. The 1955 Atlantic hurricane season lists only one storm coming near Bermuda towards the end of August, hurricane "Edith"; of the others, "Flora" was too far to the east, and "Katie" arrived after the yacht was recovered. It was confirmed that the Connemara IV was empty and in port when "Edith" may have caused the yacht to slip her moorings and drift out to sea.[11]
Carolyn Cascio
A Cessna piloted by Carolyn Cascio, on June 6, 1969, with one passenger, attempted to travel from Nassau, Bahamas to Cockburn, Grand Turk Island. The plane was witnessed by many air traffic controllers in Cockburn's airport to circle the island for 30 minutes, after which, it flew away apparently for another island. All attempts from the ground to raise Cascio on the radio failed.
Triangle authors
The incidents cited above, apart from the official documentation, come from the following works. Some incidents mentioned as having taken place within the Triangle are found only in these sources:
Gian J. Quasar (2003). Into the Bermuda Triangle: Pursuing the Truth Behind the World's Greatest Mystery ((Reprinted in paperback (2005) ISBN 0-07-145217-6) ed.). International Marine / Ragged Mountain Press. ISBN 0-07-142640-X.
[8] Charles Berlitz (1974). The Bermuda Triangle (1st ed.). Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-04114-4.
[11] Lawrence David Kusche (1975). The Bermuda Triangle Mystery Solved. Buffalo: Prometheus Books. ISBN 0-87975-971-2.
[7] John Wallace Spencer (1969). Limbo Of The Lost. ISBN 0-686-10658-X.
David Group (1984). The Evidence for the Bermuda Triangle. Wellingborough, Northamptonshire: Aquarian Press. ISBN 0-85030-413-X.
[35] Daniel Berg (2000). Bermuda Shipwrecks. East Rockaway, N.Y.: Aqua Explorers. ISBN 0-9616167-4-1.
[9] Richard Winer (1974). The Devil's Triangle. ISBN 0553106880.
Richard Winer (1975). The Devil's Triangle 2. ISBN 0553024647.
[39] Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey (1975). The Bermuda Triangle. ISBN 0446599611.
The Triangle area
The area of the Triangle varies by authorThe boundaries of the triangle cover the Straits of Florida, the Bahamas and the entire Caribbean island area and the Atlantic east to the Azores. The more familiar triangular boundary in most written works has as its points somewhere on the Atlantic coast of Miami, San Juan, Puerto Rico; and the mid-Atlantic island of Bermuda, with most of the accidents concentrated along the southern boundary around the Bahamas and the Florida Straits.
The area is one of the most heavily traveled shipping lanes in the world, with ships crossing through it daily for ports in the Americas, Europe, and the Caribbean Islands. Cruise ships are also plentiful, and pleasure craft regularly go back and forth between Florida and the islands. It is also a heavily flown route for commercial and private aircraft heading towards Florida, the Caribbean, and South America from points north.
History
Origins
The earliest allegation of unusual disappearances in the Bermuda area appeared in a September 16, 1950 Associated Press article by Edward Van Winkle Jones.[2] Two years later, Fate magazine published "Sea Mystery At Our Back Door",[3] a short article by George X. Sand covering the loss of several planes and ships, including the loss of Flight 19, a group of five U.S. Navy TBM Avenger bombers on a training mission. Sand's article was the first to lay out the now-familiar triangular area where the losses took place. Flight 19 alone would be covered in the April 1962 issue of American Legion Magazine.[4] It was claimed that the flight leader had been heard saying "We are entering white water, nothing seems right. We don't know where we are, the water is green, no white." It was also claimed that officials at the Navy board of inquiry stated that the planes "flew off to Mars." Sand's article was the first to suggest a supernatural element to the Flight 19 incident. In the February 1964 issue of Argosy, Vincent Gaddis's article "The Deadly Bermuda Triangle" argued that Flight 19 and other disappearances were part of a pattern of strange events in the region.[5] The next year, Gaddis expanded this article into a book, Invisible Horizons.[6]
Others would follow with their own works, elaborating on Gaddis's ideas: John Wallace Spencer (Limbo of the Lost, 1969, repr. 1973);[7] Charles Berlitz (The Bermuda Triangle, 1974);[8] Richard Winer (The Devil's Triangle, 1974),[9] and many others, all keeping to some of the same supernatural elements outlined by Eckert.[10]
Larry Kusche
Lawrence David Kusche, a research librarian from Arizona State University and author of The Bermuda Triangle Mystery: Solved (1975)[11] argued that many claims of Gaddis and subsequent writers were often exaggerated, dubious or unverifiable. Kusche's research revealed a number of inaccuracies and inconsistencies between Berlitz's accounts and statements from eyewitnesses, participants, and others involved in the initial incidents. Kusche noted cases where pertinent information went unreported, such as the disappearance of round-the-world yachtsman Donald Crowhurst, which Berlitz had presented as a mystery, despite clear evidence to the contrary. Another example was the ore-carrier recounted by Berlitz as lost without trace three days out of an Atlantic port when it had been lost three days out of a port with the same name in the Pacific Ocean. Kusche also argued that a large percentage of the incidents that sparked allegations of the Triangle's mysterious influence actually occurred well outside it. Often his research was simple: he would review period newspapers of the dates of reported incidents and find reports on possibly relevant events like unusual weather, that were never mentioned in the disappearance stories.
Kusche concluded that:
The number of ships and aircraft reported missing in the area was not significantly greater, proportionally speaking, than in any other part of the ocean.
In an area frequented by tropical storms, the number of disappearances that did occur were, for the most part, neither disproportionate, unlikely, nor mysterious; furthermore, Berlitz and other writers would often fail to mention such storms.
The numbers themselves had been exaggerated by sloppy research. A boat's disappearance, for example, would be reported, but its eventual (if belated) return to port may not have been.
Some disappearances had, in fact, never happened. One plane crash was said to have taken place in 1937 off Daytona Beach, Florida, in front of hundreds of witnesses; a check of the local papers revealed nothing.
The legend of the Bermuda Triangle is a manufactured mystery, perpetuated by writers who either purposely or unknowingly made use of misconceptions, faulty reasoning, and sensationalism.[11]
Further responses
When the UK Channel 4 television program "The Bermuda Triangle" (c. 1992) was being produced by John Simmons of Geofilms for the Equinox series, the marine insurer Lloyd's of London was asked if an unusually large number of ships had sunk in the Bermuda Triangle area. Lloyd's of London determined that large numbers of ships had not sunk there.[12]
United States Coast Guard records confirm their conclusion. In fact, the number of supposed disappearances is relatively insignificant considering the number of ships and aircraft that pass through on a regular basis.[11]
The Coast Guard is also officially skeptical of the Triangle, noting that they collect and publish, through their inquiries, much documentation contradicting many of the incidents written about by the Triangle authors. In one such incident involving the 1972 explosion and sinking of the tanker SS V. A. Fogg in the Gulf of Mexico, the Coast Guard photographed the wreck and recovered several bodies,[13] in contrast with one Triangle author's claim that all the bodies had vanished, with the exception of the captain, who was found sitting in his cabin at his desk, clutching a coffee cup.[7]
The NOVA/Horizon episode The Case of the Bermuda Triangle, aired on June 27, 1976, was highly critical, stating that "When we've gone back to the original sources or the people involved, the mystery evaporates. Science does not have to answer questions about the Triangle because those questions are not valid in the first place... Ships and planes behave in the Triangle the same way they behave everywhere else in the world."[14]
David Kusche pointed out a common problem with many of the Bermuda Triangle stories and theories: "Say I claim that a parrot has been kidnapped to teach aliens human language and I challenge you to prove that is not true. You can even use Einstein's Theory of Relativity if you like. There is simply no way to prove such a claim untrue. The burden of proof should be on the people who make these statements, to show where they got their information from, to see if their conclusions and interpretations are valid, and if they have left anything out."[14]
Skeptical researchers, such as Ernest Taves[15] and Barry Singer,[16] have noted how mysteries and the paranormal are very popular and profitable. This has led to the production of vast amounts of material on topics such as the Bermuda Triangle. They were able to show that some of the pro-paranormal material is often misleading or inaccurate, but its producers continue to market it. Accordingly, they have claimed that the market is biased in favor of books, TV specials, and other media that support the Triangle mystery, and against well-researched material if it espouses a skeptical viewpoint.
Finally, if the Triangle is assumed to cross land, such as parts of Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, or Bermuda itself, there is no evidence for the disappearance of any land-based vehicles or persons.[citation needed] The city of Freeport, located inside the Triangle, operates a major shipyard and an airport that handles 50,000 flights annually and is visited by over a million tourists a year.[17]
Supernatural explanations
Triangle writers have used a number of supernatural concepts to explain the events. One explanation pins the blame on leftover technology from the mythical lost continent of Atlantis. Sometimes connected to the Atlantis story is the submerged rock formation known as the Bimini Road off the island of Bimini in the Bahamas, which is in the Triangle by some definitions. Followers of the purported psychic Edgar Cayce take his prediction that evidence of Atlantis would be found in 1968 as referring to the discovery of the Bimini Road. Believers describe the formation as a road, wall, or other structure, though geologists consider it to be of natural origin.[18]
Other writers attribute the events to UFOs.[19] This idea was used by Steven Spielberg for his science fiction film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which features the lost Flight 19 aircrews as alien abductees.
Charles Berlitz, author of various books on anomalous phenomena, lists several theories attributing the losses in the Triangle to anomalous or unexplained forces.[8]
Natural explanations
Compass variations
Compass problems are one of the cited phrases in many Triangle incidents. While some have theorized that unusual local magnetic anomalies may exist in the area,[20] such anomalies have not been shown to exist. Compasses have natural magnetic variations in relation to the magnetic poles, a fact which navigators have known for centuries. Magnetic (compass) north and geographic (true) north are only exactly the same for a small number of places - for example, as of 2000 in the United States only those places on a line running from Wisconsin to the Gulf of Mexico.[21] But the public may not be as informed, and think there is something mysterious about a compass "changing" across an area as large as the Triangle, which it naturally will.[11]
Deliberate acts of destruction
Deliberate acts of destruction can fall into two categories: acts of war, and acts of piracy. Records in enemy files have been checked for numerous losses. While many sinkings have been attributed to surface raiders or submarines during the World Wars and documented in various command log books, many others suspected as falling in that category have not been proven. It is suspected that the loss of USS Cyclops in 1918, as well as her sister ships Proteus and Nereus in World War II, were attributed to submarines, but no such link has been found in the German records.
Piracy—the illegal capture of a craft on the high seas—continues to this day. While piracy for cargo theft is more common in the western Pacific and Indian oceans, drug smugglers do steal pleasure boats for smuggling operations, and may have been involved in crew and yacht disappearances in the Caribbean. Piracy in the Caribbean was common from about 1560 to the 1760s, and famous pirates included Edward Teach (Blackbeard) and Jean Lafitte.[citation needed]
False-color image of the Gulf Stream flowing north through the western Atlantic Ocean. (NASA)Gulf Stream
The Gulf Stream is an ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and then flows through the Straits of Florida into the North Atlantic. In essence, it is a river within an ocean, and, like a river, it can and does carry floating objects. It has a surface velocity of up to about 2.5 metres per second (5.6 mi/h).[22] A small plane making a water landing or a boat having engine trouble can be carried away from its reported position by the current.
Human error
One of the most cited explanations in official inquiries as to the loss of any aircraft or vessel is human error.[23] Whether deliberate or accidental, humans have been known to make mistakes resulting in catastrophe, and losses within the Bermuda Triangle are no exception. For example, the Coast Guard cited a lack of proper training for the cleaning of volatile benzene residue as a reason for the loss of the tanker SS V.A. Fogg in 1972[citation needed]. Human stubbornness may have caused businessman Harvey Conover to lose his sailing yacht, the Revonoc, as he sailed into the teeth of a storm south of Florida on January 1, 1958.[24]
Hurricanes
Hurricanes are powerful storms, which form in tropical waters and have historically cost thousands of lives lost and caused billions of dollars in damage. The sinking of Francisco de Bobadilla's Spanish fleet in 1502 was the first recorded instance of a destructive hurricane. These storms have in the past caused a number of incidents related to the Triangle.
Methane hydrates
Main article: Methane clathrate
Worldwide distribution of confirmed or inferred offshore gas hydrate-bearing sediments, 1996.
Source: USGSAn explanation for some of the disappearances has focused on the presence of vast fields of methane hydrates (a form of natural gas) on the continental shelves.[25] Laboratory experiments carried out in Australia have proven that bubbles can, indeed, sink a scale model ship by decreasing the density of the water;[26] any wreckage consequently rising to the surface would be rapidly dispersed by the Gulf Stream. It has been hypothesized that periodic methane eruptions (sometimes called "mud volcanoes") may produce regions of frothy water that are no longer capable of providing adequate buoyancy for ships. If this were the case, such an area forming around a ship could cause it to sink very rapidly and without warning.
Publications by the USGS describe large stores of undersea hydrates worldwide, including the Blake Ridge area, off the southeastern United States coast.[27] However, according to another of their papers, no large releases of gas hydrates are believed to have occurred in the Bermuda Triangle for the past 15,000 years.[12]
Rogue waves
In various oceans around the world, rogue waves have caused ships to sink[28] and oil platforms to topple.[29] These waves, until 1995, were considered to be a mystery and/or a myth.[30][31]
Notable incidents
Main article: List of Bermuda Triangle incidents
Flight 19
US Navy TBF Grumman Avenger flight, similar to Flight 19. This photo had been used by various Triangle authors to illustrate Flight 19 itself. (US Navy)Flight 19 was a training flight of TBM Avenger bombers that went missing on December 5, 1945 while over the Atlantic. The squadron's flight path was scheduled to take them due east for 120 miles, north for 73 miles, and then back over a final 120-mile leg that would return them to the naval base, but they never returned. The impression is given[citation needed] that the flight encountered unusual phenomena and anomalous compass readings, and that the flight took place on a calm day under the supervision of an experienced pilot, Lt. Charles Carroll Taylor. Adding to the intrigue is that the Navy's report of the accident was ascribed to "causes or reasons unknown."
Adding to the mystery, a search and rescue Mariner aircraft with a 13-man crew was dispatched to aid the missing squadron, but the Mariner itself was never heard from again. Later, there was a report from a tanker cruising off the coast of Florida of a visible explosion[32] at about the time the Mariner would have been on patrol.
While the basic facts of this version of the story are essentially accurate, some important details are missing. The weather was becoming stormy by the end of the incident, and naval reports and written recordings of the conversations between Taylor and the other pilots of Flight 19 do not indicate magnetic problems.[33]
Mary Celeste
The mysterious abandonment in 1872 of the 282-ton brigantine Mary Celeste is often but inaccurately connected to the Triangle, the ship having been abandoned off the coast of Portugal. The event is possibly confused with the loss of a ship with a similar name, the Mari Celeste, a 207-ton paddle steamer that hit a reef and quickly sank off the coast of Bermuda on September 13, 1864.[34][35] Kusche noted that many of the "facts" about this incident were actually about the Marie Celeste, the fictional ship from Arthur Conan Doyle's short story "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" (based on the real Mary Celeste incident, but fictionalised).
Ellen Austin
The Ellen Austin supposedly came across a derelict ship, placed on board a prize crew, and attempted to sail with it to New York in 1881. According to the stories, the derelict disappeared; others elaborating further that the derelict reappeared minus the prize crew, then disappeared again with a second prize crew on board. A check from Lloyd's of London records proved the existence of the Meta, built in 1854 and that in 1880 the Meta was renamed Ellen Austin. There are no casualty listings for this vessel, or any vessel at that time, that would suggest a large number of missing men were placed on board a derelict that later disappeared.[36]
USS Cyclops
The incident resulting in the single largest loss of life in the history of the US Navy not related to combat occurred when USS Cyclops, under the command of Lt Cdr G.W. Worley, went missing without a trace with a crew of 309 sometime after March 4, 1918, after departing the island of Barbados. Although there is no strong evidence for any single theory, many independent theories exist, some blaming storms, some capsizing, and some suggesting that wartime enemy activity was to blame for the loss.[37][38]
Theodosia Burr Alston
Theodosia Burr Alston was the daughter of former United States Vice President Aaron Burr. Her disappearance has been cited at least once in relation to the Triangle.[39] She was a passenger on board the Patriot, which sailed from Charleston, South Carolina to New York City on December 30, 1812, and was never heard from again. The planned route is well outside all but the most extended versions of the Bermuda Triangle. Both piracy and the War of 1812 have been posited as explanations, as well as a theory placing her in Texas, well outside the Triangle.
Spray
S.V. Spray was a derelict fishing boat refitted as an ocean cruiser by Joshua Slocum and used by him to complete the first ever single-handed circumnavigation of the world, between 1895 and 1898.
In 1909, Slocum set sail from Vineyard Haven bound for Venezuela. Neither he nor Spray were ever seen again.
There is no evidence they were in the Bermuda Triangle when they disappeared, nor is there any evidence of paranormal activity. The boat was considered in poor condition and a hard boat to handle that Slocum's skill usually overcame.[11]
Schooner Carroll A. Deering, as seen from the Cape Lookout lightship on January 29, 1921, two days before she was found deserted in North Carolina. (US Coast Guard)Carroll A. Deering
A five-masted schooner built in 1919, the Carroll A. Deering was found hard aground and abandoned at Diamond Shoals, near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina on January 31, 1921. Rumors and more at the time indicated the Deering was a victim of piracy, possibly connected with the illegal rum-running trade during Prohibition, and possibly involving another ship, S.S. Hewitt, which disappeared at roughly the same time. Just hours later, an unknown steamer sailed near the lightship along the track of the Deering, and ignored all signals from the lightship. It is speculated that the Hewitt may have been this mystery ship, and possibly involved in the Deering crew's disappearance.[40]
Douglas DC-3
On December 28, 1948, a Douglas DC-3 aircraft, number NC16002, disappeared while on a flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Miami. No trace of the aircraft or the 32 people onboard was ever found. From the documentation compiled by the Civil Aeronautics Board investigation, a possible key to the plane's disappearance was found, but barely touched upon by the Triangle writers: the plane's batteries were inspected and found to be low on charge, but ordered back into the plane without a recharge by the pilot while in San Juan. Whether or not this led to complete electrical failure will never be known. However, since piston-engined aircraft rely upon magnetos to provide spark to their cylinders rather than a battery powered ignition coil system, this theory is not strongly convincing.[41]
Star Tiger and Star Ariel
G-AHNP Star Tiger disappeared on January 30, 1948 on a flight from the Azores to Bermuda; G-AGRE Star Ariel disappeared on January 17, 1949, on a flight from Bermuda to Kingston, Jamaica. Both were Avro Tudor IV passenger aircraft operated by British South American Airways.[42] Both planes were operating at the very limits of their range and the slightest error or fault in the equipment could keep them from reaching the small island. One plane was not heard from long before it would have entered the Triangle.[11]
KC-135 Stratotankers
On August 28, 1963 a pair of US Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft collided and crashed into the Atlantic. The Triangle version (Winer, Berlitz, Gaddis[5][8][9]) of this story specifies that they did collide and crash, but there were two distinct crash sites, separated by over 160 miles (260 km) of water. However, Kusche's research[11] showed that the unclassified version of the Air Force investigation report stated that the debris field defining the second "crash site" was examined by a search and rescue ship, and found to be a mass of seaweed and driftwood tangled in an old buoy.
SS Marine Sulphur Queen
SS Marine Sulphur Queen, a T2 tanker converted from oil to sulfur carrier, was last heard from on February 4, 1963 with a crew of 39 near the Florida Keys. Marine Sulphur Queen was the first vessel mentioned in Vincent Gaddis' 1964 Argosy Magazine article,[5] but he left it as having "sailed into the unknown", despite the Coast Guard report, which not only documented the ship's badly-maintained history, but declared that it was an unseaworthy vessel that should never have gone to sea.[43][44]
Raifuku Maru
The Japanese vessel Raifuku Maru (sometimes misidentified as Raikuke Maru) sank with all hands in 1925 after sending a distress signal which has never been fully understood. She left Boston for Hamburg, Germany, on 21 April and was caught in a severe storm in the North Atlantic, nowhere near the Triangle. RMS Homeric unsuccessfully attempted a rescue,[45] and a photograph of the vessel sinking appeared in the New York Times. Nonetheless, some writers speculated that a waterspout was the likely cause of the sinking (Winer).
Connemara IV
A pleasure yacht was found adrift in the Atlantic south of Bermuda on September 26, 1955; it is usually stated in the stories (Berlitz, Winer[8][9]) that the crew vanished while the yacht survived being at sea during three hurricanes. The 1955 Atlantic hurricane season lists only one storm coming near Bermuda towards the end of August, hurricane "Edith"; of the others, "Flora" was too far to the east, and "Katie" arrived after the yacht was recovered. It was confirmed that the Connemara IV was empty and in port when "Edith" may have caused the yacht to slip her moorings and drift out to sea.[11]
Carolyn Cascio
A Cessna piloted by Carolyn Cascio, on June 6, 1969, with one passenger, attempted to travel from Nassau, Bahamas to Cockburn, Grand Turk Island. The plane was witnessed by many air traffic controllers in Cockburn's airport to circle the island for 30 minutes, after which, it flew away apparently for another island. All attempts from the ground to raise Cascio on the radio failed.
Triangle authors
The incidents cited above, apart from the official documentation, come from the following works. Some incidents mentioned as having taken place within the Triangle are found only in these sources:
Gian J. Quasar (2003). Into the Bermuda Triangle: Pursuing the Truth Behind the World's Greatest Mystery ((Reprinted in paperback (2005) ISBN 0-07-145217-6) ed.). International Marine / Ragged Mountain Press. ISBN 0-07-142640-X.
[8] Charles Berlitz (1974). The Bermuda Triangle (1st ed.). Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-04114-4.
[11] Lawrence David Kusche (1975). The Bermuda Triangle Mystery Solved. Buffalo: Prometheus Books. ISBN 0-87975-971-2.
[7] John Wallace Spencer (1969). Limbo Of The Lost. ISBN 0-686-10658-X.
David Group (1984). The Evidence for the Bermuda Triangle. Wellingborough, Northamptonshire: Aquarian Press. ISBN 0-85030-413-X.
[35] Daniel Berg (2000). Bermuda Shipwrecks. East Rockaway, N.Y.: Aqua Explorers. ISBN 0-9616167-4-1.
[9] Richard Winer (1974). The Devil's Triangle. ISBN 0553106880.
Richard Winer (1975). The Devil's Triangle 2. ISBN 0553024647.
[39] Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey (1975). The Bermuda Triangle. ISBN 0446599611.
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