Latest news with #WesternPacific
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Utah State Railroad Museum gets Western Pacific caboose; Merci Boxcar restoration complete
The Utah State Railroad Museum in Ogden has a new addition — a Western Pacific caboose — while the restoration of a boxcar that was a gift to Utah from France after World War II is complete. Museums at Union Station in Ogden manages the railroad museum and opens Western Pacific Railroad Caboose No. 438 to the public on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., when admission will be free. The recent acquisition is meant to complement the Western Pacific GP35 electric diesel engine acquired last year and bolster the representation from the now-defunct rail line at the Ogden museum. 'We've really tried to create a collection that shows both the locomotives and cabooses from each of the major rail lines,' said Hope Eggett, the Museums at Union Station administrator, and Western Pacific is one of the last rail operations that served Utah that was unrepresented. The Western Pacific cars — among more than 50 at the museum — are meant to help 'tell the story of the workers who worked on the railroad.' Meantime, Eggett said the restoration of the Merci Boxcar — given to Utah by the people of France in 1949 as a way of saying thanks for U.S. assistance during the post-World War II era — is complete. The unique gray boxcar, previously displayed outside Union Station, had fallen into disrepair and was sent last year to Cheyenne, Wyoming, to be restored by experts there at a cost of some $100,000. 'We are really eager for it to get back to Utah. We don't have a firm date yet, but we do expect it back soon,' Eggett said. A ceremony to welcome it back will be organized once it returns to Ogden. It had sat exposed to the elements, but upon its return will be displayed in a covered exhibition area to better protect it. Caboose No. 438 was built in 1955 and retired from service in the 1980s, when rail lines started phasing out use of cabooses amid technological advances that rendered them obsolete. It had been on display at the Inland Northwest Rail Museum in Reardan, Washington, and was acquired by the Union Station Foundation, an independent, nonprofit entity, for $16,000. 'With only a handful still on public display nationwide, this rare caboose captures the spirit of Western Pacific's golden era and stands as a testament to Ogden's role in shaping the West through rail,' reads a press release from the city of Ogden. Only 13 of the cabooses survive, Eggett said. Museums at Union Station is the umbrella organization that manages the Utah State Railroad Museum and gun and car museums, also housed at the historic railway station. The free museum entry on Saturday coincides with the Ogden Arts Festival, a ticketed event taking place at Union Station on Saturday and Sunday. Solve the daily Crossword
South China Morning Post
03-07-2025
- General
- South China Morning Post
How are Chinese aircraft carriers pushing limits and testing boundaries in the Pacific?
New details emerging about a rare Chinese military drill involving two aircraft carriers in the Western Pacific last month reveal that the vessels are training with greater intensity and complexity, according to experts. One analyst said that by testing themselves against each, the Liaoning and Shandong carriers could gain a level of experience that even the United States military could not gain in battle because it was usually engaged with far less powerful rivals. Since Monday, state broadcaster CCTV has released several clips of drills focused on reconnaissance and early warning, defensive and counterstrike operations, anti-surface assaults, air defence and day-and-night tactical flights by carrier-based aircraft. 02:21 Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong arrives in Hong Kong for 5-day visit Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong arrives in Hong Kong for 5-day visit In the latest drills, in June, the two vessels operated beyond the second island chain in the Western Pacific together for the first time, reaching waters near Japan's easternmost islands and as far as 965km (600 miles) northeast of Guam , the US' westernmost territory. The drills were different in operations and strategic messaging from China's first dual carrier exercise conducted in October, which mainly took place in the South China Sea, with additional manoeuvres in the Yellow and East China seas. Timothy Heath, a senior international defence researcher at the US-based Rand Corporation, said the key difference was 'greater complexity and intensity'. 'By contrast, last year's exercise was essentially a trial run as it was the first time two carriers operated together. They did not travel as far or for as long a time, and the drills were simpler,' Heath said.
Telegraph
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Chinese naval drills put Indo-Pacific on edge
For several weeks, two Chinese aircraft carrier battle groups have been conducting unprecedented drills in the Western Pacific, sailing further from Beijing than ever before. What message is China trying to send to the world and what can we learn about its Navy's capabilities? Venetia chats to RUSI's Philip Shetler‑Jones, who specialises in Indo-Pacific security. Plus, a rare journey through Gaza with UNICEF's chief spokesman James Elder and a look at an explosive story accusing Israeli soldiers of firing on unarmed Gazan civilians at aid sites they describe as 'killing fields'.
WIRED
10-06-2025
- Health
- WIRED
WHO Monitors New Covid Variant Spreading in America and Europe
Jun 10, 2025 5:00 AM NB.1.8.1 has mutations that could increase the virus's transmissibility and decrease the efficacy of certain neutralizing antibodies against it. Photograph: Calvin Chan Wai Meng A new Covid variant is being kept under surveillance by the World Health Organization (WHO) as its emergence has led to an increase in infections in several regions of the world. First identified at the end of January, the variant—called NB.1.8.1 but known informally as 'Nimbus'—is a descendant of the Omicron family of Covid sublineages, and has become increasingly prevalent throughout the spring in Europe, the Americas, and the Western Pacific. The virus has mutations that may increase its infectiousness and allow it to escape certain antibodies. Nevertheless, 'considering the available evidence, the additional public health risk posed by NB.1.8.1 is evaluated as low at the global level,' the WHO wrote in its most recent risk evaluation for the variant. Like other variants before it, Nimbus has specific mutations to its spike protein. These proteins coat the virus's surface and are what it uses to gain entry into cells, where it reproduces. Nimbus' spike protein modifications could increase its transmission capacity and partially reduce the neutralizing efficacy of certain antibodies generated by previous infections, both of which would contribute to its spread. However, the WHO says that there is no evidence that this variant causes more severe disease compared to other strains currently circulating. Nor have increases in hospitalizations or deaths related to its emergence been observed. Symptoms associated with NB.1.8.1 are similar to those caused by other SARS-CoV-2 variants: sore throat, cough, fatigue, fever, muscle aches, loss of taste or smell, respiratory distress, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. The WHO experts explain that, although this variant may partially evade some antibody responses, such 'immune escape' is comparable to that observed in other Omicron sublineages. This suggests that the mutations present in NB.1.8.1 do not give the virus increased resistance to antivirals such as nirmatrelvir, and that current vaccines continue to be effective in preventing severe disease when infected with this version of the virus. However, to those most vulnerable to Covid—such as the elderly, immunocompromised, or those with preexisting chronic conditions—Nimbus represents a new health threat, and these groups should stay up to date with booster vaccinations to ensure they are protected against Covid's worst effects. This story originally appeared on WIRED en Español and has been translated from Spanish.
RNZ News
05-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Environmental legal fund fighting Trump fishing order
Photo: Supplied/ the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre An environmental legal fund have sued US President Donald Trump in response to an executive order rolling back commercial fishing protections in the Western Pacific. The April 17th order, "Unleashing American commerical fishing in the Pacific", expands fishing rights within the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, a protected area which surrounds various American-owned islands. The monument was established by President Bush in 2009. President Obama in 2014 expanded the size of the monument to around 1,270,000 square kilometers of ocean space - or about twice the size of the state of Texas. Obama also completely banned commercial fishing activity from that space. Trump's order reverses those bans, which Earthjustice claimed leaves more than 80 percent of the monument's total area open to fishing. David Henkin, lead attorney for the case, told RNZ Pacific that is illegal. "The Antiquities Act gives American presidents the power to create national monuments and to reserve those lands to protect the resources, but it's one way ratchet. "It doesn't give a president the ability to destroy a monument by stripping from it the essential protections that are necessary to preserve the the objects of historic and scientific interests within the monument." Trump's side argues that the presence of commercial fishing vessels doesn't pose a significant threat to marine life. "A host of federal protections exist under current laws and agency management designations to protect the area's natural resources, vulnerable marine species, and unique habitats, such as coral and seamount ecosystems." Henkin's suit contends that vessels would actually pose a massive risk, directly contradicting Trump's justification for bypassing the Antiquities Act. Species of critically endangered sea turtles in transit, as well as coral species and various other marine animals would be made vulnerable to fishing, Henkin said. "There is a lot of interaction with all of these species which are supposed to be protected under the US Endangered Species Act. Yet the Fishery Service, which is charged with implementing the Act, failed to do any analysis about the effects of opening these protected areas to activities that they know kill and injure endangered and threatened sea turtles. "It's that web of life that President Trump's proclamation and the Fisheries Service opening it to commercial fishing is tearing apart." US Exclusive Economic Zones of the US Western Pacific region. Photo: Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council At the same time, nearly half of US-owned territory in the Pacific Ocean had been made unavailable for fishing, Trump stated in the order. "This has driven American fishermen to fish further offshore in international waters to compete against poorly regulated and highly subsidized foreign fleets. "This disadvantages honest United States commercial fishermen and is detrimental for United States territories like American Samoa, whose private sector economy is over 80 percent dependent on the fishing industry." One of Trump's supporters in the Pacific, Congresswoman Uifa'atali Aumua Amata of American Samoa, said that the food security that extra fishing provides for is vital for her community. "Neither Presidents Bush, Obama or Biden ever asked American Samoa what they wanted before they took away our indigenous fishing rights without any science... President Trump asked and acted." Henkin said it reflects Trump's "complete ignorance" about the Pacific. "You need to go for days and days to get to Johnston Atoll, or to get to Jarvis Island and certainly Wake Island. There are fishing grounds much closer to the main Hawaiian Islands or to American Samoa that are and always have been available to fishers there." Ensuring a space for fish stocks to replenish is vital for sustainability, Henkin argued. "This is a concept that I think Polynesians long understood by putting areas to off limits to exploitation, you create more abundance. You create spillover effects. And so by protecting the species within the monument, there are more pelagic species, including tuna to catch outside of the monument." In a separate executive order, 'Restoring American seafood competitiveness', Trump ordered the Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior to "review all existing marine national monuments and provide recommendations to the President of any that should be opened to commercial fishing".
