Astronomy app’s popularity skyrockets

An observatory in Chile has scored an unlikely hit with its Smartphone app Chile Mobile Observatory, which has now been downloaded more than 25,000 times.

It gives users around-the-world access to images of the sky, taken by telescopes at state-of-the-art facilities in northern Chile.

Images have been downloaded by people in Chile, Mexico, the US and Peru.

Sebastian Villela, web manager at Fundacion Imagen de Chile, is proud: 'Today, Chile accounts for 70 percent of astronomical observation in the world and for us this improves the country’s image.

'From Chile we are capturing the best images of the universe, from Chile we are answering the fundamental questions of humanity: where do we come from and what is our destination within this giant universe?'

The detailed colour pictures are produced from three images obtained with highly-advanced telescopes.

Sebastian Villela said: 'Each of the astronomical centres involved in the project, publishes their own images on their websites. What this application does is to take this information which is scattered, put it together in one application and you can carry it on your mobile device so that you can view it on your phone, on your tablet.'

The popularity of the app surprised researchers, but they are so pleased they have decided to add another 100 images to the downloads available, later this year, and to make a version available for iPhones.

The app also includes an astronomical calendar with dates for eclipses, meteor showers, comets and other phenomena.

Legality of Turkish prime minister’s call for Gulen’s extradition from US questioned

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s call for the extradition of Fetullah Gulen from the US has met with criticism.

According to a treaty signed in 1979 between the two countries Turkish authorities would first have to issue a warrant for Gulen’s arrest to start the process.

His lawyer confirmed there is no current criminal investigation into his client.

Erdogan had told a reporter on Tuesday authorities would start a formal process to extradite the Islamic scholar.

The one time ally of the Turkish PM who has lived in self-imposed exile since 1999 is now seen as Erdogan’s most powerful political enemy. It’s claimed he has millions of followers.

A corruption and bribery investigation last December led to some 50 people being detained including the sons of three government ministers. Erdogan accused Gulen of being behind the moves.

The government responded with a crackdown on the media including a two week ban on twitter. Gulen has denied mounting a campaign against Erdogan.

German President Joachim Gauk on a visit to Turkey has justified his comments about the style of Erdogan’s leadership.

'I allow myself to comment about the critical issues of a society,' he said adding it is a normal thing among friends.

Erdogan had told him he should not interfere in Turkey’s affairs.

Europe eyes Turkey as an energy supplier

Turkey's proximity to the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe makes the country an ideal center for energy distribution. Since the outbreak of the current political crisis in Ukraine, the country has come to the top of the list of strategic partners for Europe when it comes to importing oil and natural gas.

'We're observing increasing interest from European and international companies, particularly for the Turkish energy market,' said Christian Grun of the Essen-based energy services company ConEnergy.

That interest stems from multiple factors. On the one hand, Turkey's economy grew by nearly 10 percent in 2010 and 2011. Furthermore, it has a young population - average age, 28 - which adds to the country's dynamism.

'And anyway, its geostrategic position is one of a kind,' Grun added, noting as well, however, that the liberalization of the Turkish market represents one of the biggest opportunities and challenges for the country.

Opening up the markets

'The state's monopolies are falling away now, and the market is open to both Turkish and international companies,' Grun says. Many providers in the energy sector see the move toward liberalization as an ideal chance to enter the market.

'Some of the heavy hitters in European energy want to get in on the market, including EON and RWE. Many other providers will follow them.'

Meanwhile, Grun says, the domestic political crisis involving corruption allegations against Prime Minister Erdogan and his use of Internet censorship is doing little to deter investors.

Turkey is currently working on multiple projects to diversify its regional energy supplies. For one, there is the southern gas corridor, intended to transport natural gas from the Caspian Sea and Middle East to Europe without crossing Russia. The southern gas corridor is to be served by the trans-Anatolian gas pipeline (TANAP), which aims to transport natural gas from Azerbaijan through Turkey and into Europe.

Dodging Russia to the south

The 'Hurriyet' daily reports construction of the 45-billion-dollar (32.5-billion-euro) project as set to begin in 2015 and conclude within four years. TANAP is expected to pull 16 billion cubic meters of gas from the Azerbaijani Shah Deniz II gas field. Ten billion cubic meters would flow to the European market, wtih six million remaining in Turkey.

Further, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq is set to play an important role as a partner to Turkey on energy issues. The government of the autonomous region of Kurdistan, with its seat in Erbil, has agreed to begin exporting around four billion cubic meters of gas per year to Turkey as of 2017, Turkish media have reported.

Beginning in 2020, that figure is supposed to jump to 20 billion cubic meters.

Natural gas from Cyprus to Israel

The eastern Mediterranean region has also attracted attention from the global natural gas industry in recent years, particularly thanks to the discovery of natural gas sources near the shores of Israel and Cyprus. Turkish media have speculated that the former could become a gas exporter, including to Turkey by way of a pipeline, but that unresolved issues with Cyprus would prove an impediment to trade.

For the moment, says Turkish energy expert Mehmet Ogutcu, TANAP is the only project worth mentioning. However, even if that pipeline comes about as planned, Ogutcu does not believe Turkey will become an energy powerhouse.

'To become one, you're not talking 16 billion cubic meters of gas - you'd need 50 to 60 billion, instead. The EU alone needs more than 250 billion cubic meters of natural gas, and Turkey can't deliver that by itself,' Ogutcu told DW.

No replacement for Russia

In spite of the many possibilities Turkey represents for Europe, no one can become completely independent from Russia, Ogutcu insists, saying Turkey could instead serve as a good additional provider to allow for added energy security.

'Turkey is a trustworthy partner because it belongs to NATO, the OECD, the Council of Europe and is striving for EU membership. As such, it can contribute to a diversification of Europe's approach to energy politics,' Ogutcu says.

The security of Turkey's energy supply is not at all affected by the current crisis involving Russia and will also not come into danger in the coming weeks, says Fatih Birol, head economist at the International Energy Agency.

'Turkey has a key role in global energy politics. Through its position, Turkey can serve as a reliable transit country for energy,' Birol told DW.

She also considers the Russian crisis a problem that can be overcome. 'Such problems can emerge at any time, in any country,' she said.

‘Trans X Istanbul’ = humour + hope

A new documentary ‘Trans X Istanbul’ documents the lives of transgender people in Turkey, where attitudes are very conservative.

Trans-gender people find it almost impossible to find a job in Turkey, and attacks on them, even fatal ones, are not generally investigated by police.

Maria Binder, who wrote and directed ‘Trans X Istanbul’, got a special mention from the Human Rights in Cinema jury, at the Istanbul Film festival.

Binder outlined the thinking behind the movie: 'We wanted to film a sort of study, a cinematic analysis of how hate speech can turn into criminal acts which can go as far as murder. Over nine months we followed events which led, in the end to a murder of a trans-gender woman. That was horrible for us. Theoretically we knew this type of thing happens, but it was beyond our imagination and we didn’t expect it to happen.'

In Turkey being LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender) is widely considered to be an illness, and the judicial system does not protect these people from attacks, let alone discrimination.

Maria Binder says she did not want to portray LGBT people as victims however. 'I wanted the film to be about people who take the reins of their own lives. The theme of my film is insane, tough and evil but I wanted to tell the story with humour, and I hope that you can see that all through the film. It was amazing, when the film was shown here at the Istanbul Film Festival, there was a lot of laughter, although the theme is so difficult.'

Maria Binder has already made documentaries about the issue of human rights, racism, and gender equality. For her, making a film is a way of giving people a voice: 'Making this film was a huge project involving Turkish LGBT organisations, and a whole programme of workshops. It’s about exploring how minority groups can work with the media so as to tell their own stories and give an inside view of the problem. We are also taking the movie on tour through 8 cities across Turkey. So in a way all this is human rights work. It’s not only about showing a film, is a very complex project.'

‘Trans X Istanbul’ was well as being shown at the Istanbul Film Festival is available to watch online as VOD.

Syrian rebels kidnap presidential hopeful

Syrian rebels say that have kidnapped a presidential hopeful whose attempt to register as a candidate was turned down by the constitutional court.

Unverified footage purports to show Mohammed Kanan claiming to have been forced by the Assad regime to run for the presidency.

Video of a massive blast has also been posted on the internet by opposition rebels.It is said to have taken place in northwestern Idlib province.

The rebels claim 30 government fighters died when insurgents from the Islamic Front set off explosives in a tunnel beneath a checkpoint.

More than 150.000 people have been killed in the three-year-old rebellion against the government.

Next month presidential elections are widely expected to return President Bashar al-Assad to power.

Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra forced to quit after court ruling

Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has been found guilty of violating the constitution and forced to step down.

The Constitutional Court ruled on Wednesday that she had abused her position when she transferred her national security chief to another post in 2011 which had benefited a relative. Yingluck denies any wrongdoing.

The decision comes after six months of protests in the capital, Bangkok, aimed at toppling the government.

Yingluck will be replaced by Commerce Minister Niwatthamrong and a caretaker government will take over until a general election is called on July 20. Cabinet ministers not implicated in the case will be allowed to stay on.

Yingluck’s supporters accuse the Constitutional Court of bias against the government and are preparing mass street rallies against the decision.

Court ruling ‘does little’ to resolve impasse

On May 7, Thailand's Constitutional Court ordered caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra (main picture) and nine members of her Cabinet to step down for abusing constitutional powers. The court ruled that Yingluck had violated the constitution by improperly transferring the National Security Council chief in a 2011 reshuffle that allowed her brother-in-law to become national police chief.

The court's decision was seen as a victory for anti-government protesters who had been trying to remove the premier from office for six months. The protesters, who had staged some of the largest street demonstrations in Thai history and disrupted a general election in February, had accused Yingluck of being a puppet of her self-exiled brother and former premier, Thaksin Shinawatra.

In a DW interview Kim McQuay, The Asia Foundation's country representative to Thailand, says the judgement has arguably done little to resolve the political crisis. According to McQuay, the ongoing political tensions and uncertainty are likely to have continued negative consequences for Thailand's economy and social stability.

DW: Do you expect caretaker PM Yingluck and her government to respect the court's decision?

Kim Mcquay: Since the anti-government movement began six months ago in response to the lightning rod blanket Amnesty Bill, the Pheu Thai government of former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has taken the prudent approach of consistently side-stepping trouble in the context of street protests and escalating anti-government pressure.

Similarly, while the Constitutional Court's decision to remove Yingluck and nine members of her Cabinet reflects a different and time-proven tactic on the part of opponents of government, I expect that the Government will respect the decision to remove those involved in the transfer of former National Security Council head Thawil Pliensri in 2011.

Were you surprised at the verdict?

I think it is fair to say that virtually no Thais or observers of Thai politics, myself included, are surprised by today's Constitutional Court decision. In the days leading up to the ruling, comments made by government spokespersons and leaders of the Government's 'Red Shirt' supporters indicated that they fully expected the court to rule against Yingluck. What was not clear was whether the Constitutional Court would go a step further and remove the entire Cabinet, creating a power vacuum in a situation in which the Constitution provides little clear guidance. Fortunately, it declined to do so.

Thailand's judiciary and independent agencies are no strangers to politics. The present combination of judicial cases and referrals of alleged political malfeasance to independent agencies conjure a worrisome sense of déjà vu and of legal precedents that fly in the face of the political realities of contemporary Thailand.

Will the ruling help in any way solve the country's ongoing political crisis?

It is too early to predict whether today's Constitutional Court ruling will ultimately help to temper or resolve the political crisis, but my best guess is that the decision does little to resolve the impasse.

The removal of Yingluck has been a priority objective of the anti-government People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) movement from its inception in 2013.

One can be sure that there will be chuffed celebration in the PDRC camp this evening. At the same time, with the Pheu Thai government staying on in its caretaker capacity and continuing its push for new elections, opponents of the government are not fully satisfied with the court decision. It fails to leave the complete power vacuum that they presumably hoped would be filled in a manner favorable to them under the direction of the Senate.

After Yingluck's dismissal as premier, Thailand's caretaker government quickly appointed a new acting prime minister and vowed to press ahead with a planned July 20 election to establish a new government. How likely are elections given the heightened political tensions?

While the Pheu Thai government has been dealt a vexing blow, its record of several election victories in succession suggests the Pheu Thai could go into the next election confident of victory through the support of voters in its traditional electoral power bases in the north and northeast, with or without a member of the Shinawatra family designated to serve as prime minister.

With this prospect unlikely to sit well with PDRC or the opposition Democrat Party, one assumes that an election on terms identical to the February 2 election, without reform or other measures acceptable to the opposition in advance of the election, would be met with similar resistance.

What are the potential social and economic consequences of this decision for the country?

The present political crisis has raised concerns about economic recovery with the remarkable ease of earlier political crises. Experts have argued that the political crisis has drawn the economy to the brink of recession, while business houses are revising their economic performance forecasts for 2014 and prospective foreign investors are reportedly placing their plans on hold pending the outcome of the political crisis.

The distraction of the political impasse has diverted the attention of law and policy makers from addressing constraints to Thailand's advancement to upper income status and prevented Thailand from assuming a leadership role in the efforts of the ASEAN community to establish an integrated regional economy in 2015.

Given the latest developments, how will democracy continue in Thailand?

While the removal of Yingluck and members of her Cabinet will be celebrated in some quarters, these latest developments seem unlikely to bring Thailand any closer to resolution of the political crisis through necessary compromises on the part of all political stakeholders.

The political crisis seems destined to continue in the short term, but again one hopes that political stakeholders will reach a compromise that leads to an election that is contested by all major political parties and independently scrutinized by domestic and international observers.

Kim McQuay is The Asia Foundation's country representative to Thailand, where he manages programs that promote peaceful conflict resolution, greater citizen engagement in political processes, and more responsive and transparent systems of governance.