A virus frozen for 30,000 years in Siberian permafrost has been revived by a team of French and Russian scientists, they said Monday.
The researchers named the microbe "Pithovirus" after the "pithos" container that Pandora opened in Greek mythology, supposedly unleashing evil upon the world.
But the virus – among the largest known – belongs to a type that only preys upon amoebas and does not directly threaten humans, the scientists said in a research paper.
The scientists concluded, however, that the virus's ability to reactivate after lying dormant for 30 millennia suggests that other, more harmful pathogens could be released by the thawing of polar tundra due to global warming or industrial activity.

READ MORE: Scientists Revive Ancient Virus Frozen in Siberian Permafrost

WASHINGTON, March 12 (RIA Novosti) – The US House of Representatives adopted a non-binding resolution in a 402-7 vote on Tuesday to denounce Russia's actions in Ukraine and urge the White House to exclude Russia from the G8 and impose sanctions on the country.
The lawmakers who voted for the resolution also called for sending OSCE observers to Crimea and other Ukrainian regions and urged NATO to suspend military cooperation with Russia, including the supply of military equipment.
The resolution urges the administration of US President Barack Obama to "work with our European allies and other countries to impose visa, financial, trade and other sanctions on senior Russian Federation officials, majority state-owned banks and commercial organizations, and other state agencies, as appropriate."
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that potential sanctions over Ukraine would be a double-edged sword due to the interdependence of global trade.
The House resolution also proposes giving economic assistance to the new Ukrainian authorities and easing Ukraine's energy dependence on Russia.
Commenting on the possibility of US financial assistance to the current Ukrainian authorities, ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who fled Kiev last month after months of large-scale anti-government protests, said during a news conference in Russia that Washington has no right "to finance bandits."
The pro-Russian government of Crimea, a majority ethnic Russian region within Ukraine, declared independence Tuesday ahead of a referendum scheduled for March 16. The regional government has declared its intention to secede from Ukraine and become part of Russia, a move Moscow has said it will welcome.
Russia's fellow G8 members – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States – said in a joint statement with the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission on Wednesday that the referendum in Crimea "will have no legal effect."

READ MORE: US Congress Pushes for Expelling Russia From G8 and Imposing Sanctions

The threat posed to wildlife by fracking is laid bare today as a new report identifies vast swathes of environmentally sensitive land across Britain that could be excavated for shale oil and gas.
The land covers tens of thousands of square kilometres and includes thousands of sites such as Morecombe Bay in the North West, one of the most important areas in Europe for hosting wintering birds, as well as the North York Moors and the Thames Estuary.

An alliance of wildlife groups including RSPB and the National Trust is calling on the government to establish "frack-free zones" across the country to protect areas of particular environmental importance.

The proposed zones would cover a total area of about 42,000 square kilometres – or about 18 per cent of Britain. Some of them are already under threat from licences previously granted to fracking companies, some could be put at risk from licences due to be auctioned in a giant licensing round this summer, while others are not currently in any danger. The so-called 14th licensing round in the summer potentially covers about 40 per cent of Britain, although experts expect only a fraction of this will end up being licensed – at least this time round, as gas companies initially compete for the most attractive locations.
The zones cover all protected wildlife areas, nature reserves and national parks. The alliance is also calling for full environmental assessments to be carried out for each drilling proposal and for the shale gas industry to pay the costs of its regulation and any pollution clean-ups.

Martin Harper, RSPB's conservation director, said: "The Prime Minister has been a great advocate for the shale gas industry. He has said we have the strongest environmental controls in this country and nothing will go ahead if there are environmental dangers."

Some 481 environmentally sensitive sites fall within areas currently under licence, meaning that oil and gas companies are already free to develop the site, although any development will be contingent on finding commercially-viable quantities of oil or gas to extract. A further 2,676 sites fall within areas that will come up for auction in the summer licensing round.

READ MORE: Fracking shame: Full threat to British wildlife is laid bare in a new report showing up to half the country could be licensed for shale gas extraction

Fracking should be banned in national parks to protect rare wildlife and fragile habitats, the National Trust has said, warning that environmental regulations for shale gas exploration are "inadequate".
In a blow for the Government, which is keen to encourage fracking, the organisation has cast doubt on whether the process is safe and called for the creation of "frack-free zones" across Britain – including in some of the areas believed to be richest in shale gas.
Ministers are this year planning to offer energy companies the chance to apply for rights to drill across almost 40,000 square miles of Britain in the hope that development of vast shale gas resources could bring down energy bills.
But, in a joint report with wildlife and countryside groups including the RSPB, Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust and the Angling Trust, the National Trust says that 12 per cent of this land - about 5,000 square miles - is covered by protected wildlife areas, nature reserves or national Parks and should be excluded.
A dozen National Parks, more than 3,600 Sites of Special Scientific Interest and more than 1,500 wildlife trust sites that could be partly or wholly licensed for fracking must be safeguarded, it says.
"The regulation of shale gas needs to be improved if it's to offer adequate protection for sensitive environments," Simon Pryor, the National Trust's natural environment director said.
"Whilst the Government is keen to see rapid roll out of fracking, there's a real danger that the regulatory system simply isn't keeping pace.
"The Government should rule out fracking in the most sensitive areas and ensure that the regulations offer sufficient protection to our treasured natural and historic environment."

Criticism that shale gas exploration is poorly regulated will be particularly troubling for ministers, who insist that fracking is safe but have acknowledged they are already losing the battle for public opinion over the controversial process.
Fracking involves pumping water, sand and chemicals into the ground at high pressure to hydraulically fracture shale rocks and extract oil and gas trapped within them.
The report says there is a risk that shale gas exploitation could cause water contamination or shortages and have "serious impacts" for a range of threatened species including salmon and pink-footed geese.

READ MORE: Ban fracking in national parks, says the National Trust

Since last month's putsch in Kiev, the US and European media have denounced reports from Russia and internationally of fascist involvement in the new, Western-backed Ukrainian regime.
The media has attacked such reports as "empty" (New York Times), "a fancy" (Guardian), "Putin plays the Nazi card" (Fox News), and "the supreme lie" (Le Monde). One source that inspires total confidence, Russian oligarch and convicted felon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, speaking on Monday to a right-wing crowd in Kiev, summed up the line of the corporate media. He called reports of fascist influence over the new regime "lying Russian propaganda."
To evaluate this torrent of pro-fascist apologetics, it is worth recalling what the European Union itself said only two years ago about its current partners in Kiev. Today, the far-right Svoboda party holds top ministerial positions (deputy prime minister, education, ecology, and agriculture) and advisory posts in a regime that enjoys the economic and military backing of the EU and Washington.
Svoboda was condemned in an official resolution voted and adopted by the European Parliament. The document, titled "European Parliament of 13 December, 2012 on the Situation in Ukraine," is available online.
In section 8 of the resolution, the EU's legislative body declares itself "concerned about the rising nationalistic sentiment in Ukraine, expressed in support for the Svoboda party, which, as a result, is one of the two new parties to enter the Verkhovna Rada," the Ukrainian parliament.
Stating that "racist, anti-Semitic, and xenophobic views go against the EU's fundamental values," the European Parliament "therefore appeals to pro-democratic parties in the Verkhovna Rada not to associate with, endorse, or form coalitions with this party."
When the imperialist powers embarked on a critical foreign policy operation, however—the installation of a pro-Western regime in Kiev—they easily overcame whatever scruples EU legislators may have had about Svoboda's racism, anti-Semitism and xenophobia. It fell to a corrupt media, academic and cultural elite to package the resulting collaboration with fascists as a struggle for democracy, misleading the public through a combination of complicit silence and active falsification.

READ MORE: What the European Union said in 2012 about its current fascist allies in Ukraine

Michelle Bachelet has taken over the presidency of Chile in a ceremony loaded with symbolism, after promising to stick to her tax-and-spend campaign pledges, despite a sharp economic slowdown.

Returning to Chile's top job after a spell with the United Nations, Bachelet heads a coalition that ranges from moderate leftists to communists.

The new president says she wants to address social inequality by overhauling education and healthcare, funded by tax reforms.

Bachelet's swearing-in at the port city of Valparaiso, the seat of Chile's Congress, was attended by presidents from around the region, with the notable exception of Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, who was due to come but apparently cancelled at the last minute, the Reuters news agency reported.

"[The transfer of power was] very democratic, very moderate, as it should be," said Colombia's centre-right President Juan Manuel Santos, frontrunner in his country's upcoming presidential election.

"And even something unusual to Latin America: no speeches. It is a lesson for the rest of the countries in Latin America."

Uruguay's President Jose Mujica, a former fighter known for backing progressive social policies in his country, gave a warning to new politicians.

"Chile depends on you all, whatever colour you have, take care of what you have. Keep it. It's very easy to lose," Mujica said.

READ MORE: Bachelet sworn in again as Chile's president