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Andes researchers get a lift from radar mission February 18, 2000 Web posted at: 12:25 p.m. EST (1725 GMT) Scientists from Cornell University believe data from the NASA shuttle mission now mapping the globe will help them solve some of the great mysteries of the Andes Mountains. The majestic South American range, which rises nearly straight out of the Pacific Ocean to heights of more than 20,000 feet, boasts some of the most dramatic mountains in the world. But they are also among the least understood. Armed with a $150,000, two-year grant from NASA, researchers from the Cornell Andes Project will carefully analyze data of the Andes gathered by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission now in the hands of an international crew aboard space shuttle Endeavour. Endeavour is carrying two radar antennas, one aboard the shuttle and one at the end of a 200-foot mast extending from the spacecraft. Using a technique called radar interferometry, scientists will combine signals from the two antennas to construct 3-D images of the land below. The radar will also supply information about the characteristics of Earth's surface. NASA plans to use the data to make detailed topographic maps of nearly the entire globe at a resolution of 30 meters (323 feet). The Andes Project currently relies on data from European and Canadian radar satellites. While these satellites have provided the team with generally accurate information, they do not use radar interferometry and cannot accurately gather data from heavily forested or wet-weather areas such as the eastern edge of the Andes. Scientists have a general understanding of the geologic processes that formed the Andes. Over the past 200 million years, the Nazca tectonic plate in the Pacific Ocean wedged itself underneath the western edge of the South American continental plate. The lighter continental plate lifted, crumpled and cracked open from the pressure, creating what is now the Andes, a range full of volcanoes and fault lines. These subduction processes continue today, as does the study of tectonics. The Cornell researchers are interested in more specific information than the radar satellites have supplied. "The point is to understand topography," said professor Bryan Isacks, a member of the Andes Project team, "which is a result of tectonic processes interacting with climactic processes and erosion. These interactions are very interesting. If you understand topography, you can get a better idea of these processes ... of how mountains are built and how they are destroyed." "There are many puzzles that remain about the Andes," said Isacks, who heads Cornell's department of geological sciences. "There are parts of the Andes that have never been topographically mapped because of cloud cover, especially parts of the eastern side of the range. No satellite ever sees these areas from space. They are very remote and have never been surveyed on the ground. There is not even aerial photography." For instance, said Isacks, there are large ash flows along the Andes range. While the researchers know this formation is a result of volcanic activity, they are not sure where the flows came from. Data from the SRTM could shed light on the matter, Isacks said. The Andes Project has also identified lava fields. SRTM data will help the researchers determine the size of the eruptions and the amount of molten material that oozed out of Earth's interior as a result of subduction. The Cornell scientists are particularly interested in an area of the range known as the altiplano. Encircled by mountain peaks, this huge plateau spreads through northern Argentina, western Bolivia and southern Peru. The altiplano, home to Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world, is about 300 kilometers (188 miles) wide, 1,000 kilometers (625 miles) long and 3,800 meters (two miles) high. "How this thing got raised up that way is still a fairly big mystery," Isacks said. "Being able to look at the topographic detail along the sides of it may go a long way." The Cornell Andes Project is one of 40 scientific groups that have received grants from NASA to study SRTM data. Latin America- Natural Environment 1 Venezuela ruling party resists OAS Recall petition 'repairs' process starts Friday Thursday, May 27, 2004 Posted: 7:52 AM EDT (1152 GMT) CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Leaders of President Hugo Chavez's political party demanded Wednesday that an official from the Organization of American States step down as head of an observer mission monitoring a petition process for a presidential recall vote. Chavez's Fifth Republic Movement party submitted a letter demanding that the National Elections Council ask OAS delegate Fernando Jaramillo to resign, party leader Diosdado Cabello told reporters. Cabello said Jaramillo had shown bias in favor of the opposition. He added that unless Jaramillo resigned, any OAS report on the process "would lack validity for us." OAS Secretary General Cesar Gaviria said in a letter that the head of an observer mission has never been changed over complaints, but he would meet with ruling party members to discuss their concerns. The demand came just two days before a so-called "repairs" process in which hundreds of thousands of people must verify their signatures on petitions to demand the recall vote. A broad-based opposition coalition submitted more than 3.4 million signatures in December, well above the 2.4 million required to trigger the vote. But the elections council tossed out almost 400,000 and ordered more than 1 million citizens to confirm they signed -- most because they allegedly allowed other to transcribe personal information on forms before adding their signatures. Citizens have three days to come forward starting Friday. Those who claim their signatures were fraudulently included can also ask to have their names stricken from the petitions. Chavez, who survived a 2002 coup attempt and bitter general strike last year, says the petition process is fraud-ridden. Opposition leaders accuse election officials loyal to Chavez of using technicalities to permanently delay the vote. The OAS and the U.S.-based Carter Center are monitoring the process as part of their two-year-old effort to help restore stability in the world's fifth-biggest oil exporter. Latin America- Political 2 Russia political mystery deepens From Jill Dougherty CNN Moscow Bureau Chief Monday, February 9, 2004 Posted: 12:35 PM EST (1735 GMT) MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- The mystery surrounding the disappearance of a Russian presidential candidate has deepened with the launch -- and then cancellation -- of a murder probe. Ivan Rybkin -- former speaker of Parliament and strong critic of President Vladimir Putin -- went missing on Thursday. Rybkin's family and staff filed a missing persons report Sunday, and the FSB -- Russia's Federal Security Service -- launched an investigation. On Monday morning, Moscow prosecutors announced a criminal case on charges of pre-meditated murder. But they canceled it almost immediately, saying there was "no basis" for such a case. "We have no reasons to believe Ivan Rybkin was abducted or killed at the moment," Russian news agencies quoted a prosecutor's office official as saying. A liberal, Rybkin is running as an independent in the March 14 presidential election -- which Putin is expected to win easily. Rybkin's campaign said it lost contact with him Thursday night. "He may have fallen, been robbed and killed, his body hidden. The other possibility is that it was an election trick, but it is not like him. The third option is linked to politics, but as far as I know he did not receive any threats," his election aide Ksenia Ponomaryova told Reuters. His wife, Albina, said she found his shirt and some dishes in the sink when she returned home but no trace of her husband. She suggested that Rybkin may have been kidnapped. Last week, in an open letter published in the Russian newspaper Kommersant, Rybkin accused Putin of being "the biggest oligarch in Russia." "I am convinced Putin has no right to power in Russia ... and we have no right to be silent about it," Rybkin wrote. He also accused the president of being allied with forces trying to control Russian business. Putin did not answer the charges. Rybkin is a supporter of negotiations with Chechen separatists, an idea Putin vehemently rejected just last Friday following a subway bombing blamed on Chechen terrorists. The bombing killed 39 people and injured more than 100 others. (Full story) Rybkin, 57, was a national security adviser to former President Boris Yeltsin. He is one of six candidates running against Putin. His poll ratings have hovered around 1 percent, and experts agree he has no chance of winning the race. He did manage to collect 2 million signatures to put his name on the ballot, although the central election committee said it found numerous falsifications. He was certified as a candidate, however. Rybkin is co-chairman of the Liberal Russia political party. Two of its parliamentary members have been killed under questionable circumstances. Rybkin also is allied with Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, who now lives in London. Some opponents of Berezovsky have raised the possibility that he might be tied somehow to Rybkin's disappearance. But Berezovksy told a Moscow radio station Sunday that he was "pretty sure" Rybkin was "alive and well," saying Rybkin's wife was told by officials that he was safe. Russia- Political 3 Russia economic rescue could worsen inflation Primakov outlines plan September 24, 1998 Web posted at: 1:39 p.m. EDT (1739 GMT) MOSCOW (CNN) -- With inflation in Russia skyrocketing, Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov on Thursday pledged strong steps to stabilize the crumbling economy. For the first time since assuming office almost two weeks ago he offered the outline of a plan for combating the crisis. But the government is broke and will almost certainly have to print more money to pay its debts, a move that's virtually certain to push inflation even higher. In televised comments at the start of a meeting with his still-forming Cabinet, Primakov said he planned to: Pay overdue wages to workers and soldiers. Give tax breaks for investment in industry. Crack down on tax dodgers. Offer compensation to offset the painful effects of inflation, which has jumped 67 percent since last month. Russia's Central Bank said Thursday price hikes could approach 300 percent by year's end. Impose greater state control on the alcohol industry, a leading source of government tax revenue. Russia- Economic 4 Tony Blair's popularity slumps September 16, 2000 Web posted at: 6:15 PM EDT (2215 GMT) LONDON, England -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his government have been given a shock by opinion polls, one of which finds the Labour Party is now behind the opposition Conservative Party for the first time in eight years. As a week ended of crippling blockades around fuel depots and refineries which ran the country's fuel supplies virtually dry, public opinion was unforgiving. An NOP poll in for Sunday Times showed Labour neck and neck with Conservatives at 37 percent each, while a MORI poll for the News of the World tabloid put Blair's party behind the Tories -- at 36 percent versus 38 -- for the first time in eight years. A key MORI opinion poll in August gave Labour 51 percent, with the opposition Tories way behind on 29 percent. If the country had voted in a general election then, Blair would have won an even larger majority than he did in 1997. The reason for the swing against Labour appeared clear cut. A week of protests over high fuel taxes wrongfooted the government and its refusal to give any ground, accompanied by a mantra that it would not cave in to blackmail, prompted cries of arrogance. The crisis escalated far faster than the government expected with petrol supplies running dry, schools forced to close, health services on red alert and supermarkets rationing food. Western Europe- Political 5 European car sales in reverse June 13, 2002 Posted: 5:58 AM EDT (0958 GMT) BRUSSELS, Belgium -- New car sales in western Europe slumped last month as a weakening market and a slow economic recovery cut into demand. Fiat and General Motors were the hardest hit by falling sales, while BMW and Japanese carmakers -- led by Toyota -- improved their market share. Provisional figures for western Europe show new car registrations totalled 1,287,921 units in May, down 8 percent from a year earlier, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said on Thursday Within the 15-member European Union, ACEA said sales dropped 7.9 percent year-on-year to 1,249,766 units. The ACEA said the declines in sales was partly due to fewer working days in some countries in May, "which reflects the stagnation of the market and the slow recovery of the economy." The fall in May sales was the largest monthly drop in more than a year. It comes as the European car makers face increasing foreign competition in a shrinking market, as consumer demand weakened and the U.S., Japan and German economies slipped into recession temporarily last year. The ACEA said that during the first five months of 2002, new car sales fell 3.8 percent in western Europe and by 3.7 percent in the EU. Among the major markets, only the UK showed a strong performance, with new car sales rising 5.1 percent to 208,669 units. Germany -- which has been hit by strikes in the auto industry -- saw sales fall by 14 percent in May from a year earlier, while Italy was down 11 percent and France posted a 6.2 percent decline. "Strong internal demand continues to characterise the UK, up while good performances were also posted by two smaller markets, Denmark and Finland," the ACEA said. "All the other countries reported a decrease, ranging from minus 3 percent in Ireland to minus 18.7 percent in Greece." Italian carmaker Fiat posted the biggest decline in May, falling 22.6 percent from a year earlier, while U.S. giant General Motors saw sales drop 7.3 percent as demand for its Opel model easing in Germany. Germany's Volkswagen lost 9.6 percent in sales last month and Ford fell 7.9 percent. Stronger sales were posted by German carmaker BMW, which gained 10.9 percent in May, due to demand for its new Mini car. Japan's Toyota and Lexus, whose combined sales were up 20.3 percent. Other Japanese companies -- such as Mazda and Honda -- were also higher. Western Europe- Economic 6 Oil eases down toward $40 Thursday, May 27, 2004 Posted: 9:10 AM EDT (1310 GMT) LONDON, England (Reuters) -- U.S.
Approximate Word count = 9572
Approximate Pages = 38.3
(250 words per page double spaced)
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