News for August 3, 2005

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Earthquakes At Mount St. Helens Collapse Dome (August 03, 2005) - The rumblings at Mount St. Helens have been so strong, the lava dome has collapsed. Scientists are trying to figure out what’s behind the recent string of stronger-than-normal quakes at the volcano. In the last 24 hours, the seismograph has recorded three earthquakes with a magnitude at or near 3.0, and these quakes are shaking things up inside the crater. St. Helens is at it again, shaking and rattling and sending the seismograph needle into overdrive. more...

Papua: The Day The Sea Caught Fire (August 03, 2005) - The earthquake that preceded the tsunami had a magnitude of 7, which scientists didn’t think was powerful enough to trigger such a devastating wave. Underestimating the threat of tsunamis from even moderate earthquakes could mean much of the west coast of North America is more vulnerable than had been thought. His team, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, went on a purely scientific expedition, but the mission soon included educating the locals. One top government official pleaded with the scientists to help his people understand they were not being punished “for the impiety of some people,” as he put it. So they took time off from the difficult task of reconstructing the tsunami and tried to explain to the locals they weren’t to blame. Particularly troubling was the question from a 15-year-old schoolgirl who asked about a “mountain of water with fire sparkles.” Many of the victims had what appeared to be severe burns, suggesting that the water was on fire. The tsunami hit about an hour after sundown, and the waters of the South Pacific are rich with dinoflagellates and other bioluminescent microorganisms that light up when disturbed. more...

Satanists Brutally Torture and Crucify 12-year-old boy (August 03, 2005) - The whole of Russia was discussing the shocking accident in the city of Krasnoyarsk (Siberia), when five teenage boys mysteriously disappeared and then were found dead in a sewage well. The horrible story repeated again, although this time in the Moscow region. Three boys (two brothers and their friend) between eleven and thirteen years of age, residing in a small regional town, were missing on July 19th. One of the brothers was found dead on Sunday morning, whereas the fate of two other boys still remains unknown. more...

‘Strange Things Happening’ to Pacific Coast Marine Life (August 03, 2005) - Marine biologists are seeing mysterious and disturbing things along the Pacific Coast this year: higher water temperatures, plummeting catches of fish, lots of dead birds on the beaches, and perhaps most worrisome, very little plankton -- the tiny organisms that are a vital link in the ocean food chain. Is this just one freak year? Or is this global warming? Few scientists are willing to blame global warming, the theory that carbon dioxide and other manmade emissions are trapping heat in the Earth's atmosphere and causing a worldwide rise in temperatures. Yet few are willing to rule it out. more...

Old Enemies’ Wargames Send A Powerful Message to the US (August 03, 2005) - RUSSIA will show off its most modern bombers to its best military customer and China will have a chance to demonstrate that it is a force to be reckoned with when the giant neighbours hold their first joint military exercises this month. The decision to hold the drills off the east China coast in the Yellow Sea came after a disagreement over Beijing’s initial desire for the games to take place further south, opposite the island of Taiwan — which it hopes one day to recover, by force if necessary. Yesterday’s announcement that 100,000 troops would mass from August 18 to 25 marked the culmination of years of rapprochement between countries that were once bitter enemies, which went to war in a minor territorial dispute in the 1970s, but now see themselves as strategic partners. more...

What is happening to the world’s weather? (August 03, 2005) - Britain’s biggest water company is pressing ahead with plans to ban hosepipes and sprinklers in August. Thames Water, which supplies eight million homes in the south of England, issued the warning on Saturday despite rainstorms that have deluged much of Britain in the past few days and a 208kph tornado that smashed a 4,8km trail of destruction through areas of Birmingham. But despite rainfall of several centimetres in some areas, the downpour has made only a marginal improvement to levels at reservoirs, a spokesperson for Thames Water warned on Saturday. “It was enough to save us from introducing bans this week, but unless we get substantially more rain in the next couple of weeks, it is very likely that we will have to start introducing some types of restrictions on water use before the end of August.” However, the Meteorological Office said there is little prospect of much more rain at the start of August. more...

Tropical Storm HARVEY Public Advisory (August 03, 2005) - REPORTS FROM AN AIR FORCE AIRCRAFT INDICATE THAT HARVEY IS STRONGER THAN PREVIOUSLY ESTIMATED...WITH MAXIMUM WINDS NEAR 60 MPH... A TROPICAL STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR BERMUDA. A TROPICAL STORM WARNING MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED WITHIN THE WARNING AREA WITHIN THE NEXT 24 HOURS. more...

Earth shakes around the world (August 03, 2005) - It’s been a shaky weekend for several countries around the world, with moderate earthquakes reported in Turkey, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia and New Zealand. No serious injuries or property damage has been reported. more...

Weather Service Warns of More Hurricanes (August 03, 2005) - Note to the millions of people living near the Atlantic and Gulf coasts: Be prepared to batten down the hatches, it'll be a rougher than normal season for tropical storms. With seven storms, including two hurricanes, already recorded — a record for this early in the year — National Weather Service Director David L. Johnson said Tuesday there could be 11 to 14 more tropical storms, including seven to nine more hurricanes, by the end of November. Hurricane forecaster Gerry Bell said a combination of warmer waters, low wind shear and low pressure, as well as the jet stream, favor storm formation. Hurricanes derive their energy from warm water. The sea surface is two to three degrees warmer than normal for this time of year, Bell noted. more...

50,000 to march to Jewish Gaza (August 03, 2005) - Tens of thousands of Israeli protesters made it last night to a resting area just south of Gaza and are preparing to march tonight into Gaza's Jewish communities in spite of police opposition. The protest and march aims to flood Jewish Gaza with large numbers of Israelis to thwart the Aug. 17 evacuation. Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters infiltrated Gaza yesterday, some with the assistance of Israeli forces, and dispersed themselves among local residents. After an anti-Gaza withdrawal rally in a nearby town, about 50,000 Israelis arrived late last night by foot, cars and buses to Ofakim, a community about 10 miles south of Gaza's Gush Katif slate of Jewish neighborhoods. An estimated 20,000 more Israelis joined the protest this morning, with still more streaming in. more...

I killed so many I lost count, says boy, 11 (August 03, 2005) - Thousands of children have been taken by a Ugandan cult and forced to join in mass murder. Now the net is closing on the fanatic responsible. Vincent Okot was eight when rebels from the Lord's Resistance Army kidnapped him from his village in northern Uganda. His lush, fertile homeland is also the killing ground of Africa’s most brutal guerrilla movement, led by Joseph Kony, a self-styled prophet. During 19 years of war, the LRA has abducted 20,000 children, enslaving and indoctrinating them for use as soldiers and sexual playthings. More than 10,000 have been taken in the past three years alone. Uniquely in the annals of guerrilla war, Kony’s army consists almost entirely of abducted children and, within and without his forces, he brutalizes and murders as many as possible. His war has no coherent demands. The LRA is a fanatical cult rather than a political movement. more...

Police Brace for Wed.’s Mass Infiltration Into Gaza (August 03, 2005) - Senior police officials said they expect most of the demonstrators to heed directives issued by the leadership of the Yesha Council of settlements, but that a few hundred extremists could clash with security forces and try to infiltrate Gush Katif. A Palestinian attempt to target the demonstrators failed Tuesday when a Qassam rocket fired at Sderot landed by mistake in the Palestinian town of Beit Hanun, killing a Palestinian youth. The police agreed to allow Tuesday’s demonstration to be held following a day of negotiations on Monday, punctuated by belligerent statements from all sides. The police had originally said they would allow only a few thousand demonstrators to attend the rally due to concerns about Qassam attacks, but later decided to rescind the limitation. As late as 7:30 P.M. attendance was still sparse, but later that evening protesters flooded the town. The organizers said the crowd numbered 50,000, but police put the number at around half that. more...

Lahoud: no peace without Israeli withdrawal from occupied lands (August 03, 2005) - Lebanon’s President Emile Lahoud on Wednesday said “a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East will not be achieved except through implementing international relevant resolutions.” “There will be no peace in the region without realizing the Palestinian people ‘right to return’ home and the Israeli full withdrawal from the occupied Arab lands,” President Lahoud said during a meeting with Chairman of the Politburo at the Palestinian Liberation Organization Farouk al-Qaddomi. He warned against Israeli attempts to instigate disputes and impose a status quo that hinders the achievement of the aspired peace. more...

Lebanon commemorates 23rd anniversary of confronting Israeli invasion (August 03, 2005) - Civil societies and organizations to Support Resistance and Intifada on Tuesday marked the 23rd anniversary of the Arab and Lebanese National socities’ confrontation of the Israeli invasion of the Lebanese capital Beirut. Speeches delivered at the celebration hailed courageous and heroic operations of Lebanese national organizations which obliged the Israeli enemy to retreat and withdraw from the Lebanese capital to South Lebanon. Participants also praised the resistance of Beirut’s citizens backed by the Syrian army and Palestinian resistance defending the city. Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Eli Ferzli, said that the “Arab nation is passing through a sensitive and dangerous stage,” stressing that the aim of all plots against Lebanon aim to destroy the Palestinian refugees’ “right of return” to their home in Palestine. Ferzli, in an opening speech to “the Palestinian Return Camp” held at the eastern region of Bekaa, called for facing those plots, showing adherence to the Palestinian “right of return”.