Hong Kong protesters, police clash; 40 arrested

December 01, 2014

HONG KONG (AP) — Pro-democracy protesters clashed with police Monday as they tried to surround Hong Kong government headquarters to revitalize their flagging movement for democratic reforms after camping out on the city's streets for more than two months.

Repeating scenes that have become familiar since the movement began in late September, protesters carrying umbrellas — which have become symbols of the pro-democracy movement — battled police armed with pepper spray, batons and riot shields.

After student leaders told a big crowd rallying Sunday evening at the main protest site outside government headquarters that they would escalate their campaign, hundreds of protesters pushed past police lines on the other side of the complex from the protest site. They blocked traffic on a main road, but were stopped by police barricades from going down a side road to Chief Executive Leung Chun-Ying's office.

The protesters, many wearing surgical masks, hard hats and safety goggles and chanting, "I want true democracy," said they wanted to occupy the road to prevent Leung and other government officials from getting to work in the morning.

At one point, police charged the crowd, aggressively pushing demonstrators back with pepper spray and batons, after some protesters started pelting them with water bottles and other objects. Police later fell back, letting demonstrators re-occupy the road. At dawn, police charged again and cleared the protesters from some areas around the government headquarters.

Police Senior Superintendent Tsui Wai-hung said 40 protesters had been arrested, adding that authorities would not let the road, a major thoroughfare, remain blocked. "We will open up this road," Tsui told reporters.

A government statement said 11 police had been injured but didn't give a total injury count. "The government spokesman reiterated that society would not accept the illegal acts of violent radicals who repeatedly pushed police officers and charged their cordon lines during scuffles," the statement read.

Protesters said they were taking action to force a response from Hong Kong's government, which has made little effort to address their demands that it scrap a plan by China's Communist leaders to use a panel of Beijing-friendly elites to screen candidates for Hong Kong's leader in inaugural 2017 elections.

The government statement compared attempts to ignore the Beijing-dictated plan to "building castles in the air" and said it "would only delay the constitutional and democratic development of Hong Kong."

Hundreds remain entrenched in the main downtown protest site, building tents, work tables and other infrastructure, even as energy has diminished on the streets since the first surge of demonstrations in late September. Numbers typically dwindle in the daytime, with many protesters going to work or school before returning in the evenings.

Authorities last week used an aggressive operation to clear out the protest camp on the busy streets of Hong Kong's crowded Mong Kok district, one of three protest zones around the semiautonomous city.

"The action was aimed at paralyzing the government's operation," said Alex Chow, secretary general of the Hong Kong Federation of Students. "The government has been stalling ... and we believe we need to focus pressure on the government headquarters, the symbol of the government's power."

The federation is one of two student groups that have played important roles in organizing the protest movement in the former British colony. "I really want to have real elections for Hong Kong because I don't want the Chinese government to control us, our minds, anything," said protester Ernie Kwok, 21, a maintenance worker and part-time student.

In Britain, a lawmakers' committee said the Chinese Embassy had warned that its members would be refused entry if they tried to go ahead with a visit to Hong Kong as part of an inquiry into the city's relations with the U.K. since the handover of sovereignty to China in 1997.

Richard Ottaway, chairman of Parliament's committee on foreign affairs, said the Chinese authorities were acting in an "overtly confrontational manner." He said he would seek an emergency parliamentary debate on the development.

The Foreign Office called the Chinese message to the lawmakers "regrettable" and said it had expressed its position to the Chinese side "at the most senior levels."

Associated Press writer Sylvia Hui in London contributed to this report.

China urges Taiwan to keep ties after poll loss

November 30, 2014

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China urged Taiwan to protect the gains of landmark cooperation between the mainland and the self-ruled island after Taiwan's pro-Beijing ruling party was routed in local elections.

The defeat in Saturday's elections of the Nationalist Party, which lost nine cities and counties, including its longtime strongholds Taipei, the capital, and the major central city of Taichung, led to the resignation of Premier Jiang Yi-huah, who heads the Cabinet. President Ma Ying-jeou promised to make changes.

The election losses could jeopardize six years of talks with China that have led to 21 agreements, helping to lift Taiwan's half-trillion-dollar economy, while raising Beijing's hopes for political reunification. Beijing has claimed sovereignty over Taiwan since the Chinese civil war of the 1940s, but since taking office in 2008, Ma has set aside the old disputes to ease tensions through talks.

A top Chinese official on Saturday night urged people in Taiwan to protect those gains. "We hope compatriots across the Strait will cherish hard-won fruits of cross-strait relations, and jointly safeguard and continue to push forward peaceful development of cross-strait relations," said Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office.

Taiwanese have been watching closely as Beijing takes a hard-line stance on demands for democratic rule in Hong Kong, a semiautonomous Chinese city that has been gripped by more two months of pro-democracy protests.

The heavy losses will make it tougher for Ma's Nationalists to hold onto the presidency in 2016. "I must express apologies to the Nationalist Party and its supporters for making everyone disappointed," Ma told a news conference. "I've received the message people have sent via these elections. It's my responsibility and I will quickly offer a party reform plan to address everyone's demands. I won't avoid responsibility."

The chief opposition Democratic Progressive Party picked up seven offices in Saturday's elections. It favors continuing talks with China's Communist leadership, but disputes the dialogue framework that binds the two sides under Beijing's jurisdiction, instead preferring talks in an international setting.

"We want to send the Nationalists a warning," said Lin Wen-chih, a 48-year-old film producer who voted for the winning independent Taipei mayoral candidate, Ko Wen-je. "Taiwan is an independent country. We don't want the Nationalists to take measures that would have it eaten up (by China)."

A weakened Nationalist Party, also known as the Kuomintang, or KMT, may erode Ma's mandate before 2016 to sign a pact with China to cut import tariffs, set up official representative offices on both sides and push for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. If the opposition party wins the presidency, Beijing is likely to suspend deals with Taiwan.

In March, Ma's government faced thousands of student-led protesters who occupied parliament and nearby streets in Taipei to stop ratification of a service trade liberalization agreement with China.

War-hit Ukraine schools turns to Web for education

December 01, 2014

DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — Like most children his age, Denis Akimov spends hours daily on his computer surfing the Internet. It isn't just for fun.

As schools are forced to limit operations in the conflict-battered eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, educators are turning to the Web to keep their charges learning. It is an ingenious solution, even if it is denying pupils of valuable interaction with teachers and their friends.

"It's not comparable to normal school, because there is no proper atmosphere for studying," said Akimov, 15, sitting in front of a laptop in the living room of his home. "Very often you get distracted because of all kinds of things, like websites."

Schools and kindergartens haven't been spared death and destruction in the last seven months of fighting between government forces and Russian-backed separatists. In early November, a sports field at a high school in Donetsk was hit by shells, killing two teenagers as they were playing soccer. The warring sides blamed one another and more parents were terrified into reconsidering whether their children could be let out of their sight.

The rebel-held city's education department says 50 out of the 150 schools in Donetsk have now switched to distance-learning. City authorities estimate about 45 percent of Donetsk's schoolchildren — around 32,000 students — are now educated this way.

Andrei Udovenko, head of the Donetsk education department, said school closures have happened mainly in the districts most heavily affected by shelling. Four school buildings in Donetsk have been severely damaged. Dozens of others have had milder damage.

Despite the dangers, Udovenko said that students are displaying a formidable eagerness to continue their schooling. "I have worked as a headmaster for 20 years and I have never seen as much desire to learn among the children as we are seeing now," he said.

Headmistress Viktoria Koval says her school has been lucky, though windows there were shattered during a shelling attack on Oct. 20. "It is probably our walls that are saving us," she said. "We had to evacuate the children very quickly, but we managed to do it very well, so none of the children was injured."

School No. 5 didn't include a bomb shelter in its original design, so a former target practice gallery was repurposed to fit that need. Over the summer, it was stocked with water and medicine, and equipped with benches and chairs, just in case the need arose.

Koval says only half the 405 pupils registered at her school are still coming to class. "Kids happily come to school. What is more, when I meet their parents every day at the entrance, I can see they're not afraid to leave them," Koval said. "They know their kids will be in a warm and cozy atmosphere, and that they'll be provided with help should they need it."

Despite teachers' best efforts, schools like Koval's feel half-abandoned and lack the normal bustle of a building teeming with children. For those that have difficulty leaving their homes, the Internet is the only option. Under the distance-learning program, teachers send study materials and homework to their pupils by email. Much of the instruction itself is posted on schools-curated websites or done through video tutorials uploaded onto video-sharing sites like YouTube.

Children are expected to pay regular visits to their schools to have their work checked and receive abbreviated classes typically attended by a handful of pupils. Reliance on study through the Internet has its shortcomings, Akimov explained.

"It is harder with the math lessons, because it is difficult to present the work, as you can't type (all of) the mathematical symbols," he said. Akimov exudes the air of a diligent and hardworking student, but the security situation has kept him from visiting his school for weeks.

"The district where my school is located is under constant shelling, so only three of my classmates are attending, because they live in the neighborhood," he said. Shortfalls in the provision of education are also partly down to lack of financing. Funds stopped arriving from the Ukrainian government around two months ago, which means no staff salaries have been paid by the state this scholastic year.

Instead, educators have to rely on what little the rebel government provides. Koval said that many of her colleagues are continuing to work without pay out of loyalty to their students. "Our calling is to teach children, to provide them with all the necessary conditions, knowledge and upbringing that I hope will help them in the future," she said.

The main thing, Koval said, is that the students remain enthusiastic about their education. "The children are studying, they are sending in their homework. Some of them are even asking for more because it is more important to them than playing silly computer games," she said.

Swiss reject plan to hoard gold, limit immigration

November 30, 2014

BERN, Switzerland (AP) — Swiss voters overwhelmingly rejected three citizen-backed proposals to protect the country's wealth by investing in gold, drastically limit immigration and eliminate a special tax that draws rich foreigners.

The separate proposals — put to voters nationwide Sunday by conservative politicians, ecologists and a liberal group — had needed a majority of voters and Switzerland's 26 cantons (states) to pass. A proposal to require the central bank to hold a fifth of its reserves in gold was opposed by 77.3 percent of voters, according to final results from Swiss broadcaster SRF. It would have forced the Swiss National Bank to buy massive amounts of gold within five years, likely causing its global price to jump.

Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf said the vote reflects people's confidence in the SNB and the view that gold is no longer as important as it once was as a tool to back up paper money. The SNB praised the outcome because it said the initiative would have "severely constrained" its ability to protect the country's interests through stable prices balanced with economic development.

A proposal to limit immigration to 0.2 percent of Switzerland's population — about 16,000 immigrants a year for a country of 8 million — was opposed by 74.1 percent of voters. None of the cantons came out in favor. Currently, immigration is estimated at around 80,000 a year.

The "Ecopop" initiative would also have forced Switzerland to devote a large chunk of its foreign aid to programs aimed at reducing population growth in poor countries. Andreas Thommen, a Green Party member who oversaw the campaign, told SRF it had been "a David and Goliath battle" against the establishment, and Switzerland "missed the opportunity to set the course for a sustainable future."

A third national referendum, which would have abolished special tax discounts for rich foreigners living in Switzerland, was also defeated. About 59.2 percent voted against the measure, and only one of the country's 26 cantons said yes to getting rid of a flat tax rate that helps attract the super wealthy.

Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report.

First openly gay mayor elected in Poland

December 01, 2014

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Voters in Poland have elected the country's first openly gay mayor, a sign of growing tolerance for gays and lesbians in a country that has long been defined by a deep Roman Catholic conservatism.

Robert Biedron, who already made history in 2011 by becoming the first openly gay lawmaker in parliament, was elected mayor of the small city of Slupsk in northern Poland. Results were released Monday of the runoff race, which took place on Sunday.

The elections for regional parliaments and municipal government saw a record number of openly gay candidates, though none of the others won seats. Most of them are young and making their first runs for office, and they mostly represented left-wing parties that did poorly. The elections took place in two rounds over two weeks.

Partial results: Moldova parties favoring EU ahead

December 01, 2014

CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) — A staunchly pro-Russian party grabbed the lead in Moldova's parliamentary election pro-European parties will be able to form a coalition, partial results showed Monday.

Sunday's parliamentary election has taken on wider significance with the unrest in neighboring Ukraine. Moldova, like Ukraine, has a pro-Russia separatist region in its east. With 89.5 percent of the vote counted, the three pro-Europe parties were ahead with about 44.6 percent, with 40.3 percent for the two pro-Russia parties. Parties need to get at least 6 percent to gain seats in the 101-member Parliament.

The remaining votes to be counted were from absentees, and were expected to break more or less evenly between pro-Russians and pro-Europeans. Although the pro-European parties could remain in government, support for them has eroded — from nearly 52 percent in 2010 — and they do not have enough seats to elect a president which could lead to political fighting and possibly slow the pace of reforms.

Ion Tabarta, an analyst from the Politikon Institute of Political Studies, said the partial results suggested that pro-European reforms "will probably continue." The most important conclusion of Sunday's election was "that Moldova continues its pro-European path," said Marian Lupu, leader of the Democratic Party, whose party was in fourth place.

The surprise leader was the strongly pro-Russia Socialists' Party with a 21.4 percent share. Analysts say the Socialists scored much better than predicted because a day before the elections, the country's top court banned another pro-Russian party, Patria, from competing on the grounds it illegally received foreign funding. Its supporters likely switched to the Socialists.

The Liberal Democrat Party, which wants to join the European Union, was in second place with nearly 19.5 percent of the vote. "Moldova must remain an independent state and not a vassal state," party leader Vlad Filat said, alluding to Russia.

Alison Mutler in Bucharest, Romania contributed to this report.

Lufthansa cancels 1,350 flights in pilot strike

December 01, 2014

BERLIN (AP) — German airline Lufthansa says it has cancelled about half of its flights after pilots went on strike in an ongoing dispute over retirement benefits.

The airline, Germany's largest, said Monday that 1,350 of its 2,800 flights scheduled through the strike's end Tuesday at midnight have been cancelled, affecting 150,000 passengers. The strike was primarily focused on Lufthansa's inner-Europe flights on Monday but was to be extended to long-haul flights Tuesday.

Lufthansa says the other airlines in its group — Germanwings, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Air Dolomiti — are not affected. The strike follows failed talks with the Vereinigung Cockpit union, which is demanding Lufthansa keep paying a transition payment for those wanting to retire early. The airline wants to cut those payments, citing increasingly tough competition.

Presidency-minded Sarkozy wins party leadership

November 29, 2014

PARIS (AP) — As political encores go, former President Nicolas Sarkozy didn't quite get the warm embrace from his party that many French had expected in his return to public life on Saturday.

The hard-charging Gaullist who once made headlines for reviving France's U.S. ties, helping depose Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and marrying a former supermodel while in office won a race for leader of France's main conservative party — but with a margin of victory that was smaller than many had predicted.

Sarkozy's victory as chief of the Union for a Popular Movement, or UMP, was a crucial first step on his road to a far bigger prize: He hopes to return to the Elysee Palace in the 2017 presidential election — five years after he failed in his re-election bid against Socialist Francois Hollande and cast himself into political exile.

But with no victory speech, a few sober lines on Twitter, and a subdued "Of course, I am happy" into a TV reporter's microphone, Sarkozy's gestures suggested the man known for big, flashy displays was somewhat chastened by a result that caps his return of several months to the political arena.

Meanwhile, Bruno Le Maire, a former government minister, beamed broadly at his own post-election rally and proclaimed, "Tonight, I am happy" after collecting nearly 30 percent of the vote, behind Sarkozy's 64.5 percent. Herve Mariton, a social conservative, trailed far behind in third with around six percent.

Sarkozy's showing was well below his performance in the 2004 UMP leadership contest when he won with 85 percent. He used the party leadership then has a springboard for the presidency, building a ground game that helped propel him into the Elysee Palace.

Nearly 270,000 dues-paying party members were eligible to vote. The online system used came under an "organized" cyber-attack that temporarily slowed down voting, UMP secretary-general Luc Chatel told France-Info radio. He said the party was filing legal action against the unidentified hackers behind the attack, and that police were investigating.

Many analysts expected Sarkozy needed at least 70 percent in the leadership contest to reap full political momentum out of the vote. As former president, Sarkozy simply outgunned his rivals in star power.

Above all, the result shows that Sarkozy, at 59, isn't as inspiring as he once was within the party that he once dominated — culminating with his presidential term from 2007 to 2012. He has shown recent vulnerabilities and has been facing legal troubles that have diminished his status as the darling of the mainstream right.

The UMP will choose its presidential nominee in two years. Sarkozy appears likely to face at least two rivals in 2016: his own prime minister, Francois Fillon, and Alain Juppe, another former premier who was a longtime ally and protege of President Jacques Chirac. The two — both seen as more centrist and even-tempered than the explosive Sarkozy — were not vying for the party leadership.

Conservatives are sharpening their political knives for the 2017 race. Polls show Hollande is the least-popular French leader in modern history, largely for failed promises to bring down France's double-digit unemployment rate.

But the UMP has had its own troubles. Saturday's vote was necessary because the previous party chief, Jean-Francois Cope, resigned this summer in a scandal involving party funds. Before that, Cope had won the party leadership by a razor-thin margin that sparked a particularly nasty bout of intra-party bickering.

In remarks on his Twitter account after his victory, Sarkozy called for party unity, credited his rivals for a "dignified" campaign, and thanked party electors for providing "the best answer to two years of internal quarreling and division." He smiled and shook a few hands as he left his campaign headquarters, but made few public comments.

The UMP will also face the newest force in French politics: The far-right National Front party, which has gained momentum amid a lackluster economy and has fanned fears about immigration. Sarkozy, a former interior minister, used a tough-on-crime image to siphon support from the far-right ahead of his previous presidential win.

Political scientist Thomas Guenole said any score under the 70-percent bar would signal "failure" for Sarkozy. I-Tele television commentator Mickael Darmon said that while Sarkozy did capture the party leadership, "politically, he was not the winner tonight," Le Maire was.

EU moves eastward with Tusk taking presidency

December 01, 2014

BRUSSELS (AP) — Former Polish prime minister Donald Tusk is pushing the European Union's center of political gravity eastward by taking over the EU presidency from Belgium's Herman Van Rompuy.

Monday's transition ceremony highlighted the increasing power of Poland within the 28-nation EU, and the bloc's ongoing shift from a western European economic association half a century ago to a strong political body uniting some 500 million people from Britain to the borders of Russia.

Like Van Rompuy before him, Tusk will be in charge of EU summits of government leaders who meet about four times a year to set out long-term goals or deal with short-term crises like the financial problems of the past years and the fighting in Ukraine this year.

With unemployment still hovering around record levels and underscoring a deep economic divide in the EU, Tusk said Europeans "need ruthless determination to end the economic crisis." As an eastern European he has long kept an eye on Russia and sees the conflict in Ukraine and testy relations with Moscow, especially for nearby states like the Baltic nations, as a key challenge during his tenure.

"Europe has to secure its borders and support those in the neighborhood who share our values," Tusk said. In standing up to Russia, Tusk has a key ally in the United States and he said the trans-Atlantic relationship is second to none in international politics despite the acrimony over revelations of surveillance by the U.S. National Security Agency of European allies.

The year ahead will be crucial," Tusk said. "Relations between Europe and the United States are the backbone of the community of democracies."

Namibia ruling party leads in early vote results

November 29, 2014

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The presidential candidate of Namibia's ruling party was leading by a wide margin on Saturday in preliminary results from elections that were mostly smooth despite scattered delays and the frustration of some voters who were turned away from polling stations.

Hage Geingob, the current prime minister and presidential candidate for the ruling SWAPO party, was ahead with 77 percent of the vote with about 10 percent of 121 constituencies counted, the country's election panel said.

Geingob's nearest rival is Hidipo Hamutenya, a former ruling party member who formed an opposition group, the Rally for Democracy and Progress. He had nearly 8 percent of the vote, according to election officials.

Final results from Friday's elections were expected later Saturday. The SWAPO party has ruled Namibia since independence in 1990. The current president, Hifikepunye Pohamba, has served two five-year terms and is barred by law from running for a third term.

Some 1.2 million Namibians, about half the population, were eligible to vote at several thousand polling stations, which used electronic voting machines instead of the old ballot paper system. Some polling stations reported technical glitches with the new voting machines, and some voters were turned away from polling stations before they were able to vote, according to the Namibia Press Agency.

"This is a worrying and disturbing situation for the party. This could also affect the credibility of the elections," the agency quoted Helmut Angula, the ruling party's information secretary, as saying.

The ruling party demanded an explanation from the election commission, which has acknowledged what it described as "teething problems" with the new voting machines but said the vote would deliver a credible result.

Central African Republic: militia lays down arms

November 30, 2014

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — A Christian militia in Central African Republic is abandoning its armed fight and transforming itself into a political party, according to a top official in the group.

Central African Republic has been rocked by violence since the mostly Muslim Seleka rebel coalition toppled the president last year. Widespread human rights abuses committed by Seleka led to the formation of the anti-Balaka Christian militia, unleashing sectarian fighting that has forced hundreds of thousands of Muslim civilians to flee to neighboring countries.

As a U.N. peacekeeping force tries to restore stability, the former Muslim rebels have largely been confined to their bases, but Christian fighters have continued to carry out attacks. Patrice Edouard Ngaissona, national coordinator of the anti-Balaka, announced Saturday that the militia would, from now on, only fight through political means. He said any member who carries out an attack will be brought to justice.

"I can assure you that the fighters have decided to turn this dark page of history that we have all lived through in this country," he said a conference of militia members. "No anti-Balaka should use his weapons."

The new party, the Central African Party for Unity and Development, will continue to press the militia's demands through political means, he said. Those include the release of militia members in prison and the reinstatement of the army salaries of militiamen who used to be in the military.

NASA Identifies Ice Cloud Above Cruising Altitude on Titan

Pasadena CA (JPL)
Oct 29, 2014

NASA scientists have identified an unexpected high-altitude methane ice cloud on Saturn's moon Titan that is similar to exotic clouds found far above Earth's poles.

This lofty cloud, imaged by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, was part of the winter cap of condensation over Titan's north pole. Now, eight years after spotting this mysterious bit of atmospheric fluff, researchers have determined that it contains methane ice, which produces a much denser cloud than the ethane ice previously identified there.

"The idea that methane clouds could form this high on Titan is completely new," said Carrie Anderson, a Cassini participating scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and lead author of the study. "Nobody considered that possible before."

Methane clouds were already known to exist in Titan's troposphere, the lowest layer of the atmosphere. Like rain and snow clouds on Earth, those clouds form through a cycle of evaporation and condensation, with vapor rising from the surface, encountering cooler and cooler temperatures and falling back down as precipitation. On Titan, however, the vapor at work is methane instead of water.

The newly identified cloud instead developed in the stratosphere, the layer above the troposphere. Earth has its own polar stratospheric clouds, which typically form above the North Pole and South Pole between 49,000 and 82,000 feet (15 to 25 kilometers) -- well above cruising altitude for airplanes. These rare clouds don't form until the temperature drops to minus 108 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 78 degrees Celsius).

Other stratospheric clouds had been identified on Titan already, including a very thin, diffuse cloud of ethane, a chemical formed after methane breaks down. Delicate clouds made from cyanoacetylene and hydrogen cyanide, which form from reactions of methane byproducts with nitrogen molecules, also have been found there.

But methane clouds were thought unlikely in Titan's stratosphere. Because the troposphere traps most of the moisture, stratospheric clouds require extreme cold. Even the stratosphere temperature of minus 333 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 203 degrees Celsius), observed by Cassini just south of the equator, was not frigid enough to allow the scant methane in this region of the atmosphere to condense into ice.

What Anderson and her Goddard co-author, Robert Samuelson, noted is that temperatures in Titan's lower stratosphere are not the same at all latitudes. Data from Cassini's Composite Infrared Spectrometer and the spacecraft's radio science instrument showed that the high-altitude temperature near the north pole was much colder than that just south of the equator.

It turns out that this temperature difference -- as much as 11 degrees Fahrenheit (6 degrees Celsius) -- is more than enough to yield methane ice.

Other factors support the methane identification. Initial observations of the cloud system were consistent with small particles composed of ethane ice. Later observations revealed some regions to be clumpier and denser, suggesting that more than one ice could be present.

The team confirmed that the larger particles are the right size for methane ice and that the expected amount of methane -- one-and-a-half percent, which is enough to form ice particles -- is present in the lower polar stratosphere.

The mechanism for forming these high-altitude clouds appears to be different from what happens in the troposphere. Titan has a global circulation pattern in which warm air in the summer hemisphere wells up from the surface and enters the stratosphere, slowly making its way to the winter pole. There, the air mass sinks back down, cooling as it descends, which allows the stratospheric methane clouds to form.

"Cassini has been steadily gathering evidence of this global circulation pattern, and the identification of this new methane cloud is another strong indicator that the process works the way we think it does," said Michael Flasar, Goddard scientist and principal investigator for Cassini's Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS).

Like Earth's stratospheric clouds, this methane cloud was located near the winter pole, above 65 degrees north latitude. Anderson and Samuelson estimate that this type of cloud system -- which they call subsidence-induced methane clouds, or SIMCs for short -- could develop between 98,000 to 164,000 feet (30 to 50 kilometers) in altitude above Titan's surface.

"Titan continues to amaze with natural processes similar to those on the Earth, yet involving materials different from our familiar water," said Scott Edgington, Cassini deputy project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. "As we approach southern winter solstice on Titan, we will further explore how these cloud formation processes might vary with season."

The results of this study are available online in the journal Icarus.

Source: Saturn Daily.
Link: http://www.saturndaily.com/reports/NASA_Identifies_Ice_Cloud_Above_Cruising_Altitude_on_Titan_999.html.