Israel wants Russia to dance to its tune

Israel wants Russia to dance to its tune
02.06.2009 Source: Pravda.Ru URL: http://english.pravda.ru/world/asia/107665-israel_russia-0

“Stop supporting terrorist groups and giving weapons to the rogue states,” Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said during his official visit to Moscow. The leader of the Yisrael Beiteinu Party, whose electorate mainly consists of immigrants from the former Soviet Union , stated that Israel would otherwise ruin the Middle East regulation conference.

Lieberman’s visit to Moscow lasts from June 1 to June 3. The Russian-speaking official will have meetings with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev.

What does Lieberman want in Russia? Pravda.Ru asked this question to Israeli political blogger Ilya Dubinsky.

“Lieberman will try to prove that Moscow’s ties with Hamas and Hezbollah administrations cause damage to the peaceful regulation of the conflict in the Middle East. The second question is connected with Russia’s defense links with the countries that support terrorist groups – Iran and Syria, first and foremost. Israel is highly concerned about Russia’s arms deals with these countries because Kornet anti-tank systems, which Russia sold to Syria, were later found in Lebanon in the hands of Hezbollah fighters,” Dubinsky said.

Lieberman will thus try to convince Russia of the need to put an end to any arms deals with Iran and Syria , which run Israel-unfriendly politics. First and foremost, it goes about the delivery of Russia’s S-300 systems to Iran and Iskander missile complexes to Syria.

It is worthy of note that Lieberman will travel to Belarus after he completes his visit to Russia. He will visit Minks, Belarus’s capital, for two days to meet the country’s President Alexander Lukashenko.

It will be the first visit of a top Israeli politician to Belarus in ten years. Tel Aviv is seriously concerned about the fact that Belarus has been developing ties with the rogue states too. The Israeli administration believes that Belarus is willing to participate in the transit of the S-300 and Iskander systems from third world countries. Lieberman will try to talk Lukashenko out of such an opportunity promising a financial profit and closer ties with the European Union.

Lieberman’s visit to Russia and Belarus is not likely to be productive for Israel. Russia receives huge profit from the deals with its partners in the Middle East. Lieberman’s visit to the two countries takes place on the threshold of the conference for the regulation of the Mideastern crisis. The conference will take place in Moscow this year. Lieberman’s views make the conference pointless.

Several days prior to his visit in Russia, Lieberman released harsh statements about the meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, which took place on May 23 in Syria’s Damascus. Avigdor Lieberman stated that such meetings were legalizing terrorism.

The Israeli foreign minister said that he would ruin the Moscow-based conference for the regulation of the Mideastern crisis if Hamas or Hezbollah officials were going to be involved in the event either directly or by implication.

He also stressed out his negative views about one of the key conditions, which Arabs set out for the peaceful dialogue. They want Israel to retreat to the borders, which the nation had in 1967. Israel seized a part of the Arab territory during the war of 1967 and still keeps some of those territories claiming that the country needs them for security reasons. It goes about the Golan Heights, which previously belonged to Syria and the lands on the West Bank of Jordan.

Lieberman says that the precedent with the south of Lebanon and the Gaza Strip is enough. Terrorists used those territories after Israel pulled out from there. He emphasized that Israel was ready for the peaceful dialogue with the Palestinians only if the latter strictly abide by the Road Map plan, the idea of which appeared in May of 2003. The plan stipulated the co-existence of the two states – the State of Israel and the State of Palestine. All hopes for peace went up in smoke after a series of bloody terrorist acts, which Palestinian terrorists committed in Israel.

Sergey Balmasov
Pravda.Ru

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North Korea may turn into European state
02.06.2009 Source: Pravda.Ru URL: http://english.pravda.ru/world/asia/107669-north_korea-0

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-Il named his younger son, Kim Jong Un, his successor. Jong Un reportedly enjoys skiing and studies of English, German and French at a school in Switzerland. The age of Kim Jong-Il’s successor is not known exactly (he is reportedly 26). Moreover, it is not known whether the information about North Korea ’s next leader is true to fact.

South Korean intelligence said that the statement about the successor to Kim Jong-Il was made on May 28. However, as it usually happens with North Korea , the information transpired only several days later. There can be hardly any information found about Kim Jong Un – even his birth date is unknown. His photographs have never been published anywhere .

It was only said that Kim Jong Un had the privilege of leaving his native land. He finished an international high school in Switzerland and returned to his home country afterwards to study at a local military university. He is reportedly a fan of basketball.

South Korean intelligence said that the information about the appearance of the official successor in North Korea had been sent to the leadership of the Korean People’s Army, to the presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly of North Korea and to the nation’s ministers.

It is not the first time, when Kim Jong Un makes headlines in many news publications all over the world. He was born from Kim Jong-Il’s third wife, who died of breast cancer in 2004 at age 51.

The talks about Kim Jong-Il’s successor emerged after it became known that the long-time 66-year-old national leader had serious problems with health. It was particularly reported that Kim Jong-Il suffered a stroke in August of 2008. He did not attend the national celebrations in September, which led to even more rumors about his physical condition. North Korean officials say that the rumors about the ailment of their leader are not true.

South Korean intelligence said in 2006 that North Korea ’s top military officials would start struggling for power if Kim Jong-Il died.

It is not known of course, if Kim Jong-Il made the final decision about his successor. It is not ruled out either that the latest news about Kim’s younger son is just a hoax.

Kim Jong-Il was 32 when his father, Kim Il-sung, named him his successor in February of 1974. Unlike his father, Kim Jong-Il is considered to be a more flexible person who is apt to hesitate.

If Kim Jong Un takes the leadership in North Korea indeed, the whole world will wonder how the years of his experience in Europe may affect the nation’s home and foreign policies.

Vadim Trukhachev
Pravda.Ru

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Russia becomes co-owner of German car giant
02.06.2009 Source: Pravda.Ru URL: http://english.pravda.ru/russia/economics/107670-russia_opel-0

The Russian government did not take a direct part in the deal between Russia’s Sberbank, Canada’s Magna and USA’s General Motors to purchase a shareholding of German car-maker Opel. However, Prime Minister Putin hopes that the deal will fit into the strategy of Russia’s car industry development, Itar-Tass news agency reports. Putin welcomed the participation of one of Russia’s largest state-run banks, Sberbank, in the deal.

“The government of Russia has the car industry development strategy, and this deal must fit into this strategy,” Putin said at the meeting with Sberbank’s head Gherman Gref and Minister for Industry and Trade, Viktor Khristenko.

Russia’s Prime Minister set out a hope that Canada’s Magna, a renowned supplier of spare parts in the car industry, would continue to expand its activities in Russia .

Gherman Gref said that the deal had not been completed yet. “We will have several weeks to discuss the details,” he said. “The first protocol of intent, which is to be singed between Magna, Sberbank and General Motors, will also be initialed by the governments of the USA and Germany. The document reflects all interests that we have formulated,” Mr. Gref added.

Viktor Khristenko, the Minister for Industry and Trade, is certain that the deal will contribute greatly to the development of the Russian car industry.

“If the deal is accomplished, Magna will have an additional motivation to expand its activities in Russia,” the minister said.

On May 30, the German government and General Motors announced the deal to sell Opel to the consortium consisting of Magna (the supplier of automotive systems and components), Sberbank and GAZ Group. The contract is to be signed within the next five weeks. Magna will receive 20 percent of Opel’s shares, Sberbank – 35 percent, GM will keep its 35 percent and the remaining 10 percent will be distributed between Opel’s employees.

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China forced to support dollar to make yuan become convertible currency
01.06.2009 Source: Pravda.Ru URL: http://english.pravda.ru/business/finance/107655-china_dollar-0

China is uncomfortable about being the principal creditor of the United States. Asia’s largest nation became the hostage of the US economy in the 21st century. The reserves of the People’s Republic of China are based on dollar assets - $2 trillion. US Treasury Bonds make $700 billion of the amount. China is forced to continue crediting the budget deficit of the United States not to let these reserves go down in value.

However, China has been taking measures to overcome its dollar dependence. The head of the Chinese Central Bank put forward a suggestion in March of the current year to replace the dollar, as the international reserve currency, with the basket of currencies, which would be determined by the International Reserve Fund.

The most ambitious project is this direction is to grant the Chinese yuan the status of the reserve currency. Western observers were quite skeptic about such an idea. China would have to turn the yuan into a convertible currency, the rate of which would be determined by the market.

The idea to make the yuan a convertible currency appeared during the 1990s, but it never became a reality because of the economic crisis of 1997.

China’s financial steps of the recent two months convinced Western experts of the nation’s intention to make the yuan become a hard currency, which could be converted into other currencies freely.

Last year, Beijing finished negotiations on establishing mutual settlements in national currencies with Argentina, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea and several other countries. Technically, China will not need US dollars in commercial activities with those countries. China’s turnover with the above-mentioned states totals $95 billion. For comparison, China’s trading volume with the USA made up $333 billion in 2008.

The yuan will have to obtain liquidity and yuan-denominated bonds to be recognized as a strong currency in the world. For the time being, the yuan-denominated securities can be purchased and sold only in China.

HSBC Holding and the Bank of East Asia announced last week that they would become the first foreign banks to sell Chinese bonds.

The Chinese administration plans to take the yuan to the level of a serious reserve currency by 2020. The timeline coincides with the plans to create an international financial center in Shanghai, just like London or New York.

Nevertheless, China will have to continue buying US Treasury Bonds before the yuan becomes a full-fledged reserve currency. Like other dollar-dependant countries (Japan, Arab states), China will have to do its best to postpone the decline of the dollar.

Sergey Malinin
Bigness.ru

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Siberian girl 'acts like dog' after being locked up since infancy
12:4127/05/2009

CHITA, May 27 (RIA Novosti) - Police in the East Siberian city of Chita have reported a chilling case of child abuse, in which a five-year-old girl was kept locked in a room with dogs and cats for several years, causing her to behave like an animal.

The Chita police department said on its website that the apartment was searched after a tip-off.

"For almost five years, the girl was brought up by several cats and dogs, and never went outside," the report said.

After years of malnourishment and lack of contact with humans, despite sharing the three-room flat with her father, grandmother, grandfather and other relatives, the girl has not learned to speak, and makes only animal-like noises.

Police found the girl "unwashed, in dirty clothes, and with the obvious habits of a domestic animal; she greeted the police officers by leaping at them like a dog."

The report said the family was living in squalor, and that "the water, heating, gas, and sanitation had long ago been switched off."

The statement said a criminal case has been opened against family members, but that the maximum prison term is three years. The father was not in the flat when the police found the girl, and his whereabouts are unknown. The mother called in at a police station on finding out that her daughter had been taken.

The girl, who is at the physical development stage of a two or three year old, is now being treated in a rehabilitation center. She reportedly has a good appetite, but insists on lapping up her food straight from her plate.

Medics at the center say that when nurses leave the room she rushes to the door and barks. Specialist doctors are currently studying the girl.

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Doctors say Siberian 'wild child' could soon adapt to normal life

Photo of five-year-old feral girl Natasha Mikhailova who was brought up by cats and dogs
RIA Novosti Denis Gukov | Buy this image

11:5828/05/2009

CHITA, May 28 (RIA Novosti) - Doctors believe that the girl who was 'raised' by dogs and cats in chilling squalor in the East Siberian city of Chita could soon adapt to a normal life, a psychiatrist said on Thursday.

The girl, 5, nicknamed Mowgli by Russian media after the character from the Rudyard Kipling book, has not learned to speak, and makes only animal-like noises, despite sharing the three-room flat with her father and other relatives.

The child, who was found by police "unwashed, in dirty clothes, and with the obvious habits of a domestic animal," is at the physical development stage of a two or three year old and is being treated in a rehabilitation center.

"The girl will be able to adapt and will quickly catch up with her contemporaries in development," psychiatrist Mikhail Vinogradov said, adding Russia had previous experience in dealing with such children.

The psychiatrist said that the child, who has never been outside her flat, has first to go through a period of adaptation with children of the same development stage.

The report said the family was living in squalor, and that "the water, heating, gas, and sanitation had long ago been switched off."

Despite being isolated from society, the girl found no difficulty playing with other children at the center. Specialist medical staff, who are currently studying the child, said that "she looks like she'll be healthy."

The girl's mother called in at a police station when she realized her daughter had been taken. The father, who was not in the flat when the police discovered the girl, was detained on Wednesday.

A criminal case has been opened against family members, but the maximum prison term is three years. Authorities are deciding whether they should lose their paternal rights.

The father said however he considered the family's living conditions as normal and demanded that the child be returned home. He added that the girl's mother was an alcoholic who neglected the child.

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Parents of Siberian 'dog child' to face criminal charges

Денис Гуков | Buy this image

14:2602/06/2009
Multimedia

NOVOSIBIRSK, June 2 (RIA Novosti) - Police in the Eastern Siberian city of Chita are to bring charges against the parents of a girl who was 'raised' by dogs and cats, a police source said on Tuesday.

Five-year-old Natasha, nicknamed Mowgli by Russian media after the character from the Rudyard Kipling book, has not learned to speak, and makes only animal-like noises, despite sharing the three-room flat with her father and other relatives.

It is believed that she had never been out of the building before she was discovered by police.

The child, who was found "unwashed, in dirty clothes, and with the habits of a domestic animal," is at the physical development stage of a two or three year old and is now being treated in a social-rehabilitation centre.

"The documentation on the case was submitted to the prosecutor's office. The case will be launched against both the mother and the father of the girl," the source said.

The parents, if convicted, could be jailed for up to three years.

The source added that a special commission, comprising police, juvenile authorities and doctors, was currently compiling documents to deprive the parents of their parental rights.

Prosecutors have also issued a warning to the chief doctor at the local children's hospital on the grounds that medical personnel were aware of the conditions in which the girl was kept.

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Northern Fleet protecting Russian Arctic
16:3302/06/2009

MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti military commentator Ilya Kramnik) - Before the 20th century, the Arctic was a relatively peaceful region. The Russian Navy deployed its first permanent detachment there shortly before World War I when construction of the sprawling Romanov-on-Murman seaport, subsequently renamed as Murmansk, got underway.

The port received numerous Allied convoys delivering war materiel and other consignments to Russia.

The Soviet Navy's Northern Flotilla, reinstated in 1933, initially comprised coast guard ships, escort ships and destroyers, mainly patrolling Soviet territorial waters and the exclusive Arctic economic zone.

The Northern Fleet steadily expanded, receiving additional weapons, combat equipment and coastal defense units. When Nazi Germany invaded the U.S.S.R. on June 22, 1941, the fleet went to war together with the entire nation.

In 1942 and 1943, several destroyers and submarines were re-deployed to the Arctic theater of war, with the Allies delivering numerous small warships and fast attack boats to the Northern Fleet under the Lend-Lease Act.

In 1944, the Northern Fleet received the British battleship Royal Sovereign (renamed as the Arkhangelsk) and the U.S. light cruiser Milwaukee (renamed as the Murmansk) in lieu of war reparations from Italy.

Allied convoys sailing from the United Kingdom and Iceland to Murmansk and Arkhangelsk were escorted by large U.S. and British forces stationed at Northern Fleet bases. The British battleship Duke of York arrived in Vaenga Bay in the Kola Inlet after contributing to the sinking of the German battleship Scharnhorst on December 25-26, 1943.

On September 15, 1944, British Avro Lancaster bombers took off from a temporary base at Yagodnik, near Arkhangelsk in the Soviet Union, attacked the German battleship Tirpitz in Norway and made her unseaworthy. However, this air strike, called "Operation Paravane," did not sink the Tirpitz.

On November 12, 1944, "Operation Catechism" involving other Lancasters was launched from Scotland. This time, the Tirpitz was sunk within minutes of the attack. (Editor's note)

The Soviet Northern Fleet, British and U.S. forces escorted convoys sailing to Russia and back. Attack boats, submarines and strike aircraft repeatedly hit German transport ships off the Norwegian coast, while Soviet Navy fighters shielded fleet bases and Murmansk together with Air Defense Force warplanes.

After the war, the Northern Fleet found itself on the frontlines of the Cold War. With the advent of strategic bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles, the Arctic theater of war became the shortest route between the U.S.S.R. and the United States. Consequently, the generals of major powers shifted their gaze to the region.

The Northern Fleet received the first Soviet nuclear-powered submarines, including ballistic missile submarines, and was among the first naval formations to adopt long-range bombers with anti-ship missiles.

The fleet zone of operations comprised the White, Barents, Norwegian, Kara and other Arctic seas, as well as the entire Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. By the early 1980s, the Northern Fleet became the largest and most powerful Soviet naval formation.

Despite all-out warship and submarine cutbacks, the Northern Fleet still packs a more devastating punch than any other Russian fleet. It operates Russia's only aircraft carrier, the world's only nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser and the largest destroyer and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) ship units.

The fleet still relies heavily on its nuclear-powered submarines, most of which are being regularly overhauled. Six Project 667 BDRM Delta IV Delfin ballistic missile submarines form the mainstay of Russia's strategic naval nuclear force. Most of the submarines have been equipped with upgraded Sineva submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) and will remain in service for another 15-20 years.

The Northern Fleet remains on active combat duty, as long as these submarines sail beneath the ice all the way to the North Pole where the spectacular Aurora Borealis or Aurora Polaris ("Northern Lights") natural phenomenon originates and from where their missiles can reach 90% of the world's main economic centers.

The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.

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Argentina-Venezuela Default Risk Head to ‘Parity’: Chart of Day
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By Drew Benson

June 3 (Bloomberg) -- Argentina’s default risk may converge with Venezuela’s as President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner pushes to regain access to international debt markets while Hugo Chavez’s nationalizations drive away investors, according to RBS Securities Inc.

“If you look at Chavez, all of the headlines focus on a deepening nationalization, which is more costly in the mid-term, while the news from Argentina suggests it is trying to seek market access,” said Siobhan Morden, a Latin America debt strategist with RBS in Greenwich, Connecticut. “Everyone has been long Venezuela and there is a reassessment that I think will revert in Argentina’s favor. There could be a convergence toward parity.”

The CHART OF THE DAY shows the difference between credit- default swaps protecting Argentine and Venezuelan sovereign debt for five years. Credit-default swaps pay the buyer face value in exchange for the underlying securities or the cash equivalent should a government or company default on its debt.

Five-year credit-default swaps based on Argentina’s bonds have fallen 349 basis points to 24.19 percentage points since May 14, according to Bloomberg data. Five-year swaps on Venezuelan bonds dropped 30 basis points during that time to 14.21 percentage points. A basis point on a credit-default swap contract protecting $10 million of debt from default for five years is equivalent to $1,000 a year.

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GM to Sell Hummer to China’s Tengzhong, Helping Shed Brands
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By Katie Merx and Cathy Chan

June 3 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Corp., seeking to shed assets to emerge from bankruptcy, agreed to sell the Hummer sport-utility vehicle brand to China’s Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co.

Tengzhong will assume Hummer’s dealer agreements and a senior management team, the companies said in a joint statement yesterday. GM and Tengzhong also plan to form a long-term contract assembly and supply agreement. Hummer is worth an estimated $500 million, GM said in bankruptcy court documents.

Selling Hummer will secure more than 3,000 U.S. jobs and help GM move toward a goal of offloading four U.S. brands to exit bankruptcy as a leaner, more profitable company. The deal may also help Tengzhong grow in China’s SUV market, which surged 25 percent last year on rising affluence.

“There are a lot of new rich in China who like niche brands such as Hummer,” said Ricon Xia, a Daiwa Institute of Research (H.K.) Ltd. analyst in Shanghai. “A lot of private companies like Tengzhong have emerged because of the economic boom and they will strike more surprising deals like this one.”

Detroit-based GM has won court approval to sell assets as soon as next month after collapsing under $172.8 billion in debt and failing to adapt to consumer demands for cars that use less fuel. GM also plans to sell Saturn and Saab and wind down the Pontiac line. Sixteen potential buyers have expressed interest in Saturn, Chief Financial Officer Ray Young said on a conference call yesterday.

Tengzhong’s Expansion

For Tengzhong, a privately owned maker of special-use vehicles, structural components for highways and bridges, and construction machinery, buying Hummer will add a brand with cachet it can use to expand in emerging markets, said Desmond Wong, chief executive officer of Chicago-based Sino Strategies Group.

“This is a good acquisition for Sichuan Tengzhong and a good sale for GM,” said Wong. “They can do the manufacturing and marketing in the U.S., but in addition to that they can produce Hummer elsewhere for markets such as China, India and the Middle East.”

The Hummer sale should be completed by the end of the third quarter. Credit Suisse Group AG is acting as financial adviser and Shearman & Sterling is serving as international legal counsel to Chengdu, China-based Tengzhong. Citigroup Inc. is acting as financial adviser to GM.

Chinese Deals

Tengzhong follows SAIC Motor Corp., China’s biggest domestic automaker, and Geely Holding Group Co. in pursuing overseas acquisitions as Chinese automakers seek technology to build more sophisticated and profitable vehicles. Sichuan, where Tengzhong is based, is also a mountainous province full of winding roads suitable for off-road vehicles.

Still, Chinese automakers haven’t always benefited from overseas deals. SAIC bought rights for cars designed by U.K. automaker MG Rover Group Ltd. in 2005 to temper its reliance on partners GM and Volkswagen AG. Last year, GM and Volkswagen vehicles still accounted for more than 90 percent of sales. SAIC’s South Korean unit, Ssangyong Motor Co., entered receivership in February after sport-utility-vehicles sales plunged.

Geely, China’s biggest private automaker, in March agreed to buy Australian gearbox-maker Drivetrain Systems International. The carmaker is also in talks to buy Ford Motor Co.’s Volvo Car Corp. unit, according to people familiar with the situation.

U.S. Support

GM is getting more than $50 billion of loans from the U.S. government to help reorganize after filing for bankruptcy earlier this week. Bill Burton, deputy White House press secretary, reiterated in an e-mailed statement President Barack Obama’s pledge to take a “hands-off” approach to GM.

The U.S. government “is not going to get involved in the day-to-day business decisions of GM -- and this is an example in which it did not,” Burton said. “GM reached an agreement that will keep thousands of Americans working in a situation that could have ended instead with a devastating liquidation of this company.”

GM bought the license for the Hummer brand from AM General in 1999 and started selling the $140,000 H1, a 7,600-pound (3,400-kilogram) SUV patterned after the all-terrain military vehicle popularized for road use by actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, now California’s governor.

While the H1 never sold more than 875 units a year, the model won enough of a following for GM to add the 6,600-pound H2 in 2002. The 4,700-pound H3 followed in 2005. GM also started building the H3 in South Africa in 2006 for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Rising gasoline prices eventually eroded demand. GM halted production of the H1 in 2006 as sales dwindled.

Hummer’s U.S. deliveries peaked at 71,524 that year, according to Autodata Corp. U.S. sales of the SUVs, which start at about $31,000 for the H3, fell 51 percent in 2008 and 67 percent this year through April.

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弱る太陽　活動２００年ぶりの低水準

2009年6月3日14時30分

写真：太陽観測衛星「ひので」がＸ線でとらえた今年３月の太陽。活動が低く、暗い部分が多い＝国立天文台提供太陽観測衛星「ひので」がＸ線でとらえた今年３月の太陽。活動が低く、暗い部分が多い＝国立天文台提供

　太陽の活動が２００年ぶりの低水準にまで落ち込んでいる。これまでのパターンだと再来年には活動の極大期を迎えるはずなのに、活発さの指標となる黒点がほとんど現れない。研究者も「このままだと地球はミニ氷河期に入る可能性がある」と慌て始めた。国立天文台は今月下旬に研究者を集めた検討会を開く。

　太陽の活動は約１１年周期で活発になったり、静穏になったりというパターンを繰り返している。活動ぶりの指標が表面にシミのように見える黒点。黒点の周辺では爆発現象が多く起こり、黒点が多いほど、太陽の活動が活発だ。

　ところが、デンマークの太陽黒点数データセンターによると、黒点の多さを表す「相対数」は０８年が２．９で、過去１００年で１９１３年の１．４に次ぐ２番目の少なさだった。今年はさらに減り、４月までの暫定値が１．２と、１８１０年の０．０以来の低水準に落ち込んだ。

　太陽から放出される陽子などの流れ（太陽風）も０７、０８年は過去数十年とまったく違う。静穏期の太陽風は遅い風が赤道に、速い風が北極と南極に集まるが、名古屋大太陽地球環境研究所の観測では、０７、０８年は赤道付近にも速い風が多く現れた。徳丸宗利教授は「太陽の磁場が弱まっている影響だろう」という。この磁場の弱まりも、黒点の減少と関係があるとみられる。

　太陽活動には数百年周期の変動も知られる。１７～１８世紀には約７０年間、黒点がほぼ消え、欧州では英国のテムズ川が凍るなど「ミニ氷河期」に陥った。東京大宇宙線研究所の宮原ひろ子特任助教は「ここ１千年でも活動の極小期が５回あり、前回が１８００年ごろ。歴史的には、そろそろ次の極小期に入ってもおかしくない」と指摘する。

　国立天文台の常田佐久教授は「Ｘ線や光も弱まっている。今後、再び黒点が増えても、従来のような活発さになると考える太陽研究者は少ない」と話す。

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05:01 GMT, Wednesday, 3 June 2009 06:01 UK
Opposition win Greenland election

Greenland's IA party leader Kuupik Kleis casts his vote in Nuuk (2 June 2009)

The left-wing Inuit Ataqatigiit (Community of the People, IA) party has won Greenland's parliamentary elections, official results show.

The party ousted the Social Democratic Suimut Party, which has governed the territory for 30 years.

With all districts counted, the IA had nearly 44% of the vote and Suimut just over 26%, the election commission said.

IA will be the first party to govern the semi-autonomous Danish territory under an expanded home rule agreement.

IA leader Kuupik Kleist told supporters celebrating in the capital Nuuk: "Greenland deserves this."

Current Prime Minister Hans Enoksen had called the election early, after Greenland voters approved plans in November to give their government more powers.

He said he had wanted to give islanders the chance to decide who would be leading them into the "new era".

Under the new status, Greenlanders will be able to make decisions on most issues.

But the authorities will continue to negotiate with Denmark on defence and foreign affairs.

Correspondents say the polls were seen as a turning point in Greenland's path to partial independence from Denmark.