What is a tsunami?

TOKYO: A once-exotic word that has now entered the everyday lexicon, a tsunami refers to a shock of water that spreads through the sea, usually after a sub-sea floor quake.

A section of seabed is thrust up or driven down by violent movement of the Earth”s crust.

The rift displaces vast quantities of water that move as waves, able to cover enormous distances over open water, sometimes at the speed of a jet plane.

An 8.9-magnitude quake off Japan”s northern coast on Friday generated a 10-metre (33 feet) tsunami that picked up ships and dashed them into coastal towns.

Buildings and vehicles were carried away as the huge wall of water swept inland.

The word “tsunami” comes from the Japanese words for “harbour” and “wave”.

At their point of generation, tsunamis have a relatively small wave height, with peaks far apart.

As the waves approach the shore they are compressed by the shelving of the sea floor, reducing the distance between the peaks and vastly increasing the height.

To those on the shore, the first sign of something amiss can be the retreat of the sea, which is followed by the arrival of large waves.

“The sea was driven back, and its waters flowed away to such an extent that the deep seabed was laid bare and many kinds of sea creatures could be seen,” wrote Roman historian Ammianus Marcellus, awed at a tsunami that struck the then-thriving port of Alexandria in 365 AD.

“Huge masses of water flowed back when least expected, and now overwhelmed and killed many thousands of people… Some great ships were hurled by the fury of the waves onto the rooftops, and others were thrown up to two miles (three kilometres) from the shore.”

Several factors determine the height and destructiveness of a tsunami.

They include the size of the quake, the volume of displaced water, the topography of the sea floor as the waves race to the coast and whether there are natural obstacles that dampen the shock.

Destruction of protective mangroves and coral reefs and the building of homes or hotels on exposed beaches are fingered as leading causes of high death tolls from tsunamis.

Large quakes are the main drivers of tsunamis, but the phenomenon can also be sparked by other cataclysmic events, such as volcanic eruptions and even landslides.

In 1883, a volcano shattered the Pacific island of Krakatoa, causing a blast so loud that it could be heard 4,500 kilometres away, followed by a tsunami that killed some 30,000 people.

The tsunami of December 2004 in the Indian Ocean was caused by a monstrous 9.1-magnitude earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

It released energy equivalent to 23,000 of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima, according to the US trendpk.comlogical Survey (USGS). Some 220,000 people in 11 nations were killed, many of them thousands of kilometres from the epicentre.

The Pacific Ocean is particularly prone to earthquakes and therefore to tsunamis.

But research has found that, over the millennia, tsunamis have occurred in many parts of the world, including the Atlantic and Mediterranean. A global monitoring network, overseen by the UN, has been set in place to alert areas at risk.

No rush against anti-India militants: Musharraf

WASHINGTON: Pakistan’s former leader Pervez Musharraf called for a more gradual approach against Islamic militants such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, saying they enjoyed sympathy for fighting India.

The United States and India have urged Pakistan to rein in movements such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, or “The Army of the Pure,” which is blamed for planning the bloody siege of Mumbai that killed 166 people two years ago.

“You can’t rock the boat so much that the boat capsizes,” Musharraf, a military ruler who stepped down in 2008 and is attempting a political comeback, said at the Atlantic Council think-tank in Washington.

“While these things have to be done, allow piecemeal, gradual action through a well thought-out strategy which does not disturb the entire law and order situation in Pakistan,” Musharraf said.

Musharraf acknowledged that Lashkar-e-Taiba and like-minded

Oil steady near $74

SINGAPORE: Oil was steady near $74 on Thursday as investors turned their attention to upcoming U.S. employment reports, following gains of almost 3 percent a day earlier after positive manufacturing data lifted spirits across markets.

U.S. crude for October delivery CLc1 slipped 8 cents to $73.83 a barrel by 0704 GMT, after a jump of $1.99 on Wednesday. ICE Brent LCOc1 dipped 33 cents to $76.02.

Manufacturing in top oil consumers the United States and China accelerated in August, reports showed on Wednesday, raising hopes record petroleum stockpiles would fall and reviving confidence across markets.

The focus over the next two days was set to turn to lagging U.S. employment indicators, including weekly jobless claims, on Thursday. The nation”s nonfarm payrolls probably fell for a third straight month in August, a survey showed, ahead of a monthly report due on Friday.

“The market was just seeking optimism and this came from strong manufacturing data,” said Serene Lim, a Singapore-based oil analyst at ANZ.

“Some traders started the new month with new positions. It was a buying opportunity, especially for those who were bullish in the long term. However, the market will be in a wait-and-see mode especially before the payrolls report this Friday.”

U.S. private employers unexpectedly cut 10,000 jobs in August, a report by payrolls processor ADP showed on Wednesday.

But markets shrugged off the negative news from the labour market, after Institute for Supply Management data on Wednesday showed U.S. factory activity rose in August for a 13th straight month.

Investors had been expecting the ISM reading to show a decline in manufacturing from July, which would have fit with recent data showing a slowdown in U.S. growth.

Wednesday”s rally in oil prices was earlier triggered by data showing China”s manufacturing industry accelerated in August, expanding for an 18th consecutive month.

Japan”s Nikkei average rose 1.5 percent on Thursday and China”s key stock index rose 1.3 percent, after the U.S. and Chinese manufacturing data eased investor worries about the global economy.

Global stocks posted their biggest percentage gain this summer on Wednesday, in tandem with a broad-based commodities rally.

But oil market fundamentals were not as constructive. U.S. crude stockpiles rose three times as much as expected in the week to Aug. 27, adding 3.4 million barrels, as refineries cut usage rates, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

Distillate supplies fell 739,000 barrels, going against forecasts for an increase and snapping 13 straight weeks of gains, while gasoline inventories declined 212,000 barrels, roughly in line with analyst forecasts, the EIA data showed.

EIA statistics showed total U.S. petroleum stockpiles rose last week to a new high of 1.143 billion barrels, up from 1.139 billion the previous week, for the highest inventory levels since at least 1990, when the EIA began tallying weekly stocks data.

“The fundamentals will still weigh down the market,” Lim said. “Cushing inventories are still relatively high.”

The large build in U.S. total crude stockpiles could deepen the contango in crude markets, when front month futures trade at a discount to later months.

The spread between first- and second-month crude oil contracts ended at $1.50, narrowing from $1.60 on Tuesday, which was the widest level since early June. U.S. crude was also trading close to the biggest discount to Brent crude since May.

Tropical Depression Nine in the eastern Atlantic Ocean strengthened into Tropical Storm Gaston late on Wednesday as it continued on a westerly path that could head for the Caribbean.

Gaston was expected to gain force slowly over the next 48 hours and could become a hurricane by Sunday or Monday. Some early computer models showed it tracking into the Caribbean, but it was too early to say if it would enter the oil-rich Gulf of Mexico.

Hurricane Earl in the western Atlantic was upgraded to a Category Four hurricane again, and was expected to sideswipe the U.S. East Coast from the northern Carolinas, making landfall on Canada”s Atlantic coast on Saturday.

British man walks entire Amazon river in 2 yrs

MARUDA: After 859 days, thousands of miles and 50,000 mosquito bites, Ed Stafford intends to be the first man known to have walked the entire length of the Amazon river when the waves of the Atlantic Ocean lap his feet in northern Brazil on Monday.

Here is the original:
British man walks entire Amazon river in 2 yrs

Six U.S. soldiers, 12 civilians killed in Afghanistan

KABUL: Six U.S. soldiers and 12 civilians were killed Saturday in various attacks in eastern and southern Afghanistan, said NATO and local authorities.

According to the Atlantic Alliance, four U.S. soldiers were killed in eastern Afghanistan: one was killed by small arms fire, another died when a bomb detonated near his vehicle, and another was killed in an attack by the insurgency and a fourth died in an explosion.

Two other U.S. soldiers were killed in two separate attacks in southern Afghanistan. Every time a bomb has blown in their vehicle. In addition, 11 civilians were killed by unidentified gunmen in an ambush against their minibus in the area of Chamkani (east), according to local authorities, while the explosion of a motorcycle bomb kills one in Kandahar (south).

The attacks by the Islamist insurgency intensified in Afghanistan, where coalition forces have recorded 103 fatalities in June, including 60 U.S. soldiers.

Britain convicts 3 over airliner bomb plot

LONDON: A jury has convicted three British Muslims of conspiracy to murder in a plot to blow up passenger planes over the Atlantic Ocean.

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Britain convicts 3 over airliner bomb plot

Hrithik Roshan to be waxed at Madame Tussauds

He may be the heart throb of the nation, while being tied up shooting for Zoya Akhtar’s film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara far off in Spain; however the actor is creating waves across the Atlantic in London.

Wondering why? Well following other Bollywood icons like Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai, Hrithik will be the next to have a spot reserved for him at the famous Madame Tussauds wax museum. The wax replica of the star will be installed in the Bollywood section in close proximity to its western counterpart with characters like Shrek, while the statue itself will be installed somewhere in early 2011.

Hrithik Roshan to be waxed at Madamme Tussauds

He may be the heart throb of the nation, while being tied up shooting for Zoya Akhtar’s film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara far off in Spain; however the actor is creating waves across the Atlantic in London.

Wondering why? Well following other Bollywood icons like Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai, Hrithik will be the next to have a spot reserved for him at the famous Madamme Tussauds wax museum. The wax replica of the star will be installed in the Bollywood section in close proximity to its western counterpart with characters like Shrek, while the statue itself will be installed somewhere in early 2011.

Oil falls 4 percent as U.S. jobs data hits markets

NEW YORK: Oil fell 4 percent, sliding below $72 a barrel as disappointing U.S. employment data and fresh fears about Europe”s bank woes spreading made investors risk averse and worried about economic recovery.

U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose 431,000 in May, well short of the 513,000 analysts had expected, despite heavy government hiring for the census. Growth in private employment slowed sharply.

“We were expecting bigger growth in private employment and the figure looks relatively weak,” said Christophe Barret, oil analyst at Credit Agricole.

U.S. crude for July fell $3.10, or 4.15 percent, to settle at $71.51 a barrel, the lowest close since May 26. It dropped as low as $70.79 in post-settlement trading. ICE Brent fell $3.32 to settle at $72.09.

“Oil had some support earlier this week from the hope that positive signs from the U.S., especially improved demand, might offset the weakness in other economies, but the jobs report lowers demand expectations,” said Phil Flynn, analyst at PFGBest Research in Chicago.

Crude has been trading between the $64.24 intraday low on May 20, which was the weakest front-month price since July 2009, and the 2010 peak of $87.15 struck on May 3.

Both U.S. and European stock markets fell sharply on Friday after the release of the jobs data and intraday the Dow Jones Industrials index fell below the key 10,000 level.

The euro fell on heightened concern Europe”s debt crisis is expanding, with the equities slide adding pressure. Concerns about Hungary”s public finances added to worries that the euro zone debt problems might be spreading.

Speaking on Friday ahead of talks in South Korea between the world”s top 20 developed and emerging economies, policymakers expressed concerns about the global economy, adding to the uncertainty about energy demand.

U.S. copper futures ended at a 7-1/2 month low as the jobs data fractured confidence already dented by worries over Chinese monetary tightening and the euro zone.

Adding to perceptions that its meteoric growth may be slowing, an official newspaper reported China”s main ports imported 17.29 million tonnes, or 4.07 million barrels per day, of crude in May, up 12.8 percent from a year earlier, but down 7 percent from April.

The start of the Atlantic hurricane season this week was punctuated by the top U.S. government weather agency warning it could be the most intense since 2005. This provided some support earlier this week to energy prices.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita severely damaged and disrupted U.S. oil production, refining and consumption when they crashed through the Gulf of Mexico region in 2005.

Adding to concern about storms was the oil spilled by BP”s felled oil rig. BP began capturing some oil on Friday after installing a containment cap atop a ruptured Gulf of Mexico well and U.S. President Barack Obama was set to make his third trip to the stricken area since the disaster.

rat king

four to five knots of wind on Lake Constance from the South West has brought out the best in lake sailing ability, with some skippers like Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team preferring these conditions, having been taught on ‘Lac de Maine’.

Richard has noticed that there are a number of match racing regattas run on lakes and now simulates these lake conditions on the Atlantic Coast of France. ‘To create the experience just like racing on a lake I train with my team really close to the shore, this mirrors the light and shifty conditions when the breeze is off the land.’

One tabloid front page – apologies for not remembering which but after a while they all become one blur of bold typography, exclamation marks and words like sink, revenge, low or suffer – screamed: “Rat Cole sinks to new low!” This certainly grabbed my attention.

What depths of depravity had the greatest left-back in the game today sunk to now? Had he seduced the Pope? Destroyed a small Spanish holiday resort on a drunken rampage? Or, worst of all, signed up for the new series of Celebrity Love Island?

Tags: atlantic, atlantic-coast, bold-typography, celebrity, drunken-rampage, Entertainment, experience, french-match, from-the-south, game, mathieu-richard, not-remembering, racing, racing-team, south

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