In-briefs

In a shocking revelation, the Atmospheric Electricity Group publicized a study that names Brazil as the most electrified nation in the world. According to the research, Brazil is struck by 70 million lightning bolts a year, which averages out to nearly three electric charges per second.

The United States, which occupies about the same land mass, receives only half that amount. About 100 people die in Brazil from lightning strikes every year, accounting for approximately 10 percent of all lightning-related deaths in the world.

Brazil also feels the electrifying impact of lightning economically. Thunderbolts inflict up to $200 million in damage to power and telecommunications lines, businesses and private property. Seventy percent of the frequent power blackouts across the country are due to lightning.



The collapse of Israel's coalition government has forced Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to call for early elections. Sharon described this as his "least bad option," but stressed that it was an option more or less forced on him.

Sharon claimed that he could not agree to many of the stipulations the ultra-nationalist parties had insisted upon before joining the government. Sharon has attempted-unsuccessfully-to woo these parties since the Labor Party pulled out of his coalition due to disputes over the funding of Jewish settlements.

Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to serve as the foreign minister in Sharon's government until the Jan. 28 elections. It is expected that Netanyahu will challenge Sharon for the leadership of the Likud Party in the upcoming elections.



The CIA recently attacked a car in Yemen carrying six suspected al-Qaeda terrorists. One of the victims was the man wanted by U.S. officials for his role in planning the attack on the U.S.S. Cole in October 2000.

The U.S. is purported to have carried out the attack by using a Predator drone, a high-altitude, unmanned surveillance aircraft with the capability of firing Hellfire anti-tank missiles.

The drones, perfectly suited in their role as reconnaissance aircraft, can cruise at an altitude of greater than 60,000 feet for up to 24 hours. Their potential for armed attack was witnessed in Afghanistan. Drones had been able to find key al-Qaeda or Taliban leaders but ground forces had been unable to find and attack the targets. Thereafter, the drones were armed with missiles to not only enable target acquisition but also destruction of them.



The series of misfortunes suffered by the airline industry since September 11 has just gotten longer. Fifty-six survivors and relatives of victims of "economy class syndrome" brought a suit against British Airways, KLM Royal Dutch and American Airlines for failure to announce the risks of flying for long periods in cramped conditions.

Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) is a condition where clots develop in the blood stream and, if lodged in a crucial organ, can lead to death. The condition is reportedly aggravated by long periods of inactivity, a situation faced by many passengers on overseas flights.

The case will focus on the 1929 Warsaw Convention which says airlines are liable for damages only if an accident occurs while the passenger is on the plane. Both sides said they would most likely appeal the case if the court does not come to a satisfactory decision.



"One winter night in 1965, eyewitnesses saw a fireball streak over North America, bank, turn and appear to crash in western Pennsylvania. Then swarms of military personnel combed the area and a tarp-covered flatbed truck rumbled out of the woods," wrote reporter Richard Stenger on cnn.com.

Now an international investigative journalist and a former White House chief of staff wish to peruse the classified documents written about the event and determine what really happened that night.

The investigation does not want to prove the existence of aliens but would like to legitimize the scientific investigation of similar aerial phenomena. "It is time for the government to declassify records that are more than 25 years old and to provide scientists with data that will assist in determining the real nature of this phenomenon," said ex-Clinton chief of staff John Podesta as quoted on cnn.com.



An engine failure gave Air France Concorde passengers the fright of their lives recently. Somewhere over the Atlantic, one of the four engines malfunctioned and forced the aircraft to drop from 56,000 to 33,000 feet. This comes two-and-a-half years after an Air France Concorde crashed as it took off from Paris, taking the lives of all 109 people aboard.

Passengers claimed the dishware and crockery fell into the aisle as the plane began its descent.

Concorde jets normally flies at 56,000 feet at supersonic speeds and 33,000 at subsonic speeds, the altitudes used by the pilot in the incident.

The engine failure was due improper mixing of air and fuel-similar to a backfire in a car-which forced the pilot to shut down one of the engines. The plane returned to Heathrow Airport in London instead of continuing across the ocean. All of the passengers landed unharmed.

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