Child controller at JFK Airport, New York,,.[ 701 ]

Child Directed Traffic at JFK Airport; FAA Probes

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Planes taxi on runways at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

An investigation is underway after a child was heard giving instructions to a pilot from the air-traffic control tower at one of America's busiest airports.

In a recording that has been confirmed as genuine by the Federal Aviation Administration, the child makes five transmissions from John F Kennedy International Airport — with the pilots in each case all responding enthusiastically to him.

One conversation between the tower at JFK Airport in New York and a pilot goes as follows:

JFK TOWER: Jet Blue 171 contact departure.

PILOT: Over to departure jet blue 171, awesome job.

The child appears to be supervised, with a controller explaining the reason for the young voice to the pilot.

JFK TOWER: That's what you get guys when the kids are out of school. (laugh)

The airport is the sixth busiest in the country with thousands of planes taking off and landing every day.

The control tower is a highly secure area and the FAA says only licensed controllers are supposed to communicate with planes.

"I have never ever heard a small kid in the tower giving instructions for an airplane to take off or cross a runway or any kind of instructions," Jim Baker, a retired chief pilot at Delta airlines, told MyFoxBoston.

"Pending the outcome of our investigation, the employees involved in this incident are not controlling air traffic, the FAA said in a statement. "This behavior is not acceptable and does not demonstrate the kind of professionalism expected from all FAA employees."

The union that represents air traffic controllers said: "We do not condone this type of behavior in any way, and it is not indicative of the highest professional standards that controllers set for themselves and exceed each and every day in the advancement of aviation safety."

799 dead, up to now in Chile quake[ 700 ]

Death toll at 799 in Chile quake, government says

March 3, 2010 8:36 a.m. EST

Concepcion's curfew extended

Concepcion, Chile (CNN) -- The death toll from Saturday's 8.8-magnitude earthquake in Chile has reached nearly 800, the National Emergency Office said Wednesday.

Officials say the tally of 799 dead is likely to increase in coming days as search-and-rescue crews dig into collapsed buildings and discover more bodies.

While that work continued, officials also dealt with another pressing problem: looting and lawlessness in areas of central and southern Chile.

A curfew was set from 6 p.m. Tuesday until noon Wednesday.

Speaking Tuesday at a news conference, President Michelle Bachelet said mayhem will not be allowed.

"We have seen images that are, frankly, intolerable," Bachelet said. "We want to make it clear that it won't be accepted."

The government will "apply the full force of the law," she said.

More than 13,000 soldiers were being dispatched to secure order, Bachelet said.

Click to See scenes of devastation from the quake( Photo-Gallery)

But no troops or police could be seen in nearby Talcahuano, which was flooded Saturday by a tsunami, a correspondent for CNN Chile, CNN's partner network, said Tuesday afternoon. The network showed people pilfering fuel from a closed gas station and others walking out of stores carrying sacks of goods on their shoulders, placing them into car trunks and driving off.

The threat of violence slowed the flow of aid, said Michael Black of the non-governmental organization World Vision, who blamed authorities for not acting sooner. "The truth is it's taken a lot longer than needed for them to deploy the forces and re-establish order, which is necessary for any NGO," he told CNN.

A weeping Talcahuano resident told CNN Chile that the city had received no help and inhabitants felt abandoned.

Bachelet vowed to address the situation.

"What worries us the most today is to provide security and tranquility to the nation," she said. "We ask for understanding and patience because the aid will arrive."

But some of that aid was delayed Tuesday at a military checkpoint on the Itata Route about 12 miles (20 km) outside of Concepcion. Images broadcast by CNN Chile showed at least 12 semi-tractor trailer trucks filled with aid stopped at the checkpoint. Behind the trucks, dozens of other vehicles stretched to the horizon.

One driver said he had been waiting for four hours.

An unidentified army captain interviewed at the checkpoint said that, if it were up to him, the convoy would pass, but he had to wait for approval from the National Emergency Office.

"We haven't received any aid," Concepcion Mayor Jacqueline Van Rysselberghe said Tuesday morning.

On Monday night, she had complained about the lack of security.

"We don't want to spend one more night in the darkness and in fear," she told CNN Chile. "We are no longer hungry, we are so scared."

Bachelet said Tuesday morning that all emergency measures should be in place by the end of the day.

Rescuers in the hardest-hit areas, including Concepcion and the Maule and Bio Bio regions, continued to scramble to reach possible survivors.

Although damage was significant in Santiago, the nation's capital, electricity and water were restored to much of the city by late Monday and many residents could use their cell phones and other conveniences. About 90 percent of the city's stores were open.

CNN's Ana Maria Luengo-Romero, Sara Sidner and Soledad O'Brien contributed to this report.

NASA,,The latest image of the Day [ 699 ]

NASA Image of the Day

The latest NASA "Image of the Day" image.

Seeing Eye-to-Eye on How to Fly
The National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics, or NACA, which celebrates its 95th anniversary on March 3, provided the nation's earliest research and helped develop important technologies, as well as knowledge of flight safety and efficiency. NASA adopted many of these research techniques and many of the places in which to do it, like wind tunnels and entire research centers, from the NACA. Engine cowlings to cover propellers and a series of proven air foil shapes for aircraft wings--both of which reduced drag and improved speed and efficiency--were chief NACA contributions subsequently adopted by every aircraft of the day and improved upon over the decades. This image shows NACA chief test pilot Melvin Cough outside a hangar at the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory. The test vehicle on the right is a Curtiss BF2C-1 Goshawk, which was used by the U.S. Navy in the early 1930s and featured retractable landing gear. Image Credit: NACA

Τετάρτη, 3 Μάρτιος 2010 7:00:00

Greece, 3rd round of tax rises...[ 698 ]

Greece awaits new round of tax rises and spending cuts

Mr Papandreou is fighting to balance his government's budget BBC,07:44 GMT, Wednesday, 3 March 2010 Government ministers in Greece are due to meet to agree a third round of tax rises and spending cuts intended to ease the country's financial crisis. A rise in sales tax and petrol and diesel tariffs is expected, as well as a move to scrap the generous holiday bonus paid to civil servants. PM George Papandreou has likened the budget crisis to a "wartime situation". The EU has called for further austerity measures amid fears that Greece's problems could undermine the eurozone. There have already been strikes by trades unions in protest against the Athens government's cost-cutting plans. The socialist government has pledged to reduce Greece's budget deficit from 12.7% - more than four times the limit under eurozone rules - to 8.7% during 2010. It also also seeking to reduce its 300bn euros ($419bn; £259bn) debt. 'Nightmare of bankruptcy' "We find ourselves in a wartime situation, faced with the negative scenarios affecting our country," Mr Papandreou told the parliamentary group of his Socialist Party (Pasok) ahead of the cabinet meeting. EARLIER MEASURES Public sector salary freeze Retirement age rise Petrol, alcohol and tobacco tax rises Crackdown on tax avoidance He said that Greece had to avoid "a nightmare of bankruptcy" in which the state would not be able to pay salaries or pensions. Mr Papandreou has used some dramatic phrases to describe Greece's fiscal problems over the past few months, but this was his most alarmist to date, the BBC's Malcolm Brabant in Athens says. It is believed that sales tax will rise by two percentage points, that petrol and diesel tariffs will be increased for the second time in a month, and that luxury goods will be subject to a special duty. The government is reportedly planning to scrap the annual holiday bonus paid to civil servants, our correspondent says. Trades unions have warned that removing the bonus would be a "declaration of war". Economy Minister Louka Katseli has warned that the measures have to be socially just. Businesses in Greece are likely to react badly to further tax increases, as they see them as being counter-productive, discouraging consumer spending and contributing to a further downward spiral, our correspondent adds.

EU: Greece must tighten its belt...[ 697 ]

Greece must make more cuts, not clear how much: EU

Jan Strupczewski

BRUSSELS

Tue Mar 2, 2010 9:31am EST

Greek taxi drivers block streets

8:07am EST

Greece's finance minister George Papaconstantinou (L) welcomes EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn in Athens March 1, 2010.

Credit: Reuters/John Kolesidis

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Greece must tighten its belt further to reach this year's deficit-cutting target, but it is not yet clear by how much, the European Commission said.

Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn on Monday discussed with Greek authorities the need for deficit-cutting measures on top of those already taken by Athens.

No bailout plans were discussed, but "both parties understand ... there is a need for additional measures and these should be presented as soon as possible... in order to make sure that the target of 4 percent is reached," Commission spokesman Amadeu Altafaj said Tuesday.

Greece has committed to cutting its budget deficit to 8.7 percent of gross domestic product this year from 12.7 percent in 2009 and to bring the deficit to below the European Union ceiling of 3 percent in 2012.

Altafaj said he "cannot quantify" how far short of the 4 percent target the measures already announced have left Greece.

The size of the gap was still under discussion between Greek and EU experts and "at this point we are waiting for the new measures to be presented."

The ambitious austerity program hopes to calm debt markets that have been demanding increasingly high premiums for lending money to Greece amid concerns that Athens might at some point not be able to service its debt, which stands at more than 120 percent of GDP.

Market concerns persuaded euro zone countries to issue a statement on February 11 declaring that, if the need arose, they would move to safeguard the financial stability of the 16-country euro zone.

But they gave no details of a potential rescue plan and instead put more pressure on Athens to deliver on its austerity plan.

Monday's discussions with Rehn "were about efforts to correct the fiscal situation in Greece. We did not enter (or) elaborate on scenarios of bailouts and things like that," Altafaj said.

The Commission was pleased to see the Greek government was determined to do what was necessary to reach the 4 percent target, he added.

(Reporting by Jan Strupczewski, editing by Dale Hudson)