SCIENCE

SCIENTISTS FIND EVIDENCE OF WATER IN LIQUID FORM ON SATURN MOON

The orbiting Cassini spacecraft has spotted what appear to be water geysers on one of Saturn’s icy moons, raising the tantalizing possibility that the celestial object harbors life. The surprising images from the moon Enceladus represent some of the most dramatic evidence yet that water in liquid form may be present beyond the Earth. Excited by the discovery, some scientists said Enceladus should be added to the short list of places within the solar system most likely to have extraterrestrial life. Cassini recently snapped high-resolution images showing geyser-like eruptions of ice particles and water vapor at Enceladus’s south pole, scientists said. The pictures do not actually show any water in liquid form, but scientists believe the ice and vapor must be coming from underground reservoirs of water close to the surface.

“We have the smoking gun” that proves the existence of water, said Carolyn Porco, a Cassini imaging scientist from the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.

– Associated Press

SOUTH AMERICA

DRUG BARON’S SON TO TESTIFY

William Rodriguez Abadia, 40, will testify later this year against two bosses of Colombia’s Cali drug cartel – his father, Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela, and his uncle, Gilberto – the BBC reported. The Rodriguez Orejuela brothers were extradited to America in 2004 and 2005, are currently held at the Miami Federal Detention Center, and are due to stand trial in September. The Cali cartel was believed to make profits of up to $8 billion during its heyday in the 1990s, according to the network. Mr. Rodriguez Abadia surrendered to American agents in Panama earlier this year, the BBC said, and struck a deal with the government whereby he would plead guilty to one smuggling charge and hand over millions in illegal assets and stand trial against his relatives and onetime business partners.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

MIDDLE EAST

OLMERT: ISRAEL WILL BUILD WALL ON NEW BORDER IF NEGOTIATIONS FAIL

JERUSALEM – Israel will determine its border with the West Bank in the absence of negotiations with the Palestinians, and then build a wall and move all settlers to the Israeli side, the acting prime minister, Ehud Olmert, said in an interview published Friday. On Thursday, Mr. Olmert said Israel will draw its final borders by 2010, for the first time setting a deadline for what is expected to be a unilateral large-scale West Bank pullback.

– Associated Press

ISRAEL REOPENS GAZA CROSSING

The Karni crossing to the Gaza Strip from Israel was opened yesterday after the United Nations cautioned that food supplies were dwindling in the area, Reuters reported. Karni is the primary commercial gateway into Gaza, according to the wire service, which quoted an Israeli army statement as saying, “The decision to open the crossing was made despite existing security alerts and after both humanitarian and security aspects were taken into consideration.” The border crossing is currently open for five hours a day, and trucks are not allowed to leave Gaza for Israel, but will be allowed through by Sunday, Reuters said.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun