Search for missing balloonists called off

CNN) -- Authorities in Italy have called off the search for two Americans who went missing during a hot-air balloon race.
The search ended Monday afternoon and will not resume, said Massimo Maccheroni of the Italian coastal guards. No balloon debris was found during more than four days of searching, he said.

A balloon carrying Richard Abruzzo of New Mexico and Carol Rymer-Davis of Colorado over the Adriatic Sea near Italy made a rapid descent during rough weather, conditions that would make their survival "unlikely," race organizers have said.
"This is very pessimistic information," said a statement from the race organization, Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett.

Race officials from the competition said they lost contact with the balloon as it was over the sea Wednesday morning.

Croatian boats searched Croatian waters, Maccheroni said.
Officials looked at transponder readings from air traffic control and made calculations from the altitude of the balloon, the time and its location, said flight director Don Cameron. The data showed the balloon had a "moderate descent rate initially which then increased into a high rate of descent, to around 50 miles per hour."

"It is the opinion of the Gordon Bennett 2010 Flight Control Team that the balloon appears to have suffered a sudden and unexpected failure," the statement read. "The cause of this tragedy is still being examined."

Two U.S. aircraft helped eight Italian vessels and aircraft in the search, which covered 3,600 square miles.

Abruzzo's wife, Nancy, said last week that she was hopeful.

"We've had other challenges before, but we've never lost contact for this long," she said. "But they are smart, strong and capable. And they are survivors."
Maccheroni listed three hypotheses on what happened: Lightning struck the balloon and it exploded; the balloon suffered a failure and went down quickly into the ocean; or the balloon dropped slowly, making survivability more likely.

The balloon was equipped with a satellite phone, VHF radios, a radar transponder and two mobile phones, but efforts to contact Abruzzo and Rymer-Davis were unsuccessful.
The balloon also had survival suits, life jackets and two single-person life rafts, according to Cameron.

"We have not found any safety device [lifeboat], and one can last only ... so long at sea without one," Maccheroni said

Breaking: German Jihad al Islami hosed by Predator

Eight suspected German nationals were killed in a suspected drone strike in northwestern Pakistan, two Pakistani officials said Monday.

The strike happened in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan, the officials said. Missiles struck a building that eight suspected German militants were in,
the officials said.

The eight are believed to have been members of the group Jihad al Islami, the officials said.

Bin Laden urging al Qaeda to invest in infrastructure?

CNN) -- A message purportedly from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is urging Muslims to tackle famine, flood relief, and clean water -- stark problems plaguing parts of the Islamic world.
The message, which appeared on jihadist forums Friday, strongly urged Muslims to help Muslims by investing in infrastructure projects and developing awareness programs, such as how to deal with issues like water pollution.

The speaker started the message by wishing the Muslim world a happy Ramadan, which fell between early August and early September, and he also focused on the floods in Pakistan.
The speech, entitled, "Pauses with the Method of Relief Work," came in an 11 minute, 39 second video produced by al-Qaeda's media arm, as-Sahab.
CNN could not verify the authenticity of the message.

The video featured a still photo of bin Laden with alternating images of people in disaster zones receiving aid over the voice of the speaker.
A purported bin Laden tape surfaced in March. The voice on that tape hints at retaliation if alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is executed.

Meet the new boss - same as the old boss.

North Korean has released video footage and a photograph which appears to show the heir apparent Kim Jong-un.

It is the world's first up-to-date glimpse of the young man who appears set to succeed his father, Kim Jong-il, in a gradual transfer of power.

He is pictured sitting on the front row in a group shot of senior leaders.

The TV footage shows him at this week's rare meeting of the ruling Workers' Party, where he was promoted to top political and military positions.

Continue reading the main story

Kim Jong-un, who is thought to be about 27 years old, was named vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party and was appointed to its central committee, state media said.

Mr Kim was also given the rank of a four-star general.

Kim Jong-il, thought to be in poor health, was re-elected as leader at the party's first congress for 30 years.

A North Korean delegation has now gone to China, reportedly to brief officials about the meeting.

Rapid rise
One day after the historic conference drew to a close, North Korea state television screened pictures of the event.

The leader's son, Kim Jong-un can be seen applauding along with the other senior officials.

It's a somewhat pudgy one, showing as we'd expect a young man much better fed than the overwhelming majority of his fellow countrymen.

Kim Jong-un's remarkable, rapid promotion this week to senior military and political office has already been reported - his first ever mention by name - in North Korea's government-controlled press.

But his special family connection has not been made clear. Now, for your average North Korean poring over the group photograph of the assembled officials, the symbolism won't need to be explained.

Kim Jong-un's front-row proximity to his father, as well as the clear family likeness, makes it all too clear.

Here is the chosen successor, with for good measure, the backing of the military, represented by a stern-faced officer in the middle.

Kim Jong-un's remarkable rise
The official photograph was published on the front page of a state-controlled North Korean newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun.

It showed 200 officials at the Workers' Party convention. Seated in the front row, just two seats along from his father, is Kim Jong-un.

Although the caption did not identify him, state media reported that he had attended the photo session.

Previously only grainy images from his childhood have been seen in the West.

The BBC's John Sudworth in Seoul says the family likeness is clear, and North Koreans, seeing the photo for the first time, are unlikely to miss the significance.

Kim Jong-un is Kim Jong-il's third son and had already been identified as the most likely successor to the Communist dynasty started by his grandfather, Kim Il-sung, in 1948.

Our correspondent says his rise is remarkable, even by the standards of one of the world's most totalitarian states.

He says there can now be little doubt that Swiss-educated Kim Jong-un has been chosen to eventually take over from his ailing father, who is thought to have had a stroke in 2008.

The few still photographs released from the conference hall show Kim Jong-il apparently chairing proceedings.

Analysts say that, at least, confirms that, although thin and frail, he is well enough to attend and seemingly still in control.

Hotel with one helluva view!

A Russian company has unveiled an ambitious plan to launch a "cosmic hotel" for wealthy space tourists. Guests would be ferried to the hotel on a Soyuz shuttle of the type used to transport cosmonauts to the International Space Station (ISS).

The Moscow-based firm did not reveal how the hotel would be built or funded.

Up until now space tourists, such as American businessman Dennis Tito, have squeezed into the cramped ISS, alongside astronauts and their experiments.

The new hotel would offer greater comforts, according to Sergei Kostenko, chief executive of Orbital Technologies.

High flyers
"Our planned module inside will not remind you of the ISS. A hotel should be comfortable inside, and it will be possible to look at the Earth through large portholes," he told RIA Novosti.

The hotel would be aimed at wealthy individuals and people working for private companies who want to do research in space, Mr Kostenko said.

It would follow the same orbit as the International Space Station.

The first module would have four cabins, designed for up to seven passengers, who would be packed into a space of 20 cubic metres (706 cubic feet).

Mr Kostenko did not reveal the price of staying in the hotel.

However he did say that food would be suited to individual preferences, and that organisers were thinking of employing celebrity chefs to cook the meals before they were sent into space.

It is not clear how the "cosmic hotel" would be built, but the company's website names Energia, Russia's state-controlled spacecraft manufacturer, as the project's general contractor.

Energia builds the Soyuz capsules and Progress cargo ships which deliver crew and supplies to the ISS.

Mr Kostenko said that "a number of agreements on partnership have already been signed" with Energia and the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos).

The project has Russian and American investors willing to inject hundreds of millions of dollars, he added.

Alexey Krasnov, head of manned space missions at Roscosmos, told the Associated Press news agency the proposed hotel could provide a temporary haven for the crew of the ISS, in case of an emergency.

However, doubts about the project were raised by Jim Oberg, a Houston-based space consultant and expert on the Russian space program.

"Why Russia would spend the required funds is a compelling question that has significant implications for its future commitment to the ISS," he told AP.

This latest plan is not the first time a space hotel has been mooted.

In 2009 the Barcelona-based architects of The Galactic Suite Space Resort said their orbiting hotel was on target to accept its first paying guests by 2012.

In 2007, Genesis II, an experimental spacecraft designed to test the viability of a space hotel, was successfully sent into orbit by Bigelow Aerospace, a private company founded by an American hotel tycoon.