Sirens wail to alert both skuas and people

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Saturday he was relieved about an Israeli ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and urged the Jewish state to withdraw all of its troops as soon as possible. "I am relieved that the Israeli government has decided to cease hostilities as of midnight GMT," Ban told reporters. Ban said that humanitarian access for the people of the Gaza Strip was the top priority and the United Nations was ready to act immediately. "Any durable solution must include the reopening of the (Gaza border) crossings and the prevention of illicit trafficking in arms," he said.(Reporting by Louis Charbonneau; editing by Myra MacDonald). ROTHERA BASE, Antarctica (Reuters) - The world's most southerly bird has become a threat to planes in Antarctica after developing a love for sitting on warm, snow-free airstrips.

Science Green BusinessAir traffic experts are seeking ways to scare off the south polar skuas, a large and aggressive brown seabird, but without harming them. The birds are protected by the 47-nation Antarctic Treaty, which declares the frozen continent a nature reserve.At the British Rothera research station on the Antarctic Peninsula, about 100 skuas often sit on the 900 meter (3,000 ft) gravel runway. Sirens wail to alert both skuas and people."It seems to be working about 15 minutes prior (to takeoff or landing) we've driving up and down with bells and whistles to get them out of the way," Steve King, a pilot and flying safety officer at Rothera, told Reuters.At Davis, an Australian Antarctic base, staff take a different tack by feeding the birds to try to lure them away from the airstrip.Skuas are a hazard because bird strikes can down aircraft The U.S. jetliner that made an emergency landing on the Hudson River on Thursday in which all 155 abroad survived had apparently struck a flock of birds.No birds have been hit this season at Rothera but there were minor strikes last year. The skuas are apparently attracted by the dark gravel surface warmer than sitting on snow.Antarctic airstrips can get a license to kill the birds in extreme cases.The south polar skua is a marauder that often eats other birds' eggs or steal other birds' food, behavior scientists call "klepto-parasitism."Anyone who goes too close to a skua nest risks attack. They sometimes strike but usually veer off at the last moment.

"It's like someone dropping a chicken on your head," said John Loines, a skua expert at Rothera.Not everyone dislikes the skuas, however.A photograph of Bubba hangs in a corridor below the Rothera control tower as the official "base skua." "Bubba is 29 years old," said Loines. He succeeded "George" and "Mildred" as official base skua.(Editing by Alison Williams) Science Green Business. NEWS Stocks - Obama administration said considering setting up a govt-runbank to acquire bad assets clogging the financial system - Global recession could deepen unless countries unite andbanks resist "financial isolationism" British PM Brown says - Top German banks have so far written off only a quarter oftoxic U.S. assets on their books, Der Spiegel magazine says - Bank regulators close two small banks, first U.S. stocks rise on energy sector strength and co.s thathold up well in recessions.

banks easesome investor concerns about stress in the financial sector - Oil prices rise 3 percent, with short covering amid choppypre-holiday trade outweighing a gloomy demand outlook - U.S. Treasury debt prices slide on concern about huge supplydue to costly govt steps to stabilize banking system, economy QUOTES "Together, we know that this is a time of great challenge forthe American people. "I'm not going to get into the structure of how we're going toapproach the revamped financial rescue package. What we have to dois approach this with a lot more transparency on the front end." -David Axelrod, a top adviser to Obama "The greatest risk after the events of the last few months isa retreat into what I would call financial isolationism. A lotwill depend on the degree of international cooperation." - BritishPrime Minister Gordon Brown "We have got no plans to immediately implement this. We arecreating a pool of people who said they would be willing. If theneed arises in the future and the market deteriorates, then wewould be in a position to put some of these plans in place tomanage costs." - Global accountancy firm KPMG spokesman "The economy does not respond to defibrillation.