Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-10-21

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Tsipras highlights the need for an agreement on debt in meetings with Hollande, Merkel

[02] Huge changes in Titan's atmosphere may make Saturn's satellite habitable, astronomer Athina Koustenis' statements to ANA

[01] Tsipras highlights the need for an agreement on debt in meetings with Hollande, Merkel

According to government sources, the French side supported the Greek positions and expressed the will of the French government for a solution on the debt to be found, recognizing the need to put an end to uncertainty. Moreover, both sides agreed that the disagreements regarding the handling of the debt issue need to be resolved in order to find a solution that will ensure its sustainability. The agreement on debt is also necessary, among others, because it will give a signal that Europe solves its problems.

Tsipras and Hollande agreed that access to the quantitative easing programme is crucial for the recovery of the investment climate in Greece, while the Greek side reiterated its position that the agreements must be respected by all parties, which was accepted by the French side.

Tsipras expressed the same position in his meeting with Merkel, stressing that it is necessary to dispel the uncertainty so that a solution to be reached and Greece can exit to the markets.

Tsipras and Merkel also discussed developments in the refugee issue, according to governmental circles. The two sides agreed that all necessary measures need to be taken so that the EU-Turkey agreement advances. The same sources said that Merkel expressed her intention to further support the refugee issue in Greece, both at an EU and bilateral level.

Regarding the Cyprus issue, which was raised in the meeting, Tsipras briefed Merkel on the Greek positions adding that he supports the intercommunal talks. He referred to the issue of guarantees and security, noting that the Greek side supports the complete withdrawal of troops from the island.

Finally, government sources said that Tsipras had a short meeting with British Prime Minister Teresa May, in the framework of bilateral contacts with Member States ahead of the Brexit. In this meeting, the Greek side raised the issue of Greek students and workers in the UK, while they also discussed the Cyprus issue.

[02] Huge changes in Titan's atmosphere may make Saturn's satellite habitable, astronomer Athina Koustenis' statements to ANA

At the same time, winter in Titan's south hemisphere is in progress and a strong rotary gas stream has developed in the upper atmosphere of the satellite just over its south pole. These observations, according to Koustenis, indicate a polar reversal since when the Cassini spacecraft reached Saturn's system in 2004, something similar was happening in the north hemishpere.

The heat circulates and varies in Titan's atmosphere though the gas movement between its poles. The two hemishpere appear to react differently in the season changes, so in the last four years of winter the temperature in the stratosphere of the south pole dropped by 40 degrees on Celsius scale while the temperature in the south pole increased only by 6 degrees after 2014.

In statements to Athens-Macedonian New Agency, professor Koustenis said that "the exploration of Saturn's system and particularly of its satellite Titan is at a fascinating peak! We are monitoring Saturn's orbit around the Sun at a period of 29.5 earth ages and Titan with its axial angle at 26.7 degrees creates huge seasonal variation in its dense nitrogenous atmosphere similar to those observed in earth. This leads to important changes in the atmosphere as in the chemical composition and the patterns of the rotation of atmospheric currents at the middle and upper layers of the atmosphere, namely the stratosphere and the mesosphere.

Koustenis noted that "Cassini offers us the possibility to monitor very closely the reactions of Titan's atmosphere to solar radiation that led us to the discovery of the dramatic changes in the temperature and composition that occured after the equinox."

From 2010 and over was observed the rapid start and enrichment of Titan's south pole with all kinds of gas trails and particularly with complex hydrocarbons and nitriles in the atmosphere. "We search for new complex of cells in Titan's south pole with aim to observe how complicated and advanced is the atmosphere's chemistry and how possible is the existence of a liquid ocean under the surface of Titan, a fact that would make Titan a star with habitable potential outside our solar system".

Koustenis said that "all the scientists involved in the observation of Titan are very excited with the possibility to study further this phaenomenon during the last age of Cassini's mission that will last until 2017, a mission that will reach 13 years of observation and would have cover half of Titan's year, something that imposes even tighter restrictions in relation with the understanding of Titan's season variations.

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