DENVER ? A commercial U.S. satellite company said it has captured a photo of China's first aircraft carrier in the Yellow Sea off the Chinese coast.
DigitalGlobe Inc. said Wednesday one of its satellites photographed the carrier Dec. 8. A DigitalGlobe analyst found the image Tuesday while searching through photos.
Stephen Wood, director of DigitalGlobe's analysis center, said he's confident the ship is the Chinese carrier because of the location and date of the photo. The carrier was on a sea trial at the time.
DigitalGlobe, based in Longmont, Colo., sells satellite imagery and analysis to clients that include the U.S. military, emergency response agencies and private companies. DigitalGlobe has three orbiting satellites and a fourth is under construction.
The aircraft carrier has generated intense international interest because of what it might portend about China's intentions as a military power.
The former Soviet Union started building the carrier, which it called the Varyag, but never finished it. When the Soviet Union collapsed, it ended up in the hands of Ukraine, a former Soviet republic.
China bought the ship from Ukraine in 1998 and spent years refurbishing it. It had no engines, weaponry or navigation systems when China acquired it.
China has said the carrier is intended for research and training, which has led to speculation that it plans to build future copies.
China initially said little about its plans for the carrier but has been more open in recent years, said Bonnie S. Glaser, a China expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"It wasn't until the Chinese actually announced they were sending it out on a trial run they admitted, `Yes, we are actually launching a carrier,'" she said.
China publicly announced two sea trials for the carrier that occurred this year, she said.
The carrier's progress is in line with the U.S. military's expectations, said Cmdr. Leslie Hull-Ryde, a Defense Department spokeswoman.
A Defense Department report to Congress this year said the carrier could become operationally available to the Chinese navy by the end of next year but without aircraft.
"From that point, it will take several additional years before the carrier has an operationally viable air group," Hull-Ryde said in an email.
She declined to comment on the DigitalGlobe photo, saying it was an intelligence matter.
___
Follow Dan Elliott at http://twitter.com/DanElliottAP
NEW DELHI ? A decade ago, plans for a metro and clean-fuel buses were hailed as New Delhi's answer to pollution. But air in the Indian capital is as dirty as ever ? partly because breakneck development has brought skyrocketing use of cars.
Citywide pollution sensors routinely register levels of small airborne particles at two or sometimes three times its own sanctioned level for residential areas, putting New Delhi up with Beijing, Cairo and Mexico City at the top of indexes listing the world's most-polluted capitals.
Sunrises in India's capital filter through near-opaque haze, scenic panoramas feature ribbons of brown air and everywhere, it seems, someone is coughing.
"My family is very worried. Earlier, the smoke and dust stayed outside, but now it comes into the house," said 61-year-old shopkeeper Hans Raj Wadhawan, a one-time smoker now being treated for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at the Delhi Heart and Lung Institute.
"I can see the air is bad again, and I can feel it in my chest."
New Delhi could lay some of the blame on its own success. Its recently minted middle class adds 1,200 cars a day to the 6 million on roads already snarled with incessantly honking traffic. Generous diesel subsidies promote the use of diesel-powered SUVs that belch some of the highest levels of carcinogenic particles, thanks to their reliance on one of the dirtiest-burning fuels and low Indian emissions standards.
"The city has lost nearly all of the gains it made in 2004 and 2005," said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director of research at the Delhi-based Center for Science and Environment.
New Delhi has undergone head-spinning expansion as Indian economic reforms in the 1990s ushered in two decades of record growth. Once a manageable capital of 9.4 million where cows, bicycles and bullock carts ruled the road, New Delhi today is a gridlocked metropolis and migrant mecca now home to 16 million. Authorities have scrambled to deal with everything from rocketing real estate prices to overflowing garbage dumps.
Efforts to clean the air, it seems, have only just begun.
The capital saw some success after a 1998-2003 program removing power plants from the city center and adopting compressed natural gas, CNG, for running buses and rickshaws. The buses had run on diesel, and the rickshaws on gasoline and highly polluting kerosene. Of all possible fuels, CNG releases the smallest amounts of particulate matter.
But just a few years later pollution levels are back up, with levels of airborne particles smaller than 10 micrometers ? called PM10s ? often near 300 per cubic meter, three times the city's legal limit of 100 ? and well above the World Health Organization's recommended limit of 20.
The tiny particulate matter, sometimes called black carbon or soot, is small enough to lodge in people's lungs and fester over time. WHO says the stuff kills some 1.34 million people globally each year.
Studies on the Indian capital put the number of such deaths in the thousands.
It worsens in the dry winters, as winds die down and pollution pools over the Delhi plains. Vehicular smog mixes with smoke from festival-season fireworks as well as countless illegal pyres of garbage burned by homeless migrants to stay warm as temperatures near freezing. And the booming construction scene, free for a few months from monsoons, sends up clouds of dust.
"Our biggest challenge is the vehicles, but building roads is not the answer," Roychowdhury said. "We badly need second-generation action to restrain this increasing auto dependence."
But so far India's diesel subsidies, billed as aid for poor rural farmers who need the fuel for generators and tractors, have only boosted its market for vehicles, and the worst-polluting kind.
Diesel cars, which in 2000 accounted for 4 percent of India's market, now make up 40 of new car sales, and are soon expected to hit 50 percent.
It's an odd automotive trend for today's world. In the United States, where markets set fuel prices, the popularity of diesel is nearly naught. China taxes diesel and petrol fuels at the same rate, while neighboring Sri Lanka sets high duties on diesel cars.
Indian car owners now spend more on diesel than the agricultural sector and benefit from 100 billion rupees, or about $1.86 billion, in direct diesel subsidy, according to the Center for Science and Environment.
Environmentalists call the diesel policy an incentive to pollute. And with the capital's 16 million residents now living on some of the world's most lung-challenging air, city authorities seem to agree and say more action is needed to clean up the air.
The city recently proposed a raft of reforms to bring down PM10 levels by boosting public transportation and discouraging drivers from taking out their cars. Ideas floated include taxing diesel vehicles, increasing parking rates that are now lower than bus fares, and introducing a London-like congestion charge for driving in the city center.
Delhi also is expanding its metro, and wants to auction off its 17 bus routes to replace a chaotic system that has dozens of single owner-operators working independently ? and inefficiently.
But whether the changes are made, and how effective they would be in persuading people to give up their cars, remains to be seen.
In the meantime, at least 3,000 Delhi residents will die each year from pollution-related causes, out of the city's 100,000 annual deaths, according to a recent study by The Energy Resources Institute in New Delhi and the U.S.-based health Effects Institute. Other studies have put the number of pollution-related deaths at 10,000 a year or higher.
Thousands more will develop asthma, chronic bronchitis or other respiratory ailments.
Unsurprisingly, most patients and victims live near the city's biggest roads.
"The number of respiratory diseases is definitely on the rise. Even in children we are finding more respiratory problems," said Dr. Vinod Khetarpal, president of the Delhi Medical Association. "With the introduction of CNG, it had come down quite drastically. But now it's back up again. Cars seem to be our new vice."
___
Follow Katy Daigle on Twitter at http://twitter.com/katydaigle
FILE - In this Oct. 18, 2011 file photo, Mike Lazaridis, co-CEO of Research in Motion gestures at the end of his keynote address to the BlackBerry DevCon Americas conference in San Francisco. Research In Motion Ltd. reports quarterly financial results Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011, after the market close (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)
FILE - In this Oct. 18, 2011 file photo, Mike Lazaridis, co-CEO of Research in Motion gestures at the end of his keynote address to the BlackBerry DevCon Americas conference in San Francisco. Research In Motion Ltd. reports quarterly financial results Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011, after the market close (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)
TORONTO (AP) ? BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. said Thursday that new phones deemed critical to the company's future will be delayed until late 2012.
Mike Lazaridis, one of the company's co-CEOs, said the BlackBerry 10 phones will need a highly integrated chipset that will not be available until mid-2012, so the company can now expect them to ship late in the year. He disclosed the delay on a conference call with analysts.
Analysts say RIM's future depends on the new software platform. RIM needs to come up with a compelling BlackBerry as U.S. users have moved on to flashier touch-screen phones such as Apple's iPhone and various competing models that run Google's Android software.
Earlier Thursday, RIM said BlackBerry sales will fall sharply in the holiday quarter, providing further evidence that it is struggling to compete. It also has been having a hard time finding a niche in the tablet-computer market, which is dominated by Apple's iPad.
RIM continues to enjoy success overseas, but market researcher NPD Group says RIM's market share of smartphones in the U.S. has declined from 44 percent in 2009 to 10 percent this year.
The company's stock fell 7 percent in extended trading Thursday.
The delay in BlackBerry 10 phones is the latest in a series of setbacks for the once-iconic Canadian company. Its PlayBook tablet computer hasn't been selling well, forcing the company to sell them at a deep discount. A widespread outage frustrated tens of millions of BlackBerry users in October. RIM fired two executives after their drunken rowdiness forced the diversion of an Air Canada flight. The head of its operations in Indonesia faces charges related to a stampede at a recent promotional sale where dozens of consumers were injured.
RIM said its net income sank 71 percent as revenue fell and the company took a large accounting charge on the PlayBook, which uses the same operating software that RIM's new phones will use.
"We ask for your patience and confidence," Lazaridis said.
RIM earned $265 million, or 51 cents per share, for its fiscal third quarter that ended Nov. 26. That compares with $911 million, or $1.74 per share, a year ago. The company said revenue fell 6 percent to $5.2 billion. The PlayBook charge was $485 million before taxes.
The company shipped 14.1 million BlackBerry smartphones during the third quarter and 150,000 PlayBook tablets, but its fourth-quarter guidance was what investors focused on because it had warned about the third-quarter results earlier.
Although RIM has said it would sell fewer BlackBerrys in the current quarter, the forecast given Thursday appeared worse than expected.
RIM said it would only ship between 11 million and 12 million BlackBerrys in the fourth quarter compared to 14.8 million in the previous fourth quarter.
RIM also said its fourth-quarter earnings would be in the range of 80 to 95 cents per share on revenue in the range of $4.6 billion to $4.9 billion. Analysts had been expecting earnings of $1.15 a share on revenue of $5.04 billion, according to FactSet.
Peter Misek, an analyst at Jefferies & Co. in New York, said earlier that if RIM reveals that it will ship no more than 12 million BlackBerrys in the current quarter, then the company needs to get its new phones out fast. Otherwise, RIM could lose money in future quarters as it continues to struggle to sell the current, stopgap models.
Misek said late Thursday the BlackBerry 10 phones will now be released three to nine months later than people believed.
BGC Financial analyst Colin Gillis said the guidance was terrible and wondered if it was the start of a collapse.
"If consumers abandon this platform it can happen pretty quickly," Gillis said. "Don't think this is the bottom."
Jim Balsillie, the other co-CEO, said the last few quarters have been among the most challenging times in the company's most recent history. He said executives are working to turn it around, but said it may take time.
"We are not satisfied with the performance of the business in the United States," Balsillie said.
Balsillie said he and Lazaridis have reduced their cash salary to $1 per year, though they will continue to earn stock options and other compensation.
RIM's stock fell $1.15 to a new seven-year low of $13.98 in extended trading Thursday after the results were released.
The stock has lost about 75 percent of its value this year. A company that was worth more than $70 billion a few years ago now has a market value of around $8 billion.
"We recognize our shareholders may feel we've fallen short," Balsillie said
BEIJING ? Chinese police arrested 608 suspects and rescued 178 children in a bust of two separate child trafficking networks, authorities said Wednesday.
The ministry said in a statement posted online that 5,000 police across 10 provinces cooperated for six months on the investigation and moved in to arrest the suspects last week. It said prosecutors were preparing cases against the suspects, suggesting that charges have yet to be filed.
Child trafficking is big problem in China, where traditional preference for male heirs and a restrictive one-child policy has driven a thriving market in baby boys, who fetch a considerably higher price than girls. Girls and women also are abducted and often used as laborers or as brides for unwed sons.
Tens of thousands of children go missing every year, though the exact numbers of victims are difficult to obtain.
The rescued children will be put into orphanages while authorities try to reunite them with their families, it said. It didn't give the age range of the abducted children or other specifics. It said they were temporarily in the care of female police officers while the Ministry of Civil Affairs was finding temporary places for them in orphanages.
An investigation into a traffic accident in south China's Sichuan province in May led police to the first ring, which was allegedly selling children abducted or bought in Sichuan to buyers in central China's Hebei province and elsewhere. The ring had links to at least 26 gangs nationwide, it said.
The second ring was uncovered in August and was based in southeast China's Fujian province and led by a female suspect identified as Chen Xiumei.
The statement said police have cracked more than 7,000 gangs or rings that sold women or children since a special campaign against human trafficking started in April 2009. It said 18,518 children and 34,813 women have been rescued.
NASA satellite confirms sharp decline in pollution from US coal power plantsPublic release date: 1-Dec-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Adam Voiland adam.p.voiland@nasa.gov 301-614-6949 NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
GREENBELT, Md. A team of scientists have used the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on NASA's Aura satellite to confirm major reductions in the levels of a key air pollutant generated by coal power plants in the eastern United States. The pollutant, sulfur dioxide, contributes to the formation of acid rain and can cause serious health problems.
The scientists, led by an Environment Canada researcher, have shown that sulfur dioxide levels in the vicinity of major coal power plants have fallen by nearly half since 2005. The new findings, the first satellite observations of this type, confirm ground-based measurements of declining sulfur dioxide levels and demonstrate that scientists can potentially measure levels of harmful emissions throughout the world, even in places where ground monitoring is not extensive or does not exist. About two-thirds of sulfur dioxide pollution in American air comes from coal power plants. Geophysical Research Letters published details of the new research this month.
The scientists attribute the decline in sulfur dioxide to the Clean Air Interstate Rule, a rule passed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2005 that called for deep cuts in sulfur dioxide emissions. In response to that rule, many power plants in the United States have installed desulfurization devices and taken other steps that limit the release of sulfur dioxide. The rule put a cap on emissions, but left it up to power companies to determine how to reduce emissions and allowed companies to trade pollution credits.
While scientists have used the Ozone Monitoring Instrument to observe sulfur dioxide levels within large plumes of volcanic ash and over heavily polluted parts of China in the past, this is the first time they have observed such subtle details over the United States, a region of the world that in comparison to fast-growing parts of Asia now has relatively modest sulfur dioxide emissions. Just a few decades ago, sulfur dioxide pollution was quite severe in the United States. Levels of the pollutant have dropped by about 75 percent since the 1980s due largely to the passage of the Clean Air Act.
Vitali Fioletov, a scientist based in Toronto at Environment Canada, and his colleagues developed a new mathematical approach that made the improved measurements a reality. The approach centers on averaging measurements within a 30 miles radius (50 km) of a sulfur dioxide source over several years. "Vitali has developed an extremely powerful technique that makes it possible to detect emissions even when levels of sulfur dioxide are about four times lower than what we could detect previously," said Nickolay Krotkov, a researcher based at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and a coauthor of the new paper.
The technique allowed Fioletov and his colleagues to pinpoint the sulfur dioxide signals from the 40 largest sulfur dioxide sources in the United States generally coal power plants that emit more than 70 kilotons of sulfur dioxide per year. The scientists observed major declines in sulfur dioxide emissions from power plants in Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia by comparing levels of the pollutant for an average of the period 2005 to 2007 with another average from 2008 to 2010.
"What we're seeing in these satellite observations represents a major environmental accomplishment," said Bryan Bloomer, an Environmental Protection Agency scientist familiar with the new satellite observations. "This is a huge success story for the EPA and the Clean Air Interstate Rule," he said.
The researchers focused their analysis on the United States to take advantage of the presence of a robust network of ground-based instruments that monitor sulfur dioxide emissions inside power plant smokestacks. The ground-based instruments have logged a 46 percent decline in sulfur dioxide levels since 2005 a finding consistent with the 40 percent reduction observed by OMI.
"Now that we've confirmed that the technique works, the next step is to use it for other parts of the world that don't have ground-based sensors," said Krotkov. "The real beauty of using satellites is that we can apply the same technique to the entire globe in a consistent way." In addition, the team plans to use a similar technique to monitor other important pollutants that coal power plants release, such as nitrogen dioxide, a precursor to ozone.
OMI, a Dutch and Finnish built instrument, was launched in 2004, as one of four instruments on the NASA Aura satellite, and can measure sulfur dioxide more accurately than any satellite instrument flown to date. Though OMI remains in very good condition and scientists expect it to continue producing high-quality data for many years, the researchers also hope to use data from an upcoming Dutch-built OMI follow-on instrument called TROPOMI that is expected to launch on a European Space Agency satellite in 2014.
On July 6, 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR), requiring 27 states to significantly reduce power plant emissions that contribute to ozone and fine particle pollution in other states. This rule replaces EPA's 2005 Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR). A December 2008 court decision kept the requirements of CAIR in place temporarily but directed EPA to issue a new rule to implement Clean Air Act requirements concerning the transport of air pollution across state boundaries. This action responds to the court's concerns.
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
NASA satellite confirms sharp decline in pollution from US coal power plantsPublic release date: 1-Dec-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Adam Voiland adam.p.voiland@nasa.gov 301-614-6949 NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
GREENBELT, Md. A team of scientists have used the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on NASA's Aura satellite to confirm major reductions in the levels of a key air pollutant generated by coal power plants in the eastern United States. The pollutant, sulfur dioxide, contributes to the formation of acid rain and can cause serious health problems.
The scientists, led by an Environment Canada researcher, have shown that sulfur dioxide levels in the vicinity of major coal power plants have fallen by nearly half since 2005. The new findings, the first satellite observations of this type, confirm ground-based measurements of declining sulfur dioxide levels and demonstrate that scientists can potentially measure levels of harmful emissions throughout the world, even in places where ground monitoring is not extensive or does not exist. About two-thirds of sulfur dioxide pollution in American air comes from coal power plants. Geophysical Research Letters published details of the new research this month.
The scientists attribute the decline in sulfur dioxide to the Clean Air Interstate Rule, a rule passed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2005 that called for deep cuts in sulfur dioxide emissions. In response to that rule, many power plants in the United States have installed desulfurization devices and taken other steps that limit the release of sulfur dioxide. The rule put a cap on emissions, but left it up to power companies to determine how to reduce emissions and allowed companies to trade pollution credits.
While scientists have used the Ozone Monitoring Instrument to observe sulfur dioxide levels within large plumes of volcanic ash and over heavily polluted parts of China in the past, this is the first time they have observed such subtle details over the United States, a region of the world that in comparison to fast-growing parts of Asia now has relatively modest sulfur dioxide emissions. Just a few decades ago, sulfur dioxide pollution was quite severe in the United States. Levels of the pollutant have dropped by about 75 percent since the 1980s due largely to the passage of the Clean Air Act.
Vitali Fioletov, a scientist based in Toronto at Environment Canada, and his colleagues developed a new mathematical approach that made the improved measurements a reality. The approach centers on averaging measurements within a 30 miles radius (50 km) of a sulfur dioxide source over several years. "Vitali has developed an extremely powerful technique that makes it possible to detect emissions even when levels of sulfur dioxide are about four times lower than what we could detect previously," said Nickolay Krotkov, a researcher based at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and a coauthor of the new paper.
The technique allowed Fioletov and his colleagues to pinpoint the sulfur dioxide signals from the 40 largest sulfur dioxide sources in the United States generally coal power plants that emit more than 70 kilotons of sulfur dioxide per year. The scientists observed major declines in sulfur dioxide emissions from power plants in Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia by comparing levels of the pollutant for an average of the period 2005 to 2007 with another average from 2008 to 2010.
"What we're seeing in these satellite observations represents a major environmental accomplishment," said Bryan Bloomer, an Environmental Protection Agency scientist familiar with the new satellite observations. "This is a huge success story for the EPA and the Clean Air Interstate Rule," he said.
The researchers focused their analysis on the United States to take advantage of the presence of a robust network of ground-based instruments that monitor sulfur dioxide emissions inside power plant smokestacks. The ground-based instruments have logged a 46 percent decline in sulfur dioxide levels since 2005 a finding consistent with the 40 percent reduction observed by OMI.
"Now that we've confirmed that the technique works, the next step is to use it for other parts of the world that don't have ground-based sensors," said Krotkov. "The real beauty of using satellites is that we can apply the same technique to the entire globe in a consistent way." In addition, the team plans to use a similar technique to monitor other important pollutants that coal power plants release, such as nitrogen dioxide, a precursor to ozone.
OMI, a Dutch and Finnish built instrument, was launched in 2004, as one of four instruments on the NASA Aura satellite, and can measure sulfur dioxide more accurately than any satellite instrument flown to date. Though OMI remains in very good condition and scientists expect it to continue producing high-quality data for many years, the researchers also hope to use data from an upcoming Dutch-built OMI follow-on instrument called TROPOMI that is expected to launch on a European Space Agency satellite in 2014.
On July 6, 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR), requiring 27 states to significantly reduce power plant emissions that contribute to ozone and fine particle pollution in other states. This rule replaces EPA's 2005 Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR). A December 2008 court decision kept the requirements of CAIR in place temporarily but directed EPA to issue a new rule to implement Clean Air Act requirements concerning the transport of air pollution across state boundaries. This action responds to the court's concerns.
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
AAA??Dec. 1, 2011?6:06 PM ET It's on: the new National Christmas Tree lights up STACY A. ANDERSONSTACY A. ANDERSON, Associated Press??
President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, daughters Malia and Sasha, obscured, and mother-in-law Marian Robinson, far left, arrive for the lighting of the National Christmas Tree at the Ellipse across from the White House in Washington, Thursday, Dec., 1, 2011. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, daughters Malia and Sasha, obscured, and mother-in-law Marian Robinson, far left, arrive for the lighting of the National Christmas Tree at the Ellipse across from the White House in Washington, Thursday, Dec., 1, 2011. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
The National Christmas Tree is pictured after it was lit by President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, daughters Malia and Sasha Obama and and mother-in-law Marian Robinson, at the Ellipse across from the White House in Washington, Thursday, Dec., 1, 2011. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
President Barack Obama, with daughter Sasha and first lady Michelle Obama, with Malia, arrive for lighting of the National Christmas Tree at the Ellipse across from the White House in Washington, Thursday, Dec., 1, 2011. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, and daughters Malia and Sasha Obama arrive for lighting of the National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse across from the White House in Washington, Thursday, Dec., 1, 2011. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The new National Christmas Tree is getting its holiday on.
President Barack Obama and his family lit the tree in a ceremony just after dark Thursday. It's the 89th year for the holiday tree lighting, a tradition that began with President Calvin Coolidge in 1923.
Obama urged the crowd to be generous and to help others in need during the season including "the homeless, the hungry, the sick and shut in."
Obama also welcomed troops returning home in time for the holiday and advised Americans to give "thanks and honor to our troops and our veterans and their families who sacrifice so much for us."
The new National Christmas Tree was planted in March on the Ellipse south of the White House. It's a 26-foot-tall Colorado blue spruce from a New Jersey tree nursery. The previous tree stood on the Ellipse since 1978. It was toppled in February by strong winds.
TV's Carson Daly hosted the lighting ceremony, which included performances from Big Time Rush and Ellie Goulding and appearances by Kermit the Frog and Santa Claus.
ISTANBUL?? A heavily armed man opened fire at one of Istanbul's main tourist attractions on Wednesday, wounding a Turkish soldier and a security guard before police snipers killed the attacker, officials said.
The motive for the assault at Topkapi Palace was not immediately known. But police said the man, a Libyan with Syrian citizenship, had entered Turkey only three days ago.
Police said the attacker arrived at the palace in a car with Syrian license plates. Minutes before the attack, Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had announced tough economic sanctions on Syria to protest its government's crackdown on an 8-month-old pro-democracy uprising.
Multiple gunshots were heard from behind the high walls of the Topkapi Palace before the attacker was killed, and some tourists threw themselves on the ground to avoid the violence, officials and witnesses said.
Topkapi Palace, the seat of the Ottoman sultans for almost 400 years, is located in the city's historic Sultanahmet district, which also includes the Blue Mosque and the former Byzantine church of Haghia Sophia.
The palace ? including ornate courtyards, gilded treasures and dozens of rooms that once housed harems ? attracts thousands of visitors each year.
Witnesses said the man shot the soldier in the leg and the guard in the abdomen before running into the palace courtyard through the main gate, chanting in Arabic "God is Great!"
Istanbul's governor, Huseyin Avni Mutlu, said the wounded are not in life-threatening condition.
Mutlu said the gunman made no demands and that police decided to shoot him when he refused to surrender.
Interior Minister Idris Naim Sahin said the attacker had entered Turkey on Sunday. The state-run TRT television, citing unnamed officials, identified him as 36-year-old Samir Salem Ali Elmadhavri, a Libyan with Syrian citizenship.
Authorities would divulge further details about the man's identity and Sahin said it was not immediately known if the attacker was affiliated with any groups or organizations in Libya or Syria.
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The prosecutor's office in Istanbul is investigating the attack.
A spokesman for Libya's National Transition Council, Jalal el-Galal, said authorities in Tripoli have no information at this point on the gunman.
The man was seen at an outdoor cafe in the area before going on his rampage, witnesses told Associated Press television. A photo obtained by The Associated Press shows the attacker carrying a rifle and a cartridge belt around his neck.
"I saw the gunman carrying a gun on his shoulder, like a hunter. He had ammunition around his neck and a backpack. His overcoat was buttoned, I couldn't see what was underneath," witness Idris Cengiz told AP television. "He was coming toward us and my friend said he looked like a hunter so I asked him in English 'Are you a hunter?' He said something in Arabic which I didn't understand. Then he said 'Allahu Akbar' (God is Great)."
Cengiz said he and his friend heard the gun shots moments later.
"We ran we saw a soldier and a security guard laying on the ground," he said.
No tourists were hurt.
"I'm not afraid because this kind of thing can happen anywhere these days, even in Amsterdam, where I live," Dutch tourist, Yeuonne Alkemade, told AP television. "I'm sad for Turkey and Istanbul because this is one of the top tourist attractions here."
Turkey has suffered a number of terrorist attacks in the past.
Earlier this year, police arrested alleged Turkish members of al-Qaida terrorist network accused of planning to attack the U.S. Embassy in Ankara and another group in the southern city of Adana, which is home to the Incirlik Air Base used by the United States to transfer noncombat supplies to Iraq and Afghanistan. Authorities have said al-Qaida planned to attack Incirlik in the past but was deterred by high security.
An attack blamed on al-Qaida-affiliated militants outside the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul in 2008 left three assailants and three policemen dead.
Homegrown Islamic militants tied to al-Qaida attacked the British Consulate, a British bank and two synagogues in Istanbul in 2003, killing 58 people.
___
Hacaoglu reported from Ankara, Turkey. AP correspondents Suzan Fraser in Ankara and Vanessa Gera in Tripoli, Libya, contributed to this report.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report
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