BOULDER, Colo. — Scientists using satellite imagery report that a large portion of an ice shelf on the eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula has shattered and separated from the continent due to strong climate warming in the region.

Researchers at the University of Colorado's National Snow and Ice Data Center said the northern section of the Larsen B ice shelf collapsed, a section that is believed to have existed since the last major glaciation 12,000 years ago.

Ice shelves are thick plates of ice, fed by glaciers, which float on the ocean around much of Antarctica.

The scientists said the dramatic event is the latest in a series of retreats by ice shelves on the peninsula over the last 30 years attributed to climate warming. The rate of warming is approximately 0.5 degrees Celsius per decade, and the trend has been present since the late 1940s.

International cooperation between U.S., Argentinean, British, Austrian and German scientists has resulted in detailed information on the retreating ice shelves from field observations, shipboard studies and satellite sensors.

Overall on the peninsula, the extent of seven ice shelves has declined by a total of about 13,500 square kilometers since 1974.

While the breakup of ice shelves such as Larsen B will not raise sea level, scientists are concerned because the ice shelves act as a buttress, or braking system, for glaciers. Once gone, the glaciers can diminish faster, dumping more ice into the ocean than they gather as snow.

More importantly, regions of the giant Ross ice shelf are just a few degrees Celsius away from undergoing the same kind of retreat process that has destroyed Larsen. 

The Ross ice shelf is the main outlet for several major glaciers draining the West Antarctic ice sheet. If it breaks away, it has the potential to release ice with water volume equal to five meters of sea level rise.

President Bush will underscore his strong belief that "the best foreign policy for America is to have a peaceful, democratic and prosperous neighborhood" in his Latin American trip this weekend.

Interviewed Wednesday at the White House by a reporter from Univision, a popular U.S. Spanish-language cable television network, Bush outlined his objectives for his upcoming trip while also responding to concerns about whether the United States is neglecting Latin America in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks against New York and Washington.

While the United States has had to devote much time and attention to combating terrorism, the president said that his administration remains fully engaged with the nations of the Western Hemisphere and closely follows developments.

After his scheduled address to the Financing for Development conference in Monterrey, Mexico, Bush will meet with Mexico's President Vicente Fox for discussions on a wide range of bilateral issues. The U.S.-Mexico relationship "has not diminished," Bush noted. And in view of the booming commerce between the two countries, as well as the heightened importance of border security in a 

Immigration is obviously "a big issue" for both Mexico and the United States, Bush said. He added that "we need to continue a dialogue" to address the status of undocumented Mexican immigrants who live and work in the United States. Bush suggested that he favors an approach that would match up willing workers with willing employers.

The president also said that his stop in Peru will give him an opportunity to talk about the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA) with Peru's President Alejandro Toledo and leaders of other Andean nations. Bush is urging Congress to renew the legislation in order to promote economic growth for Andean countries that are eligible for enhanced U.S. market-access under the terms of the ATPA. He is personally "committed" to ATPA renewal, Bush said, and will "fight for it" on Capitol Hill.

His final stop, in El Salvador, "will give me a chance to talk about the importance of that region" as the United States pursues negotiations for a significant free-trade agreement with the nations of Central America, Bush said. He will meet with Salvadoran President Francisco Flores Perez and other leaders from Central America, including Costa Rican President Miguel Angel Rodríguez, before returning to the United States.

A man police said targeted rental cars driven by foreigners has been arrested.

Police said the man, whose last name is Diaz, preyed on vehicles parked in the area of the Instituto Nacional de Seguros in Barrio Amon. Investigators said they had just one complaint from a foreigner who had his rental car ransacked while it was parked near there, but they expected more.

The towering insurance monopoly building also houses the famous Jade Museum, which is a frequent stop for tourists. Rental cars are obvious to thieves because of stickers and the license plate numbers.

Agents from the Judicial Investigating Organization arrested the man at his house in Granadilla Norte de Curridabat. They found him because he drove a red four-wheel drive vehicle that witnesses were able to describe.

Three men held 
as bag snatchers

Investigators grabbed three men Wednesday as suspected members of a criminal group that stole bags and briefcases throughout metropolitan San José. 

The men were facing at least seven complaints, although investigators said they thought that there were many other victims. They urged such victims to contact them in the División de Robos of the Judicial Investigating Organization.

Agents also said that this group was only one of several who are committing the same crimes throughout the city.

Police arrested the men while they were traveling in a car in Barrio Luján in southeast San José. There were identified by the last names Albanco, Camacho and Gomez.

This particular gang used to concentrate on supermarkets and restaurants, said police. Sometimes they would menace the people as they took their goods, said a spokesman. Then they would use the checkbooks they might find in the stolen bags to purchase merchandise at stores.

The gang liked to buy auto batteries, taxi meters and locks with the checks. But they had a twist to their efforts. If the clerk in the story they frequented questioned the validity of a stolen check, one man would distract the clerk while the others shoplifted the goods they wanted.

Investigators said this was not the group about which a woman complained in a letter to A.M. Costa Rica. Paula Loftis of Quepos/Manuel Antonio said that a nicely dressed and professional appearing woman stole her shoulder bag at Plaza del Sol March 6. See LETTER.

Investigators said that the three men arrested Wednesday did not have a woman companion. But other groups at work in the city do, they said.

They asked to be contacted by victims at these numbers; 295-3305, -3306, -3307 and -3308.
 

Argentine support
linked to reforms

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice says the international community will support Argentina once it makes reforms for sustainable economic growth.

Speaking here, Ms. Rice said the United States backs talks between the cash-strapped South American nation and the International Monetary Fund. She stressed that working with the IMF is the best way for Argentina to create conditions to help it emerge from its four-year recession. 

Ms. Rice made her comments during a news conference previewing President Bush's trip to Latin America, which began later Thursday.

The latest round of meetings between Argentina and the IMF ended last week in Buenos Aires, with the lending agency saying it would prepare for more talks on a new loan package. Argentine officials are seeking about $20 billion to help end the recession that has left more than 20 percent of its workforce unemployed. 

In December, the IMF refused to approve a loan payment to Argentina of more than $1 billion, saying the government had failed to control spending. President Bush told Latin American reporters on Tuesday in Washington that Argentina is of great concern to his administration.
 

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Bush has told a Mexican television station he is pressing ahead with plans to reform immigration laws that affect millions of Mexican migrants working illegally in the United States. 

In an interview with Mexico's TV Azteca Wednesday, Bush told interviewer Armando Guzman that his proposal currently before the U.S. Senate is just the first step in his immigration reform plan. He said good relations with Mexico are a major part of his foreign policy and a strong Mexico is good for the United States. 

Mexico wants Washington to grant legal immigration status to millions of Mexicans currently living and working illegally in the United States. Earlier this week, President Bush urged the Senate to pass a bill that would increase border security but allow illegal immigrants from Mexico to stay in the United States while seeking residency. 

In his TV Azteca interview, Bush dismissed critics who charge that Washington is trying to make Mexico subordinate to the United States. He said he and Mexican President Vicente Fox are friends and that, whether they agree or disagree, they always maintain good relations. 

Bush is expected to meet with Mr. Fox later this week on the sidelines of the U.N. Poverty summit in Monterrey, Mexico. Bush has said the issue of Mexican migrants is a top priority of his administration, but talks on the subject were postponed following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
 

Cuban trade group
formed in Congress

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A group of U.S. lawmakers opposed to the trade embargo against Cuba are pressing for a broader opening to the Communist-led island. The House of Representatives' Cuba Working Group has 34 members, evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats. Organizers believe additional lawmakers will join in the coming weeks. 

The group is seeking to lift the travel ban to Cuba and to allow private financing for agricultural sales to the island. 

The group's leader, Rep. Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican, says the best way to bring about democratic change in Cuba is through engagement, not isolation. "Average American citizens are our best diplomats," he said. "They represent our culture, our character and our ideals. Unfortunately we have isolated the Cuban people and so the only voice they hear is Castro's." 

Rep.William Delahunt, a Massachusetts Democrat, agrees that the four-decades-old embargo has failed. "It has failed the Cuban people because it certainly has not brought more freedoms to them, nor has it created more political space," he said. "But as importantly, it has failed the American people, because as my colleague has indicated it has restricted one of our fundamental constitutional rights, the right to travel." 

Delahunt said it is ironic that while Americans are barred from visiting Cuba, they can travel to Iran and North Korea, two countries named by President Bush as part of an axis of evil. 

More than 100,000 Americans visited Cuba last year with special licenses. Some 60,000 others traveled there illegally, and many of them received thousands of dollars in fines by the Treasury Department, which has increased its enforcement of the law. The House of Representatives voted last July to lift the travel ban. The Senate has yet to act on the measure. 

Any easing of the trade embargo against Cuba has been vehemently opposed by the politically influential Cuban-American community, based largely in Florida. President Bush, who enjoys strong support among Cuban Americans, has vowed to strengthen the embargo against Havana. An administration review of U.S. policy toward Cuba is expected to be released in the coming weeks.

Generals, IRA leader
asked to testify

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. lawmakers have invited top Colombian military officials and Gerry Adams, the head of the Irish Republican Army's political wing, to testify on alleged IRA links to Colombian rebels. 

The House International Relations Committee says it sent the invitations to Colombian armed forces leader Gen. Fernando Tapias and head of the national police Gen. Luis Ernesto Gilibert in addition to Mr. Adams. The hearing is set for April 24 here.

U.S. lawmakers say none of the three men has responded to the invitations. The committee says it is investigating whether suspected IRA training exercises with Colombia's FARC rebels influenced recent rebel attacks in the country. 

Lawmakers also say they want to know what information Sinn Fein may have about suspected IRA activities with the FARC, which the committee label as "narco-terrorists." 

The committee has been conducting a four-month investigation into links between the two organizations. The probe follows the arrest in Colombia last August of three Irish men suspected of teaching the Colombian rebels how to make bombs and non-conventional weapons. 

The suspects, Martin McCauley, James Monaghan and Niall Connolly, deny the charges.