European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 4, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                4 2007 stars and stripes Page i souped up train Breaks rail record by Ingrid Rousseau the associated press aboard Tram v150 prance roaring like a Jet plane spitting Sparks and trailing dust a French train with a souped up engine and special wheels broke the world Speed record tuesday for conventional rail trains reaching 3572 Mph the Black and Chrome train with three double Decker cars named the v150 bettered the pre Vious record of 3202 Mph set in 1990 by another French train however it fell Short of the ultimate record set by japans nonconventional magnetically levitated train which sped to 361 Mph in 2003 tuesdays Endeavor some 125 Miles East of the capital on a new track linking Paris with Stras Bourg showcased technology France is trying to sell to Multi Bil lion Dollar overseas markets like China Sparks flew from the Power lines overhead and a Long Tail of Frances v150 reaches 3572 Mph Ming just Short of japans mag lev dust kicked up behind the train As it whizzed through the French Countryside the train sped along far faster than a passenger Jet taking off or a formula one race car on Board the sensation was comparable to that of an air plane at liftoff the train kept up with planes Fly ing overhead taking photos people lined Bridges clapping and cheering As the train zipped underneath them there Are about 10000 Engi neers who would want to be in my place train Driver Eric Piechac said it makes me very Happy a mixed feeling of Pride and Honor to be Able to reach this Speed technicians on the train had French excellence emblazoned on the backs of their shirts some applauded when the top Speed was attained the train also carried journalists on Board there were notice Able vibrations As the train hurtled along the air pressure briefly caused a slight earache journalists were not buckled into their seats but were told not to move around or stand up so As not to interfere with live television broadcasts from the train outside the Countryside zipped past too fast to appreciate after setting the record the train gradually slowed by com Parison to its top Speed its Cruis ing Speed of around 190 Mph Felt Snail paced Philippe Mellier president of Alstom transports the builder said before the test that the train would try to outdo the absolute world record held by the Japa Nese for their magnetically levitated mag lev train but in the end the Tiv came up just Short Pierrelouis Rochet former head of French state run rail net work in cos International Divi Sion said this May be As fast As it gets on Standard rails there is no in going faster said Rochet now rail director for International engineering firm arcadis the Speed test was aimed at boosting cruising speeds for commercial trains which he predicted would never run at More than 220 Mph because after that the costs will increase too much it was equipped with larger wheels than the usual Tiv to Coyer More ground with each Rota Tion and a stronger 25000horse Power engine said Alain Cuccaro in in charge of the technical aspects of testing adjustments also were made to the new track which opens june 10 notably the banking on turns rails were also treated for perfect Contact Buccaroni said the electrical tension in the overhead Cable was beefed up from 25000 volts to 31000 eur launches antitrust probe into itunes online music store by constant Brand  Brussels Belgium the european commission confirmed tuesday it has opened an antitrust probe into apples itunes and the Way it works with the major music companies to sell songs online the commission alleged distribution agree ments Apple has signed with the record labels to sell their music on itunes stores in eur countries contain territorial sales restrictions which violate eur Competition rules people can Only download singles or Al bums from the itunes store in their country of residence the commission said Consumers Are thus restricted in their Choice of where to buy music and consequently what music is available and at what Price it said in a statement for example in order to buy a music download from the itunes Bel Gian online store a consumer must use a cred it card issued by a Bank with an address in Bel Gium Apple spokesman Steve Dowling said Mon Day the company wanted to operate a single store for All of Europe but music labels and publishers said there were limits to the rights they could Grant to Apple we dont believe Apple did anything to Vio late eur Law he said we will continue to work with the eur to resolve this matter the Cost of buying a single song across the 27nation bloc varies among the available itunes stores in eur nations for example downloading a single in Brit Ain costs in Denmark while in countries using the euro such As Germany and Belgium a single track costs Apple has two months to answer questions issued in the letter the commission said if found guilty of violating eur Competition rules Apple could face hefty fines which in theory could total up to 10 percent of the com pants worldwide annual turnover the eur investigation comes amid moves by european consumer rights groups in Germany France the Netherlands and nordic coun tries to Force Apple to change the rules it imposes on its online music store customers the groups Are demanding Apple lift limits preventing Consumers from playing their downloads on digital players other than apples ipod Apple and Emi announced a Deal on monday that would allow Ems music to be sold on itunes minus anti piracy software that limits its use on some players the move is expected to be watched and Likely Fol Lowed by other record labels italian researchers find Skeleton of prehistoric whale the associated press Rome italian researchers have found the Skeleton of a 33foot prehistoric whale in the tuscan Countryside a discovery that could shed Light on the ancient environment of the sea officials said the Skeleton dates to 4 nillion years ago to the pliocene epoch said palaeontologists with the museum of natural history in Flo rence who Are studying the Fos Sil the finding is spectacular said Elisabetta Cioppi an official in the museums palaeontology department and the coordinator of the excavations Cioppi pointed to the fact that the Skeleton is Complete and a variety of Organ isms were found around the Fos Sil As Well this will enable us to conduct an i depth analysis on the paleo environment she said in a state ment the Skeleton was found a few weeks ago in Arciano Pisano in the Countryside about 50 Miles East of Florence it was found about 100 Yards below ground in what used to be the sea occupy ing most of today Tuscany the statement said moving and shaking without any breaking Francois a French High Speed train with a souped up engine and wheels Breaks the world Speed record tuesday near Rigny France reaching 3572 Mph Mexico City mayor vows wireless internet for All Mexico City the cites new mayor said he Hopes to offer High Speed wireless internet to All 87 million residents of this sprawling Metropolis even As it struggles to Supply Basic services such As water and electricity Marcelo Ebrard signed an agreement monday with chivas Ste corp to set up wireless broadband hot spots linking schools government offices and the cites thousands of surveil Lance cameras Germany arrests iraqis Over human trafficking iraqis were arrested in Germany on tuesday in what authorities said was a crack Down on a ration that extracted hefty fees from iraqi kurd to take them to Sweden the suspects most of whom Are of kurdish origin and some of whom Are Asylum seekers Are accused of having smuggled More than 100 iraqis into Germany Over the past four weeks alone prosecutors in the bavarian town of Hof and Federal police said in a joint statement from the associated press visit before you every saturday edition j