Iceland issues red alert after new eruption near volcano

Iceland on Sunday raised its aviation alert over its largest volcano to the highest level of red after a new eruption nearby.

The alert entails a ban on all flights below 6,000 feet (1.8 kilometers) within a radius of 10 nautical miles (18.5 kilometer) of Bardarbunga.

"All airports are open. The area has no effect on any airports," the Civil Protection Office said in a statement.

Sunday was the third time in a week that Iceland issued a red alert for aviation due to seismic activity near Bardarbunga.

China, Russia work on building energy cooperation partnership

MOSCOW, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- China will exert consistent and unswerving efforts to establish a strategic partnership of energy cooperation with Russia as agreed by the heads of state of the two countries, Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli said here Saturday.

Zhang made the remarks as he co-chaired the 11th meeting of the China-Russia Energy Cooperation Committee with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich in Moscow.

Kiev Again Rejects Russia’s Gas Discount Compromise Offer (Ukraine Energy Minister)

KIEV, August 29 (RIA Novosti) – Ukraine still refuses to negotiate Russia’s proposed discount of $100 per 1,000 billion cubic meters of gas, Ukrainian Energy Minister Yuriy Prodan said Friday.

“We were again suggested the price of $385 [per 1,000 billion cubic meters] with a $100 discount because of export duty cancellation. The Russian side thinks that the price of $485 is fair. We think that this price is discriminatory,” he said.

Prodan also dismissed as “baseless” Russia’s concerns that Ukraine will tap Europe-bound transit gas from its pipeline network amid expected gas shortages in winter.

Outcome of gas talks between Vice-President Oettinger and Russian Energy Minister Novak

European Commission, Statement, Moscow, 29 August 2014:

At today’s meeting in Moscow with Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak, Vice-President of the EU Commission Günther H. Oettinger reiterated his proposal to have an interim solution including an interim price.

Both agreed that a solution should contain the following four elements:

• the interim price
• the fulfilment of all supply and transit obligations
• a repayment plan for the unpaid bills to be developed by the next few weeks
• the use of OPAL pipeline

ΥΠΕΚΑ: Ο Υπουργός ΠΕΚΑ, Γιάννης Μανιάτης, κατέθεσε στη Βουλή τις συμβάσεις για έρευνα και εκμετάλλευση Υδρογονανθράκων στον Πατραϊκό, το Κατάκολο και τα Ιωάννινα

ΥΠΕΚΑ, 28.08.14:
 
Ο Υπουργός Περιβάλλοντος, Ενέργειας και Κλιματικής Αλλαγής, Γιάννης Μανιάτης, κατέθεσε προς έγκριση και ψήφιση στη Βουλή τις συμβάσεις ανάμεσα στο Ελληνικό Δημόσιο και τα ανάδοχα σχήματα, για την πραγματοποίηση ερευνών και την εκμετάλλευση Υδρογονανθράκων στις τρεις περιοχές της Δυτικής Ελλάδας, στο πλαίσιο του γύρου παραχωρήσεων με την διαδικασία της «Ανοικτής Πρόσκλησης» (OpenDoor) που είχε προκηρύξει το ΥΠΕΚΑ, για τις περιοχές στον Πατραϊκό, το Κατάκολο και τα Ιωάννινα.

Oettinger says Ukraine may steal Russian transit gas in winter

BERLIN, August 28. /ITAR-TASS/. EU Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger insists on solving the gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine as soon as possible, as during the winter season Ukraine can steal gas that will be pumped to Europe, Oettinger told German TV Channel ARD in an interview Thursday.
“During a long and cold winter Ukraine will lack gas, and if the country does not have enough own gas - the danger of gas being stolen arises, the danger of the gas being lost on its way from the East to the West arises,” he said.

Ελληνικό σχέδιο για το ρωσικό φυσικό αέριο

Το ελληνικό σχέδιο έκτακτης ανάγκης ενόψει ενδεχόμενης διακοπής στη ροή ρωσικού φυσικού αερίου μέσω Ουκρανίας, αναμένεται να συζητηθεί από την ηγεσία του υπουργείου Περιβάλλοντος και Ενέργειας με τη συμμετοχή όλων των εμπλεκόμενων ενεργειακών φορέων, δηλαδή ΔΕΠΑ, ΔΕΣΦΑ, ΑΔΜΗΕ, ΔΕΗ και ΡΑΕ.

Με βάση την εντολή που έχει δώσει ο επίτροπος Ενέργειας Γκίντερ Έτινγκερ, η Ελλάδα όπως κάθε χώρα της ΕΕ οφείλει να έχει αποστείλει μέχρι και τα τέλη Αυγούστου στην Κομισιόν την τελική έκθεσή της σχετικά με τη διεξαγωγή τεστ αντοχής (stress test) απέναντι σε ενδεχόμενη διακοπή της ροής ρωσικού αερίου.

Μυτιλήνη: Υποψήφιο για Μνημείο Παγκόσμιας Κληρονομιάς το Απολιθωμένο Δάσος

Yποψήφιο για ένταξη στα Μνημεία Παγκόσμιας Κληρονομιάς της UNESCO είναι το Απολιθωμένο Δάσος της Μυτιλήνης.

Η πρώτη παρουσίαση της υποψηφιότητάς του πραγματοποιήθηκε από τον καθηγητή Νίκο Ζούρο, διευθυντή του Μουσείου Φυσικής Ιστορίας Απολιθωμένου Δάσους Λέσβου.

Αρχικά, παρουσιάσθηκε από τον κ. Ζούρο η διακήρυξη της UNESCO για την Προστασία της Παγκόσμιας Πολιτιστικής και Φυσικής Κληρονομιάς από το Γενικό Συνέδριο της UNESCO το 1972. Ακολούθως, αναφέρθηκε στα κριτήρια που θα πρέπει να πληροί ένα μνημείο προκειμένου να ενταχθεί στα Μνημεία Παγκόσμιας Κληρονομιάς της UNESCO.

Στη Xάγη οι περιβαλλοντικές προσφυγές;

Σφοδρές κακοκαιρίες, παρατεταμένες ξηρασίες, άνοδος της στάθμης της θάλασσας. Αυτές είναι μερικές μόνο από τις συνέπειες της κλιματικής αλλαγής και της υπερθέρμανσης του πλανήτη, τις οποίες υφίστανται κυρίως οι φτωχότερες χώρες του κόσμου αν και τα αίτια εντοπίζονται, ως επί το πλείστον, στις προηγμένες βιομηχανικά χώρες. Σύμφωνα με νομικούς, θα μπορούσε σήμερα να ασκηθεί μεγαλύτερη πίεση προς τις βιομηχανικές χώρες, στη βάση του διεθνούς δικαίου, προκειμένου να υποχρεούνται να καταβάλουν αποζημιώσεις στα κράτη εκείνα που υφίστανται τις συνέπειες από την υποβάθμιση του περιβάλλοντος.

WHO Warns of Climate Change Dangers, Calls for Stronger Actions

MOSCOW, August 27 (RIA Novosti) - The World Health Organization (WHO) is warning governments and the public of the negative effects that global warming is already having on people’s health, calling for urgent action, according to a press release published Wednesday.
“The evidence is overwhelming: climate change endangers human health,” WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan said at a global conference on health and climate change, which opened in Geneva on Wednesday.

EU offered Ukraine and the RF to reach the agreement on gas, without the Stockholm court

The European Union (EU) has suggested "reaching an intermediate agreement on gas" between Ukraine and Russia, without waiting for rulings of the Stockholm arbitration court, Guenther Oettinger, EU Commissioner on Energy, said at the close of talks with the Ukrainian president.

The Contact Group on Ukraine must resume its work as soon as possible, Russia's President Vladimir Putin stated at the close of his meeting with Ukrsinian President Pyotr Poroshenko.

Συνεχίζεται το ερευνητικό έργο στον βυθό της Αργολίδας

Σε εξέλιξη βρίσκεται το ερευνητικό έργο της αποστολής Terra Submersa στο βυθό της Αργολίδας....

Ειδικότερα, όπως αναφέρεται σε σχετική ανακοίνωση, ξεκινώντας από την
Ερέτρια, έδρα της Ελβετικής Αρχαιολογικής Σχολής στην Ελλάδα και με ενδιάμεσους σταθμούς τον Πειραιά και το Ναύπλιο, τα μέλη της αρχαιολογικής αποστολής Terra Submersa κατέληξαν στον όρμο της Κοιλάδας, στην Αργολίδα, στο σημείο διεξαγωγής των υποθαλάσσιων ερευνών.

Russia, Ukraine, EU agree to go ahead with trilateral consultations on gas

MINSK, August 26. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak and EU Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger will hold a bilateral meeting on Tuesday night to discuss issues of Russian natural gas supplies to Ukraine and Europe.
“We will discuss the current situation concerning with gas deliveries and transit,” Novak, who is currently visiting the Belarusian capital of Minsk, told journalists. “More detailed talks will be held in Moscow on August 29.
Earlier on Tuesday, Alexander Novak said Russia was ready to sell to Ukraine additional gas volumes should Kiev pay for them.

European Union helps fight forest fires in Greece (European Commission)

European Commission, Press release, Brussels, 26 August 2014:

Greece is receiving support through the European Union's Civil Protection Mechanism to fight the forest fires raging in the central part of the country. France has responded to Greece's request for assistance in a matter of hours – its two fire-fighting planes are already operating in the affected areas.

"Forest fires are a risk we face every summer and this year is no exception; we will continue to support the efforts of Greece to prevent the fire from spreading towards populated areas.

Καρκίνος: Τραγικά στοιχεία στη Φουκουσίμα -(ΝΕΕΣ ΕΡΕΥΝΕΣ)

Καρκίνο του θυρεοειδούς ανέπτυξαν εκατόν τρία παιδιά και έφηβοι στη Φουκουσίμα, σύμφωνα με νέα στοιχεία που ήρθαν στο φως της δημοσιότητας.

Λίγα χρόνια μετά την πυρηνική καταστροφή του Μαρτίου του 2011, εξετάστηκαν περίπου 300.000 νέοι κάτω των 18 ετών στην επαρχία Φουκουσίμα, με τον αριθμό των κρουσμάτων καρκίνου που επαληθεύτηκαν με χειρουργικές επεμβάσεις να ανέρχεται στα 57.

Russian booster worked properly when deploying Galileo satellites

MOSCOW, August 25. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia’s Soyuz rocket and Fregat booster worked properly when deploying European Galileo satellites last week when they found to be slightly deviating from the target orbit, the Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) said on Monday.

“The express analysis of the telemetric data shows that there are no complaints about the work of the onboard equipment of the Soyuz carrier rocket and Fregat booster,” Roscosmos said.

Effectiveness of Fukushima Ice Wall Unclear to Experts

MOSCOW, August 25 (RIA Novosti) - The effectiveness of Tokyo Electric Power Company’s (TEPCO) plan to create an “ice wall” to contain the waste water used to cool the failed reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is so far unclear to experts.
"As the water comes down the mountains towards the ocean, it's not clear to me that [TEPCO] really knows how it is going to move around that frozen barrier," former US Nuclear Regulatory Commission chairman and the head of the international advisory panel to TEPCO Dr. Dale Klein said in an interview with VICE News, published Sunday.

Galileo: European Commission requests full details of launch problems from Arianespace and ESA

European Commission, Press release, Brussels, 25 August 2014:

Following the failure on Friday August 22nd to inject Galileo satellites 5 and 6 into the correct orbit, the European Commission has requested Arianespace and the European Space Agency (ESA) to provide full details of the incident, together with a schedule and an action plan to rectify the problem.

According to initial information from Arianespace, the problem involved the upper stage of the launcher, as a result of which the satellites were not injected into the required orbit.

Dam shame - Global Times

A man picks up garbage at a section of the Three Gorges Dam in Zigui,
Central China's Hubei Province on Sunday. Some parts of the Three Gorges
Dam have been polluted with household waste, such as plastic foam and
bottles. Photo: CFP  .................Dam shame - Global Times

Strong quakes shake Icelandic volcano

Two strong earthquakes on Sunday shook Iceland's largest volcano, which is on orange alert lowered from red one for one day amid fears of an imminent eruption, the Icelandic Met Office said.

A large explosion at the Bardarbunga volcano could signal a replay of the global travel chaos caused by the eruption of another Icelandic peak four years ago, which created a massive ash cloud across Europe.

The earthquakes were listed on the Met Office's website with intensities of 5.3 and 5.1 on the Richter scale, which makes them the strongest recorded in the region since the current seismic cycle began last week.

Iceland issues aviation alert on volcano activity (M 4.7 - ICELAND - 2014-08-23 18:33:06 UTC.....local time: 18:33)

Iceland's Meteorological Office says a subglacial eruption is underway at the Bardarbunga volcano, which has been rattled by thousands of earthquakes over the past week.

Vulcanologist Melissa Pfeffer said seismic data indicates that lava from the volcano is melting ice beneath the Vatnajokull glacier. She said it was not clear when, or if, the eruption would melt the ice and send steam and ash into the air.

Minutes earlier, Iceland raised its aviation alert for the volcano to the highest level of red on Saturday, indicating an eruption that could cause “significant emission of ash into the atmosphere.” Red is the highest alert warning on a five-point scale.

Διαπραγματεύσεις με ENI - KOGAS για δημιουργία τερματικού

Διαπραγματεύσεις και με την κοινοπραξία ENI-KOGAS, για τη δημιουργία τερματικού στο Βασιλικό, θα αρχίσει η διαπραγματευτική ομάδα.

Το Υπουργείο Ενέργειας, Εμπορίου, Βιομηχανίας και Τουρισμού ανακοίνωσε ότι, κατά τη χθεσινή του συνεδρία, το Υπουργικό Συμβούλιο αποφάσισε όπως η αρμόδια ομάδα, η οποία διαπραγματεύεται με την κοινοπραξία Noble Energy International Ltd / Delek Drilling Ltd Partnership / Avner Oil Exploration Ltd Partnership, ξεκινήσει άμεσα τις διαπραγματεύσεις με την ιταλοκορεάτικη κοινοπραξία ENI / KOGAS, ανάδοχους των Τεμαχίων 2, 3 και 9 της κυπριακής ΑΟΖ, καθώς και με την γαλλική Total E&P Cyprus, ανάδοχους των Τεμαχίων 10 και 11, για τις συμφωνίες που απαιτούνται για την κατασκευή και λειτουργία του Σταθμού Υγροποίησης Φυσικού Αερίου στο Βασιλικό.

Τέμπη: Τροποποιήσεις κυκλοφορίας (την Κυριακή 24 Αυγούστου)

Kυκλοφοριακές ρυθμίσεις αποφάσισε να εφαρμόσει την Κυριακή 24 Αυγούστου η Περιφερειακή Αστυνομική Διεύθυνση Θεσσαλίας, ενόψει προβλημάτων που πιθανόν να προκληθούν από την ομαδική είσοδο των οχημάτων στην περιοχή της Κοιλάδας των Τεμπών, λόγω της μεγάλης επιστροφής των εκδρομέων από τα παράλια των νομών Λάρισας και Πιερίας, αλλά και για την ομαλή και εύρυθμη κυκλοφορία των οχημάτων και την πρόληψη των τροχαίων ατυχημάτων. 

Galileo satellites not on right orbit (Arianespace)

PARIS: Two European Galileo satellites launched by a Russian-built rocket on Friday (Aug 22) from French Guiana have not reached their intended orbit, launch firm Arianespace said Saturday.

"Observations taken after the separation of the satellites from the Soyuz VS09 (rocket) for the Galileo Mission show a gap between the orbit achieved and that which was planned," the company said in a statement. "They have been placed on a lower orbit than expected. Teams are studying the impact this could have on the satellites.”
Arianespace declined to comment on whether their trajectories can be corrected.

Europe launches navigation satellites to rival GPS

Two satellites for Europe's Galileo navigation system - a rival to the American GPS - were successfully launched on Friday from Kourou in French Guyana, bringing the number of orbiters in the system to six.

The Galileo constellation is designed to give a competitive alternative to both the US Global Positioning System (GPS) and Russia's Glonass.

By the end of the decade, the system will cost Europe around 10 billion euros once operational and comprise 27 satellites orbiting earth at different altitudes.

Climate-cooling policies threaten food supplies

By Viv Forbes

A warmer, wetter climate with more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would undoubtedly produce more plant growth and more food.

However climate-cooling policies that claim to prevent global warming by throttling the use of carbon fuels will definitely reduce food supply and increase food prices.

The promotion of ethanol for motor fuel is anti-food. This "food for fuel" program has absorbed significant quantities of corn, soy beans, sugar and palm oils. Consequently prices for ethanol crops are higher than they would otherwise be, encouraging farmers to convert land currently devoted to grazing animals and other food crops to growing more profitable crops for ethanol.

Διπλάσιο Πάγο Χάνει η Γη Μέσα σε Πέντε Χρόνια

Οι απώλειες πάγου της Γης έχουν διπλασιαστεί μέσα σε λιγοτερο από μια πενταετία, διαπιστώνει νέα μελέτη που βασίστηκε στα δεδομένα του ευρωπαϊκού δορυφόρου CryoSat-2. Σύμφωνα με τα αποτελέσματά της η Γροιλανδία χάνει πλέον 375 κυβικά χιλιόμετρα πάγου κάθε έτος ενώ οι απώλειες στην Ανταρτική εκτιμώνται περίπου στα 128 κυβικά χιλιόμετρα. Όπως επισημαίνουν οι επιστήμονες αυτό σημαίνει ότι συνολικά 500 κυβικά χιλιόμετρα πάγου λιώνουν και διοχετεύονται κάθε χρόνο στους ωκεανούς από τα δυο παγοκαλύμματα του πλανήτη.

Shell won't take part in establishing operator for Ukrainian gas system. (the company is not ready to ruin its reputation in Russia)

Shell refused to take part in the creation of the operator of the gas transportation system of Ukraine.

Shell, which is a partner of Russia's Gazprom in "Sakhalin-2" and "Gazprom Oil" project to extract oil Salym Petroleum, will not apply to participate in the creation of the operator of the gas transportation system of Ukraine, the head of the department of public relations of Shell-Ukraine, Anna Dumanskaya said.

Mysterious source of ozone-depleting chemical baffles NASA / La Nasa a détecté une substance détruisant la couche d'ozone en quantité inexpliquée

WASHINGTON: A chemical used in dry cleaning and fire extinguishers may have been phased out in recent years but NASA said Wednesday (Aug 20) that carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) is still being spewed into the atmosphere from an unknown source. The world agreed to stop using CC14 as part of the Vienna Convention on Protection of the Ozone Layer and its Montreal Protocol, which attained universal ratification in 2009.
"Parties to the Montreal Protocol reported zero new CCl4 emissions between 2007-2012," the US space agency said in a statement. "However, the new research shows worldwide emissions of CCl4 average 39 kilotons per year, approximately 30 per cent of peak emissions prior to the international treaty going into effect."

Γιάννης Μανιάτης: Η ευρωπαϊκή αλληλεγγύη να δημιουργήσ​ει μηχανισμό έκτακτης ανάγκης για τροφοδοσία φυσικού αερίου

ΥΠΕΚΑ, 20.08.14:

Ο Υπουργός Περιβάλλοντος, Ενέργειας και Κλιματικής Αλλαγής, Γιάννης Μανιάτης, με επιστολή του προς τον Αντιπρόεδρο της Ευρωπαϊκής Επιτροπής και Επίτροπο για θέματα Ενέργειας, Günther Oettinger, και τον Προεδρεύοντα του Συμβουλίου Υπουργών Ενέργειας της ΕΕ, Αν. Υπουργό Οικονομικής Ανάπτυξης της Ιταλίας, Claudio De Vincenti,  αναδεικνύει την αναγκαιότητα δημιουργίας ευρωπαϊκού μηχανισμού για την προμήθεια Υγροποιημένου Φυσικού Αερίου (ΥΦΑ), προκειμένου να αντιμετωπιστεί το ενδεχόμενο ενεργειακής κρίσης εξαιτίας της κατάστασης στην Ουκρανία.

Double threat for Tibet (Climate change and human development are jeopardizing the plateau’s fragile environment.)

A comprehensive environmental assessment of the Plateau of Tibet has found that the region is getting hotter, wetter and more polluted, threatening its fragile ecosystems and those who rely on them.

The plateau and its surrounding mountains cover 5 million square kilo­metres and hold the largest stock of ice outside the Arctic and Antarctic; the region is thus often referred to as the Third Pole. And like the actual poles, it is increasingly feeling the effects of climate change, but rapid development is putting it doubly at risk, the report says.

Iceland orders evacuation due to possible volcano eruption

The National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police (NCIP) announced on Tuesday that the authorities were evacuating the north of Vatnajokull to prepare against a possible eruption at Bardarbunga volcano in southeast Iceland.

The NCIP said in a statement that it has raised the Civil Protection level to Alert Phase as all roads leading into the area were closed, and the authorities in Husavik and Seydisfjordur were evacuating the area north of Vatnajokull.
A surveillance plane of the Icelandic Coast Guard has been ordered to monitor the volcano's situation.

Threat to flights as Iceland's biggest volcano rumbles

REYKJAVIK: Iceland has warned that its largest volcano is in danger of erupting, four years after millions of air travellers were grounded by a huge ash cloud from another peak.
Scientists believe the ash from an eruption at Bardarbunga could disrupt transatlantic and northern European air traffic, with floods of melting ice likely to cause serious damage to the country's infrastructure.
The Icelandic Meteorological Office raised its aviation alert to the second-highest level on Monday after four days of increasing seismic activity, signalling a heightened risk of eruption.

Completion of Australia’s largest solar plant at risk

Silex Systems, the company constructing Australia’s biggest solar plant, has suspended its funding following reports the national Renewable Energy Target (RET) could be scaled back or done away with altogether.

The 100-megawatt Mildura Solar Concentrator Power Station, a $70 million project in Victoria, was supposed to provide electricity to 40,000 homes. Now Silex Systems has said it is shelving the project.

La Bulgarie suspend tous les travaux sur le gazoduc South Stream

Le ministère de l'Economie et de l'Energie de Bulgarie a suspendu la réalisation du projet du gazoduc South Stream jusqu'à ce qu'il soit mis en conormité avec la législation européenne
 
Les fonctionnaires européens reprochent au projet South Stream le fait qu'en vertu des normes juridiques de l'Union européenne le fournisseur des vecteurs d'énergie, en l'occurrence Gazprom, n'a pas le droit de contrôler l'accès aux gazoducs.

Syria's worst chemical arms neutralized: Pentagon

WASHINGTON: A specially equipped US ship has finished neutralizing all 600 metric tonnes of the most dangerous of Syria's chemical weapons components surrendered to the international community this year to avert threatened air strikes, the Pentagon said on Monday.

It said the Cape Ray, equipped with the US-developed Field Deployable Hydrolysis System, neutralized 581.5 metric tonnes of DF, a sarin precursor chemical, and 19.8 metric tonnes of HD, an ingredient of sulfur mustard, while afloat in the Mediterranean.

Τέλος Νοεμβρίου η μεταφορά νερού από την Τουρκία στα κατεχόμενα

Ολοκληρώνεται σύντομα το έργο μεταφοράς νερού από την Τουρκία στα κατεχόμενα, σύμφωνα με τον ούτω καλούμενο υπουργό περιβάλλοντος και φυσικών πόρων Hamit Bakirci.

Όπως μεταδίδεται από τα κατεχόμενα, εάν οι καιρικές συνθήκες το επιτρέψουν το έργο θα ολοκληρωθεί στο τέλος Νοεμβρίου.

Η εγκατάσταση των αγωγών που θα μεταφέρουν το νερό συνεχίζεται, είπε ο λεγόμενος υπουργός, προσθέτοντας πως η πρώτη περιοχή που θα πάρει νερό από την Τουρκία θα είναι η Λευκωσία.

Several gas pipelines damaged in Donetsk, Luhansk regions

Repair teams are ready to begin fixing the pipelines and equipment as soon as the security situation allows....

Ukraine starts test gas imports from Slovakia

Ukraine has begun test imports of gas from Slovakia via an upgraded pipeline, the head of Ukrainian state-owned gas company Naftogaz said on Aug. 16, as the country tries to secure greater energy independence from Russia.

Last year, Russia supplied about half of the gas Ukraine used, but Gazprom cut supplies on June 16 in a row over pricing and in the wake of Moscow’s annexation of Crimea.

Russia has come under heavy Western sanctions over its move on Crimea and accusations it is supporting separatists in east Ukraine with troops and funds, claims it denies.

Kiev fights in Ukraine’s southeast for shale gas deposits to be controlled by US (Aleksey Pushkov)

The control over Ukraine’s southeast is important for Kiev first of all because of the shale gas deposits, which Western countries should be developing, head of the State Duma’s international affairs committee Aleksey Pushkov said on Saturday....
“Kiev is fighting in Ukraine’s east for the gas reserves: Germany says the reserves make 5,578 billion cubic metres (bcm) [the U.S. reserves are 8,976 bcm]. Control will be from the U.S.,” he wrote on Twitter. The Yuzivska shale gas field is at the border between the Kharkov and Donetsk regions.

Ατομική βούληση στις αποικίες άγριων μελισσών

THE ECONOMIST
Τα κοινωνικά έντομα συχνά υποτιμώνται ως σκλάβοι του συλλογικού πνεύματος της κυψέλης. Ομως το κάθε μέλος της αποικίας έχει εγκέφαλο και είναι τεχνικά ικανό να πάρει τις δικές του αποφάσεις. Πράγματι, διάφορες έρευνες έχουν δείξει ότι έντομα όπως για παράδειγμα μυρμήγκια ή μέλισσες, μερικές φορές αγνοούν την κοινή πληροφορία υπέρ της ατομικής τους γνώσης. Αυτό που τα ωθεί να δράσουν ανεξάρτητα αποτελεί μυστήριο. Νέες επιστημονικές έρευνες δείχνουν ότι όταν υπάρχει πρόσβαση σε μία νόστιμη πηγή τροφής, η νοοτροπία της κυψέλης αγνοείται απροκάλυπτα.

Can Insects Feed a Hungry Planet?

Earth’s population is ballooning every day, which increasingly presents a host of challenges, from housing to resource depletion to food.

The issue of feeding billions of people on a warming planet—along with related concerns such as food waste, water usage and greenhouse gas emissions—continues to be explored.

It has been widely established that factory farming contributes to climate change and even that eating less beef will benefit the environment. But what about eating … bugs. Bugs?

Ebola: cases, deaths ‘vastly underestimated,’ says UN health agency

UN,  15 August 2014 – Health workers at Ebola outbreak sites are seeing evidence that the numbers of reported cases and deaths “vastly underestimate” the magnitude of the crisis as they work around the clock to stop the disease from spreading, according to the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO).

WHO, in its latest update on the Ebola outbreak in West Africa dated August 14, said no new cases have been detected in Nigeria, attributing the outcome to extensive contact tracing and monitoring, implemented with support from the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Akkuyu nuclear power plant: No reasons for deteriorating relations with Russia (Turkish energy minister)

Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz said on Friday he did not see any reasons for deteriorating relations with Russia in the energy sector.

“As for the projects that we are currently implementing with Russia there are no reasons, which can cause problems due to the EU sanctions. Our relations are stable in gas issues and in other spheres,” Yildiz said.

Russia and Turkey are implementing a project to build the Akkuyu nuclear power plant at Mersin Province on the Mediterranean coast, he said.

Farmer leaves wheat on field to bring wild birds back

A man living in a remote village of Turkey’s Black Sea region has been planting wheat in his fields and does not harvest it, in order to feed wild birds and thus keep them in the area.

Tahir Öztürk, 29, who runs a shop for door and window restorations in the town center of Gümüşhane, decided to plant wheat in his fields in the Boyluca village four years ago in order to “hear the sounds of wild birds once again.”

Öztürk said many villagers had moved out of Boyluca and ceased to plant their fields, meaning that many birds, particularly partridges, stopped returning to the village, as they were unable to find food anymore.

US Using Diesel in Fracking Poses Health Threat

MOSCOW, August 14 (RIA Novosti) -A report by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) on August 13 discloses that 351 wells across 12 states in the United States were fracked with the unauthorized use of diesel fuel that pose severe risk to human health.

“EIP identified numerous fracking fluids with high diesel content for sale online, including over a dozen products offered by Halliburton [a US oilfield services company]. 

Operators are clearly buying these products without obtaining permits to use them,” the EIP report released Wednesday read.

Tibet's intangible heritage well-protected, says official

LHASA, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese government's efforts to preserve intangible heritage in Tibet and other ethnic regions have proven effective, said sources at the first Tibet development forum Wednesday.

"Of the 386 million yuan (62.7 million U.S. dollars) for cultural heritage preservation allocated by the central treasury between 2002 and 2009, about a quarter was spent in ethnic regions including Tibet," said Li Jianhui, a culture promotion official with the State Ethnic Affairs Commission.

Panama Canal Turns 100 Amid Growing Pains, Competition

The Panama Canal turns 100 this week. Officially opened in 1914, the 77-kilometer channel joins the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean at the isthmus of Panama.  It made the world smaller, creating a shortcut for cargo ships that ply their trade from east and west.  But 100 years later the canal is straining from the demands of expanding global trade.  It may also be facing some serious competition as it navigates the next 100 years.
Taking over 30 years to build, tens of thousands of workers - and more than 27 million kilograms of dynamite - it is considered one of the biggest engineering feats of the 20th century.  

Greece expecting 19 million tourists this year

The association of Greek tourism enterprises SETE reiterated its confidence that the target of 19 million tourist arrivals set for 2014 will be met.

According to SETE’s data on international arrivals in the January-July period, all the major airports in the country posted double-digit increases in July.

The highest rates were recorded in Athens (an increase of 31 per cent), Chania (22.9 per cent), Mykonos (39.9 per cent), Santorini (26.7 per cent) and Kalamata (62.5 per cent).

Poor outlook warned for Great Barrier Reef (five-yearly review to address UNESCO)

Australia's Great Barrier Reef remains under threat despite efforts to rein in major sources of damage to the World Heritage-listed icon, the government said on Tuesday.

Canberra released a five-yearly review of the reef and moves to protect it, to address concerns raised by UNESCO and persuade the world body not to put the key tourist attraction on its "in danger" list next year. "Even with the recent management initiatives to reduce threats and improve resilience, the overall outlook for the Great Barrier Reef is poor, has worsened since 2009 and is expected to further deteriorate," the government said in its outlook report.