Search Results for: Russia

BY KEITH NUTHALL

DESPITE widespread scepticism about its viability, the ITER project to build the world’s first commercial nuclear fusion reactor is now under way. It is employing specialists (nearly 300 staff and rising at the end of 2008); releasing Euro millions in research and procurement funding; and in November moved into its headquarters, in Cadarache, southern France, which is where the first nuclear fusion reactor will be built on a 180 hectare site.…

BY MARK GODFREY

RUSSIA may have invaded Georgia this August, but its wine industry seems almost gung-ho about the import embargo on Georgian wines that the Russian government has imposed since 2006. It has proven a "huge stimulus" to local winemakers to improve quality, according to the head of a project tasked with opening new markets for the country’s wines.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

INTRODUCTION

About 10 years ago the American distiller JB Wagoner decided to market a fiery liquor made from the cactus-like agave plants growing in the hills on his estate at Temecula in California. He called it "temequila." It soon became known as "the American tequila," proving indistinguishable in taste, texture and effect from the well-known Mexican drink.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

UPDATED reports on illicit trafficking of nuclear materials show that the recovery of these potentially dangerous items is becoming rarer. This rate fell to 25% of all reported incidents between 2004-2007 says the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

HEADS of government at the European Union (EU) summit staged last week have backed a European Commission action plan to connect the electricity grids of all the EU countries surrounding the Baltic Sea, to strengthen their energy security.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE BULGARIAN prime minister Sergei Stanishev has dug the first sod to launch the construction of the country’s second nuclear power plant at Belene. The aim is to see the Euro 4 billion 2,000 MW plant operational by 2014.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has offered financial and political support for a proposed Euro 15 billion trans-Saharan pipeline carrying natural gas from Nigeria to Europe. The move follows the signing of a memorandum of understanding by Russia’s Gazprom with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation over gas exploration and transportation.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL and ALAN OSBORN

ONE of the more colourful (and thankfully less deadly) aspects of Russia’s mini-war with Georgia in August was the simultaneous attach by hackers on Georgian Internet sites, especially those of its government.,

Ones of these were crashed by ‘denial of service’ attacks, where masses of data are sent to particular sites until they cannot handle the megabytes and closedown.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

FEW things say more about the growing enthusiasm for nuclear power than the rush of young students eager to make a career in the industry. It is happening mainly in America but other countries are now beginning to see the same development.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A WORLD Bank report has argued Russia should allow independent Russian gas companies to commercially exploit natural gas that is wastefully flared by the country’s oil producers. In particular, the ‘Using Russia’s Associated Gas’ study by PFC Energy said these companies should be given more transparent access to Russia’s gas transport networks.…