Saturn’s Satan – A monster hurricane with an eye of over 2,000km ..#NASA #Saturn

Nasa spacecraft captures stunning image of a cyclone at Saturn’s North Pole

In an undated in this false-color image from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft and provided by NASA/JPL shows stunning views of a monster hurricane at Saturn’s North Pole. The eye of the cyclone is an enormous 1,250 miles across. That’s 20 times larger than the typical eye of a hurricane here on Earth. The hurricane is believed to have been there for years.This image is among the first sunlit views of Saturn’s north pole captured by Cassini’s imaging cameras. (AP)

Nasa’s Cassini spacecraft has captured stunning views of a monster hurricane at Saturn’s North Pole.

The eye of the cyclone is an enormous 1,250 miles (2,010 kilometers) across. That’s 20 times larger than the typical eye of a hurricane here on Earth. And it’s spinning super-fast. Clouds at the outer edge of the storm are whipping around at 330 mph (531 kph).

The hurricane is parked at Saturn’s North Pole and relies on water vapor to keep it churning. It’s believed to have been there for years. Cassini only recently had a chance to observe the vortex in visible light.

Scientists hope to learn more about Earth’s hurricanes by studying this whopper at Saturn.

Cassini was launched from Cape Canaveral in 1997 and arrived at Saturn in 2004.

UAE Residents wake up to lightning and rain on Sunday morning

UAE residents woke up to overcast skies, lightning and slight rain on Sunday morning. The roads are wet and motorists are warned to drive carefully.

 

The weather is expected to be partly cloudy in general today, with the cloud cover increasing over the islands and some northern and eastern areas.

According to the National Center for Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS), the amount of clouds will increase over scattered areas, with a chance of rain. A slight fall in temperatures is also expected over some areas .

Winds will be moderate in general, fresh at times. However, it may kick up dust in some internal areas.

Sea will be moderate becoming rough gradually by night .

Meanwhile, the maximum temperature in some internal areas will hit 44 degree C, with a minimum of 23 degree C.

Humidity is also expected to touch 95 per cent in coastal areas.

 Rain in forecast for the next couple of days in the emirates.

Kamakhya Temple: Story Of A Bleeding Devi

Kamakhya temple is a famous pilgrimage situated at Guwahati, Assam. The temple is located on the Nilachal hill in Guwahati at about 8 kms from the railway station. The Kamakhya temple is dedicated to the tantric goddesses. Apart from the deity Kamakhya Devi, compound of the temple houses 10 other avatars of Kali namely Dhumavati, Matangi, Bagola, Tara, Kamala, Bhairavi, Chinnamasta, Bhuvaneshwari and Tripuara Sundari.

Mythical History

The temple of Kamakhya has a very interesting story of its origin. It is one of the 108 Shakti peeths. The story of the Shakti peeths goes like this; once Sati fought with her husband Shiva to attend her father’s great yagna. At the grand yagna, Sati’s father Daksha insulted her husband. Sati was angered and in her shame, she jumped into the fire and killed herself. When Shiva came to know that his beloved wife had committed suicide, he went insane with rage. He placed Sati’s dead body on his shoulders and did the tandav or dance of destruction.

To calm him down, Vishnu cut the dead body with his chakra. The 108 places where Sati’s body parts fell are called Shakti peeths. Kamakhya temple is special because Sati’s womb and vagina fell here.

The Name ‘Kamakhya’

The God of love, Kamadeva had lost his virility due to a curse. He sought out the Shakti’s womb and genitals and was freed from the curse. This is where ‘love’ gained his potency and thus, the deity ‘Kamakhya’ devi was installed and worshipped here.

Some people also believe that the Kamakhya temple is a place where Shiva and devi Sati had their romantic encounters. As the Sanskrit word for lovemaking is ‘kama’, the place was named Kamakhya.

The Bleeding Goddess

Kamakhya devi is famous as the bleeding goddess. The mythical womb and vagina of Shakti are supposedly installed in the ‘Garvagriha’ or sanctum of the temple. In the month of Ashaad (June), the goddess bleeds or menstruates. At this time, the Brahmaputra river near Kamakhya turns red. The temple then remains closed for 3 days and holy water is distributed among the devotees of Kamakhya devi.

There is no scientific proof that the blood actually turns the river red. Some people say that the priests pour vermilion into the waters. But symbolically, menstruation is the symbol of a woman’s creativity and power to give birth. So, the deity and temple of Kamakhya celebrates this ‘shakti’ or power within every woman.

World’s Smallest Militaries

Apart from safeguarding a country or a state, the military force is used for international security and strategic purposes. The military forces are classified as largest and smallest on the basis of the active military personnel.

 

#1 Palestine:

The military force of Palestine includes the Palestine Liberation Army and the Palestinian National Security Forces, also referred to as the presidential guard, which are the paramilitary forces of the Palestinian National Authority. The state of Palestine has the smallest military force in the world. On the whole, it has 56, 000 personnel serving in its military which includes zero reserve military force and manpower of 56, 000 in the paramilitary force too.

# 2 Panama

The Panamanian Public Forces are the national security forces of Panama. It maintains forces, including armed Police and Security forces, and small air and maritime forces. They are assigned with law enforcement and can perform limited military actions. Panama has one of the smallest military forces in the world with around 12,000 military personnel. The country formed its military after the U.S. invasion in 1989. It has zero active and reserve military forces and has 12,000 personnel in paramilitary force.

# 3 Costa Rica

Costa Rica, which is located in Central America has a population of over 4 million, but maintains a small force for law enforcement and foreign peacekeeping. It doesn’t have a permanent standing army and consists of around 9, 800 paramilitary personnel. The country doesn’t have an active and reserve military force. José Figueres Ferrer, President of Costa Rica abolished the military of Costa Rico on December 1, 1948 after the victory in the civil war in the same year.

# 4 Haiti

Haiti is the first independent nation of Latin America and the Caribbean. Currently, the country has no regular military. The former Haitian Armed Forces were demobilized.  The current forces of the country consist of Haitian National Police, which consists of several paramilitary units, highly trained SWAT team and the Haitian Coast Guard. The military forces has a total of 2,000 military personnel and since it doesn’t have an active and reserve force, it maintains a total of 2, 000 paramilitary personnel.

# 5 Mauritius

Mauritius doesn’t have a standing army. It has a total of 2, 000 military personnel and 2,000 paramilitary personnel. Its military expenditure generally amounts to 0.1percent of its GDP in a year. Most of the military, police and security functions are carried out by the active personnel under the Commissioner of Police. The National Police Force is responsible for domestic law enforcement. The Special Mobile Force (SMF) and the National Coast Guard are the two paramilitary units in the country.

# 6 Vanuatu

Vanuatu, officially known as Republic of Vanuatu is an island nation situated in the South Pacific Ocean. The military force of Vanuatu was founded in 1980, and has a total of only 300 military personnel. Everyone is a part of the country’s paramilitary force as it doesn’t have an active and reserve military force.

# 7 Monaco

Monaco is known to be the world’s second smallest nation after Vatican. It has a very limited military and depends on its neighbor France, for defense. Currently, it has a military comprising of 263 personnel. Since it doesn’t have an active and reserve military personnel, it consists of only 263 personnel in paramilitary force.

# 8 Iceland

Iceland’s defense forces consist of the Icelandic Coast Guard, which patrols Icelandic waters and airspace. Besides, it consists of National Commissioner’s National security and Special Forces units. Situated in North Europe, the country is the only member in the NATO without any standing army. It has zero reserve military personnel where as paramilitary force consists of 130 personnel which is the total strength of its overall military.

# 9 Saint Kitts & Nevis

Saint Kitts and Nevis is a two-island state in the Leeward Islands in West Indies. It is the smallest sovereign state in America in terms of area and population.  Currently, the state has an infantry unit and a maritime unit. The state’s total military consists of 310 personnel out of which 70 personnel belong to the active military force while reserve military reserve force consist of 130 personnel. The paramilitary force consists of 119 personnel.

# 10 Antigua & Barbuda

  
The military force of Antigua & Barbuda is also known as the Royal Antigua and Barbuda Defence force. It is the world’s smallest military consisting of 245 personnel serving the state. The military force consists of 170 active military personnel, 75 personnel in the Reserve force but there’s no paramilitary force.

Future Chinese Naval Bases Overseas – What Would They Be Like?

The recently realized but long in its planning, transition of the Pakistani port of Gwadar to the Chinese management company has led to a series of negative reactions from the Indian experts. India is concerned about a gradual increase of the activity of the PLA Navy in the Indian Ocean and the transition to Chinese port authorities in countries such as Pakistan or Sri Lanka and sees it as a move to encircle India within a chain of Chinese military bases. But in reality, the creation of permanent military bases here is unlikely, says the expert of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, Vasily Kashin.

According to the expert, military bases, located in the neighboring countries of India will be almost useless in case of a military confrontation between China and India. Being isolated from its mother country, the bases will be within range of Indian aviation and cruise missiles and therefore be quickly destroyed. On the other hand, the presence of a constant and a large military base in Pakistan would in turn make China a hostage of the unstable Pakistani domestic politics.

At the same time, the growing global presence of Chinese Navy will sooner or later raise the issue of establishing an appropriate global infrastructure. Already Chinese naval ships that are involved in anti -pirate patrolling off the coast of Somalia are actively using the ports of Oman, Yemen and Djibouti for restocking. Each Chinese squad, along the Somalian coast, also includes transport logistics. Usually these cargo ships restock fuel and other supplies at the local ports and then transport these to the warships at sea .The Chinese navy pays a great deal of attention to the detailed procedures involved in the transfer of fuel, food and water in the open sea.

In 2011, the Government of Seychelles directly proposed China to create a permanent military base in the islands. In response, China’s Defense Ministry stressed that the database will not be created so as not to damage the unique ecology of the islands. Although some Chinese military experts, such as Rear Admiral Wu Shengli, directly called for the establishment of foreign military bases to support operations of the fleet, the Foreign Ministry and the Defense Ministry of China have always denied the existence of such plans. At the same time they do not exclude the possibility of overseas supply points, without deployment of troops on the territory of other countries.

So, we can assume that China will adhere to a step by step approach to the creation of an infrastructure of global military presence. For the start, probably, they will follow the tried and tested tactic of the USSR- to start with the development of infrastructure of the bases overseas by creating logistics points.

An example of such an object can be considered the similar Russian point in the Syrian city of Tartous. It consists of a few warehouses and workshops onshore and a pier to which a floating workshop can be docked. Only a few permanent ground staff members are required to maintain this point. The creation of such structures avoids attracting too much attention and also avoids accusations of expansion.

This work can be developed after the implementation of some of the more important programs of the Chinese navy, in particular the formation of battle ready aircraft carrier groups. It is unlikely that for the supply bases, ports in friendly countries in the region that are already under the control of Chinese companies, such as Gwadar, will be used. Already, The Chinese Navy has no obstacles in using these ports. On the other hand, the creation of special infrastructure for the Chinese navy may be more practical in the less developed countries on the eastern coast of Africa.

7 Innocent Gestures That Can Get You Killed Overseas

 

If you’ve ever had your penis cut off and/or been executed while on holiday, you’ll probably know that it’s easy to offend people from other cultures. Unless you learn the ways of the place you’re visiting, even the most well-meaning tourist can regularly find his oesophagus stuffed with burning goat. But surely just plain common sense and good manners will save you, right?Wrong.

Extend Your Hand, Palm Outward in Greece

What you think you are saying:
“Phew! That was a heck of a moussaka. I’d eat another portion, but I’m completely stuffed.”

What you are actually saying:
“Phew! That was a heck of a moussaka. I’d eat another portion, but I’m too busy rubbing handfuls of shit in your face.”

What the hell?
In Greece, the “hand out” gesture is known as the moutza, and it dates back to the time of the Byzantine Empire, when criminals would be paraded through the streets on horseback, their faces blackened to indicate their shame. If they were lucky, the blackening agent would merely be charcoal. If they were unlucky, it would be a substance much, much worse …

SHIT, is what we’re saying here. Their faces would be covered in SHIT.

If you really want to piss a Greek person off, you can go for the double moutza, which features both hands splayed above your head. However, this will also make you look like a backup dancer from Cats, so it’s your call.

Give the Thumbs-Up In The Middle East

What you think you are saying:
“Ayyyyy! I’m the fuckin’ Fonz!”

What you are actually saying:
“Ayyyyy! I’m going to jam my thumb in your anus!”

What the hell?
It’s not just the Middle East. This seemingly universal gesture is also hideously offensive in West Africa and South America, whose citizens would doubtless get really confused if they ever watched Ebert and Roeper. “This movie is great, Bill! So great that I’d like to anally rape it with my thumb!”

The thumbs-up sign has been confusing people for thousands of years. Contrary to Hollywood legend, Roman gladiators were not spared by a thumbs-up, but by a hidden thumb. If the origins of both gestures are linked, we can only assume this meant, “Do not kill the prisoner, he seems the perfect solution to the emperor’s arthritic finger.”

Finish Your Meal In Thailand / The Philippines / China

What you think you are saying:
“This is a delicious meal. I mean it. I’m not the kind of guy who would lie about something like this. In fact, your meal was so fucking fabulous that I am going to finish every last morsel and then lick the plate so bright that it reveals the face of God.”

What you are actually saying:
“You call yourself a host? I came here for a meal, not some Lilliputian hors d’oeuvre that wouldn’t satisfy a mouse after a sizable brunch. Look at me. No, in the eyes. You disgust me.”

What the hell?
It is always important that the host provides you with tasty food. However, in countries where steak in bleu cheese sauce costs approximately the same as a lung transplant, it is more important that the host provides you with enough food.

In China, if you finish every last bite of your meal, you are implying that you weren’t given enough. Therefore, even if the meal is the most sexually delicious thing that has ever slid down your throat, you should still leave one last morsel on the plate to stare up at you mournfully while you eye it with ill-concealed resentment.

That said, the Orient isn’t as uptight as this example suggests. In China it’s considered perfectly good manners to talk with your mouth full and to burp after your meal. Farting seems to vary according to the situation and your current company, so ask ahead of time. Lighting the fart is frowned upon in almost all provinces.

Say “Hi” to a Member of the Opposite Sex in Saudi Arabia

What you think you are saying:
“Hi Steve! How’s things? Fancy getting a decaf latte?”

What you are actually saying:
“Hi, Steve! How’s things? Fancy booking a hotel room so that I can do immoral sex acts on you in the name of Satan?”

What the hell?
According to sharia religious laws, it is deeply immoral for a woman to greet a man in public, or associate with any man other than her husband without an escort. In February 2008, one American woman openly conversed with a man in Starbucks, and was promptly arrested, strip-searched and forced to sign false confessions.

Though, perhaps this is nitpicking considering women are not allowed to drive, vote, own shops, testify in court or ride bicycles there. Bizarrely, it’s perfectly fine for women to fly high-powered jet planes, although they’re clearly fucked if they feel like taking a bicycle to the airport.

The point being, if you’re a woman and are planning a move to Saudi Arabia, offending them with the whole public greeting thing is probably the least of your problems.

Give an Even Number of Flowers in Russia

What you think you are saying:
“Darling, this week has been the most wonderful of my life. Since I first felt the sweet joy of your caress, I have truly come to know what it is to love and to be loved. Please accept these half-dozen roses as a symbol of my eternal tender devotion.” (Lean forward for kiss.)

What you are actually saying:
DEATH! DEATH! DEEEEEEAAAAAAAATH!!!!!!

(Lean forward for kiss.)

What the hell?
In Russia, even numbers of flowers are only ever given at funerals, and such a gift is seen as inviting death, which you obviously don’t want to do unless you’re banging a goth chick.

Choosing the right gift seems to be a minefield of morbidity everywhere you go. Never give a clock to a Chinese person, as the word “clock” is almost identical to a word for “death.” Don’t wrap your present in white paper there either, as this suggests funerals. And for God’s sake, don’t give anyone in Bangladesh white flowers or they will presumably be obliged to buy a spade and bury themselves while muttering at you reproachfully.

You know what, screw giving a gift. You may come across as a selfish douchebag, but at least no one will hail you as the fourth horseman of the apocalypse.

Give a Gift With Your Left Hand, Pretty Much Anywhere

What you think you are saying:
“Thank you very much for letting me marry your daughter. She is very beautiful. In gratitude, please accept this dainty, yet tuneful instrument. Did I mention that I’m left-handed?”

What you are actually saying:
“Thank you very much for letting me marry your daughter. She is the most worthless heap of dog vomit I have ever encountered, and I dearly wish that she would die. In gratitude, please accept a generous portion of my own effluence. Did I mention that I hate you?”

What the hell?
Toilet paper may have been around in China since 589 AD, but for much of the world, it remains a prohibitively expensive luxury. In places such as India, Sri Lanka, Africa and the whole of the Middle East, doing anything with your left hand is seen as unclean, as it is (as least symbolically) your ass-wiping hand.

Eating out? Don’t even think about using your left hand. It’s better to come across as some kind of retarded monkey child than to imply that you rate your host’s food on the same level as a lightly-steamed assburger.

Of course, poop is not the only reason left-handedness is bad. According to the Qur’an, Satan himself was a southpaw, which is why he was able to successfully fool the right-handed batter that is mankind.

Give the “OK” Sign in Brazil

What you think you are saying:
“Hi Brazil, I’m US President Richard Nixon, and I’m feeling terrific!”

What you are actually saying:
“Hi Brazil, I’m US President Richard Nixon, and I’m feeling that you should all go fuck yourselves!”

(Note: The above examples are only valid if you are US President Richard Nixon)

What the hell?
In Brazil, the “OK” gesture is roughly equivalent to the finger in the US, which means you should not use it when your hotel manager asks you how your room is, unless you want to tell him that it’s purple and velvety and recently molested his wife.

The most famous incident of a misapplied “OK” sign was, in fact, Nixon’s visit to Brazil in the ’50s. While alighting from the aircraft, he lifted both hands to the cameras and double-fingered the entire nation. Nixon went on to greet the Brazilian Prime minister with a savage kick to the testicles, and concluded his visit by urinating from the window of a moving limousine.

If you’re visiting Brazil, you should also never touch any food with your fingers. Even stuff like pizzas and burgers should be eaten with a knife and fork. Not that you’ll ever need to apply this knowledge, because after reading this article, you’d be insane if you ever travel abroad again.

By: Tim Cameron

Sethusamudram project is illegal, arbitrary and unacceptable: Subramanian Swamy

Lashing out at the UPA Government over its decision to go ahead with Sethusamudram Project despite the R. K. Pachauri Committee report suggesting it is unviable, Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy on Monday said the mega project is illegal, arbitrary and unacceptable.

“The important thing is that the project is not acceptable. It is illegal, arbitrary, unreasonable and extremely expensive,” said Swamy, while talking to reporters here.

“They (government) also clamed in their affidavit that Rs.860 crore have already been spent and therefore we want to go ahead with the project. Well if you have spent Rs.860 crore for a project which was illegal, arbitrary and unreasonable, malafide and extraordinarily expensive then according to the Supreme Court judgments, those who cleared the project they are responsible and this amount must be taken out of their wealth,” he added.

Swamy further stated that cutting of the Ram Setu (Adam’s Bridge) for this project would be a violation of section 295 (malicious of the religious sentiments of the citizen irrespective of any class) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Sethusamudram project was started in 2005 but was suspended following the Supreme Court order and R. K. Pachauri Committee was constituted to look in to the matter.

The committee has submitted its report on Friday last week, suggesting the entire Sethusamudram project unviable on two fronts – economically as ecologically.

However, the government has rejected the Pachauri Committee report and submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court with and intention to pursue the project cutting through the Adam’s Bridge, popularly known as Ram Setu.

Related articles

• Won’t tolerate any tampering with Ram Setu: BJP (ibnlive.in.com)

10 Most Expensive Single Objects in the World

10. Oresund Bridge (Cost:$6 Billion)

The Øresund or Öresund Bridge  is a combined twin-track railroad and four-lane highway bridge-tunnel across the Öresund strait. The Øresund Bridge connects Sweden and Denmark, and it is the longest highway and railroad bridge in Europe. The Øresund Bridge also connects two major Metropolitan Areas: those of the Danish capital city of Copenhagen and the major Swedish city of Malmö. Furthermore, the Øresund Bridge connects the highway network of Scandinavia with those of Central and Western Europe.

• Official name: Øresundsbroen, Öresundsbron
• Carries: Four lanes of European route E20 Double track Oresund Railway Line
• Locale: Copenhagen, Denmark and Malmö, Sweden
• Designer: Georg Rotne
• Design: Cable-stayed bridge
• Total length: 7,845 metres (25,738 ft)
• Width: 23.5 metres (77.1 ft)
• Longest span: 490 metres (1,608 ft)
• Cost: $6 Billion
• Country: Denmark, Sweden
• Year of completion: 2000

9.Large Hadron Collider (Cost: $6 Billion)

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world’s largest and highest-energy particle accelerator. It is expected that it will address themost fundamental questions of physics, advancing our understanding of the deepest laws of nature.

The LHC lies in a tunnel 27 kilometres (17 mi) in circumference, as much as 175 metres (574 ft) beneath the Franco-Swiss border nearGeneva, Switzerland. This synchrotron is designed to collide opposing particle beams of either protons at an energy of 7 teraelectronvolts(1.12 microjoules) per particle, or lead nuclei at an energy of 574 TeV (92.0 µJ) per nucleus. The term hadron refers to particles composed of quarks.

• Country: Switzerland
• Year of completion: 2008
• Cost: $6 Billion

 

8. ITER – Experimental Fusion Reactor (Cost: $6.5 Billion)

ITER - International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor is an international tokamak (magnetic confinement fusion) research/engineering project that could help to make the transition from today’s studies of plasmaphysics to future electricity-producing fusion power plants. It builds on research done with devices such as DIII-D,EAST, ADITYA, KSTAR, TFTR, ASDEX Upgrade, Joint European Torus, JT-60, Tore Supra and T-15.

• Country: China, European Union, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea, United States
• Year of completion: 2016 (expected)
• Cost: $6.5 Billion

7. Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant(Cost: $7.2 Billion)

The Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant is on Olkiluoto Island, which is on the shore of the Gulf of Bothnia in the municipality of Eurajoki in western Finland. It is one of Finland’s two nuclear power plants, the other being the two-unitVVER Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant.

The Olkiluoto plant consists of two BWRs with 860 MWe each. These were supplied by ASEA-Atom, now a part of ABB Group. The plant is operated by Teollisuuden Voima, a subsidiary of Pohjolan Voima. Unit three, the first EPR (European Pressurized water Reactor) is under construction, but various problems with workmanship and supervision have created costly delays, and been the subject of an inquiry by the Finnish nuclear regulator STUK.A  license for a fourth reactor to be built at the site was granted by the Finnish parliament in July 2010.

• Country: Finland
• Year of completion : 2012 (expected)
• Cost: $7.2 Billion

6. Alaska Pipeline (Cost: $8 Billion)

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS), includes the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, 11 pump stations, several hundred miles of feeder pipelines, and the Valdez Marine Terminal. It is commonly called the Alaska Pipeline, Trans-Alaska Pipeline, or Alyeska Pipeline, (or the Pipeline as referred to in Alaska), but those terms technically apply only to the 800.302 miles (1,287.961 km) of the pipleline with the diameter of 48 inches (122 cm) that conveys oil from Prudhoe Bay, to Valdez, Alaska. The crude oil pipeline is privately owned by the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company.

The pipeline was built between 1974 and 1977 after the 1973 oil crisis caused a sharp rise in oil prices in the United States. This rise made exploration of the Prudhoe Bay oil field economically feasible. Environmental, legal, and political debates followed the discovery of oil at Prudhoe Bay in 1968, and the pipeline was built only after the oil crisis provoked the passage of legislation designed to remove legal challenges to the project.

• Country :United State
• Year of completion : 1977
• Cost: $8 Billion

5. CVN-78 Class Aircraft Carrier (Cost: $8.1 Billion)

The CVN-78-class aircraft carriers (or Ford-class) are a planned class of supercarrier for the United States Navy, intended to replace the current Nimitz-class carriers. The new vessels will use a hull design very similar to the Nimitz carriers, but many aspects of the design will be very different, implementing new technologies developed since the initial design of the previous class (such as the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System), as well as other design features intended to improve efficiency and running costs, including a reduced crew requirement. The first hull of the line will be named Gerald R. Ford, and will have the hull number CVN-78.

• Country : United States
• Year of completion : 2015 (expected)
• Cost: $8.1 Billion

4. James Bay Project ( Cost: 13.8 billion)

The James Bay Project refers to the construction by state-owned utility Hydro-Québec of a series of hydroelectric power stations on the La Grande River in northwestern Quebec, Canada, and the diversion of neighbouring rivers into the La Grande watershed. It is located between James Bay to the west and Labrador to the east and its waters flow from the Laurentian Plateau of the Canadian Shield. The project covers an area of the size of the State of New York and is one of the largest hydroelectric systems in the world. The project has cost upwards of $13 billion US to build and has an installed generating capacity of 16,000 megawatts, three times more than all of the power stations at Niagara Falls, eight times the power of Hoover Dam, and over twice the power of all eight reactors units at the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station, the largest in North America. If fully expanded to include all of the original planned dams, as well as the additional “James Bay II” projects, the system would generate a total of 27,000 MW, making it the largest hydroelectric system in the world.

• Country : Canada
• Year of completion : 1972
• Cost: 13.8 billion

3. Three Gorges Dam(Cost: $25 Billion)

The Three Gorges Dam is a hydroelectric dam that spans the Yangtze River by the town of Sandouping, located in the Yiling District of Yichang, in Hubei province, China. It is the world’s largest electricity-generating plant of any kind.

The dam body was completed in 2006. Except for a ship lift, the originally planned components of the project were completed on October 30, 2008 when the 26th generator in the shore plant began commercial operation. Each generator has a capacity of 700 MW.Six additional generators in the underground power plant are not expected to become fully operational until 2011.

• Country : China
• Year of completion : 2011 (expected)
• Cost: $25 Billion

 

2. Itaipu Dam (Cost: $27 Billion)

 

The Itaipu Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Paraná River located on the border between Brazil and Paraguay. The name “Itaipu” was taken from an isle that existed near the construction site. In the Guarani language, Itaipu means “the sound of a stone”. The American composer Philip Glass has also written a symphonic cantata named Itaipu, in honour of the structure.

The dam is the largest operating hydroelectric facility in terms of annual generating capacity, generating 94.7 TWh in 2008 and 91.6 TWh in 2009, while the annual generating capacity of the Three Gorges Dam was 80.8 TWh in 2008 and 79.4 TWh in 2009. It is a binational undertaking run by Brazil and Paraguay at the Paraná River on the border section between the two countries, 15 km (9.3 mi) north of the Friendship Bridge. The project ranges from Foz do Iguaçu, in Brazil, and Ciudad del Este in Paraguay, in the south to Guaíra and Salto del Guaíra in the north. The installed generation capacity of the plant is 14 GW, with 20 generating units providing 700 MW each with a hydraulic design head of 118 m. In 2008 the plant generated a record 94.68 billion kWh, supplying 90% of the energy consumed by Paraguay and 19% of that consumed by Brazil.

• Country : Brazil, Paraguay
• Year of completion : 1984
• Cost: $27 Billion

1. International Space Station(Cost: $157 Billion)

The International Space Station (ISS) is an internationally developed research facility that is being assembled in low Earth orbit. On-orbit construction of the station began in 1998 and is scheduled for completion by late 2011. The station is expected to remain in operation until at least 2015, and likely 2020. With a greater mass than that of any previous space station, the ISS can be seen from Earth with the naked eye, and is by far the largest artificial satellite that has ever orbited Earth. The ISS serves as a research laboratory that has a microgravity environment in which crews conduct experiments in biology, chemistry, human biology, physics, astronomy and meteorology. The station has a unique environment for the testing of the spacecraft systems that will be required for missions to the Moon and Mars.The ISS is operated by Expedition crews, with the station programme maintaining an uninterrupted human presence in space since the launch of Expedition 1 on 31 October 2000, a total of 9 years and 262 days.

• Country : Canada, European Space Agency, Japan, Russia, United States
• Year of completion : 2011 (expected)
• Cost: $157 Billion

Afghanistan refuses to hand over notorious Pakistani terrorist to Pakistan

Afghanistan has refused to extradite notorious terrorist Maulvi Faqir to Pakistan. He was detained together with five accomplices five days ago in the east Afghan province Nangarhar and is being kept in-custody at a pre-trial detention center of the Chief Department of National Security (CDNS) in Kabul. On Thursday, the Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Hina Rabbani Khar called on her Afghan colleague Zalmai Rassoul, asking to extradite to Islamabad the criminal who has blood of many Pakistanis on his hand, nevertheless was refused. The Foreign Minister of Afghanistan specified that Pakistan does not hand over the Afghan Talibs on request of Kabul, referring to absence of the official extradition treaty of criminals. He hoped that very soon such agreement will be signed after all.

What next for Syria talks after Damascus attack?

The recent attack in central Damascus which claimed the lives of at least 53 people has again doubted chances for a prompt solution to the Syrian crisis.

None of the opposition groups has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry are expected to discuss the situation during the talks in Berlin on February 26. There is not much optimism about the meeting, though. 

Mr. Lavrov earlier said that he was puzzled to known that the U.S. had vetoed the UNSC draft statement to the media composed by Russia which condemns the Damascus attack. Following his meeting with China’s Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in Moscow on February 22 Mr. Lavrov accused the U.S. of ‘double-standard policy’ and ‘a dangerous trend when our U.S. partners ignore the basic principle which requires a strong condemnation of any attack’. 

On February 24 John Kerry is starting his first Europe and Middle East tour. Washington expects the Syrian crisis to dominate the agenda of the talks with Sergei Lavrov, U.S. Department of State Spokesperson Victoria Nuland said.

Victoria Nuland also said that the U.S. urges the opposition to sit down for talks with the regime, adding that the meeting could take place anywhere, including Moscow. 

Meanwhile, Russian analysts have different views on how Moscow and Washington could influence the outcome of the Syrian crisis. Boris Dolgov, expert at the Russian Institute of Oriental Studies, believes that the U.S. has been softening its position on the issue with Moscow and Washington having a good potential for finding a common ground for cooperation.

“First of all, Moscow and Washington could agree to stop arms supplies to militants in Syria. Certainly, this would require Russia and the U.S to pressure on both the Syrian government and the opposition to sit down for talks.” 

Prominent expert and the president of the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies, Yevgeny Satanovsky, thinks that Moscow and Washington won’t be able to find a compromise on the issue since they have too different approaches to the situation.

“The Syrian settlement is impossible. The talks won’t bring any result since the opposition is split over the idea, most of them not willing to have talks with the regime. They are busy with jihad, and this is not Assad`s resignation they want but elimination of the Alawites (those who belong to a branch of Shia Islam), and Bashar Assad is an Alawite. So, Moscow and Washington can just help each other to have a better understanding of the differences in their approaches.”

Mr. Satanovsky`s pessimism echoes the words by Victoria Nuland when she said that the U.S. was not going to dictate its will to Syrian opposition. 

The conflict in Syria broke out in March, 2011, and last year it turned into a civil war between the armed opposition groups and the regime. The UN says Syria’s death toll has approached nearly 70,000 people.

Andrey Fedyashin