Cincunri Sakia

Sabtu, 03 September 2022

No going back to reliance on Russian gas from here - BBC

Pipes at the landfall facilities of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline in Lubmin, Germany

This is no coincidence. Russia's state-controlled gas giant announced an indefinite extension to a three-day maintenance halt to flows of gas through the continent's key energy artery, hours after leading western finance ministers vowed to escalate sanctions on Russian oil.

Gazprom's official reason is that an oil leak has been found and the pipeline cannot work without German imports of technology, which are now subject to sanctions.

Few observers believe, however, that this is anything other than an attempt essentially to blackmail Europe over supplies.

The G7 world's main economies, including the UK, agreed to cap the price they pay for oil from Russia. This is a way to limit the revenues that fund the Kremlin's war in Ukraine - it earns more from oil exports than gas.

But this is a very serious development. Even during the height of the Cold War, Russia kept supplies of its gas flowing into Europe.

This cut-off though - and the pointed attempt by Gazprom to blame the German energy giant Siemens for the malfunction - is the culmination of decades of dysfunction in the energy relationship between Russia and Germany.

For most of that time, of course, Bonn and then Berlin were delighted to avail themselves of cheap Russian gas.

A younger Vladimir Putin did his PhD thesis on the importance of Russian energy exports.

When I visited Gazprom's headquarters a decade ago and its fields in Siberia, I was told menacingly "anyone who artificially tries to diminish the role of Russian gas is playing a very dangerous game". A visit to the Novi Urengoy field showed Gazprom consolidating its hold on the Russian state, with some assistance from Berlin.

Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder enshrined this dependence with the building of this same Nordstream pipeline, which then gave him a job on its board. Gazprom sponsored German football, Europe's premier football competition the Champions League, and bankrolled various Russian soft power projects.

Perhaps most incredibly, German industry swapped the gas storage facilities under its soil for privileged access to deep-lying gas reserves under the Siberian tundra.

The very facilities, including Germany's largest, designed for resilience in the face of Russian energy diplomacy were passed into Russian ownership. It beggars belief that this was completed in 2015, after Russia's annexation of Crimea.

Getty Images

One sliver of hope, though, now lies in those same storage facilities. The German government seized ownership of the storage facilities that had been left at very low levels last year.

There, and across the continent, energy companies backed by government loans have spent the summer buying up as much gas as possible at any price.

The major economies are now on course to fill massive stores of gas, designed to cope with a cut to supplies of several weeks. Germany's huge stores are now 84% full, having been less than half full in June.

As a result, gas prices traded in international markets have come down from extreme highs over the past week. But they are still very high by normal standards.

There remains a dash to secure alternative supplies that is pushing up the price for all countries, including Britain. And the true impact of all this will depend on just how long the pipeline outage lasts.

But surely now, for Germany and the rest of Europe, there will be no going back to reliance on Russia.

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiKmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jb20vbmV3cy9idXNpbmVzcy02Mjc3OTkwOdIBLmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jb20vbmV3cy9idXNpbmVzcy02Mjc3OTkwOS5hbXA?oc=5

2022-09-03 12:25:36Z
1551659288

Nasa: Artemis Moon rocket to make second launch attempt - BBC

The US space agency will attempt once again in the coming hours to launch its most powerful ever rocket.

Nasa was thwarted by a mix of technical and weather woes when it tried to get the Artemis I Moon mission off Earth on Monday.

But the mood remains positive at Florida's Kennedy Space Center.

"We've got to show up, we've got to be ready and we've got to see what the day brings," Mike Sarafin, Nasa's Artemis mission manager, told reporters.

Saturday's attempt to despatch the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket has been scheduled for the start of a two-hour window that begins at 14:17 local time (19:17 BST; 18:17 GMT).

The 100m-tall vehicle's objective will be to hurl a human-rated capsule in the direction of the Moon, something that hasn't happened since Project Apollo ended in 1972.

Artemis I is a technology demonstration, so there will be no crew aboard on this occasion, but should everything go to plan on the mission then Artemis II, expected to fly in 2024, very definitely will be carrying humans.

Nasa astronaut Jessica Mier said everyone should therefore show some patience as the SLS moves towards its maiden flight, and to not be surprised if there is a further postponement.

"Yeah, of course it's frustrating for everybody, but it's not unexpected," she told BBC News.

"It's part of how we do things at Nasa. The SLS will eventually have humans on it, my friends, my colleagues. So, we need to make sure this test flight goes well."

How we get humans back to the Moon

Monday's bid to fly SLS was ultimately scrubbed because controllers couldn't be sure the four big engines under the rocket's core-stage were properly prepared for flight.

The shuttle-era power units are chilled during countdown to -240C to prevent them being shocked by the sudden injection of cryogenic propellants at the moment of launch. But a sensor was indicating that Engine No 3 might be 15-30 degrees short of where its temperature needed to be.

Bill Muddle from manufacturer Aerojet Rocketdyne is confident though that the sensor was faulty, and if it plays up again on Saturday it will likely just be ignored.

"Having reviewed the data and all the other indicators, Engine No 3 could even have been a little bit colder than the others on Monday," he said.

"We now understand what we need to go look at to get comfortable to go launch."

This video can not be played

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

If the SLS does get away this time, it is sure to be a spectacular sight.

"It's gonna be 'shuttle on steroids'," said Doug Hurley, who was the pilot on the very last shuttle mission in 2011.

The former astronaut now works for Northrop Grumman who make the big white solid boosters on the sides of the SLS.

"What I always thought was the coolest thing about shuttle launches was you saw it lift off and it was well clear of the tower before you heard anything, and then it was even a little longer before you felt it," he explained.

"Thrust to weight-wise, SLS is pretty close to what shuttle was. Apollo's Saturn V rocket was drastically different. I never saw it in person but it lumbered clear of the pad. For shuttle, it seemed like it was clear in an instant, almost as soon as the boosters were lit. SLS should be the same," he told BBC News.

The first powered phase of the SLS's ascent will last just over eight minutes.

This will put the upper-stage of the rocket, with the Orion capsule still attached, into a highly elliptical orbit that would see the two of them come crashing back to Earth without any further effort.

So, the upper-stage will have to raise and circularise the orbit before then boosting Orion in the direction of the Moon.

Confirmation that the capsule is on its own, on track and speeding through space at 30,000 km/h (19,000mph) should come two hours and five minutes after launch.

The planned mission length is just under 38 days. This would result in Orion returning to Earth for a splashdown in the ocean off San Diego in California on 11 October.

Thirty-eight days is much longer than the 21 days that capsule manufacturer Lockheed Martin says is the maximum time astronauts should spend in the spacecraft.

But Annette Hasbrook, senior advisor on the Orion programme at Nasa, said engineers wanted to stretch the spacecraft on this mission to understand its limits.

"You're trying to test the edges of your boxes, not your nominal profile," she explained.

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiN2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jby51ay9uZXdzL3NjaWVuY2UtZW52aXJvbm1lbnQtNjI3NTg0ODLSATtodHRwczovL3d3dy5iYmMuY28udWsvbmV3cy9zY2llbmNlLWVudmlyb25tZW50LTYyNzU4NDgyLmFtcA?oc=5

2022-09-02 23:21:11Z
1546159078

Jumat, 02 September 2022

Man points handgun in face of Argentina's vice president in 'attempted assassination' - Sky News

A man has pointed a loaded handgun in the face of Argentina's vice president in what is being described as an attempted assassination.

Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was threatened outside her home in Buenos Aires on Thursday night.

The trigger was pulled but no shots were fired - indicating the weapon jammed - before the attacker was overpowered and arrested.

Video from the scene broadcast on local television channels shows the vice president exiting her vehicle surrounded by supporters outside her home, in the upscale Recoleta area of the capital.

The alleged gunman, identified as Brazilian national Fernando Andre Sabag Montiel, does not have a criminal record, the Argentinian Security Ministry said.

He appears to extend his hand holding what has been confirmed as a .32-calibre Bersa semi-automatic pistol, before former president Ms Fernandez is seen raising her hand to her face and ducking for cover.

The suspect was overpowered within seconds by security officials.

Argentina's president, Alberto Fernandez, said the gun was loaded with five bullets.

"A man pointed a firearm at her head and pulled the trigger," he said in a national broadcast.

The weapon "didn't fire even though the trigger was pulled," Mr Fernandez added.

Who is Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner?

Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was the first female president of Argentina.

She took office from her husband Nestor Kirchner after he stepped down in 2007. She was then re-elected with a huge majority in 2011 following his death in 2010.

The couple met at law school in Buenos Aires and moved to Patagonia after finishing their studies.

They simultaneously rose through the political ranks there, with Mr Kirchner elected governor of Santa Cruz in the early 1990s, with his wife serving as his deputy.

Ms Fernandez de Kirchner later became senator of Buenos Aires, while her husband served as president between 2003 and 2007.

The couple's focus on human rights, increasing social spending, and improving the lives of low-income families became known as 'Kirchnerismo'.

Under her leadership, Argentina renewed contracts with the International Monetary Fund after years of hostility and became the first country in Latin America to legalise same-sex marriage.

A vocal advocate of returning the Falkland Islands to Argentina, Ms Fernandez de Kirchner wrote to then-prime minister David Cameron in 2013, claiming British rule there was the continuation of oppressive colonialism.

Now vice president to Alberto Fernandez, for the last three years she has been the subject of a corruption trial.

While she vehemently denies all charges and has described it as a "media judicial firing squad", she is one of 13 accused of awarding public contracts to a friend while she and her husband lived in Patagonia.

Over a 12-year period, prosecutors claim 51 contracts were awarded to companies owned by Lazaro Baez. The trial is expected to last until next year.

The president - who is not related to his deputy - said the attack was "the most serious incident since we recovered democracy" in 1983 after a military dictatorship.

Economy minister Sergio Massa said: "When hate and violence are imposed over the debate of ideas, societies are destroyed and generate situations like the one seen today: an assassination attempt."

The suspect was arrested nearby and a weapon was found a few metres from the scene, according to a police spokesman.

Hundreds of protesters have gathered in recent days to support the former president, who is in the midst of a corruption trial.

She vehemently denies allegations, said to have happened during her 2007 - 2015 presidency.

The president declared Friday a holiday "so the Argentine people can, in peace and harmony, express itself in defence of life, democracy and in solidarity with our vice president."

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMidmh0dHBzOi8vbmV3cy5za3kuY29tL3N0b3J5L21hbi1wb2ludHMtaGFuZGd1bi1pbi1mYWNlLW9mLWFyZ2VudGluYXMtdmljZS1wcmVzaWRlbnQtaW4tYXR0ZW1wdGVkLWFzc2Fzc2luYXRpb24tMTI2ODc0MzPSAXpodHRwczovL25ld3Muc2t5LmNvbS9zdG9yeS9hbXAvbWFuLXBvaW50cy1oYW5kZ3VuLWluLWZhY2Utb2YtYXJnZW50aW5hcy12aWNlLXByZXNpZGVudC1pbi1hdHRlbXB0ZWQtYXNzYXNzaW5hdGlvbi0xMjY4NzQzMw?oc=5

2022-09-02 08:21:12Z
1552523400

Man points handgun in face of Argentina's vice president in 'attempted assassination' - Sky News