Russia, oil deposits in the north of the country ..[ 1514 ]

Russian govt to hold tender for Trebs, Titov oil deposits this year

Russian govt to hold tender for Trebs, Titov oil deposits in H410

10:38 23/07/2010

© AFP/ Osman Karimov

MOSCOW, July 23 (RIA Novosti)
The Russian government will hold a tender for the Trebs and Titov oil deposits in the north of the country in the fourth quarter of 2010, the government's website said on Thursday.

"The Federal Agency for Subsoil Use must approve the agenda of the tender committee and requirements for the content of the tender documents, send out notices on the tender before August 1, 2010, ... and conduct the tender in the fourth quarter," the statement said.

The Trebs and Titov oil deposits are among the most promising in the Timan-Pechora oil province, with reserves estimated at 78.9 million tons and 63.4 million tons of oil respectively to C1 category.
The government earlier approved tender terms for the Trebs and Titov oil deposits.

A source in a company interested in participation in the tender said that the government had proposed including a clause on the obligatory refining of oil from the deposits at local refineries in tender terms.
Natural Resources Minister Yuri Trutnev has said that an initial payment at the tender would amount to $500 million.

Rosneft, LUKOIL, Gazprom Neft, Bashneft and Zarubezhneft are interested in obtaining licenses for the deposits.

"Hangman" ..hungs student..[ 1513 ]

English teacher used 'hangman'-like game at school where student hung himself

The drawing found in the school papers left behind by student who killed himself

YACHIYO, Chiba -(Mainichi Japan) July 22, 2010- 

A foreign English teacher in charge of an English class at Shumei Yachiyo Junior High School is facing criticism after it emerged that the teacher drew pictures of a person being hung (ala the game "Hangman") when students answered incorrectly in class. In 2008, a student at the school hung himself, but the teacher allegedly continued using the game regardless.

The parents of the student who killed himself, meanwhile, are angry. "This kind of teaching is a problem," they have said.

The testimony of several current and former students led to the discovery. 

According to the students, since at least 2007, the teacher has used the drawings on the blackboard, adding a line and circle to the picture every time a student can't answer a question or answers a question incorrectly, gradually forming a complete picture that resembles a person who has been hung.

According to the parents of the third-year junior high student who hung himself on school grounds in November 2008, in his school notes there were also pictures that looked like hanging victims. At the wake for their son, the parents showed the picture they had found to their son's friend, who told them that it resembled pictures drawn by the English teacher in class, the parents say.

One graduate of the school said, "I considered it a part of a game, a harmless black joke. But, now, thinking about the fact that someone killed themselves, I don't think it was a good idea."

Another student said, "It was also going on in 2009 (after the suicide)."

The reason behind the suicide is unknown, and no causal link has been made between the student's suicide and the teacher's drawings or any instruction on the part of the school.

The parents say that despite the fact that in a study record he submitted to the school, their son wrote, "I had great conversations with people on a suicide website," they received no contact on the matter from the school. They have filed a suit with the Chiba District Court, seeking around 84 million yen in damages on the basis that the school did not respond appropriately despite the suicide warning sign.

On the pictures resembling hangman, the parents said, "Even if it was a joke, the fact that it's being done in a classroom is itself a problem. We were shocked to hear that it continued even after our son's suicide."

The school, communicating via a lawyer, said they wanted to refrain from making any comments on the matter because of the suit.

According to Professor Kazumi Fujimori of Musashino University, a clinical psychologist and author of the book "Gakko Trauma to Kodomo no Kokoro no Care" (School trauma and care for the minds of children), the use of the pictures could almost be considered a form of "power harassment," when a person abuses their position of authority to harass others in the workplace.

"In these times, when there is a trend for even the media to show self-restraint in mentioning suicide, if that kind of instruction was really going on in the classroom, it shows great carelessness. Even if the teacher meant no harm, for the students, who must accept whatever form of teaching is given to them, it is similar to power harassment," says Fujimori.

Click here for the original Japanese story

NASA image of the Day, July 22nd ..[ 1512 ]

The latest NASA "Image of the Day" image.

Lulin

NASA's Swift satellite views Comet Lulin as it made it closest approach to Earth in February 2009. Lulin, like all comets, is a clump of frozen gases mixed with dust. 

These "dirty snowballs" cast off gas and dust whenever they venture near the sun. 

Comet Lulin, which is formally known as C/2007 N3, was discovered in 2008 by astronomers at Taiwan's Lulin Observatory. Lulin passed closest to Earth -- 38 million miles, or about 160 times farther than the moon -- late on the evening of Feb. 23, 2009, for North America. 

Image Credit: NASA, Swift, Univ. Leicester, DSS (STScI/AURUA), Dennis Bodewits, et al.

Πέμπτη, 22 Ιούλιος 2010 7:00:00 πμ

Chavez brakes ties with Colombia. ..[ 1511 ]

Venezuela breaks relations with Colombia

Venezuela President Hugo Chavez said his Colombian counterpart, Alvaro Uribe, is "crazed."

By the CNN Wire Staff

July 22, 2010 -- Updated 2340 GMT (0740 HKT)

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Thursday that he is breaking off relations with Colombia. His decision comes as the Organization of American States meets to discuss Colombian claims that Venezuela is protecting FARC and ELN rebels in its territory.

The move is the biggest escalation in a year of simmering tensions between the two countries and their presidents.

Chavez said that under President Alvaro Uribe, Colombia has isolated itself and become "aggressive and violent."

He called Uribe "crazed" and accused the United States of using Uribe as a puppet.

Uribe is in the final month of a presidency that has had many tensions with neighboring Venezuela, mostly over accusations that rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (also known as FARC) and National Liberation Army (ELN) have camps in Venezuela.

Chavez said he hoped for better relations with Colombian President-elect Juan Manuel Santos, who was Uribe's defense minister and whose election was viewed as an affirmation of Uribe's policies.

The Venezuelan leader spoke from his presidential palace, where he was holding a news conference with Argentine soccer coach Diego Maradona. Maradona's visit was unrelated to the spat with Colombia.

Venezuela recalled its ambassador to Colombia on Friday in reaction to the accusations of protecting rebels.

Uribe is a two-term president who has received high approval ratings for his tough stand against FARC guerrillas, who have been waging war against the government for decades.

Colombia has accused Chavez of supporting the rebels, and Chavez has said Colombian officials and right-wing paramilitary units have plotted his assassination.

Security analysts say FARC guerrillas operate mostly in Colombia but have carried out extortion, kidnappings and other activities in Venezuela, Panama and Ecuador.

FARC is said to traffic in cocaine to finance its insurgency.

Colombia has also accused another neighbor, Ecuador, of giving refuge to rebels. In 2008, Colombia carried out a raid in Ecuadorian territory that resulted in the killing of a top FARC leader.

Thursday was not the first time Chavez cut off diplomatic ties with Colombia.

A year ago, Chavez "froze" the nations' relationship over Colombian accusations that Venezuelan weapons had made it into the hands of rebels.

Colombia said it had evidence that shoulder-fired anti-tank weapons recovered from FARC guerrillas were of Venezuelan origin. Venezuela denied the allegations and said the rebels may have stolen the weapons from a Venezuelan base.

Flooding fears in China coast..[ 1510 ]

Flooding fears intensify as tropical storm churns toward China coast

By the CNN Wire Staff

July 22, 2010 -- Updated 0934 GMT (1734 HKT)

(CNN) -- Tropical Storm Chanthu has slowed, but it's edging ominously closer to an area of southern China already deluged with rain and deadly floods.

"The situation is grave," said China's State Council, or cabinet, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency. The council is urging local governments to step up flood control efforts.

Xinhua, quoting newly released government figures, said torrential rains and floods this year already have been the worst in a decade, claiming the lives of 701 people and leaving 347 missing,

Now, Chanthu could drench some already rain-swollen areas with another 20 inches, or half meter, of rain, according to CNN Weather Anchor Jenny Harrison.

Harrison said Chanthu has slowed over the last 24 hours and now is expected to make landfall Thursday evening, local time. It's moving north-northwest at five miles an hour and is expected to come ashore between Guangdong's coastal city of Yangjiang and Hainan's Qionghai City. But Hong Kong, to the east, also is expected to feel the storm's fury, as well as northern Vietnam.

Chanthu already has been pounding Hainan Island, off the coast, with sustained winds of 68 miles an hour and gusts reaching 87 miles an hour.

But as the storm moves inland, an area of particular concern is the region along the Yangtze River, which already has experienced the worst flooding in 30 years. Floodgates on the Three Gorges Dam have been opened to control the flow, and pictures from the scene show huge volumes of water pouring from it.

Throughout the country, floods have hit 27 provinces and municipalities, affecting 110 million people, according to Xinhua. It said more than 8 million people have been relocated.

About 287,000 military personnel have been mobilized in anti-flood operations, and schools are being advised to do what they can to ensure students' safety.

Xinhua also said the Qiongzhou Strait between the Chinese mainland and Hainan island was closed Wednesday as Chanthu headed toward south China. People in the affected areas are being advised to shut doors and windows and avoid outdoor activities.