Theresa May takes stand against Saudi regime by not wearing headscarf - ignoring Foreign Office advice

Theresa May has taken a stand against Saudi Arabia's ultra-conservative regime by not wearing a headscarf - going against official Foreign Office advice.

The Prime Minister, in a dark blue trouser suit, made sure she had her wrists and ankles covered, in accordance with strict dress codes for women in Saudi Arabia.

But her choice of outfit as she arrived on Tuesday afternoon was contrary to Foreign Office guidelines, which state: “Women should wear conservative, loose-fitting clothes as well as a full length cloak (abaya) and a headscarf.”

Mrs May won widespread praise on Twitter, with users saying they were “proud you have not bowed down” to the regime, and that “secular women are equal and free”.

Britain’s only other female Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, wore a long robe and a hat that covered most of her hair when she made an official visit to Saudi Arabia.

Members of the Royal family also abide by the Foreign Office’s advice when they visit the strict Muslim kingdom.

There is, however, no law requiring foreign visitors to cover their heads, and Mrs May is by no means the first visiting foreign VIP to go bare-headed.

Michelle Obama left her head uncovered when she visited Saudi Arabia with President Barack Obama in 2015 to pay respects following King Abdullah’s death.

Condoleezza Rice, the former US Secretary of State, also went bare-headed on the same trip.

Before she arrived in Saudi Arabia, Mrs May had said she hoped her visit would show “what women can achieve”.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Whopper toothpaste and Subway ice cream

Burger King and Subway both went for the 'ha ha imagine if savoury food was a sweet food or a toothpaste' approach.

Here is what the good people at Burger King had to say: "The iconic burger: the WHOPPER® from BURGER KING® is so generous and tasty, that its fans would do anything to make its unique flame grilled beef taste last longer.

"To keep the tasty flavours lasting longer, BURGER KING® has created WHOPPER TOOTHPASTE   TM, the first toothpaste with active WHOPPER® extracts.

"BURGER KING® and agency Buzzman teamed up with experts to reproduce the iconic flavour of the WHOPPER® and combine it with active ingredients for optimal teeth and gum hygiene."

And Subway:  "On 1 April 2017, the SUBWAY® brand is launching their first ever ice cream range… inspired by the nation’s most love Subs. The savoury SUBZero range is available in these three delicious flavours for a limited time only:

• Meatball Marinara
• Chicken Tikka
• Tuna

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/31/april-fools-day-2017-best-fake-news/

Iran's President Rouhani visited Russia: another step to a Multipolar World

The significance of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s visit to Russia on March 27-28 goes far beyond the bilateral relationship. Iran is one of the main actors in Syria and Iraq. It has an importance place in the geopolitical plans of US President Donald Trump. Its relationship with Russia is an important factor of international politics. The future of the entire Middle East depends to a great extent on what Russia and Iran do and how effectively they coordinate their activities.

Less than two months are left till the presidential election in Iran. The presidential race formally starts on April 17 and Rouhani has a good chance to win. True, the country’s foreign policy at the strategic level is defined by Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but the executive branch of the government led by president implements it. The spiritual leader does not pay visits to other countries but Russian President Vladimir Putin met him in Tehran last year – the second time in the recent 17 years.

This was Rouhani's first official visit to Russia and the first time he and Putin met within a bilateral framework. The trip took place against the background of growing partnership as both countries have become leading forces of the Astana process that made Iran, Russia and Turkey guarantors of the Syrian cease-fire.

True, the cooperation in Syria is of utmost importance but there is each and every reason to believe that Russia and Iran will have to join together in an attempt to settle the conflict in Afghanistan. As a regional superpower, Iran will gain much by coordinating activities with Russia in that country after the US withdrawal that seems to be inevitable. Such cooperation would become a game-changing factor with far-reaching consequences for the region from the Mediterranean to Pakistan.

The emerging triangle, including Russia, Iran and Turkey, becomes an alliance, could reshape the region. A ceasefire in Syria reached as a result of the Astana process led by the «big three» would reduce the clout of the US, the UK and France. Actually, their influence has already been diminished. The neighboring states will see that progress can be achieved without the «traditional players» representing the West.

Russia is the country that can debunk the myth that the Middle East is threatened by a «Shia threat» emanating from Tehran. It can use its close and friendly relations with leading Sunni states – Egypt, Jordan, the UAE and, perhaps, Saudi Arabia – to play the stabilizing role of mediator between the Shia and Sunni camps. Russia has a unique position to act as an intermediary between Iran and Israel – something nobody else can do.

It’ll take years to heal the wounds and mitigate the contradictions between Shia and Sunni Muslims in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. Today, the West does not enjoy the clout it once had there. The borders drawn by Western countries caused many conflicts; direct military interventions made them lose trust and support. Under the circumstances, Russia is not exactly an outside actor. Moscow needs peace and stability in the region. This goal can be achieved in tandem with Turkey and Iran. Iraq and Syria can join the trio after they overcome the devastating results of wars. It makes the cooperation with Tehran an issue of paramount importance for Russia.

The bilateral relationship is going to be strengthened by large-scale economic projects.

Despite the importance of foreign policy issues, the talks mainly focused on prospects for deepening trade, economic and investment cooperation, including under large joint projects in energy and transport infrastructure. More than ten major trade and economic agreements were signed during the visit. Russia has already pumped about one billion euros into Iran' railway network, with serious financial injections into bilateral projects yet to be implemented.

Exports to Iran stand at only around 1 percent of Russian foreign trade, but a trade surplus and the existence of a large market for Russian manufactured goods make Iran an important partner. The bilateral trade grew by 60 percent from $1.2 billion in 2015 to almost $2 billion in 2016.

The resumption of weapons deliveries and participation in infrastructure projects financed by Russian loans have led to the doubling of exports of non-energy products from Russia to Iran. The first batch of S-300 air defense systems was delivered in April 2016.

Russia has agreed to provide Iran with a loan of $2.2 billion for infrastructure projects involving Russian companies. It is planned to build a power plant and enhance generation at another in Iran in a contract worth several billion dollars. Under an agreement signed between the two sides, the Russians will improve efficiency at the Ramin power plant in Khuzestan province to 50-55% from 36% now. Another Russian company will build a 1,400-megawatt power plant in the Iranian city of Bandar Abbas in Hormuzgan province. Russian truck manufacturer Kamaz plans to export 300 trucks in 2017, GAZ signed a memorandum with the Iranian authorities for the supply of 900 buses.

Russia’s role in reaching the Iran nuclear deal, the cooperation in Syria and the allegiance to the policy of rapprochement declared by President Putin provide ample evidence of Moscow’s desire to boost the bilateral ties.

A momentous event to take place this year will provide an impetus to the development of Russia-Iran relations. Tehran is expected to become a full-fledged member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) this June. Iran also has expressed interest in signing a trade agreement with the Eurasian Union.

Russia and Iran are united by common goals and interests. The development of relations between the two great powers is a significant contribution into creating alternative poles of power to change the world for the better.

Souce: http://www.zerohedge.com

Wright Electric unveils its commercial electric plane business

Gas is the biggest cost for airlines. The easiest way to reduce these costs? Don’t use gas at all. That was the pitch from Wright Electric, a startup building a commercial passenger plane that runs on batteries and can handle flights under 300 miles. These short-haul trips make up 30 percent of all flights and is a $26 billion market.

Today Wright Electric gave its first preview to the world at Y Combinator’s Demo Day, where Silicon Valley’s most prestigious startup accelerator puts its new companies in front of investors. Wright Electric announced it’s building a 150-seat plane to disrupt the 737 market. It’s struck a partnership with budget British airline EasyJet, which could put its design in the air. And it even showed off its own electric plane in the parking lot.

“This is one of best hard tech teams I’ve seen,” said Michael Seibel, the head of Y Combinator’s accelerator program. Wright Electric hired a team that had been previously funded by NASA to investigate the potential for electric planes, which its co-founder Jeff Engler says puts the startup years ahead of the competition.

The plan for exactly how the planes will work depends on advances in battery technology. If batteries get a lot better in the next decade it will go all-electric — and if they don’t, it will use a hybrid system similar to a Chevy Volt. Last year Boeing and Airbus sold 967 planes in the 737 style at about $90 million each. Even replacing a fraction of that market could be a big opportunity.

For now, gas will still be necessary for long-haul flights across the country or the world. But Wright Electric’s technology could make jumps like New York City to Washington, D.C. much cheaper, and potentially more environmentally friendly, depending on where the electricity to charge the batteries comes from.

Wright Electric is only a year old and has a long way to go before its planes are operational. The image above is just a mock-up. But with every airline desperate to reduce costs and undercut the competition, it could fly high once it’s off the ground.

Source: https://techcrunch.com

Gold Mine Wells vs Oil Wells

Gold mine well in Russia. This gold well has a depth of 4 km. The width of the well is 0.8 m. Despite the impressive size of the well, gold mining there is limited by the person's physical capabilities. If lowered further, it can be dangerous for a person because of the high load on the body associated with high temperature, humidity, logistics and the possibility of seismic activity. Fortunately for the oil industry, it does not have such limitations associated with the physical condition of a person, so oil companies can drill deeper. We represent the deepest wells in the world.

1. Chayvo Z-44 (Russia, 13 km) The world's deepest oil well, known as the Chayvo Z-44, goes to a depth of about 13 km, equivalent to 15 heights of Burj Khalifa, the tallest skyscraper in the world. This depth is also twice the record altitude in a balloon. A total of 2.3 billion barrels of oil is expected to be produced in the wells on this shelf. Before Chayvo well Z-44 well and other similar wells were drilled, the leading position was occupied by the famous Kola superdeep borehole located in the western part of Russia.

2. OP-11 (Russia, 12 345 m) January 2011 was marked by a message from the company Exxon Neftegas that the drilling of the longest well with a large departure from the vertical is nearing completion. OR-11, located on the Odoptu field, also set a record for the length of the horizontal trunk - 11,475 meters.

The perpetrators were able to complete work in just 60 days. The total length of the OP-11 well at the Odoptu field was 12345 meters (7.67 miles), thereby setting a new world record for drilling wells with a large vertical bottom hole (BOV). OR-11 also took first place in the world by the distance between the face and the point of drilling horizontally - 11,475 meters (7.13 miles). ENL Company performed drilling of a record well in just 60 days using the technology of high-speed drilling and integrated drilling quality control developed by ExxonMobil, achieving the highest drilling performance in every foot of the OR-11 well. Drilling_russia3. BD-04A (Qatar, 12 289 m)

In May 2008, a geological exploration well with a length of 12,289 m was drilled by Maersk in Qatar at the Al-Shaheen oil field. The length of the horizontal barrel was 10,902 m. The BD-04A was drilled in just 36 days and used the GSO Rig 127 drilling rig of Transocean for this purpose. Transocean got even more notoriety in April 2010 after the Deepwater Horizon oil platform disaster in the Gulf of Mexico: the company was the operator of this well under a contract with BP.

1. The Kola Superdeep (USSR, 12 262 m) It is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as "the deepest human invasion of the earth's crust." When, in May 1970, a lake with a difficult-to-pronounce name, Vilgiskodeoivainjärvi, began drilling, it was assumed that the well would reach a depth of 15 kilometers. But because of high (up to 230 ° C) temperatures had to collapse.

The well allowed to obtain a number of unique scientific data. In particular, with its help, a two-layer model of the structure of the earth's crust was questioned. At the moment, the Kola well is mothballed.

1. Bertha Rogers (United States, 9583 m) Another ultra-deep well created in the area of ​​the Anadarko oil and gas basin in Oklahoma in 1974. Thanks to the use of the newest equipment and the rejection of core sampling, drilling took only 502 days from Lone Star company and was stopped when sinkers came across a deposit of molten sulfur. Work cost $ 15 million.

2. Baden Unit (United States, 9159 m) Well drilled by Lone Star near Anadarko. Its development began in 1970 and lasted for 545 days. The wellhead was equipped with a blowout preventer, designed for a pressure of 105.5 mPa. In total, 1,700 tons of cement and 150 diamond bits were used for this well. And its full cost cost the company $ 6 million.

3. Hauptbourung (Germany, 9101 m) The famous Kola well made an indelible impression on the European public. Many countries have started to prepare their projects of superdeep wells, but separately it is worth noting the Hauptborgung well, developed from 1990 to 1994 in Germany. Drilling_russiaThe ultra-deep KTB Hauptbourung well was drilled from 1990 to 1994, it was supposed to reach a depth of 12 km, but due to unpredictably high temperatures it was possible to reach only 9.1 km. Due to the openness of drilling and scientific data, good technology and documentation, the super deep KTV well remains one of the most famous in the world.

4. Zistersdorf UT2A (Austria, 8553 m) In 1977, in the area of ​​the Vienna oil and gas basin, where several small oil fields were hidden, a Zistersdorf UT1A well was drilled. When at the depth of 7544 m non-recoverable gas reserves were discovered, the first. 

Source: http://oilpro.com

Eni Hits Oil In Mexico’s Campeche Bay

Eni said its Amoca-2 well, the first drilled by an international oil major in Mexico since the 2013 energy reform, hit oil in Campeche Bay’s shallow waters.

The well, which is located in Contractual Area 1, hit 110 m (361 ft) of net oil pay from multiple good quality Pliocene reservoir sandstones, the company said in a news release.

Drilled to a total depth of about 3,500 m (11,483 ft), the well “confirmed the presence of 18 degree API oil in the shallower formations, while the newly discovered deeper sandstones contain high quality light oil,” Eni said. “Reserves are still being assessed, but the well indicates a meaningful upside to the original estimates.”

Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi said the discovery builds on the company’s strong exploration record. The company holds a 100% stake in the Area 1 and is evaluating fast-track phased development options.

“Focusing on conventional exploration with high initial stakes and operatorship, we manage to fast-track exploration activities, monetize exploration successes early and receive competitive development opportunities, therefore maximizing value generation for our shareholders,” Descalzi said.

Eni said it plans to continue drilling a new well, Amoca-3, in the same area before drilling two delineation wells— Miztón-2 and Tecoalli-2—to appraise existing discoveries and target new undrilled pools.

Source: www.epmag.com

When is the Real First Day of Spring — March 20th or 21st?

Traditionally, we’ve celebrated the beginning of spring on March 21, but astronomers and calendar manufacturers alike now say that the spring season starts one day earlier, March 20, in all time zones in North America.

How could the first day of spring change from year to year?

There are a few reasons why seasonal dates can vary from year to year. The first is that a year is not an even number of days and neither are the seasons.

Another reason is that the earth’s elliptical orbit is changing its orientation (skew), which causes the earth’s axis to constantly point in a different direction, called precession. Since the seasons are defined as beginning at strict 90-degree intervals, these positional changes affect the time the earth reaches each 90-degree location in its orbit around the sun.

The pull of gravity from the other planets also affects the location of the earth in its orbit. The current seasonal lengths for the Northern Hemisphere are:

Summer — 93.641 days

Autumn — 89.834 days

Winter — 88.994 days

Spring — 92.771 days

As you can see, the warm seasons, spring and summer, combined are 7.584 days longer than the colder seasons, fall and winter (good news for warm weather admirers). However, spring is currently being reduced by approximately one minute per year and winter by about one-half a minute per year. Summer is gaining the minute lost from spring, and autumn is gaining the half a minute lost from winter. Winter is the shortest astronomical season, and with its seasonal duration continuing to decrease, it is expected to attain its minimum value — 88.71 days — by about the year 3500.

Length of Day Vs. Night

Another complication revolving around the vernal equinox concerns the length of day versus night. We have been taught that on the first days of spring and autumn, the day and night are equal to exactly 12 hours all over the world. Yet, if you check the calendar pages in our Almanac, you will find that this is not so. In fact, our tables tell you that on the days of the spring and fall equinox, the length of daylight is actually longer than darkness by several minutes.

The reason this happens can be attributed to our atmosphere. If the earth was a planet that did not have an atmosphere, then yes, on the equinox days the length of the day and night would be exactly even.

However, our atmosphere acts like a lens and refracts (bends) its light above the edge of the horizon. Put in another way, when you watch the sun either coming up above the horizon at sunrise or going down below the horizon at sunset, you are looking at an illusion – the sun is not really there, but already below the horizon.

As a result, we actually end up seeing the sun for a few minutes before its disc actually rises and for a few minutes after it has actually set. Thus, thanks to atmospheric refraction, the length of daylight on any given day is increased by approximately six or seven minutes.

Source: http://farmersalmanac.com