Wheat Tailspin Accelerates Signaling 13% Drop to SocGen on Record Harvest Nov 2, 2009
Recent major purchases by Iraq, Jordan and Egypt were for more competitively priced European and Black Sea wheat, Jayet said. U.S. wheat is not competitive at all. (Bloomberg -- Australia & New Zealand)
Nord Stream Construction to Start in 2010 Oct 30, 2009
Moscow responded to that by drawing its own project, South Stream, aimed at transporting that same Central Asian gas to Europe via a submarine pipeline through the Black Sea. Mr Sass said both these projects were needed, since Europe's gas demand was increasing and its domestic production falling. (BusinessWeek)
Bosco Sport signs up as Sochi Olympic sponsor Oct 29, 2009
Virtually all Olympic facilities are being built from scratch in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. The city won hosting rights in 2007 with the help of campaigning by Vladimir Putin, who was Russia's president at the time and is the current prime minister. (SportsIllustrated.CNN -- More)
Scientists Map Fish Habitat And Movements At Gray's Reef Marine Sanctuary Oct 28, 2009
According to the latest reports from NOAA Fisheries, black sea bass, red snapper, red grouper, and gag are among the region s overfished species. These studies are helping researchers better understand the movements and habitat preferences of these species, and their potential vulnerability to fishing. (Science Daily)
Jellyfish: A Gelatinous Invasion Oct 24, 2009
Native to the Atlantic coast of the U.S., Mnemiopsis was introduced to the Black Sea in the 1980s most likely from the ballast water of oil tankers and played an instrumental role in the collapse of the region's fisheries. "Now the question is, Will it do in the Mediterranean the same thing it did in the Black Sea?" Boero says ... The problems in the Black Sea occurred because Mnemiopsis had been introduced to an ecosystem that had already been severely overfished. (Time.com)
Russia, Ukraine not to revise Black Sea Fleet agreement Oct 24, 2009
MOSCOW, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Neither Moscow nor Kiev is seeking to revise an agreement on the deployment of Russia's Black Sea Fleet in the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, Russian news agencies quoted the two countries' top diplomats as saying on Friday. The Black Sea Fleet uses a range of naval facilities in the Crimea, including the base in Sevastopol, under a 1997 lease agreement ... "Moscow is not proposing to revise the basic agreements on the Black Sea Fleet. We did not hear similar... (Xinhuanet, China)
Europe gets serious about gas Oct 23, 2009
White Stream, which has just concluded its own feasibility study would run under the Black Sea from Georgia to Romania and Ukraine, therefore bypassing Turkey ... The decision also came as Russia made gains in its plans to create its proposed South Stream pipeline, which would also run under the Black Sea and transport natural gas to Southern Europe. (Asia Times Online)
Azerbaijan and Turkeyclash over energy Oct 23, 2009
White Stream would take gas across Azerbaijan and Georgia to the latter's Black Sea ports and then across the Black Sea either to Ukraine, from where it would enter gas networks of the European Union states, or directly to Romania, itself an EU member. Its proponents even argue that concurrent development of White Stream with Nabucco would reinforce one another by offering "security of demand" to gas producers and exporters. (Asia Times Online)
Gwyneth Scally Exhibit/Installation Opening November 21t Oct 22, 2009
She has worked as an artist in Arizona for the last decade, interspersing her work with travel to- and exhibitions in- Latin America, Europe, Northern Africa, New York, China, Newfoundland and the Black Sea of Bulgaria. Most recently, Scally was awarded a grant to spend the summer of 2009 in Glacier National Park, making video work about the vanishing glaciers. (AbsoluteArts.com)
'Sabotage' derails Georgian train Oct 22, 2009
It took place on a line between Senaki and the Black Sea port of Poti, one of two used to transport oil and gas to Europe from the Caspian Sea. There have been several recent blasts in the area, near breakaway Abkhazia. (BBC News -- Europe)
Poland welcomes new plan by US for missile shield Oct 22, 2009
He said Moscow would be angered if the United States sent navy ships with interceptor missiles to the Black Sea or put a missile defense radar in Georgia. Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company. (Boston Globe)
Poland Ready to Accept New U.S. Missile Defense Deal Oct 22, 2009
He said Moscow would certainly be angered if the U.S. were to send navy ships with interceptor missiles to the Black Sea or put a missile defense radar in Georgia. Under Obama's new missile defense plan, U.S. Navy ships equipped with anti-missile weapons such as the Navy's Standard Missile-3 would form a front line of defense in the eastern Mediterranean. (Fox News)
Biden to meet Romania leader, assure of US backing Oct 22, 2009
Romania has a U.S. military base at the Black Sea, but unlike Poland and the Czech Republic, the other countries the vice president is visiting on his Europe trip, there were never plans for a major anti-missile base in the country. ABC 7 Talkback. (ABC 7 News, DC)
Hooked on the coast Oct 22, 2009
His trips vary from bluefish near shore to king mackerel to offshore wreck fishing for black sea bass, grouper and amberjack. His advice to fishermen is to keep a variety of tackle handy and come up with three-pronged game plan. (News & Observer -- Sports)
Gatley: Light at end of tunnel » Oct 20, 2009
This meeting exposed the severity of the black sea bass issue (among others) and put it in a way Washington will hopefully understand, in dollars and sense. Editor's note: Capt. Chris Gatley can be found with his fishing clients chasing striped bass in front of the Statue of Liberty, or heading offshore to the Atlantic Ocean canyons off the NJ/NY coast for tuna. (ESPN -- Outdoors)
Sochi expects to top $1 billion in sponsor revenue Oct 20, 2009
Sochi, a Black Sea resort and first Russian city to host the Winter Games, is building virtually all Olympic facilities from scratch. The project includes new roads in the rugged Caucasus mountains, and a rail line connecting the snow-sports venues with the ice sports arenas being built on the coast. (MSNBC -- Sports)
Ukraine-Russia tensions are simmering in Crimea Oct 18, 2009
But when court bailiffs tried to serve papers at a lighthouse here in August, they found themselves surrounded by armed troops from Russia s Black Sea Fleet who delivered them to police as if they were trespassing teenagers. The humiliating episode underscored Russia s continuing influence in the storied peninsula on the Black Sea nearly two decades after the fall of the Soviet Union and the potential for trouble here ahead of Ukraine s first presidential vote since the 2005 Orange Revolution... (Boston Globe)
Weaving through time Oct 17, 2009
She shows me black sea grass and describes the way maidenhair fern grows in the shape of a hand, half black and half red. Helms and Moxley share a love of Oregon s coastal, wild iris: purple-blue wisps on tall, pliable stems. (Coos Bay-North Bend The World, OR)
Putin on the Ritz: Russian PM floats song contest Oct 17, 2009
He personally campaigned successfully to bring the 2014 Olympics to the Black Sea resort of Sochi, and he met Thursday with Sepp Blatter, the head of soccer's governing body, to push Russia's bid for the 2018 or 2022 World Cup. Putin first suggested creating a Eurasian version of the contest this week in China, dubbing it "Intervision," to take place among members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization - a regional economic and political pact designed in part to counter NATO.. (CBS News -- World)
The World According to Misha Oct 16, 2009
For Senator John McCain, it meant jet-skiing with Saakashvili on the Black Sea ... It started with a ride along the Black Sea coast on his presidential helicopter, and by the time it was finished almost a week later, it had led from the Abkhazian border in the northwest to the central wine country of Kakheti and eventually to the President's offices inside the new glass-and-steel chancellery building in Tbilisi ... The Road to WarOur first flight took us to a deserted stretch of Black Sea coast... (Time.com)
Duty call tripsRussia steel game Oct 14, 2009
Alfa Bank steel analyst Barry Ehrlich reported to clients this week the immediate risk "that current steel prices outside of China, in the range of $560/t (hot-rolled coil, free-on-board at a Black Sea port) and $640/t (Western Europe domestic), will not rise further and perhaps come under pressure despite our estimate of 9% higher global steel volumes in 2010. If prices begin to decline in Europe, this would likely cause a shock to equity prices, which are factoring in sharply higher price... (Asia Times Online)
NYT: Eastern Europe fears Russian dominance Oct 14, 2009
The new pipeline and , to run under the Black Sea, will insulate Western Europe from such actions and limit the political and financial costs to Russia. The ability to shut off one pipeline or the other depending on whim makes shutoffs to Eastern Europe more likely, said , the national security adviser in the Carter administration. (MSNBC -- International)
Funky oligarch Oct 14, 2009
Earlier this year, Mr Lebedev wanted to run for mayor of Sochi, the Black Sea resort that will host the 2014 Winter Olympics. But it seems he was thwarted again. (BBC News -- Business)
Pedophile doctor was heading for NSW Oct 14, 2009
Joseph Lee Smith, 36, who was born in Canberra, applied for the NSW job as a senior doctor in pediatrics in October last year, but was arrested in November in the Black Sea city of Varna, where police found him in a rented apartment with two boys, believed to be from a nearby Roma neighbourhood. Police seized a camera, a video camera, CDs, sex toys and sexual stimulants. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Australia)
Crystal Cruises 2010 Worldwide Cruise Atlas & Cruise Guide Highlight 20th Anniversary Value Oct 13, 2009
In 2010, the freshly redesigned, 922-guest, 50,000-ton Crystal Symphony, and the 1,070-guest, 68,870-ton Crystal Serenity cruise through the Middle East, Africa, Caribbean, South America, Mediterranean, Canary Islands, Black Sea, Panama Canal, Mexican Riviera, Asia, Australia/New Zealand, South Pacific, British Isles, Baltic Sea, Arctic Circle and New England/Canada. New destinations range from maiden calls in Iran, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia on the World Cruise to new North American cruises to... (Yahoo! Wire -- Entertainment News)
Alternative feedstuffs will compete with corn as U.S. livestock feed (10) Oct 12, 2009
Ron McDaniel, of Abbott Futures in Minneapolis, said that East Coast U.S. livestock producers could feed Black Sea wheat for less than the cost of U.S. No. 2 yellow corn as of Oct. 31 ... Black Sea feed wheat traded on Oct. 30 into Asian destinations at 1 ... This big buildup in feed wheat with 20 million more tons (734 million bushels) of feed wheat out of the Black Sea than a year ago now it really competes with corn, said McDaniel. (Minnesota Farm Guide, MN)
Tale of hijacking in European waters grows more mysterious Oct 12, 2009
Why would Russia send warships from its Black Sea Fleet to chase them a full three weeks after the hijacking occurred ... Why would Russia send warships from its Black Sea Fleet to chase them a full three weeks after the hijacking occurred. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
Russia launches bid for 2018 World Cup Oct 10, 2009
Russia has never hosted a major football tournament, although Moscow was the host city for the 1980 Olympic Games and the Black Sea resort of Sochi will stage the 2014 Winter Olympics. "This project is important not only for football, but for the whole country," Russian Sport Minister Vitaly Mutko, who also chairs the Russian Football Union, was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti news agency. (Xinhuanet, China)
Russia officially unveils WCup bids, 14 host cities Oct 10, 2009
It will stage the 2014 Winter Olympics in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. "Tell me, who conducts such events better than Russia?" Mutko said. (SportsIllustrated.CNN -- Soccer)
Woods, Wie lobby for golf in 2016 Olympics Oct 8, 2009
Officials for the 2014 Sochi Olympics say construction is "well on schedule" and the Black Sea resort city will be ready to host skiing competitions by the end of next year ... A light-rail line will connect the snow-sports venues with the ice sports arenas being built on the Black Sea coast. (MSNBC -- Sports)
Outdoors profile Oct 8, 2009
Black sea bass (Centropristis striata). If you're planning to fish for black sea bass, be aware 00004000 that the season north of Cape Hatteras is closed ... Black sea bass (Centropristis striata). (News & Observer -- Sports)
Commencement of Bati Ayazli-1 Exploration well in the Black Sea, Offshore Turkey Oct 7, 2009
The deeper stratigraphic target has not been tested before in this area and the results will aid our understanding of the deeper potential in this area. The shallower target, if successful, will provide incremental gas production and will be tied back to the existing Ayazli field facility. (Canada Newswire)
Gatley: 'Perfect Storm' closes sea bass Oct 6, 2009
Perfect storm' closes black sea bass fishery - ESPN ... A perfect storm of conditions have set up the closing of the black sea bass fishery ... Last week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration unexpectedly announced the temporary closure of the recreational black sea bass fishery in federal waters north of Cape Hatteras, N.C., for 180 days in response to recent landing data that showed recreational fishermen may catch more than double their annual quota by the end of the year. (ESPN -- Outdoors)
Swimmingly cool Oct 5, 2009
It takes about four weeks to train a black sea bass ... Just as 19th Century scientist Ivan Pavlov conditioned dogs to associate the sound of a bell with the prospect of food, Mr Lindell's black sea bass associate a 280Hz tone emitted from an underwater speaker with food, and respond by gathering in a partitioned "feeding zone" ... To test this, last year Mr Lindell moved his experiments out to the ocean - along with about 4,200 tagged black sea bass. (BBC News -- Science)
Jumpin' Jack Verdi,it's a gas, gas, gas Oct 3, 2009
The great borderless gas bazaar Russia's answer to Nabucco is the 1,200-kilometer-long, $15 billion South Stream pipeline, also scheduled to be finished in 2015; it is slated to carry Siberian natural gas under the Black Sea from Russia to Bulgaria ... The Pentagon does the Black Sea So what does Washington want out of this mess. (Asia Times Online)
Living to Be 100 Years Old Oct 3, 2009
Born in the Ukraine of German parents, he believed that living along the Black Sea Coast was healthy and contributed to longevity ... He often talked about people along the Black Sea living to be 110 or 115 or longer. (Missourian Publishing, MO)
Obama, in Denmark, lobbies for Chicago bid Oct 2, 2009
Two years later, Vladimir Putin, then president of Russia, helped secure the 2014 Winter Games for Sochi on Russia's Black Sea coast. Obama is poised to be the first U.S. president to make an in-person appeal to the IOC on behalf of an American bid. (ABC News)
U.S. Warns Europe of Russian Energy Threat Oct 2, 2009
"We support Nabucco. We support the Southern Corridor. It's an important part of the puzzle, but it's only one piece," Mr Morningstar told EUobserver on Wednesday (30 September) in an interview on the margins of a Black Sea energy forum organised in Bucharest by the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based think tank ... Potential energy resources in the Black Sea ... With a potential for energy resources to be exploited in the Black Sea, the U.S. considers it to be very important for all the... (BusinessWeek)
French selling navy ship to Russia? Oct 2, 2009
Vysotsky also said last month that a ship like Mistral would have allowed the Russian navy to mount a much more efficient action in the Black Sea during the Georgia-Russia war. He said the French ship would take just 40 minutes to do the job which the Russian Black Sea Fleet vessels did in 26 hours, apparently referring to amphibious landing operations. (MSNBC -- International)
Obama uses personal touch for Chicago Olympics bid Oct 2, 2009
Two years later, Vladimir Putin, then president of Russia, helped secure the 2014 Winter Games for Sochi on Russia's Black Sea coast. Obama would be the first U.S. president to make an in-person appeal to the IOC on behalf of an American bid. (ABC 7 News, DC)
Iran and the `Pipelineistan' Opera Oct 2, 2009
Russia's answer to Nabucco is the 1,200-kilometer-long, $15 billion South Stream pipeline, also scheduled to be finished in 2015; it is slated to carry Siberian natural gas under the Black Sea from Russia to Bulgaria ... The Pentagon does the Black Sea ... Enter the Black Sea, that crucial geo-strategic stage where Europe meets the Middle East, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. (CBS News)
Moscow juggling South Stream pipe dreams Oct 2, 2009
Due to stagnant gas production and aging fields in operation, however, Russia has been unable to identify any internal gas reserves to supply the proposed South Stream system, intended to carry natural gas by way of the Black Sea from Russia to Bulgaria. Unlike the Nord Stream pipeline project from Russia to Germany running along the Baltic seabed, which has at least some. (Asia Times Online)
The fish in action Oct 2, 2009
Just as 19th Century scientist Ivan Pavlov conditioned dogs to associate the sound of a bell with the prospect of food, these black sea bass associate a 280Hz tone emitted from an underwater speaker with food, and respond by gathering in a partitioned "feeding zone". Scientific aquaculture programme director Scott Lindell, who is running these experiments, believes that "acoustic ranching" could benefit fish farming. (BBC News -- Science)
Report: Sochi 2014 budget triples to $33 billion Oct 1, 2009
The route will snake up the rugged Caucasus mountains to connect the snow sports venues with the ice sports arenas being built on the Black Sea coast. Russia was awash in oil revenues when it won the bid in 2007, but the national economy has suffered with the plunge in oil prices over the past year and other effects of the global economic downturn. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Travel)
Profile: Abkhazia Sep 30, 2009
Situated in the north-western corner of Georgia with the Black Sea to the south-west and the Caucasus mountains and Russia to the north-east, Abkhazia was once known as a prime holiday destination for the Soviet elite. Abkhazia's battle for independence from Georgia since the collapse of the USSR has reduced the economy to ruins. (BBC News -- Europe)
U.S.: Iranian Missile Tests "Provocative" Sep 30, 2009
It can barely cross the Black Sea. Any defensive missile based in Poland would have to be launched BEFORE the Iran missile in order to intercept it. (CBS News)
CAZENEUVE:Obama's appearance could lock it up for Chicago Sep 30, 2009
Switch those votes back and the 2012 Games could be going to France instead of the U.K. When Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin still held the Presidential title, his plea to IOC members at the 2007 session in Guatemala helped underdog Sochi overcome long odds to win the right to host the 2014 Games along Russia's Black Sea coast. Since Obama is scheduled to arrive on Friday, the morning of the vote, it was likely that he would participate in the final presentation as Putin did rather than... (SportsIllustrated.CNN -- More)
GOP blasts boondoggle Sep 30, 2009
" Almost all the arenas and other venues have to be built from scratch and the plan also requires complex infrastructure projects including construction of a light-rail line. The route will snake up the rugged Caucasus mountains to connect the snow sports venues with the ice sports arenas being built on the Black Sea coast. Russia was awash in oil revenues when it won the bid in 2007, but the national economy has suffered with the plunge in oil prices over the past year and other effects of the... (SportsIllustrated.CNN -- More)
Fish Go Mad For Ginger Gene Sep 30, 2009
12, 2006) David Berlinsky, an associate professor of zoology at the University of New Hampshire, is studying what triggers sex reversal in black sea bass -- and how to prevent it. The sought-after fish is a. (Science Daily)
Russia swells Abkhaz coffers Sep 30, 2009
The gravel they are extracting from the Kodori river bed is destined for the Russian city of Sochi, further north along the Black Sea coast, for use in one of its most important building projects in the next decade, the 2014 Winter Olympics ... In the capital, Sukhumi, new restaurants, hotels and entertainment attractions line the Black Sea promenade ... Walking along Sukhumi's sub-tropical Black Sea promenade you get the sense that tourists could one day flock here - just as they did during the... (BBC News -- Europe)
Rebel Abkhazia will return - Georgia's leader Sep 26, 2009
But he painted a bleak portrait of Abkhazia, which is on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, for the 192-nation Assembly. "Abkhazia today has been emptied of more than three-fourths of its population," he said. (AlertNet)
Crazy Like A Fox Sep 26, 2009
Not just because, with Russian oligarch Mikhail Prokhorov's impending purchase of the Nets, a league that had to secure a line of credit for its franchises in the wake of last fall's financial crisis can now count as one of its owners a man more liquid than the Black Sea. When all the world was zigging, this 6-foot-7, 44-year-old passionate pick-up ballplayer zagged, cashing out his stake in Norilsk Nickel just before the meltdown. (SportsIllustrated.CNN -- NBA)
New missile defences in Europe: Shooting down a plan Sep 26, 2009
A favoured site would be the Black Sea, but the 1936 Montreux Convention limits foreign warships presence there. The Pentagon says it wants to deploy at least some SM-3 interceptors on land bases from about 2015, which would be cheaper. (The Economist)
Russia plays pipeline politics Sep 25, 2009
South Stream would be a new pipeline crossing the Black Sea and the Balkans to reach Europe via Italy or Hungary. North Stream is chaired by former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. (Asia Times Online)
Black Sea Wars Sep 24, 2009
Russia, however, has a Black Sea Fleet and a treaty of friendship with Abkhazia, and has notified Tbilisi that the Russian coast guard will assure, peacefully, the sea commerce of Abkhazia ... We have here the makings of a naval clash that Georgia, given Russian air, naval and land forces in the eastern Black Sea, will lose ... "Mikheil, if you interfere with the sea commerce of Abkhazia, and provoke Russia into a Black Sea war, you fight it yourself. The Sixth Fleet is not going to steam into... (Human Events Online)
China pushing for bigger IMF role at G-20 Sep 23, 2009
Putin, who spoke at an international investment forum in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, chided the United States for "an uncontrolled issue of dollars" and said the American currency's dominance had been "one of the triggers" of the global crisis. Putin renewed Russia's call on the U.S. administration and global community to give the green light to alternative reserve currencies. (Fresno Bee -- Business)
103 comments Sep 23, 2009
Black Sea Wars - HUMAN EVENTS. Black Sea Wars by 09/22/2009 ... Russia, however, has a Black Sea Fleet and a treaty of friendship with Abkhazia, and has notified Tbilisi that the Russian coast guard will assure, peacefully, the sea commerce of Abkhazia. (Human Events Online)
Scientists confirms no summer nearly 2,000 years ago Sep 22, 2009
Tourists enjoy the warm weather on a beach in the Black Sea coast city of Varna, about 450 km (280 miles) northeast of the Bulgarian capital Sofia, June 25, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo). (Xinhuanet, China)
Israel says still has military option on Iran... Sep 22, 2009
Reuters AlertNet - Israel says still has military option on Iran. Tue, 02:28 22 Sep 2009 GMT. (The Drudge Report)
Snow leopards have a new patron: Putin Sep 22, 2009
Critics of the games have said the construction of Olympic venues would damage the fragile ecosystems of Russia's mountainous Black Sea coastline. Click for related content. (MSNBC -- Environment)
Putin hangs out with the big cats: Snow leopards Sep 22, 2009
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, right, and Jean-Claude Killy, the chairman of IOC coordination commission for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, left, look at a West Asian leopard as they visit the National Park in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, southern Russia, on Saturday ... Critics of the games have said the construction of Olympic venues would damage the fragile ecosystems of Russia's mountainous Black Sea coastline. (The Pantagraph newspaper)
Learning true facts about planet makes my head spin Sep 21, 2009
Later, I looked up Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts and found this online: "To the ancients, 'seven' often meant 'many,' and before the fifteenth century, the many seas of the world were: Red Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Persian Gulf, Black Sea, Adriatic Sea, Caspian Sea (and) Indian Ocean." ... That settled it for me; Woods Hole is well respected, and among its staff is Dr. Robert Ballard, who certainly knows his way around oceans (he found the Titanic in 1985) and the seas (on... (The Augusta Chronicle)
Medvedev: Israel Not Planning Iran Strike Sep 21, 2009
Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev, left, and his Israeli counterpart Shimon Peres walk together at Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi Aug. 18. In an interview broadcast Sunday, Medvedev said he received assurances from Israel that it has no plans to attack Iran. (CBS News)
* Bussiness Quick Take Sep 20, 2009
If this doesnt happen, then we wasted our time, Gref was quoted by news agency RIA Novosti as saying at an economic forum in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. State-owned Sberbank has teamed with Canadian auto parts maker Magna to purchase a joint majority 55 percent stake in Opel, while General Motors will keep 35 percent. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World Business)
Russia's Putin urges U.S. to scrap trade barriers Sep 19, 2009
"I very much hope that this right and brave decision will be followed up by the full cancellation of all restrictions on cooperation with Russia and high technology transfer to Russia as well as a boost to expand the WTO to embrace Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan," Putin said at an investment forum in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi. Putin stressed that the Cold War-era trade restrictions hurt American business as much as Russia. (Florida Today)
