A top Iranian official has questioned Russia's credibility for the completion of the Bushehr nuclear plant, saying the existing conditions have left Iran with no choice but to allow Russians to develop the plant.

“The problems regarding the Bushehr plant has a technical as well as a political aspect. The Russians… want to launch the plant under certain conditions, but we will not surrender to them,” Iran's deputy foreign minister Manouchehr Mohammadi said in a Monday speech at an Iranian university.

The Bushehr plant was originally scheduled to be completed in 1999 but its completion has repeatedly been delayed. Russia has recently announced the nuclear plant would not become operational, as promised, by the end of 2009.

Iran was left with no choice but to sign a deal with Russia to develop the Bushehr plant as Western countries had pulled out of the project, Mohammadi said.

After the originally German-built reactor was left unfinished by Berlin following the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, Russia was granted the contract to complete the nuclear power plant in Bushehr in 1995.

However, hindrance on the part of the Russian contractor, Atomstroiexport, has so far prevented the launch of Iran's first nuclear power plant.

Russia has cited 'technical' issues as the reason for the delays, ruling out that the decision is politically-motivated.

On Iran-US relations, Mohammadi said the issue can be considered from three aspects, namely negotiations, diplomatic relations and the resolution of differences.

However, the US has not taken practical steps in any of these aspects after the Islamic Revolution, he said.

Mohammadi said the Israeli lobby was acting against Washington's own interests by preventing the US from resuming relations with Iran.

“Despite [US President Barack] Obama's change in tone, there is still a double standard in the US policy towards Iran which has led to Washington's failure in this regard.”

Obama has repeatedly talked of a change in US policy toward Iran since he came to office in January.

However, Tehran says Washington has taken no practical steps to resume diplomatic relations with Iran.

The Obama administration continues to pressure American firms as well as foreign countries to stop investing in Iran's energy sector in a bid to bring Iran's nuclear program to a halt.

Meanwhile, Iranian assets in the US remain blocked and Obama has extended the unilateral US sanctions against Iran for another year.

Lure of the Novamen is a science fiction novel written by Kenneth Bulmer, volume 8 in the Ryder Hook series. As of December 2005, it remains unpublished in English. It was published in German translation as Weltraum-Piraten in 1988. Therefore it is usually but falsely referenced to as 'Space Pirates', because this is the literal translation of the German title only.

During the official visit of the World Bank representatives, Kyrgyzstan has ensured support from the financial institution on the energy development projects - the delegation of the World Bank and the government of the country have visited the under construction “Kambarata-2” HPS. At the moment there are no talks over the concrete agreements on the provision of financial assets. However the bank has offered to consider the possibility of financing projects connected to energy security of the country. The official approval by the World Bank is very significant on itself. The “Kambarata-2” is not only the largest, but also the most controversial project. After the launch of the Kambarata HPS the country will receive the opportunity to partially regulate the hydro-resources. In fact, the water will be considered as a good, which will have its own price. This directly influences the interests of the neighboring Uzbekistan.

The launch of the Kambarata HPS opens immense perspectives for the country in energy sector. The Kambarata HPS will not only cover the internal demand, but also will provide an opportunity for export of electricity abroad. According to the preliminary calculations, the volumes of produces energy will equal to over a million of kilowatt hours per year.

A 1977 concept drawing for a space station. Known as the “spider” concept, this station was designed to use Space Shuttle hardware. A solar array was to be unwound from the exhausted main fuel tank. The structure could then be formed and assembled in one operation. The main engine tank would then be used as a space operations control center, a Shuttle astronaut crew habitat, and a space operations focal point for missions to the Moon and Mars.

Billions of lives and civilization itself may be at risk from the Global Warming & End of Cheap Oil, Crisis. Rising sea levels and rising oil prices could be the end of civilization as we know it. The problem is so huge that the most powerful answer, many nuclear plants, must be deployed.

Currently, America‘s 100 nukes deliver the energy of four million barrels of oil per day. Wind and solar cannot do the job, and may delay the real answer too long. Still, all kinds of clean energy, plus conservation, plus reducing deforestation, will be needed to help the poor half of the world, and for civilization to survive through this century.

According to the Guardian the overwhelming majority of leaders at last week's European Union summit, including Tony Blair, strongly backed a revival of nuclear power as the answer to Europe's growing dependence on overseas supplies and to combat climate change.

Construction of nuclear power plants declined following the 1986 disaster at Chernobyl. Lately, there has been renewed interest in nuclear energy from national governments, the public, and some notable environmentalists due to increased oil prices, new passively safe designs of plants, and the low emission rate of greenhouse gas which some governments need to meet the standards of the Kyoto Protocol. A few reactors are under construction, and several new types of reactors are planned.

As of 2006 there are 442 licensed nuclear power reactors in operation in the world, operating in 31 different countries. Nuclear power plants currently provide about 17 percent of the world's electricity, yet how much of the world’s current and future environmental problems does Nuclear Power contribute to? Nuclear power has both powerful enemies and friends but does the bottom line come down to costs? The December 2005 World Nuclear Association report The New Economics of Nuclear Power states that "Nuclear power is cost competitive with other forms of electricity generation, except where there is direct access to low-cost fossil fuels". The need for cheap energy can not be argued when every week price increases are announced from all the gas and electricity suppliers in the UK. The Ukraine recently had their gas supply stopped by Russia, how long is it before this happens to the UK? Do we not need to be self-sufficient when it comes to the generation of power? Can renewable energy not begin to take a larger role in this supply? See GuideMeGreens green directory for renewable energy companies and recycled products in the UK.

The report goes on to say that fuel costs for nuclear plants are a minor proportion of total generating costs, though capital costs are greater than those for coal-fired plants. At the NIA 2006 launch of the Commission’s position paper on the role of nuclear it confirmed "that nuclear is a low carbon technology with an impressive safety record in the UK" and "Nuclear could generate large quantities of electricity, contribute to stabilising CO2 emissions and add to the diversity of the UK’s energy supply." While we have an impressive record of safety in the UK, Chernobyl has proved that a nuclear accident thousands of miles away can effect the UK for decades to come. The Tsunami also caused problems at Nuclear Power plants around Asia as the plants are built near the sea due to the large amount of water needed to cool the rectors. Greenpeace has always fought vigorously against nuclear power because they believe that it is an unacceptable risk to the environment and to humanity and that the only solution is to halt the expansion of all nuclear power, and for the shutdown of existing plants.

Russia has often been accused recently of "energy blackmail," using its large hydrocarbon reserves to gain political influence in countries which are dependent on energy imports from Russia to sustain their economies. Both Ukraine and Belarus made major headlines when Russia demanded sharply higher prices for delivering natural gas to them – under the threat of turning off gas supplies in the middle of winter. These headlines were largely generated due to the fact that Europe is also dependent on the same pipelines that feed into these countries; a gas cut for one country could mean gas shortages in another. Europe’s anxieties over pricing disputes that might jeopardize its own supply of energy are now often credited with keeping Gazprom's appetite for "market prices" at bay.

A similar situation is occurring in Central Asia, with Kyrgyzstan subjected to similar "bullying" by other regional powers with developed energy resources – in particular Uzbekistan. Furthermore, Kyrgyzstan lacks a "big brother" to play the protecting role Western Europe is currently playing for East European states. Kyrgyzstan, although making few headlines regarding its precarious energy situation, is currently attempting to steer a course between Scylla and Charybdis, the great monsters from Greek mythology who sat on opposite sides of a narrow channel and grabbed at passing sailors. Moving away from the Charybdis of doing nothing and falling further in debt to power-hungry Uzbekistan, Bishkek is developing domestic energy alternatives with foreign financing from Moscow and using its own natural resources as political tools. However, as in the myth, this potentially brings Kyrgyzstan closer to the multi-headed Scylla of regional conflict, persistent foreign control over its domestic energy sector, and committing violations of international law.

Untapped Wealth

Despite some expectations that Kyrgyzstan may possess large underground deposits of gas and oil – those assets remain simply hopes and dreams, as the debt-ridden country lacks the economic and technological capability to explore and exploit new deposits on its own and foreign investors have yet to come forth to cooperate with local energy firms. This reluctance, in part, stems from the fact that there are many larger, more accessible sites elsewhere in Central Asia. Moreover, local Kyrgyz "partners" are ill-equipped to provide the local support that outside investors seek for such complicated, expensive projects. These partners, which the Kyrgyz government demands foreign firms use, have unfortunately shown that their major expertise lies in siphoning profits.

According to Vladimir Kiselev, professor of geology and mineral science at Kyrgyzstan's National Academy of Science, the country has the potential to produce and exceed 66 percent of the current total oil and gas production of the Ferghana valley. Still, Bishkek continues to import all of its gas from neighboring Uzbekistan at a rate of about 25 billion cubic feet annually, Uzbekistan is not a gas producing juggernaut like Russia, but with 66.2 trillion cubic feet (tcf) in estimated reserves, it ranks near the top 10 natural gas producers in the world and is thus a major regional power. Significant fields within Uzbekistan such as Uchkyr and Yangikazgan, depleted during Soviet rule in the 1960s and 1970s, have decreasing outputs, but the country is securing investment and moving to begin production in new, promising fields.

Uzbekistan plays a vital role meeting Kyrgyzstan's heating and energy demands; Tashkent is perhaps as important an energy supplier to Central Asia as Moscow is for most of Europe. The only major pipeline connecting Kyrgyzstan to the larger network is the Tashkent-Bishkek-Almaty pipeline. Other pipelines in the region avoid Kyrgyzstan or push resources north and west, a legacy of the Soviet Union's central economic planning that redirected energy to the Russian center of Moscow. Future regional pipelines, such as the proposed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India line, are not projected to link with Kyrgyz territory.

Charybdis: The Danger of Doing Nothing

The ongoing Bishkek-Tashkent dispute over natural gas deliveries and payment for them is not new. For example, in 2000, while Kyrgyz security forces fought a series of battles with Muslim rebels, including members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov cut gas supplies to Kyrgyzstan, with the official reason given that Kyrgyzstan was slow in making payments. The already weakened country suffered energy shortages throughout its northern regions, as well as the capital, Bishkek. In addition to obviously negatively affecting daily business, life, and moral, this created further strain on Kyrgyzstan's aging energy infrastructure; blackouts and power outages can damage generators, electrical grids, and related equipment.

In December 2001, Kazakh officials with the state gas company Kaztransgaz reported the loss of 10 million cubic meters (mcm) of natural gas from the Tashkent-Bishkek-Almaty pipeline. Officials with the state-run Kyrgyzgaz eventually admitted to siphoning some 15 mcm in November and early December of 2001, shortly after another gas cutoff by Tashkent. At the time, Kaztransgaz Director Kairat Sharipbaev warned that continued theft of gas could force Kazakhstan to build a new 81 mile bypass around Kyrgyzstan. This move by Kazakhstan could further weaken Kyrgyzstan's position in Central Asia and its energy security.

In 2005, Tashkent put the squeeze on Bishkek again after the Kyrgyz government transferred refugees from the Andijan massacre, in which Uzbek security forces slaughtered hundreds of protesters, to other countries which had offered them asylum. The Uzbek government in general took the event, which turned into an international debacle, politically very seriously. After Washington voiced mild disapproval of the Uzbek response in Andijan, Uzbekistan evicted US forces from the military base of Karshi-Khanabad, also known as "K2." Bishkek was punished with gas cuts. Tashkent quickly annulled an agreement providing for the supply of some 350 mcm of natural gas to Kyrgyzstan. To forestall critical shortages, the Kyrgyz government was forced to buy Uzbek gas resold by Kazakhstan's KazTransGaz company at heightened prices. The Kyrgyz-Kazakh agreement also demanded reassurances that a Kyrgyz debt of US$17.5 million would be repaid for continuing gas deliveries.

In a move taken straight from the Gazprom play book, in the summer of 2006, Uzbek authorities warned neighboring Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan that they would have to renegotiate prices paid for deliveries of natural gas. By the middle of December, Kyrgyz First Deputy Prime Minister Daniyar Usenov announced the conclusion of a deal that would see Bishkek's price for gas nearly double: from $55 per 1,000 cubic meters to $100 starting in January 2007. This avoided the last-minute showdown witnessed in Belarus in its conflict with Russia. However, the deal has negatively impacted government and individual finances in Kyrgyzstan, despite the fact that Kyrgyzstan managed to achieve a reciprocal increase in the price for electricity deliveries to Uzbekistan – power that is generated by mountainous Kyrgyzstan's water resources and hydroelectric plants. The Kyrgyz deputy prime minister announced that prices would increase to .02 USD per kilowatt hour by the end of 2007 (up from .01 USD in 2006).

The higher gas prices could still spell disaster for Kyrgyzstan. Households are largely dependent on gas for cooking and heat and household gas prices in 2007 have been forecasted to rise more than 44 percent for the year. This comes at time when escalating inflation is already creating a situation that some analysts are predicting could turn into yet another economic crisis for Kyrgyzstan. Indeed, the situation could get worse as the strength of the neighboring Kazakh economy this year and next is predicted to soak up area resources, driving up the cost of living dramatically for hundreds of thousands of Kyrgyz.

Furthermore, the rise in electricity export prices is only a partial victory; In addition to exporting electricity to Uzbekistan from Kyrgyzstan's southern regions, electricity is imported from Uzbekistan to supply its northern regions. This is due to the now outdated Soviet-built electrical grid, built to avoid the rough Tien Shan Mountains that run through central Kyrgyzstan. Plans to build a 249 mile 500kV transmission line, as well as a new 220kV decongestion line connecting northern and southern regions, are in the works to alleviate this problem. As Uzbekistan also controls part of the energy delivery systems in Kyrgyzstan (another play from Gazprom's book), the National Electric Grid of Kyrgyzstan is looking at building and replacing several 220kV transmission lines in the south, thanks in large part to recent international loans. However, in both cases Bishkek will have to wait until at least 2009 (and likely longer) for these difficult projects to come to fruition.

Scylla: The Danger of Doing More

In strengthening its regional position, water and hydroelectricity could be Bishkek's best tools, enabling (potentially) valuable electricity exports to reach neighbors in South Asia and providing for its own domestic energy consumption. In addition, Bishkek's control of riverflows that reportedly account for some 70 percent of Uzbekistan's water supply would be an obvious bargaining chip in the event of a crisis. The loss of this supply would severely damage Uzbekistan's monoculture production of cotton, which plays a large role in its national economy. However, international law prohibits this chip from being played. Kyrgyzstan cannot threaten to deprive Uzbekistan of water resources – as understood in agreements signed with the United Nations, or even overuse the rivers – as understood by customary international law, even if faced with severe gas shortages.

Indeed, during the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organization's (SCO) August 2007 summit in Bishkek, Uzbekistan's President Karimov took the opportunity to remind his hosts that hydroelectric development required consultation with affected parties. He further suggested that compensation should be paid to those parties if riverflows are altered.

Kyrgyzstan's rugged terrain creates both transportation problems and hydroelectric possibilities.
The rugged terrain of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan creates both transportation problems and hydroelectric possibilities

These comments are especially pertinent today as a major Russian-Kyrgyz hydroelectric project is just getting underway. On December 15, 2006, Kyrgyzstan and Russia announced an agreement to launch a billion-dollar project, which could see Kambarata-1 and Kambarata-2 hydroelectric cascades built to supply electricity for domestic consumption and for export to Afghanistan, China, or Pakistan. "This will be a top investment project worth billions of dollars, and will be of the utmost significance from the point of view of Kyrgyzstan's influence in the region," said Sergei Kiriyenko, head of Russia's Federal Nuclear Power Agency.

However, the project will affect flows to larger nearby countries – particularly Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Such development could lower the water levels of the Syr Darya or Amu Darya rivers, ultimately harming neighbors' cotton crops that depend on the significant riverflow from these sources for irrigation.

Due in part to these diplomatic difficulties, Kyrgyzstan is only exploiting about 10 percent of the country's hydroelectric potential, estimated at 163,000 gigawatt hours/year. Stream usage is even lower, at about 3 percent of potential. Other strategies for improving Kyrgyzstan's energy independence have proven economically infeasible. Kyrgyzstan transitioned away from geothermal energy production in the 1990s because of transportation issues. Solar power remains expensive, and is still in the early stages of development. Finally, wind power still poses some difficulties with a limited (1,500 megawatt projected) capacity, rough mountain environment for operation and a relatively high cost – according to a European Bank for Reconstruction and Development report.

Implications for International Relations

From a US foreign policy perspective, a weakened Kyrgyzstan is a worrisome development. Kyrgyzstan is a moderate, democratic Muslim nation, and has been one of the America's most reliable allies in the volatile and energy-rich Central Asian region. Manas Air Base, located near Bishkek, has been instrumental in Washington's Global War on Terror and operations in Afghanistan.

However, relations have soured significantly since Washington launched the Global War on Terror. Plunging prestige and worsening relations with Muslim states have meant that is harder for Bishkek to justify a cozy friendship with the United States to the Kyrgyz people, and such connections to Washington have become a liability in Kyrgyzstan's more immediate diplomatic concerns with the other Muslim states that surround it.

The United States is also not giving Kyrgyzstan much reason to maintain close relations. Because of its political and geographic isolation in Central Asia, Bishkek originally welcomed the arrival of the US base at Manas Airport, likely expecting follow-on opportunities for cooperation and development. Yet, several years after the establishment of the base, opportunities for deeper cooperation have been few. US soldiers are now actually prohibited from visiting the capital and spending money, and UN and European development officials – rather than US diplomats – are seen as primary implementers for aid and development projects in the country.

Furthermore, Russia, now universally acknowledged as a competitor to the United States for influence in Central Asia, has greatly and actively stepped up efforts to provide aid and investment, not only bringing cash to develop valuable hydroelectric projects, but also providing sizable military and economic aid packages, outstripping the minor efforts of US military-run training programs. Given Washington's lackluster diplomacy, it is understandable that over the past two years, Kyrgyz politicians have shifted closer to the Russian orbit. This shift could become even more pronounced should Russia, once the new Kyrgyz domestic energy production facilities come online, use its ownership stakes in those facilities to push Moscow's own political agenda in Kyrgyzstan. The energy sector is an area for cooperation that could benefit not just international relations and the Kyrgyz state, but thousands of citizens in rural population centers. Bishkek, therefore, seems set on a course for greater energy cooperation with Russia at the expense of Uzbekistan. The US, in this case, has been marginalized as its State and Energy Dept. spending have not been directed with renewable energy goals in mind. Washington thus stands to lose out in valuable Central Asia, as has shown little desire to help chart its close ally through the turbulent strait that is Central Asian geopolitics.

HIGHLIGHTS

- The appeal has been revised to take into account changing needs as the winter progresses. The appeal now seeks USD 14.7 million (down from USD 20.6 million) of which USD 6.7 million (48%) has been funded.

- The Ministry of Health has reported a deterioration of the health status of school children related to micronutrient deficits.

- Heavy snowfalls in February have aggravated energy shortages and caused avalanches.

SITUATION

1. Scheduled power cuts are continuing around the country leaving hospitals and other critical institutions outside provincial centres without power for several hours a day. Preliminary results of a survey of medical institutions carried out for WHO by the Ministry of Health highlight some consequences of the power outrage including, disruption of laboratory tests and the cold chain, postponement of surgery to adjust to blackout schedules, delayed diagnose and irregular water supply.

2. The Institute for War and Peace Reporting informs that many residents of high-rise buildings in provincial cities are now using coal or wood burning stoves to make up for a loss of central electrically-provided heating. An increase in the incidence of burns and carbon monoxide poisoning has been reported. In addition, the State Agency for Natural Resources and Forestry stated that the energy crisis has led to a 6.8% increase in illegal wood cutting.

3. As of 17 February the volume of Toktogul Reservoir was 7.16 billion cubic metres, 88% of the volume at the same time last year. Energy Minister, Ilyas Davydov, gave assurances that by 1 April the volume would be not less than 6.15 billion cubic metres, just below last year's volume. In order to increase levels, however, this would still likely necessitate scheduled power cuts over the summer.

4. Heavy snowfalls at the beginning of February led to additional large-scale power outages in many parts of the country. In addition, there were avalanches and roadblocks in Toktogul, Togoz Toro and Alabuka districts of Jalalabat Province, leading to the closure of the main road between the north and south of the country. On 9 February a 5,000 m³ landslides in Uzgen District of Osh Province left 100 households without access to drinking water.

5. On 6 February, the Ministry of Health reported a deterioration of the health status of schoolchildren. According to this study, 20-25 percent of children leave school with chronic diseases, of which thyroid gland diseases and anaemia are particularly significant. Both affections are largely connected to a deficit of micronutrients in the diet.

6. On 30 January, the Ministry of Agriculture reported that anthrax had been registered at 1219 sites around the country. On 9 February the Ministry of Health reported that 46 cases have been reported among humans since May 2008, of which more than half occurred in Jalalabat Province. Causes include the high level of residual anthrax among livestock and pastureland in southern Kyrgyzstan, the lack of veterinary medicines, the lack of veterinary controls over sale and the lack of a compensation mechanism for diseased animals.

Abū Rayḥān Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad Bīrūnī (Persian: ابوریحان محمد بن احمد بیرونی), often known as Alberuni, Al Beruni or variants, (born 5 September 973 in Kath, Khwarezm (now in Uzbekistan), died 13 December 1048 in Ghazni, today's Afghanistan) was a Persian polymath scholar of the 11th century.

He was a scientist and physicist, an anthropologist and comparative sociologist, an astronomer and chemist, a critic of alchemy and astrology, an encyclopedist and historian, a geographer and traveler, a geodesist and geologist, a mathematician, a pharmacist and psychologist, an Islamic philosopher and theologian, and an Islamic scholar and teacher.

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European Space Agency (ESA) governments on Oct. 8 tentatively backed a proposal to join NASA in a two-step Mars exploration program that retains Europe’s goal of perfecting atmospheric entry, descent and landing technology, as well as developing a Mars lander and rover, ESA Director-General Jean-Jacques Dordain said.

Dordain said he told the 18-nation agency’s ruling council he expects to finalize an agreement with NASA by mid-November, by which time ESA should have a clearer idea of whether the new Mars-exploration scenario can be kept within the budget limits demanded of the old one.

“This agreement, once we get it signed with NASA, opens the door to new possibilities for us in planetary exploration,” Dordain said in an Oct. 9 interview. “The two missions we are working on with NASA permit us to retain all the goals for our ExoMars mission, while at the same time reducing the risk. Our member states indicated their support for the plan, and some even congratulated us on it.”

In addition to concluding the agreement with NASA, Dordain said ESA by mid-November will complete a review of whether the two missions — to be launched by NASA-provided Atlas 5 rockets in 2016 and 2018 — can be done within the budget ESA governments had set for the ExoMars mission.

ESA has had trouble securing sufficient funding for the ExoMars lander-rover mission. ESA member governments in late 2008 gave the agency a year to craft a mission that cost them less than 1 billion euros ($1.46 billion). These same governments had been able to secure no more than 850 million euros in commitments, which forced ESA to seek outside help and led to the current mission scenario.

The new program includes a 2016 launch of a 600-kilogram ESA lander that will include exobiology experiments and also permit ESA to test powered atmospheric descent and landing on the Mars surface.

The lander will not include nuclear batteries, which Dordain said would have added to mission cost and complexity. Instead, it will be powered by conventional batteries that will limit the lander’s operational life to “days, or perhaps a couple of weeks, but certainly not months,” Dordain said.

Adding the entry, descent and landing capability to the 2016 mission helped ESA overcome initial objections to the NASA deal by some European governments.

ESA also will provide a Mars telecommunications orbiter for the 2016 mission, with NASA supplying the electronics payload for the satellite.

The 2018 mission will feature ESA’s rover deployed to the Mars surface by the same Sky Crane system — with the rover, attached by chord to the descent module, gently lowered to the surface — that NASA plans to use for its large Mars Science Laboratory rover to be launched in 2011.

Dordain said ESA’s ExoMars mission would have combined three challenging elements — descent and landing, the lander package and the rover — all under ESA’s roof. The new program separates the lander from the rover and thereby reduces overall program risk, he said.

One industry official said Dordain apparently has succeeded in winning over the support of the agency’s major contributors — France, Germany, Italy and Britain — for the new Mars scenario. But this official said there are too many unknowns with respect to the final cost of the two-launch mission to be confident it will remain under a billion-euro price ceiling.

Because ESA is made up of 18 nations all looking out for the interest of their national industrial bases, ESA also has to make sure the Mars mission contracts are distributed to each nation in accordance with that nation’s contribution to the program.

At this point, Dordain said, he assumes that Italy will remain the biggest single contributor to the redesigned Mars effort, and that ESA will not need to abandon three years of design work on the rover and lander conducted under the earlier ExoMars program.

Iran's Minister of Science, Research and Technology Jaafar Towfiqi said in the unveiling ceremony of Mesbah satellite on Thursday that manufacturing of Mesbah satellite will be a jumpstart for advancement of national science and technology.

He said that there is no doubt that implementation of such project is a turning point for the country's progress in the field of advanced science and technological know-how.

Lauding the efforts of those involved in carrying out the project, he said before triumph of the Islamic revolution Iran used to purchase technological know-how from foreign countries and domestic technicians left the country something which marred industrial development in the country.

After triumph of the Islamic revolution the hurdle was removed and we witnessed a scientific breakthrough in the country, he pointed out.

Deputy Minister of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Head of Research Center at Iran's Telecom company Mohammad-Reza Sadri said that the project Kicked off in 1996 and is to be launched to the space by a Russian missile this year.

Iranian experts at defense ministry have played a very significant role in construction of the satellite, he said.

The project was fully conducted by domestic experts with assistance of Italian CG company as consultant, he said.

Kuwait's General Directorate of Civil Aviation has said that the country has signed seven free skies agreements with foreign states, Kuna has reported. The accords were signed with Austria, Poland, Georgia, the Czech Republic, Kirgizstan, Finland and Iceland, during the recent international air services conference, organized by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, in Istanbul.

Iran's Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Reza Taqipour, said Wednesday that scientists are exploring ways to implement preliminary plans to launch a manned mission into space.

“We have a clear outline of the plans, but at the same time we are aware that implementing our plans depend on a broad national participation,” Taqipour told Mehrnews on Saturday.

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The UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority has signed an "open" Air Services Agreement (ASA) with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Kyrgyz Republic. The agreement allows unrestricted frequency of flights, capacity and types of aircraft, whether owned or leased, to be operated by the designated airlines of each country for passenger or cargo services on routes between the Kyrgyz Republic and the UAE. The agreement comes days after the UAE signed an open skies deal with Zambia.

China has completed a high-resolution, three-dimensional map of the entire surface of the moon, in an important step towards a future lunar landing, an expert involved in the project said Tuesday.

After putting its first man into space in 2003 -- only the third nation to do so -- China is aiming to launch an unmanned rover on the moon's surface by 2012 and a manned mission to the moon by around 2020.

The map was made using image data obtained by a camera on Chang'e 1, China's first lunar probe, Liu Xianlin of the Chinese Academy of Surveying and Mapping, who headed the project review panel, told AFP.

Liu called the achievement an important step for China along the path towards a future lunar landing.

"This map finishes the primary prospecting of the moon and lays the foundation for further surveys such as choosing the landing point or the path of a satellite," he told AFP.

Liu said China's map of the moon was the world's highest-resolution lunar chart. Japan had also launched a lunar probe, but either had not completed its own map or had not yet publicised it, he said.

The United States, meanwhile, sent a probe in the 1990s but the accuracy of their map was not as good, according to Liu.

Chen Yongqi, a professor in the department of land surveying and geo-informatics at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, said the map would help China understand the structure of the moon.

"Another objective is to understand the soil of the lunar surface and mineral distribution," he said.

China plans to launch a second lunar probe in October 2010, which will generate a map of an even higher resolution, according to Liu.

Five years after the first privately funded space plane won the $10 million Ansari X Prize, the spirit behind the contest has spread far beyond spaceflight. Have realities kept pace with the expectations sparked back in 2004? What are the next multimillion-dollar feats on the horizon?

OK, maybe the second privately funded space plane is not quite ready for takeoff yet. And maybe the dream of having an annual rocket festival known as the X Prize Cup has faded somewhat. But it's still possible to meet the timeline laid out by SpaceShipOne designer Burt Rutan in this TODAY interview five years ago.

"In 10 years, everyone will know that if they want to, they can go to orbit in their lifetime," Rutan said at the time, speaking from SpaceShipOne's hangar in Mojave, Calif. "They will know that instead of just hope or dream."

A privately built rocket competing for NASA prize money has been grounded halfway through a simulated lunar landing mission in the Mojave Desert, but developers plan to make another attempt.

Masten Space Systems' "Xombie" rocket made a 93-second flight from a launch pad to a landing pad Wednesday before engine damage was discovered and the return flight was canceled.

Tom Dietz, a competition spokesman, says that rather than risk the vehicle, the builders decided to call it a day, troubleshoot the problem and try again in October.

Another rocket built by Armadillo Aerospace made two longer flights in Texas on Sept. 12 to qualify for the competition's $1 million top prize.

The competition is presented by the X Prize Foundation.

Rocket ships and outer space conjure up images of shuttle launches, moon landings, and the wonders of the unknown beyond Earth’s atmosphere. But for about 130 attendees of the Space Investment Summit yesterday at the Hynes Convention Center, these things are just business as usual.

The summit, which came to Boston for the first time since it started in 2007, gives entrepreneurs with space-related ideas an opportunity to try to convince prospective investors that their ideas are more than science fiction fantasies, but rather the next big thing.

Paul Eckert, international and commercial strategist with Boeing, had a large role in creating the summit, which has previously been held seven times in cities such as New York and Orlando, Fla.

Chris Cassidy, the only astronaut who calls Maine home, said he got a much warmer reception at the four schools in his hometown Friday than he does at the schools his children attend in Houston.

"In Houston they ask, 'Oh, where is the fireman?' which is much more exciting than an astronaut, because everyone's parent works at NASA," he said.

At York's Village Elementary School, 315 kindergartners and first- and second-graders let out an audible gasp when Cassidy entered wearing a NASA jumpsuit.

He told them he remembered his own days in York schools, as the teachers and staff snapped away with their cameras.

"This is really exciting. He's a famous person," said the school nurse, Sherry Boyd.

Cassidy was on his first trip back to York since he spent more than two weeks aboard the International Space Station this summer. During that time, he made three spacewalks to do work on the space station. The ascent to orbit 200 miles above the Earth took only eight minutes.

On Friday, he talked to students at four schools in York, and to business groups, and spent the evening at the football game at York High School, where he was a quarterback on the football team before graduating in 1988.

Cassidy, 39, grew up in the Bath area before moving to York when he was in fifth grade.

Many parents of the Village Elementary School students grew up with Cassidy, and many of the second-graders who ate lunch before the assembly claimed connections to him.

"My dad went to college with him, and he came to our house when I was 2 years old," said Lauren Woodward, 7.

The gymnasium went silent as Cassidy described his experiences blasting into space, then hooking up to the space station. He said that as a boy in York, he never dreamed he would become an astronaut.

"Never in a million years did I imagine I would be standing in a blue spacesuit and talking to my hometown about space stuff," Cassidy said.

The children wanted to know whether space was fun.

"I had a smile on my face the whole mission," he said.

They wanted to know if he saw any extraterrestrials on his trip.

"No. No one in the history of the space program has seen one yet, but we keep looking," Cassidy said.

The two-day odyssey from the warm Kazakhstan desert launch site to the cold vacuum of space finished today. The Soyuz rocket carrying Wisconsin astronaut Jeffrey Williams has docked with the International Space Station.

“We're here,” said Col. Jeffrey Williams. “We've arrived!”

A balcony full of Russian and American dignitaries applauded while the crew's families looked over the scene of celebration at Russian Mission Control.

It took two days for the Soyuz rocket with its crew of three to catch up to the International Space Station. It wasn't an easy journey. One veteran astronaut likens the Soyuz to three men crammed into the front seat of a Volkswagen Beetle without the legroom.

Two hours after docking and safety checks, a pressurized hatch opened and crews of both craft greeted each other. Than it was time for the families to radio greetings of their own from Mother Earth. That included Williams' wife Anna-Marie. She knows this is the end of the most treacherous leg of her husband's mission.

Now she’ll head home and wait 5 ½ months for his return. That, she says, is the hardest part.

This is Williams' third flight into Earth's orbit. He'll return in mid-March giving him more than a year as an astronaut. Since his grandson was born in August, that will make him the longest serving grandfather in space.

* Academy of Sports institute (KIPEs)
* Academy of Arts of the Kyrgyz Republic (AAKR)
* Academy of Internal Affairs Ministry of the Kyrgyz Republic (AIAMKR)
* Academy of Management under the President of the Kyrgyz Republic (AMPKR)
* American University of Central Asia
* Beyshenalieva Kyrgyz Art Institute (BKAI)
* Bishkek Humanities University
* Bishkek State Economic and Commercial Institute (BSECI)
* Filiale des Goethe Instituts
* Institute of Management, Business and Tourism (IMBT)
* International Ataturk Alatoo University
* International University of Kyrgyzstan
* Kyrgyz Academy of Agriculture (KAA)
* Kyrgyz Institute of Physical Education and Sports (KIPES)
* Kyrgyz Mining and Metallurgical Institute (KMMI)
* Kyrgyz National Conservatory (KNC)
* Kyrgyz National University of Jusup Balasagyn (KNU)
* Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University
* Kyrgyz State Medical Academy (KSMA)[1][2]

* Kyrgyz State Pedagogical University (KSPU)
* Kyrgyz State University of Construction, Transportation and Architecture (KSUCTA)
* Kyrgyz Technical University
* Kyrgyz-Uzbek University (K-UU)
* Kyrgyzstan-Turkey Manas University (K-TMU)
* Medical Faculty, Kyrgyz Russian Slavic University (KRSU)
* Osh High College (OHC)
* Osh Technological University (OTU)
* Osh State University (OSU)
* Osh State University - Medical Institute
* Naryn State University (NSU)
* Jalal-Abad State University (J-ASU)
* Issyk-Kul State University (I-KSU)

Today, early in the morning, all the mosques of Kyrgyzstan held the festive prayer. The Muslim world is celebrating one of the greatest holidays of Islam – the Id al-Fitr. In the post-Soviet space this holiday is best known as Ramazan-bayram, Uraza-bayram or Orozo-ayt. This holiday marks the end of the Great Fast. The fast was kept in course of a month and consisted in abstention from food and drinks from dawn till dusk. However the abstention is only the external part of the fast. The goal of the fast for Muslims is in spiritual purification, understanding of the meaning of life, the rise of thoughts and senses, strengthening of faith.

The holiday of the first meal after fast for Muslims is parting with the Ramazan month. During these days Muslims wear their best clothes, visit relatives and friends with presents, try to have fun, cook traditional food and share with neighbors. Id al-Fitr is marked with another significant religious direction – on the eve of the holiday Muslims help poor. The fast also reminds people about the existence of poor and motivates mercy. People also visit cemeteries, and say prayers for the souls’ rest, read Koran passages above the graves.

The Romanian Aeronautics and Cosmonautics Association (ARCA) announced on Wednesday that it will launch in October the country's first space rocket, in what is the final rehearsal for a 30-million-dollar astronautic contest for landing a privately built spacecraft on the moon, initiated by the Google corporation.

The rocket dubbed Helen will be launched from a Black Sea platform and is a three-stage space rocket capable of reaching the outer space in suborbital flight, ARCA president Dumitru Popescu told a press conference.

During the Google Lunar X Prize Contest, it will reach the moon in three days, and during the Black Sea drill it is expected to reach cosmic space in two hours.

There is a sector where Kyrgyzstan is catching the level of big countries: space! And this is proven by the space flight of our compatriot Salijan Saripov.

Even in their daring dreams, Salijan and Nesibe, which grew up together in the same street and graduated from the same school in Uzgen, could not have dreamt about standing on the other side of the world. Little that they knew that his dream was coming true.

Ten years ago, Salijan had told his spouse that he wanted to become a Cosmonaut, while he was giving flight lessons to foreigners in Tokmak. Nesibe had waived her head for the dream of her husband and said; "who would choose a Kyrgyz like you when there are so many good pilots in Russia?" But it was only Saripov that was selected in the Cosmonaut team, among many others. In result, they have moved to the "Star City, " together with their little daughter. All of these years were not easy. The profession that her spouse had chosen was dangerous even at the earth. There were continuous practices of flight, practices of survival in the mountains and sea. Lately, there is also the English lessons that ended late at night. He had to work even more in United States to improve his spoken language. "But now, he can even go into interviews in English" says, Nesibe, in a cheerful manner.