Millions of litres water wasted every year in France. / Big ferry order/ Russian ships on hold/ Feathered dinosaurs!

Consommation

Des milliards de litres d’eau potable perdus dans les fuites

Selon une enquête de 60 millions de consommateurs publiée jeudi, un litre sur cinq d’eau potable est perdu dans des fuites en France.  Un grand gaspillage qui représente 1 milliard 300 millions de litres d’eau chaque année, soit l’équivalent de 430.000 piscines olympiques.

According to a study of 60 million consumers published on Thursday, one liter in five of potable water is lost through leaks in France. A big waste which represents 1 billion 300 million liters of water each year.  Equivalent of 430,000 Olympic swimming pools.

New biggest ferries to be built in France.

Économie

Commande record de deux paquebots géants à STX Saint-Nazaire

L’armateur italo-suisse a choisi les chantiers STX France à Saint-Nazaire pour faire construire ses deux prochains paquebots géants. Une commande d’1,5 milliard d’euros. MSC Croisières prend également une option pour deux paquebots supplémentaires. Ces paquebots seront les “plus grands jamais construits par un armateur européen”.

Record order of two giant ferries for shipbuilders STX France in Saint-Nazaire has come from Italian-Swiss owners MSC Croisieres. The order is valued at 1,5 billion euros. They have taken options on two more ferries. These ferries will be the “biggest ever built by a European owner”.

Feathered Dinosaurs reconstructed in  USA.

Sciences & Santé

Un dinosaure à plumes reconstitué aux Etats-Unis (Feathered dinosaur reconstructed in USA)

Des paléontologues américains ont annoncé avoir reconstitué le squelette d’un dinosaure peu connu à partir d’éléments fossiles provenant de plusieurs découvertes. Il s’agit d’un dinausaure à plumes, aux fausses allures de poulet géant, qui vivait en Amérique du Nord il y a 66 millions d’années. Anzu Wyliei, c’est le nom dont il a été baptisé, mesurait 3,5 mètres de long et pesait 200 à 300 kilos.

American paleontologists have announced they have reconstructed the skeleton of a little known dinosaur from fossils coming from several discoveries. It relates to a feathered dinosaur, like a distorted giant chicken, that lived in north America 66 million years ago. Anzu Wyliei, is the name it was baptised, measuring 3.5 metres long and weighing 200 – 300 kgs.

New Russian ships built in France put on hold.

La Russie veut ses bateaux de guerre en construction… et avertit Paris (New Russian ships built in France put on hold.)

le Jeudi 20 Mars 2014

Le Vladivostok à quai à Saint-Nazaire. © Maxppp – Franck Dubray

La Russie a prévenu la France qu’elle ferait valoir “ses droits jusqu’au bout” si Paris suspend la livraison de deux navires de guerre type Mistral en raison de la crise ukrainienne. Le ministre français de la Défense, Jean-Yves le Drian, n’a pas exclu cette éventualité, mais a repoussé la décision en octobre, date de livraison du premier bâtiment. Les contrats de vente prévoient des sanctions en cas de non-livraison.

Russia awaits the outcome if France apply “the rights to the limit” if Paris suspends delivery of two Mistral type war ships because of the Ukrainian crisis. The French minister for defence,  Jean-Yves le Drian, has not excluded this eventuality , but has pushed the decision out until October, the delivery date of the first ship. The sale contracts will attract sanctions for non-delivery.

Difficile de les rater dans le port de Saint-Nazaire. L’un à quai, l’autre à moitié construit, les deux “bateaux gris” russes dominent la ville de leurs superstructures. Et s’ils sont loin des yeux des Russes, ils sont déjà proches de leurs coeurs : La Russie a déjà versé 1,2 milliards d’euros.

Difficult to miss in the port of Saint Nazaire. One on the quay wall and another in mid-build, the two Russian “grey ships” dominate the town with their superstructures. And if they are far from the of the Russians, they are already close to their hearts: Russia has already poured €1,2 billion into them. 

La poupe de ces navires, c’est-à-dire la partie arrière, est en effet construite à Saint-Pétersbourg et livrée pour assemblage aux chantiers STX de Saint-Nazaire. Celle du bateau en construction nommé Sébastopol. Marins russes bientôt à Saint-Nazaire. Et en filigrane, il y a toujours la possible commande de deux navires supplémentaires.

The poupe, (the stern) is in fact made in Saint-Petersburg and delivered for assembly in the STX shipyards in Saint-Naziare for the ship under construction, named Sébastopol.Russian navy personnel were soon to be in St – Nazaire for sea trials. And at the watermark (sic), there is always the possibility of two other  order options.

 

About bill

Worked in the technical / engineering area as a Science Laboratory Technician and as an Aeronautics Engineer. The artistic side involves writing under the nom de plume of Billy Olsenn, his recently written play 'A Case of Wine' was staged by the players group Straight Make-Up at the 2012 Birr one act drama festival. It's next staging was in the one act circuit is in Cavan, at Maudebawn on Sat 10 Nov 2012. Then it was performed in the Bray, Co.Wicklow at the very popular one act festival in January 2013. Next play is FEAR. A dark tale about revenge on the cruel death of two pensioners by young thugs. Neighbours hatch a devious and dangerous plan to exact old-style revenge. Bill is a member of the Drama League of Ireland and his plays have been critically vetted and certified as original pieces of work by the DLI. Another literary project is that of commemoration of an aircraft crash on Djouce mountain in Wicklow in 1946. Bill wrote articles for the 50th, 60th and most recently the 70th anniversary, (12 Aug 2016) all were published in the Wicklow Times and ensured the survivors of the crash, all French Girl Guides, were not forgotten. Articles reproduced on this website. But mostly this site gives a more general European and specific French slant on popular and not so popular articles of French news, translated to English by the author. Each article is translated on a paragraph by paragraph basis so easy to read in either language and even possible to improve either language by comparison of the short English and French paragraphs. Amusez vous bien. The author is currently writing an easy to read technical aviation book centered around the Fokker 50. Another interest is that dealt with in another of Bill's websites www.realnamara.net, a Statue of the mother of God, Mary. It was erected in 1972 in Dublin, at the end of the Bull Wall near Clontarf, and my grandfather William Nelson, was the main instigator of that project. I give talks on the history of the statue and my grandfather's adventurous and dangerous life at sea. Technical assistance with each website is by J O'N.
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