The Daily Populous

Friday May 12nd, 2017 evening edition

image for Baltic countries agree to disconnect their power grids from Russia – Lithuanian News

(TALLINN) – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will connect their power grids to the European Union network through Poland, in order to reduce their dependence on Russia.

Deutsche Welle reports that Estonian Prime Minister of Jüri Ratas announced this on Monday.

“All four of us have agreed to clarify the distribution [responsibilities ] between the four countries [Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland] by the end of the year,” said Ratas.

During the connection, it will also be necessary to take into account that the region of Kaliningrad is synchronized with the Russian electricity network through the Baltic countries.

The disconnection from the Russian network was originally planned by 2025, but was postponed over a discussion regarding whether the point of connection to the European network would be Poland, or Finland (via an underwater electrical cable).

In the end, the connection through Poland was deemed more expedient economically.

As the publication points out, Russia has never cut off electricity to the Baltic countries, and has not even threatened to do so; at the same time, Lithuania regards the fact of its energy dependence on Russia as one of its main national threats. »

School bus driver hailed as "true hero" after bus bursts into flames

Authored by cbsnews.com

As soon as school bus driver Teresa Stroble heard two 9th graders yell about seeing smoke, she jumped into action.

The Duncan, South Carolina, school bus driver ushered all 56 students -- from Duncan Elementary, Beech Springs Intermediate and Byrnes High School -- off her bus, and radioed the transportation office to call 911 before the vehicle burst into flames Tuesday morning.

The school district later notified all parents of students on the bus, reporting that there had been no injuries. »

Germany Just Smashed an Energy Record, Generating 85% Electricity From Renewables

Authored by futurism.com

2016 delivered month after month of record-breaking temperatures, and the year as a whole was the latest in a series of record-breaking years.

Thankfully, we also have some positive climate-related achievements to celebrate, the latest of which is courtesy of Germany, which just set a new national record for renewable energy.

Indeed, that commitment compelled National Geographic to call Germany “a leader” in the energy revolution amongst large industrial nations, and it’s easy to see why. »

White House furious after being trolled with Russia Oval Office photos

Authored by cnn.com

The Russians used the photos to troll the White House in its social media posts Wednesday.

In response to the White House official's complaint that the White House was "tricked," former Obama administration national security adviser Susan Rice said on Twitter : "No kidding!".

The White House blocked US reporters from photographing the meeting, opting to allow only White House and Russian photographers to capture images of Trump's interactions with Lavrov. »