Monthly Archives: January 2012
Singapore to Help Myanmar Modernize Economy
SINGAPORE—Singapore will offer training courses to help Myanmar modernize its economy and open itself further to foreign investment, under a pact between the two nations signed Monday.
The Murder of Sister Valsa: a WSJ Investigation
By Krishna Pokharel and Paul Beckett “Where is Sister Valsa?” they demanded. “Where is Sister Valsa?” In the dark of night on Nov. 15, the mob surrounded the tiled-roof compound. They carried
Australia Defense Report Urges Northward Shift
By ENDA CURRAN SYDNEY—Australia needs to deploy more military forces along its northern coastline and seek more clarity on U.S. plans to station Marines in Darwin, the interim findings of a defense
Twitter Wins New Fans Over Censorship
Twitter’s revelation of its new ability to selectively censor posts set off a speculation that the company might be laying the groundwork for a move into China, where it is currently blocked,
Russia: Syria ready to talk with opposition
Syria’s opposition has refused to hold talks to end the country’s escalating violence, after Russia said that Syrian authorities had said they were prepared to hold talks with the opposition in Moscow.
Senegal’s top court upholds Wade poll bid
Senegal’s highest court has confirmed its approval of incumbent President Abdoulaye Wade’s bid to seek a third term in next month’s election, as opposition leaders vowed to continue “national resistance”.
Leaders gather for eurozone crisis summit
European leaders are meeting in Brussels, the Belgian capital and de facto capital of the European Union, for a fresh round of talks aimed at tackling the eurozone debt crisis, with Greece’s
Merkel To Back Sarkozy Re-Election
By WILLIAM BOSTON BERLIN—German Chancellor Angela Merkel is so concerned that a shift to the left in France after the coming French election could derail the German-led austerity drive in Europe that
Syria Military Moves to Defend Capital
By NOUR MALAS Syria’s government moved to defend the capital, the seat of President Bashar al-Assad’s power, as its military fought rebel troops around Damascus for a third day on Sunday and
‘White ring’ protest held against Putin
Cars covered with white ribbons and balloons were driven around Moscow in a protest demanding free elections and criticising Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s bid to regain his Kremlin job in March polls.
Djokovic downs Nadal in Melbourne epic
Defending champion Novak Djokovic battled past Rafael Nadal in an epic, five-set Australian Open final which clocked in at 5hr 53min – the longest title match in grand slam history – early
Iraq bloc to end parliament boycott
The largest political alliance in Iraq’s government has said that it would end its boycott of parliament. The decision by Iraqiya on Sunday, backed by much of the country’s Sunnis and some
Alarm over Sudan oil crisis
South Sudan has said it will not restart oil production unless Sudan accepts a list of demands amid worries that the issue will spiral out of control.
Greek PM claims consensus on austerity steps
Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos has said there was “total convergence” among political allies on new austerity measures needed for a second bailout and debt cuts to avert default.
Jordan’s king receives Hamas leader
Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal is in Jordan on his first official visit since he was forced to leave in 1999 for what authorities called “illicit and harmful” activities.
Unprecedented, Human-Made Trends in Ocean’s Acidity
Combining computer modeling with observations, an international team of scientists concluded that anthropogenic CO2 emissions over the last 100 to 200 years have already raised ocean acidity far beyond the range of
Graphene Supermaterial Goes Superpermeable: Can Be Used to Distill Alcohol
Graphene is one of the wonders of the science world, with the potential to create foldaway mobile phones, wallpaper-thin lighting panels and the next generation of aircraft. The new finding at the
Following Genetic Footprints out of Africa: First Modern Humans Settled in Arabia
Led by the University of Leeds and the University of Porto in Portugal, the study is recently published in American Journal of Human Genetics and provides intriguing insight into the earliest stages
Life Beyond Earth? Underwater Caves in Bahamas Could Give Clues
Tom Iliffe, professor of marine biology at the Texas A&M-Galveston campus, and graduate student Brett Gonzalez of Trabuco Canyon, Calif., examined three “blue holes” in the Bahamas and found that layers of
How Viruses Evolve, and in Some Cases, Become Deadly
The scientists showed for the first time how the virus called “Lambda” evolved to find a new way to attack host cells, an innovation that took four mutations to accomplish. This virus
Engineered Bacteria Effectively Target Tumors, Enabling Tumor Imaging Potential in Mice
The specially engineered probiotic bacteria, like those found in many yogurts, were intravenously injected into mice with tumors, after which the researchers took full body bioluminescent images. The 3-D images revealed information
Making Memories Last: Prion-Like Protein Plays Key Role in Storing Long-Term Memories
The finding supports a surprising new theory about memory, and may have a profound impact on explaining other oligomer-linked functions and diseases in the brain, including Alzheimer’s disease and prion diseases.
Heart of Silk: Scientists Use Silk from the Tasar Silkworm as a Scaffold for Heart Tissue
Damaged human heart muscle cannot be regenerated. Scar tissue grows in place of the damaged muscle cells. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Bad Nauheim are
Life Discovered On Dead Hydrothermal Vents
A team led by USC microbiologist Katrina Edwards found that the microbes that thrive on hot fluid methane and sulfur spewed by active hydrothermal vents are supplanted, once the vents go cold,
Faster-Than-Fast Fourier Transform
The reason the Fourier transform is so prevalent is an algorithm called the fast Fourier transform (FFT), devised in the mid-1960s, which made it practical to calculate Fourier transforms on the fly.
Quantum Physics Enables Perfectly Secure Cloud Computing
The international team of scientists will publish the results of the experiment, carried out at the Vienna Center for Quantum Science and Technology (VCQ) at the University of Vienna and the Institute
Computer Simulations Revealing How Methane and Hydrogen Pack Into Gas Hydrates Could Enlighten Alternative Fuel Production and Carbon Dioxide Storage
The analysis is the first time researchers have accurately quantified the molecular-scale interactions between the gases — either hydrogen or methane, aka natural gas — and the water molecules that form cages
People Behave Socially and ‘Well’ Even Without Rules, Online Avatar Study Shows
Exactly how people tick The interactions were fed into an “alphabet” by the researchers, “similar to how the genetic code of DNA was decoded 15 years ago,” says Thurner. “From this we
