Isomax is now proved to be the world’s first to achieve the performance predicted by theoretical bounds, reports a new study. (via WSJ)
By Idrees Ali | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON China, in an early test of U.S. President Donald Trump, is nearly finished building almost two dozen structures on artificial islands in the South China Sea that appear designed to house long-range surface-to-air missiles, two U.S. officials told Reuters. The development is likely to raise questions about whether and how the United States will respond, given its vows to take a […]
LONDON Average life expectancy will rise in many countries by 2030, breaking through 90 years in some places, and policymakers need to make more efforts to plan for it, according to a large international study. South Koreans are likely to have the highest life expectancy in the world by 2030 and the United States one of the lowest among developed countries, the study showed. “The fact that […]
The White House on Tuesday signaled it was preparing to reverse a U.S. policy on transgender rights, raising concern among rights advocates that Republican President Donald Trump is about to revoke a signature initiative of his predecessor. Former Democratic President Barack Obama’s administration issued guidance to public schools last May to allow transgender students to use bathrooms matching their gender identity, a move transgender people hailed as […]
The Isomax cell configuration. Credit: UCSB Engineering In 2015 UC Santa Barbara mechanical engineer and materials scientist Jonathan Berger developed an idea that could change the way people think about high-performance structural materials. Two years later, his concept is paying research dividends. In a letter published in the journal Nature, Berger, with UCSB materials and mechanical engineering professor Robert McMeeking and materials scientist Haydn N. G. Wadley from […]
OTTAWA Canada will continue to accept asylum seekers crossing illegally from the United States but will ensure security measures are taken to keep Canadians safe, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday. The number of would-be refugees crossing into Canada at isolated and unguarded border crossings has increased in recent weeks amid fears U.S. President Donald Trump will crack down on illegal immigrants, and photos of […]
Saudi Arabia has invited investors to submit requests to qualify for the first round of its $30-$50 billion National Renewable Energy Programme by March 20, it said on Monday. Saudi Arabia is targetting 9.5 GW of renewable energy by 2023 in line with Vision 2030, an economic reform plan launched last year to diversify the economy beyond oil. The renewable programme involves investment of between $30 billion […]
U.S. stocks rose to fresh record highs on Tuesday, boosted by strong earnings reports from Wal-Mart and Home Depot and continued optimism about the economic agenda of President Donald Trump. Wal-Mart’s (WMT.N) shares were the top gainer in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, rising 3 percent after the world’s largest retailer reported higher-than-expected U.S. sales. Home Depot (HD.N) shares gained 1.4 percent after the home improvement retailer […]
From Dark to Dust It is the news that millions of fans of Philip Pullman’s brilliant fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials have been waiting to hear for years – the English author is ready to further explore the world of heroine Lyra Belacqua, daemons and the Magisterium in another three-book series. Billed as neither prequel nor a sequel but an “equel”, The Book of Dust series will […]
Photo Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi on trial in Zintan, Libya, in 2014. Credit Reuters GENEVA — Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi, the son of Libya’s ousted dictator, should be turned over to the International Criminal Court to be tried on war crimes charges, the United Nations said on Tuesday, adding that he did not get a fair trial in Libya. But the question is, who will hand him over? A […]
The International Monetary Fund’s description of Greek debt as potentially explosive has left negotiators in Brussels struggling to bridge the differences between Athens and its creditors before time runs out to avert default. With creditors unwilling to release the next tranche of bailout money needed to keep the country afloat, Greece is facing €7bn of debt redemptions in July that it cannot afford. Investors appear to have […]
By Tom Perry and John Davison | BEIRUT BEIRUT The U.S.-backed Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance has crossed into Deir al-Zor province for the first time as part of an offensive against Islamic State, a Kurdish military source said on Tuesday. The advance into the province, most of which is under the control of the ultra-hardline group, is part of an operation to encircle and ultimately capture […]
By Lawrence Hurley | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Conservative Supreme Court justices on Tuesday voiced scepticism about extending constitutional rights to non-citizens in a case involving a 15-year-old Mexican shot dead by a U.S. agent from across the border in Texas that could have broad implications. The court’s ruling in the case argued before the eight justices could affect legal claims filed by non-U.S. citizens arising from executive actions […]
My taxi driver in San Diego had a plan. He was moving to Laredo to get back into long-distance trucking. He’d work hard for 10 years, save a couple of hundred grand, and retire to Mexico. I did the math: that put him around 2028. He might just make it before all the trucking jobs go away. At Qualcomm last week, Cristiano Amon, president of […]
ROME Michele Emiliano, the leftist president of the southern region of Puglia, said on Tuesday he would challenge former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi for the leadership of Italy’s ruling Democratic Party (PD), which faces a damaging split. Emiliano, 57, made the announcement at a meeting of the PD’s executive where he launched a stinging attack on Renzi, who resigned as party leader on Sunday to pave the […]
By Fergus Jensen | JAKARTA JAKARTA Saudi Arabia’s King Salman will visit Jakarta and Bali on the Indonesian leg of his Asian tour next month, bringing 1,500 people in his entourage including 10 ministers, Indonesian officials said. “This is a very historic visit for us,” Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung told reporters on Tuesday, adding that the king would be in Indonesia from March 1 to 9. He […]
Whatever route the government chooses for Brexit it will need to cooperate with other countries, especially our EU neighbours, to combat tax avoidance, tax evasion and money laundering. Yet the signs are not very good as the government seems to have chosen non-cooperation. It has snubbed the EU inquiry into the Panama Papers. Last year, a leak of 11.5m documents and 2.6 terabytes of information from the […]
ABU DHABI // The UAE Armed Forces will put on their first public demonstration on Thursday, March 2. The Union Fortress at Abu Dhabi’s Corniche will feature a joint exercise encompassing all branches of the military, including the Presidential Guard, the Joint Aviation Command, the Navy, the Air Force, Air Defence and the Army. Some of the highlights include a dramatic high-altitude, low-opening freefall jump from an […]
Photo A session at the International Conference in Support of Palestinian Intifada in Tehran on Tuesday, where Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, urged renewal of the Palestinian uprising, or intifada, against Israel. Credit Ebrahim Noroozi/Associated Press TEHRAN — Everything was in place on Tuesday for a gala celebration at Iran’s annual conference in support of Palestine. Awaiting the hundreds of guests was a table piled high […]
European markets regulators are examining a potential loophole in share-trading rules, which they fear promotes lightly regulated, private networks rather than placing curbs on trade away from public exchanges. Concern is mounting that the rules, which take effect from next January, could be exploited by some banks and high-frequency traders (HTF), to sidestep policymakers’ determination to make share trading more transparent. In an effort to improve trading […]
PARIS French centrist politician Emmanuel Macron has lost ground to his closest election rival, conservative Francois Fillon, and might not make a May 7 runoff against far-right leader Marine Le Pen, an opinion poll showed on Tuesday. The poll gives Fillon the position of favourite to win the presidency – a position he lost in the aftermath of a fake work scandal that engulfed his campaign four […]
Qualcomm is stepping up its Internet of things game with support for Android Things OS, integration with Amazon Web Services and two systems-on-chips that aggregate a bevy of standards. special feature Louisville and the Future of the Smart City Louisville, Kentucky is building a unique bridge between the smart city and the smart home. Here’s what communities and citizens can learn about the benefits of the onrushing […]
By Robin Emmott | BRUSSELS BRUSSELS U.S. President Donald Trump sent top U.S. officials to Europe with a familiar warning from Washington that allies must spend more on defence, this time with the ultimatum “or else”. But Europeans have tried to deflect the threats with the argument that a commitment to security is not just about spending targets, which diplomats said that U.S. officials did not challenge, […]
BEIRUT: France’s far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen sparked controversy Tuesday during her brief visit to Lebanon when she refused to wear a headscarf to meet the country’s top Sunni Muslim cleric. On her last day in the small Mediterranean country, Le Pen arrived at Sheikh Abdellatif Deryan’s office in Beirut and was offered a white shawl to cover her blonde hair. The National Front candidate promptly […]
