Naval exercises and talk of accelerated defense buildup in the South China Sea

On Tuesday, China began a week of naval exercises in waters around the Paracel Islands, in the northern part of the sea. They came a week before a United Nations-backed tribunal in The Hague rules on a case brought by the Philippines challenging China’s position. Beijing has boycotted the hearings and is engaged in a …

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US Crude Oil Production could pass 9 million bpd next year and reach a new all time high in crude oil and natural gas liquid production

U.S. crude oil production increased to an average of 7.5 million barrels per day (bbl/d) in July 2013, the highest monthly level of production since 1991. EIA forecasts U.S. total crude oil production will average 7.4 million bbl/d in 2013 and 8.2 million bbl/d in 2014, both about 0.1 million bbl/d higher than forecast in …

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Smartphone Screens Will be Made out of Sapphire

Manufactured sapphire—a material that’s used as transparent armor on military vehicles—could become cheap enough to replace the glass display covers on mobile phones. That could mean smartphone screens that don’t crack when you drop them and can’t be scratched with keys, or even by a concrete sidewalk. Sapphire, a crystalline form of aluminum oxide, probably …

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Zspace interactive holographic 3D display

Infinite Z has a virtual holographic 3D display and pen input device that goes by the name zSpace. This technology combines stereoscopic images with infrared cameras that actually track head and hand movements to construct a more realistic holographic effect. For the zSpace illusion to work, you need to wear a pair of special glasses. …

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Fukushima Restoration Plan Announced

World Nuclear News – Plans to enable residents to rebuild their lives in certain evacuation zones around the damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant have been announced by Japan’s Reconstruction Agency. In addition to decontamination work and the restoration of infrastructure, the ten-year plan calls for the creation of jobs in the area. The ‘Grand Plan’ released …

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