Chile looks forward to strengthening relations with CFK re-election

Ambassador Adolfo Zaldívar: more profound integration between both countries Zoom Image

“The relationship with Chile and integration in particular, has been very clear and it’s a very strong aspect of her administration, in which she has clearly insisted on moving forward and deepening Argentina’s relationship with Chile,” the diplomat assured in an interview.

Zaldívar assured that there is a decision by the Argentine presidency to support all bilateral policies of “physical and energetic connectivity.”

“This is fundamental,

The News Tip: Don't Listen To Naysayers

Enlarge Mark Lennihan/AP

The New York Times' move to install a pay wall in March was seen as risky, but the paper's profits and its digital subscribers are up, according to third-quarter profit reports.

Mark Lennihan/AP

The New York Times' move to install a pay wall in March was seen as risky, but the paper's profits and its digital subscribers are up, according to third-quarter profit reports.

Getting people to pay for news online isn't easy, but back in March, The New York Times gave it a shot. The pay wall was seen as a risky move at the time, but the Gray Lady's third-quarter profit reports are in, and the results are better than expected. The paper's profits are up, and the Times has seen a boost in digital subscribers.

Considering these results, NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik has this news tip: "If you only listen to the naysayers, you'll never succeed."

"It's worth remembering the prevailing wisdom has been that information on the Web wants to be free, and you can't charge people for news as a commodity online," Folkenflik says.

The New York Times took a leap over that notion, and others in the industry agreed it was a necessary change. The day the paper put up the pay wall, Folkenflik spoke with Gordon Crovitz, past publisher of The Wall Street

Commonwealth leaders still haggling over how to handle human rights reforms

Commonwealth leaders talked through the day at a summit Saturday without nailing down how to deal with urgent human rights reforms deemed critical to the organization's survival.

The 54-member Commonwealth is still haggling over how to hive off various reform recommendations, despite dire warnings from an “eminent person's panel” that failure to act immediately will imperil the association.

The summit had been billed as a last-chance opportunity to revive the relevance of the 80-year-old international grouping before it heads to troubled Sri Lanka for its 2013 leaders' conference.

An internal, 200-page report flatly asserted that the future of the Commonwealth is in peril if it can't credibly address human rights, democratic and rule-of-law abuses by some of its member states.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who had expected a final communiqué to be completed by Saturday night, scrubbed plans for an early departure because key details remain on the table for Sunday's closing session.

Mr. Harper did not speak with reporters but frustration was etched

150 Years Ago: Ghost Photo

An early ironclad warship makes an appearance (in a slightly fanciful etching): CSS Virginia, also called the Merrimac, 1861 Image: SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, VOL. V, NO. 19; NOVEMBER 9, 1861

Supplemental Material Overview Marie Sklodowska Curie

NOVEMBER 1961

Teaching Machines
“Like all useful machines, the teaching machines developed slowly from the need to do a job more effectively than it could be done otherwise. They have evoked all the reactions, including the hostile ones, that we have learned to expect from a new kind of machine. Some people see the machines as a threat to the teacher, which they are not. Some fancy that they will make education a cold, mechanical process. Others fear that they will turn students into regimented and mindless robots. Such fears are groundless. The purpose of a teaching machine can be simply stated: to teach rapidly, thoroughly and expeditiously a large part of what we

The Global Coal Trade's Complex Calculation

Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images

To feed China's insatiable demand for coal, U.S. companies are trying to sell and ship the lucrative commodity to the Asian market from new West Coast ports. Above, the cooling towers of a coal-fired power plant are seen on the outskirts of Beijing.

This is the second of two reports on plans to export U.S. coal to China.

Coal producers in Wyoming and Montana are hoping new export terminals will be built in Washington state so they can ramp up their sales to China. Activists are trying to stop those ports, in part because they're concerned about global warming. But a thriving export market could also drive up the price of coal here in the United States, and that has climate implications as well.

Energy economics can sometimes be like a hall of mirrors, where what you see is not actually what you get. Let's start this story from the top.

Enlarge Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images

A 133-car coal train is loaded at the Buckskin Coal Mine in Gillete, Wyo. Each car carries 120 tons of coal. New terminals in Washington state could eventually be destinations for coal, which is currently used for power in St. Louis, Detroit, Chicago and the eastern U.S.

Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images

A 133-car coal train is loaded at the Buckskin Coal Mine in Gillete, Wyo. Each car carries 120 tons of coal. New terminals in Washington state could eventually be destinations for coal, which is currently used for power in St. Louis, Detroit, Chicago and the eastern U.S.

Developers want to build a huge coal export terminal in Bellingham, Wash., and another one in Longview, on the south side of the state. K.C. Golden, at the nonprofit group Climate Solutions in Seattle, says this is a terrible idea for a state that is phasing out its lone coal-burning plant as it strives to become a leader in clean energy.

"Now, to become the conveyor belt and launching pad for a huge expansion of global carbon commerce would be exactly the opposite of the future we envision, the kind of economic strategy that we're doubling down on in the Northwest," he says.

Contrast that to what's happening in China, where they're still building new coal plants like crazy. Golden says coal exports would feed that beast.

"Our fear is that if there is an unlimited supply from around the world to fuel these new coal plants in Asia, that will act as a big green thumbs-up for them to build a whole new fleet of coal plants, and we'll essentially be locked into catastrophic climate change."

But U.S. coal exports to China would not be a game-changer. China's current appetite for coal is so massive that even if the two proposed U.S. terminals ended up exporting at full capacity — that is, 100 million tons a year, or 10 percent of current production levels — that would only satisfy 3 percent of China's appetite.

If the

IMF raises red flag on Cyprus' economy

The Fund warns Cyprus to act fast and fend off fears it may need a bailout.

By Andy Dabilis for Southeast European Times in Athens -- 26/10/11

Bernard Laurens led the IMF's mission to Cyprus last year. [Reuters]

The stagnant Cypriot economy -- weakened by falling revenues, credit ratings and banks exposed to Greek debt woes -- is in need of immediate measures, the IMF warned following an 11-day visit this month.

IMF's Europe Department Assistant Director Erik Jan de Vrijer said the Fund considers the situation concerning.

"The fact that the government can not access capital markets is very serious and the risks to the banking sector compound that," he said.

Amid fears that Cyprus

Uprooting police and customs corruption in BiH

Authorities say several recent stings show they are making inroads, but is it enough?

By Ljiljana Kovacevic for Southeast European Times in Banja Luka -- 25/10/11

[Internal Affairs Ministry of Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina]

Their job was to serve the public. Instead, authorities allege, 21 persons arrested in a police operation last month were conspiring with criminal gangs.

Operation Grand was carried out on the order of BiH's state prosecutor in an effort to combat smuggling of high-tariff goods. The detained persons include three border police officers, a member of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) and a

Suspect in Saudi ambassador plot pleads not guilty

A man charged in a plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States has pleaded not guilty in court in New York City.

A five-count indictment against Manssor Arbabsiar was returned last week in U.S. District Court.

Authorities say the 56-year-old U.S. citizen with an Iranian passport has admitted his role in a $1.5 million plot to kill the ambassador at a restaurant by setting off explosives.

President Barack Obama's administration has accused agents of the Iranian government of being involved in the plot.

The press attache at Iran's mission to the United Nations has called the accusation “baseless.”

Source: The Globe and Mail

New, young blood reinvigorates RIM

Clad in a black sweater and Converse shoes with peace signs on them, Anders Jeppsson doesn’t look like your average executive from Research In Motion Ltd. RIM-T

But Mr. Jeppsson fits right in here at the smart phone giant’s annual developer conference in San Francisco, even though his job title – head of gaming – seems a little out of place for RIM, a company known best for its secure e-mail services and stuffy corporate image.

New employees like Mr. Jeppsson are crucial to the Waterloo, Ont.-based smart phone giant as it tries to revamp its image as a fusty tech has-been and battle its way to becoming a true mass market phenomenon against Apple Inc.’s AAPL-Q iPhone and the slew of slick devices running Google Inc.’s GOOG-Q Android operating system.

His presence onstage at co-chief executive officer Mike Lazaradis’ keynote speech did not go unnoticed earlier this week, nor

Readers Respond to "The Bad Boy of Physics" and Other Articles

July 2011 Image:

TRIAGING TREATMENTS
The problems with the U.S. health care system described by Sharon Begley in “The Best Medicine” are accurate. It is gratifying that the National Institutes of Health is finally willing to fund real comparative effectiveness research. But the NIH, under pressure from Congress, has been reluctant to fund studies directly comparing the costs of competing treatments. I retired from the medical research field in part because of this refusal to look for the most effective and least costly answers and to support research on how to reduce unnecessary care.

Why is serious cost control not

World Cup 2014 takes off in Sao Paulo and Maracana stadium the final

The monumental Maracaná stadium built for the 1959 Cup where Uruguay defeated Brazil in a historic match Zoom Image

The host nation will kick off the tournament on June 12 at a 65,000-seat arena being built in the Itaquera neighbourhood. The decision ended months of speculation over whether Brazil's biggest city would host the match after concerns about construction delays at the stadium.

All 12 cities will host at least four of the 64 matches, with the final on July 13 at Maracana stadium

Cuba to lease larger plots to private farmers hoping to increase food production

Farms will have a max area of 67 hectares compares to the current 13 hectares limit Zoom Image

Under new regulations productive farmers will be eligible for temporary land grants covering as much as 67 hectares, up from the current maximum of 13 hectares mandated in a 2008 decree, said William Hernandez Morales, the top agricultural official in the eastern province of Santiago de Cuba.

“Those persons or lease holders that have really shown they can produce will be

Bollywood Wax stars hit Blackpool!

MADAME Tussauds Blackpool is celebrating the arrival of Bollywood superstars by renaming the seaside resort BOLLYPOOL today.

The superstar collection of Bollywood actor wax figures includes Amitabh Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan, Shah Rukh Khan and brand new, never been seen before wax figure of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

This collection was revealed today on 19th October, and a brand new figure of Kareena Kapoor’s is set to be unveiled by her in person on 27th October.

To make the figures feel at home Madame Tussauds Bollypool laid on some Bollywood inspired theatre.

Fans of the actors are invited to come to Blackpool and be entertained by dancers and Indian musicians. Fans are also encouraged to enter the ‘Strike a Kareena

The Roots Of Record Foreclosures

RealtyTrac is showing a 14 percent rise in first time default notices between July and September. It's the first jump after five consecutive quarterly declines, suggesting that banks are gradually addressing their backlog of foreclosed homes. Michel Martin discusses the causes and impact of the mortgage crisis with industry observer and history professor Beryl Satter.

Source: NPR : National Public Radio

Primary ballot results indicate Bolivians have turned their backs on Morales

Evo Morales has been facing growing resistance Zoom Image

If the results hold, it would the first defeat at the polls for the leftist coca-grower's union leader of his nearly six-year presidency. Official results were not expected for at least five days in the vote for 56 judgeships on Bolivia's top four tribunals, including its supreme and constitutional courts.

But an unofficial count by the Ipsos, Opinion y Mercado polling firm found 61% of voters cast ballots that

Prisoner Swap Undercuts Palestinian Authority

The release of more than 1000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit is being trumpeted as a major victory by the Islamist Hamas faction that has held Shalit for five years. The boost for Hamas has sidelined the Palestinian Authority and President Mahmoud Abbas, who was just recently feted for his efforts to win Palestinian statehood recognition from the UN. The political shift leaves Palestinian supporters of a two-state solution feeling isolated. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports.

Source: NPR : National Public Radio

France advances to rugby World Cup final

Rugby World Cup referees were in the spotlight again after Sam Warburton was red-carded for a dangerous tip-tackle that left the Welsh without their inspirational captain for more than an hour of a semi-final they lost 9-8 to France on Saturday.

France held on to advance to its third World Cup final by a thread, struggling to contain a determined Wales team and conceding the only try of the match - then watching as the Welsh kickers missed conversion, dropped goal and penalty attempts that would have clinched a stunning win.

Irish referee Alain Rolland sent Warburton off in the 18th minute, when Wales led 3-0. The Welsh battled gamely as Morgan Parra landed three penalties to give France a 9-3 lead, before scrumhalf Mike Phillips' solo try cut the margin to one point and ensured a thrilling finish.

"I feel hollow," Wales coach Warren Gatland said. "For an experienced referee to make such a quick decision in a semifinal of the World Cup, I just thought that decision ruined the semifinal.

"I just felt our destiny of having a chance of making the final was taken away from us

City Scientist is on a Turtle Trail!

A BIRMINGHAM scientist is on a turtle trail - all the way in the Caribbean!

Amdeep Sanghera, dubbed 'Turtle Man', has satellite tagged three ‘teenage’ endangered green turtles as part of a Marine Conservation Society (MCS) turtle conservation project off the West Indies. 

And while he watches their progress in the blue seas around the Caribbean – animal lovers across the world can keep updated because for the first time the results of Amdeep’s tagging can be followed online.

Amdeep, from the Moseley area of Birmingham, has been working for MCS in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) in the Caribbean since 2008, running the charity’s satellite tagging programme which monitors the movements of turtles

French drop probe into second attempted rape claim against Strauss-Kahn

The Paris prosecutor's office has dropped an investigation into a French writer's claim that Dominique Strauss-Kahn tried to rape her for lack of sufficient proof.

The prosecutor's office said Thursday that Strauss-Kahn admitted to sexual aggression against writer Tristane Banon but that it is too late to prosecute for that charge, because the incident in question happened in 2003.

Ms. Banon says that Mr. Strauss-Kahn tried to rape her during an interview for a book. Mr. Strauss-Kahn called the claim imaginary.

Mr. Strauss-Kahn quit his job as head of the International Monetary Fund after a New York hotel maid accused

Ebay hopes to ease online identification with PayPal Access service

EBay Inc. EBAY-Q is set to deepen its relationship with social network leader Facebook at a developer conference this week, a person familiar with the e-commerce company said Tuesday.

EBay will also unveil a new online identification service for shoppers called PayPal Access, the person added.

The company expects almost 4,000 people to attend its X.commerce conference in San Francisco on Oct. 12, 13 and 14. The event marks the official launch of the company’s new X.commerce division, which will target e-commerce software developers.

EBay is trying to encourage outside developers to create applications for its e-commerce platforms

Toxins All around Us

Cuppa disrupters: Chemicals in disposable cups may mimic hormones Image: Peter Dazeley/Getty Images

Susan starts her day by jogging to the edge of town, cutting back through a cornfield for an herbal tea at the downtown Starbucks and heading home for a shower. It sounds like a healthy morning routine, but Susan is in fact exposing herself to a rogue’s gallery of chemicals: pesticides and herbicides on the corn, plasticizers in her tea cup, and the wide array of ingredients used to perfume her soap and enhance the performance of her shampoo and moisturizer. Most of these exposures are so low as to be considered trivial, but they are not trivial at all—especially considering that Susan is six weeks pregnant.

Scientists have become increasingly worried that even extremely low levels

Serbia vows tough medicine against healthcare fraud

The issue of corruption is moving to the top of the EU-related agenda. In this regard, healthcare holds a dubious distinction.

By Georgi Mitev Shantek for Southeast European Times in Belgrade -- 10/10/11

One high-level corruption case involved the H1N1 flu vaccine. [Reuters]

The extent of corruption in Serbia's state healthcare system is enormous, and Brussels is pressuring the country to reduce it. Authorities are making a concerted effort to demonstrate that they intend to deal with it.

Health Minister Zoran Stankovic acknowledges "reports of corruption … are more frequent than ever before, totalling 1,500 since January alone." A group of policemen is being assigned solely to root out corruption in healthcare.

Routinely, members of the public pay several hundred euros of "incentive money" in order to have surgery scheduled in a state

Chilean inflation in September picks up; central bank to keep buying dollars

Copper exports recovering from output disruptions in August Zoom Image

The 0.5% rise after August’s 0.2% was driven by food, transport and tobacco, government data showed on Friday.

The trade surplus fell to 324 million dollars in September, down sharply from a 2.012 billion surplus in the same month last year and below August's previously reported 490.66 million dollars surplus, the central bank said.

Exports totalled about 6.609 billion dollars during September, down 3.1% from September 2010 and

Chilean inflation in September picks up; central bank to keep buying dollars

Copper exports recovering from output disruptions in August Zoom Image

The 0.5% rise after August’s 0.2% was driven by food, transport and tobacco, government data showed on Friday.

The trade surplus fell to 324 million dollars in September, down sharply from a 2.012 billion surplus in the same month last year and below August's previously reported 490.66 million dollars surplus, the central bank said.

Exports totalled about 6.609 billion dollars during September, down 3.1% from September 2010 and

Kosovo's education sector questioned

The murder of Pristina Education Director Remzi Salihu last week has sparked a debate on how Kosovo's education system is run.

By Muhamet Brajshori for Southeast European Times in Pristina -- 08/10/11

Pristina Education Director Remzi Salihu was shot and killed in his office. [Laura Hasani/SETimes]

The October 3rd murder of Pristina Education Director Remzi Salihu has raised serious questions about Kosovo's education system and the process by which employees are promoted and hired.

Salihu was allegedly shot and killed in his office by Biology Teacher Gani Sahiti, who was a candidate for school dean at the Aferdita primary

Violence, revenge, kidnapping: A ‘normal’ day in Kabul on a historic anniversary

The following post is part of a new series that brings a fresh perspective to global news from our team of foreign correspondents

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the start of American-led combat in Afghanistan, and the war to oust the Taliban regime that hosted Al Qaeda continues. A few hundred Afghans marked it a day early, with a small protest on Thursday against mounting civilian casualties in the conflict.

But the anniversary itself was a normal day – or what passes for normal here.

Domestic politics please almost no one. Samin Barakzai, a former lawmaker from Herat, lies

A building size that suits its site

Toronto’s residential skyline has long seemed unbalanced to me. Our dwellings tend to be either soaringly tall or, at just one or two storeys, very short. What’s largely missing in our housing mix is the five-storey to 10-storey apartment block. This attractive building type has proven to be a successful design tool in many European cities. I like it because it brings desirable density to our important avenues, while not busting apart old, settled urban terrains.

For an example of a mid-rise project that might work out well in its context, take the condominium building now being proposed for the corner of Queen Street East and Kenilworth Avenue. The intersection punctuates the delightful commercial strip that runs through the heart of the Beaches neighbourhood.

You may know the site of the condo stack: A Lick’s hamburger palace has stood on the spot for many years. If the developer (Reserve Investments) manages

Catching Concussions Early

Image: ERIK ISAKSON Getty Images

Evidence is mounting that repeated concussions can do long-term harm to the brain. Athletes who play contact sports are particularly at risk. But a concussion can be difficult to diagnose, and many sports teams, especially those at the youth level, lack medical personnel. Neurology researchers at the University of Pennsylvania think they may have found a solution—an easy-to-use two-minute reading test that can assess the likelihood that a concussion has occurred.

The test was originally designed to evaluate reading skills in children, but it also catches problems with vision and eye movements, which

Ancient Kokino observatory provides perfect perch

The megalithic observatory Kokino is an archeological site in Macedonia, dating back to the Bronze Age.

Kokino meets criteria required of the World Heritage Sites list. [Tomislav Georgiev/SETimes]

The Kokino megalithic observatory in Macedonia was discovered in 2001 by archeologist Jovica Stankovski, and is believed to be almost 4,000 years old.

The name Kokino comes from the closest human settlement on Mount Tatic Rock. The term "megalithic" is coined from "mega" or large and "litos" or stone, which reflects Kokino's large and magnificent rocks.

In 2005, the site was listed as the world's fourth megalithic observatory, according to NASA.

A heritage in need of protection

Political and ethnic tensions still pose a threat to Serb cultural and religious sites.

By Linda Karadaku for Southeast European Times in Pristina -- 03/10/11

Kosovo authorities say preserving cultural sites is a top priority. [Reuters]

At Decani monastery in western Kosovo, life goes on the way it has done for centuries. Around 30 brothers spend their days in prayer or religious contemplation, as well as tending the monastery grounds and engaging in activities such as icon painting and wood carving.

The site, home to some of the region's best-preserved medieval frescoes, is on UNESCO's World Heritage List. But it is also under threat. Amid ongoing tensions between Kosovo and Serbia, its status as a major Serb religious and cultural site makes it a target for Albanian

Two Canadians among possible Nobel Prize for Medicine contenders

Two Canadians are thought to be among the contenders for the Nobel Prize in Medicine, which will be awarded Monday.

The prize committees don't give any clues — they even keep nominations secret for 50 years — but winners usually have won many other awards and distinctions before they are considered for a Nobel.

Canadian-born Douglas Coleman and American Jeffrey Friedman have won several prizes for their discovery of leptin, a hormone that regulates food intake and body weight, and could be in the running for the coveted prize worth 10 million kronor (about $1.5 million Cdn).

Last year, Mr. Coleman, of the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine, and Mr. Friedman, of Rockefeller University in New York, received the Lasker Award, often seen as a precursor to the Nobel, for having shown that obesity is

LG Optimus makes hefty sacrifices in pursuit of glasses-free 3-D

Here’s what you need to know about LG’s Optimus 3D Android mobile: It’s a fine phone, except for the 3-D part.

One of the first glasses-free 3-D handsets to come to Canada (another is HTC’s Evo 3D), the black, curvy-edged Optimus features a parallax barrier screen capable of directing separate images to each of the user’s eyes, creating the illusion of depth. This sort of glasses-free stereoscopic viewing can be convincing, but it’s also fraught with problems.

In order to maintain the 3-D effect, you must keep your eyes in a “sweet spot” in front of the screen. Move just a couple of inches left or right or get too close or too far away and the picture quickly becomes wonky, doubled and flickery. Best case scenario: You’re in a controlled environment and simply suffer a little muscle strain if you stay in 3-D mode for too long. Worst case: You’re commuting on a bumpy, lurching bus and get dizzy or nauseous as your head persistently bobs outside the stereoscopic delivery zone.

Then there’s the content question. Aside from the software that comes pre-loaded