To use our advanced search functionality (to search for terms in specific content), please use syntax such as the following examples:
The European financial crisis that began last year has nudged Germany into becoming a more assertive nation intent on pursuing its own course on the world stage. According to a recent report (csmonitor.com, January 30, 2012), Germany’s postwar romance with Europe is coming to an end as the hard-working Germans are not willing to continue writing checks to bail...
“A European team said on Wednesday [March 28] that about 40 percent of red dwarf stars—the most common type in the Milky Way—have a so-called “super-Earth” planet orbiting in a habitable zone that would allow water to flow on the surface.” This could equate to tens of billions of planets! However, these same researchers also caution that “…the rocky worlds...
Two weeks ago in New Delhi, the BRICS nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa held their annual meeting. Critics note that “nothing appreciable” resulted from the meeting. Others wonder what future effects this alliance between nations representing almost half of the world’s population might have.
“Pirates off the coast of Somalia will now have to contend with an EU naval force mandated on Friday by EU member states to launch attacks on its inner coastal territory.” Two French warships have now joined the four existing EU ships in order to add strength and versatility (EU Observer, March 26, 2012).
“Four [U.S.] Navy minesweepers will soon be on their way to the Persian Gulf… as part of an effort to boost American military capability in the region amid rising tensions with Iran, a Navy official says.” In March, the U.S. Navy moved four airborne mine countermeasure helicopters to the area to assist the British who are already there. The idea is “to beef up...
The Pope will turn 85 this month. His health issues and comments he has made in the past have some expecting his resignation. In early March, two different reports appeared in Italian newspapers (Il Foglio, March 10; and Libero, March 11), “…advancing the hypothesis that Benedict XVI might resign, in part for the sake of influencing the choice of his successor...
On Tuesday, up to a dozen tornadoes ripped through the Dallas, Texas area, injuring 17 people, damaging 650 homes and another 300 structures, and throwing 7-ton tractor-trailers around like toys. At the international airport, more than 100 planes were damaged, grounding 500 flights on Wednesday. Thousands were left without power (Reuters, April 4, 2012; USA...
The sixth annual World Water Forum meeting in Marseille, France, heard a proposal for establishing a global water fund under the control of the U.N.
The benefits of male circumcision (MC) have been contested by many including medical professionals in recent decades. But evidence supporting the practice has grown steadily. Last month, the most definitive study yet was published in a professional medical journal.
In the last 15 years, scientists have uncovered evidence of a “sleeping” giant subduction zone (The Cascadia) 60 miles off the West Coast. The 800-mile-long fault runs from northern California to Vancouver and closely resembles giant faults off the coasts of Chile (9.5 quake in 1960), Sumatra (9.3 quake in 2004), Alaska (9.2 quake in 1964) and Tohoku, Japan (9....