War
Despite defense buildup, NATO also seeks to assure Russia bigstory.ap.org
NATO's chief said Tuesday the alliance is reinforcing its defenses against Russia from the Baltic to the Black Sea, but keeping all possible contacts with Moscow open to avoid any unwarranted escalation of tension.
Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO secretary-general, confirmed previous statements that alliance defense ministers gathered in Brussels for a two-day meeting will back a deployment plan to send four multinational battalions to the Baltic states and Poland. He also said decisions are expected on forming a new multinational unit of ground forces in Romania.
Also see NATO to send troops to deter Russia, Putin orders snap checks
North Korea
Exclusive: North Korea may be 'significantly' upping nuclear bomb output - report reuters
The Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) estimated last year that North Korea had 10 to 16 nuclear weapons at the end of 2014. It based that conclusion on an analysis of the country's production of weapons-grade uranium and plutonium recovered from spent nuclear fuel.
In revised estimates contained in a report provided to Reuters, the institute's David Albright and Serena Kelleher-Vergantini said North Korea may have added another four to six weapons since then, for a total of 13 to 21 or even more today.
Iran
Boeing Nears Historic Deal With Iran for About 100 Jetliners bloomberg
The transaction would be the first struck by the planemaker since sanctions were lifted in January and would require U.S. government approval. An order listed at $27 billion announced by Europe’s Airbus Group SE also needs a U.S. Treasury Department license before it can be finalized. Buyers typically negotiate discounts from list prices.
China
China thanks countries for supporting it over South China Sea uk.reuters
China has stepped up its rhetoric ahead of an expected ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague on the Philippine case....[they say] more than 40 countries have offered support for its position, the latest being the African nations of Sierra Leone and Kenya.
Israel
The IDF is ready for another conflict with Hezbollah at a moment’s notice jpost
The IDF’s Brigade 300, tasked with defending the Western Galilee from the threat posed by Hezbollah to northern communities, faces off against Hezbollah on a daily basis. It must keep up with every improvement made on the other side, and respond accordingly with its own preparations.
In a recent interview with The Jerusalem Post, the brigade’s deputy commander, Lt.-Col. Kameel Tafish, provided a glimpse into that process, explaining how the IDF has adapted over the last 10 years. Many of those changes, he said, have occurred only recently.
Israel to UNHRC: ‘You’ve never cared for us, how do you expect us to take you seriously?' jpost
In a short, but highly charged speech, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva Eviatar Manor accused the United Nations Human Rights council in Geneva of overly focusing on Israel’s actions against the Palestinians at the expense of other more serious human rights situations in the Middle East.
BDS
Exclusive: Second largest German bank shuts anti-Israel BDS account jpost
The account has been “dealt with” and the bank notified the account holder more than a month ago, a source told the Post. The closure of the anti-Israel account because of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions activity is believed to be the first instance of a German bank taking action to halt the movement.
Society
At least 31 Canadians have asked for a doctor-assisted death since January cbc.ca
...the number may actually be significantly higher, as at least one province admits it isn't tracking medically assisted death requests, while another isn't ready to release data on the issue.
Pope
Pope Francis rejects donation from Argentinian president with 666 in sum theguardian
Earlier this month, the centre-right president made a donation that totaled 16,666,000 pesos (slightly under $1.2m) from the Argentinian government to the Scholas Occurentes educational foundation, which is backed by the pope and is based on a similar organization founded by Francis when he was cardinal of Buenos Aires.
...according to the Vatican Insider – a publication specializing in papal affairs published by the Italian newspaper La Stampa – Francis wrote to the Argentinian branch of the foundation, asking them to return the money. In a postcript, he wrote: “I don’t like the 666.”
I include this story because I know there are many people even in evangelical circles that see sequences of 6s everywhere they look (as if the numbers, themselves, are inherently evil or indicators of demonic origins or something), and I found it funny that even the Pope, who I'd be among the first to say promotes an evil, antichrist doctrine himself, suffers from this same obsession :)
Gold
Egypt looks at ancient history to find new gold cnn p
We are looking where they had mined gold before, says Mark Campbell, CEO of Alexander Nubia, an exploration company working in the area. The ancient mines offer clues for where to drill. Not having to figure it out from scratch saves the explorers time and money. Using modern mining techniques and technology, we hope to recover a lot of the gold that they missed, because they were unable to mine it and process it.
Research
Discovery of gold nanocluster 'double' hints at other shape changing particles innovations-report t
Polymorphs, or materials with the same composition but different structures, are common in bulk materials, and now a new study in Nature Communications confirms they exist in nanomaterials, too. Researchers describe two unique structures for the iconic gold nanocluster Au144(SR)60, better known as Gold-144, including a version never seen before. Their discovery gives engineers a new material to explore, along with the possibility of finding other polymorphic nanoparticles.
Robotics
Robot receptionists introduced at hospitals in Belgium theguardian
The humanoid assistant, which has a screen on his chest and a round head, is the first robot in the world to be used to greet people in a medical setting, his software creators said.
Others...
China pupils who waste lunch to get black marks in school report telegraph.co.uk
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