The Russian Japanese Island; Open Threat; 2nd Peace; Powdered Blood; Mechanical Pixels; Super Japan; Anti-Semitics in Berkley; Not so Climate Changed; and Shared Private Data

Russia-Japan

Japan pledges response to 'serious' Russian missile deployment on disputed islands independent.co.uk

The countries are trying to arrange a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe next month to settle a 70-year dispute over the islands, which were claimed by the Soviets after Second World War and lie just north of Japan.

Also see Military build-up in the Kuril Islands: Bad timing or a signal from Moscow? rbth

Turkey

President Erdogan: I will open gates for migrants to enter Europe if EU blocks membership talks independent.co.uk

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned Turkey could open its border for refugees to stream into Europe after EU MEPs voted for a temporary halt to membership talks.

Also see Migrant crisis: Turkey threatens EU with new surge bbc and EU parliament votes overwhelmingly in favour of scrapping Turkey accession talks telegraph.co.uk

Colombia

Colombia finalises new peace deal with the Farc telegraph.co.uk

The signing, which took place in Colombia’s capital Bogota, will end Latin America’s longest running conflict, which has seen more than 260,000 killed and millions displaced.

The agreement will by-pass a second national referendum and will instead be voted on by Colombia’s congress next week.

Also see Colombia Signs Revised Peace Deal With FARC Rebels npr

Research

Future of Combat Medicine: Powdered Blood, Spray Bottle Skin kitup.military

It’s complicated to keep blood, “at the right temperature, in the right volume, make sure it can still store oxygen when you put it into somebody,” [Brig. Gen. Jeffrey] Johnson said. As a result, researchers are trying to develop an artificial blood product.

Dutch scientists use color-changing graphene bubbles to create ‘mechanical pixels’ theverge

Researchers from Delft University of Technology tudelft.nl in the Netherlands have discovered what could one day be a new type of display technology: bubbles of graphene that change color as they expand and contract. Scientists say that these ‘mechanical pixels’ could eventually make screens that are more flexible, durable, and energy efficient than current LED technology. They caution, though, that the work is very much in its infancy; whether these graphene bubbles can make displays of equivalent quality, or be scaled up for mass production, remains to be seen.

Tech

Japan plans supercomputer to leap into technology future reuters

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will spend 19.5 billion yen ($173 million) on the previously unreported project, a budget breakdown shows, as part of a government policy to get back Japan's mojo in the world of technology. The country has lost its edge in many electronic fields amid intensifying competition from South Korea and China, home to the world's current best-performing machine.

In a move that is expected to vault Japan to the top of the supercomputing heap, its engineers will be tasked with building a machine that can make 130 quadrillion calculations per second - or 130 petaflops in scientific parlance - as early as next year, sources involved in the project told Reuters.

Anti-Semitism

California law students take pledge against Israel junket electronicintifada.net

Law students at the University of California, Berkeley berkeley.edu say that almost 90 classmates have pledged not to participate in a privately funded free trip to Israel.

The trip will be facilitated by a New York City-based Israel advocacy organization that has received funding from the Israeli government.

Environmental

British sea explorers’ log books raise new doubts about global warming topnews.us

To the surprise of University of Reading researchers, the log books or records kept by the expeditions of Captain Robert Scott eyewitnesstohistory and Sir Ernest Shackleton south-pole in the early years of 20th century show there has been little change in the extent of sea ice around Antarctica during the last one hundred years.

Also see Antarctic explorers help University of Reading experts make climate change discovery - 100 years on getreading w! (this article puts its best spin on)

Privacy

EU lawmakers back data-sharing deal on security, terrorism with U.S in.reuters

The deal follows allegations of mass U.S. spying in 2013 which strained trans-Atlantic relations and triggered privacy concerns over what enforcement agencies plan to do with the huge amount of data they amass.

Other...

Reading Prison: Call for permanent arts centre at jail bbc