18 Feb 11
World's First Anti-Laser Built
More than 50 years after the invention of the laser, scientists at Yale University have built the world's first anti-laser, in which incoming beams of light interfere with one another in such a way as to perfectly cancel each other out. The discovery could pave the way for a number of novel technologies with applications in everything from optical computing to radiology.
Russia to start building new S-500 air defense missiles by 2014
Russia will start serial production of its next-generation S-500 missile system in 2014, an aerospace defense chief said on Thursday. The S-500 air defense system will be able to track and destroy ballistic missiles with ranges of up to 3,500 kilometers.
Reports: Anarchy in Sinai Peninsula
According to the report, the demonstrators are protesting against their low quality of living as well as against the fact that they are forced to live in constant danger of death and kidnappings by lawless marauders.
Saudi prince Talal warns of uprising threat
A SENIOR member of the Saudi royal family has warned that the oil-rich country could be harmed by the uprisings sweeping the Arab world unless it speeded up reforms. Prince Talal bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud told BBC Arabic that "anything could happen" if King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz did not proceed with a program of political transformation. "King Abdullah ... is the only person who can carry out these reforms," the prince told the broadcaster.
Banned Qaradawi returns to lead Friday prayers in Egypt
For the first time since he was banned from leading weekly friday prayers in Egypt 30 years ago, prominent Muslim scholar Yusuf al-Qaradawi will lead thousands in the weekly prayers from Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Friday. Sources told Al Arabiya that a military force will accompany the head of the International Union of Muslim Scholars from his home to Tahrir Square, provide security for the prayers and accompany him back to his residence.
US warns of North Korea 'provocation' within months
North Korea could launch new provocative action within months, a senior US military commander has said, warning of "serious consequences". Last year Pyongyang was accused of sinking a South Korean warship and shelling a South Korean island. Satellite images suggest the North may now have completed work on a new launch site for long-range missiles.
Syria to EU: tackle Israel, not Egypt for Middle East peace
The EU should take firm action against Israeli settlement-building and human rights abuses instead of playing politics in Egypt if it wants to calm tension in the Middle East, Syria's ambassador to the Union has said. Speaking to EUobserver in Brussels on Wednesday (16 February), Mohamad Ayman Soussan said the main danger of conflict in the region comes from the Arab-Israeli problem not the revolution in Egypt or Tunisia.
Defying the US, PA pushes for UN anti-settlement vote
The US and the Palestinian Authority appeared to be on a collision course Thursday evening regarding PA insistence – over US objections – on bringing a resolution condemning the settlements to the UN Security Council for a vote on Friday. Following a lengthy phone call between US President Barack Obama and PA President Mahmoud Abbas, the PA leader called an emergency meeting of the PLO and Fatah leaderships in Ramallah for Friday, Abbas’s spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudaineh, announced.
'Senior Iranian officers vow not to shoot at protesters'
Senior officers in Iran's Revolutionary Guard have written a letter to their superior officer asking for guarantees that they will not be required to open fire on anti-government protesters, the Daily Telegraph reported on Friday. In the letter, addressed to Maj.-Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari, the Guards' commander, the officers contend that using violence against their own people breaks the tenets of Shi'te Islamic law.
Unrest in Libya, Bahrain, Yemen not quelled by crackdowns
Protests continued in Lybia, Bahrain and Yemen on Friday, where government attempts to stop Egypt-style pro-democracy demonstrations with violence have thus far failed. In Libya on Friday, thousands took to the streets in the city of Benghazi, the BBC reported. Human Rights Watch said that 24 people were killed in clashes between protesters and Libyan security forces on Thursday.
