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Following the sinking of one of the world’s largest dry docks on October 29 in a shipyard in the far northwest part of Russia, officials have finally admitted that they are unable to continue work on Russia’s sole aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, for the time being. While Russia’s shipbuilding industry is reportedly looking into alternatives, no timely and viable solution to continue retrofitting work on the Russian Navy’s flagship has emerged to date. “We have alternatives actually for all the ships except for [the aircraft carrier] Admiral Kuznetsov. Our enterprises are in operation, [including] the Nerpa [Ship Repair Factory],”...

It may be the last place you'd expect to find corals -- up to 6,000 m (20,000 ft) below the ocean's surface, where the water is icy cold and the light dim or absent. Yet believe it or not, lush coral gardens thrive here. In fact, scientists have discovered nearly as many species of deep-sea corals (also known as cold-water corals) as shallow-water species... deep-sea corals don't need sunlight. They obtain the energy and nutrients they need to survive by trapping tiny organisms in passing currents... living even in waters as cold as -1ºC (30.2ºF)... occur in the waters of...

President Donald Trump campaigned on deals. Making deals — like an Israel-Palestine peace accord. And breaking deals — like the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Iran Deal, both of which he labeled disasters. Since entering the Oval Office in 2016, Trump — a self-professed negotiator —has delivered on many of his promises to abandon international pacts that previous administrations had authorized. As the United States plans for an early exit from a key, Cold War-era nuclear agreement with Russia, here is a look at some of the landmark international deals, partnerships, and organizations the Trump White House has spurned. The Trans-Pacific...

MIYAZAKI – Like many of Japan’s smaller cities, Miyazaki has been hit by a growing labor crunch, a trend highlighted by the mere 56.8 percent of high school graduates that chose to remain in the prefecture to work — third-worst among the 47 prefectures. In the hard-hit information technology sector, the city has been encouraging firms to run businesses there to help energize the area, said Tsugunobu Ogino, president of KJS Co., a Miyazaki-based IT firm that makes e-learning systems. “But they are struggling to find engineers, since many move to Tokyo,” he said. Now, the city in the southern...

The Nissan chairman, Carlos Ghosn, was arrested on Monday after an internal company investigation found that he had underreported his compensation to the Japanese financial authorities for several years. Nissan said it was cooperating with Japanese prosecutors. It also said that it had opened its inquiry after a whistle-blower alleged that Mr. Ghosn had been misrepresenting his salary as well as using company assets for personal use. Both he and a director, Greg Kelly, who was also accused of misconduct, were taken in by authorities, the company said. It is a remarkable tumble for Mr. Ghosn, who arrived at Nissan...

Benjamin Netanyahu has declared himself to be Defense Minister of Israel saying that the security situation makes early elections "irresponsible". His move come after the die was cast for early elections in Israel with Netanyahu's refusal to make Education Minister and Jewish Home party leader Naftali Bennett Defense Minister. Minister Bennett and another Jewish Home cabinet member Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked were reported to be resigning. Their announcement at 3:30 AM Eastern time US turned into an announcement that they were not resigning. They were critical of policies that hurt Israel's ability to fight its enemies but in the end...

Other governments are keenly interested in following China’s lead. I’ve been pondering the excellent 1964 history of the Southern Song Dynasty’s capital of Hangzhou, Daily Life in China on the Eve of the Mongol Invasion, 1250-1276 by Jacques Gernet, in light of the Chinese government’s unprecedented “Social Credit Score” system, which I addressed in Kafka’s Nightmare Emerges: China’s “Social Credit Score”. The scope of this surveillance is so broad and pervasive that it borders on science fiction: a recent Western visitor noted that train passengers hear an automated warning on certain lines, in Mandarin and English, that their compliance with...

At a near-empty Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) showroom in the Chinese mega city of Chongqing, the store manager is grumbling about his shortage of customers and a lack of bigger, cheaper SUV models popular in the world’s largest auto market. Even with discounting of as much as 25 percent, his dealership was selling barely a hundred vehicles a month, said the manager surnamed Li. A nearby Nissan (7201.T) dealership was selling about 400 vehicles a month, a store manager there said. “The sales are simply poor,” Li told Reuters. “Look at the Nissan store next door, they have tens of customers...

North Korea is conning the United States, building up secret, smaller missile bases even after publicly touting the dismantling of its main launch site, according to a new review of satellite images by a top think tank. Citing new satellite pictures, the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Beyond Parallel program identified what appears to be missile operating bases that have never been acknowledged by North Korean officials. CSIS' conclusions were not immediately independently confirmed. The report identified about 15 to 20 bases being operated by the Korean People’s Army's Strategic Force, based on information from officials in the government, defense...

Fifty nations and over 150 tech companies are pledging to do more to fight criminal activity on the internet, including interference in elections and hate speech. But the United States, Russia and China are not among them. […] The declaration released Monday is supported by EU countries, Japan and Canada as well as tech giants Facebook, Google and Microsoft, among others. …

Japanese researchers said Friday they have transplanted stem cells into the brain of a patient in the first stage of an innovative trial to cure Parkinson’s disease. The research team at Kyoto University injected induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) cells — which have the potential to develop into any cell in the body — into the brain of a male patient in his fifties, the university said in a press release. The man was stable after the operation, which was performed last month, and he will now be monitored for two years, the university added. The researchers injected 2.4 million iPS...

China unveiled on Tuesday a replica of its first permanently crewed space station, which would replace the international community's orbiting laboratory and symbolises the country's major ambitions beyond Earth. The 17-metre (55-foot) core module was a star attraction at the biennial Airshow China in the southern coastal city of Zhuhai, the country's main aerospace industry exhibition. .... ....The International Space Station -- a collaboration between the United States, Russia, Canada, Europe and Japan -- has been in operation since 1998 but is due to be retired in 2024. China will then have the only space station in orbit, though it...

A U.S.-Japanese interceptor successfully shot down a test ballistic missile over Hawaii. It was the second-ever success for the joint missile defense program, and a stunning technological accomplishment. Also, the whole thing was captured on video. The interceptor, called the Standard Missile-3 Block IIA, destroys targets with sheer force, rather than an explosive warhead, and according to its manufacturer Raytheon, the interceptor's "kill vehicle" (a projectile) rams into a ballistic missile with the force of a 10-ton truck traveling 600 mph (965 km/h). But does any of this make the U.S. (or Japan) any safer? Are American cities less likely...

President Donald Trump urged supporters Monday morning that while there has been a historic turnaround for the United States under his administration, “it’s all fragile,” and they must get people out to vote. Trump supporters from around the country joined the president and top Trump team figures on a “Lead One Vote to Victory Telephone Town Hall” conference call Monday. The president pointed to what he called perhaps the finest economy America has ever seen, posting massive October jobs numbers despite multiple bad hurricanes. “They’re only going to get better,” he said of the economic numbers. “We have a tremendous...

President Trump rallying massive crowds in Macon, Georgia and Chattanooga, Tennessee ahead of the mid-term elections. The Republicans are planning a final rally tonight in Cape Girardeau, Missouri with talk show host Rush Limbaugh coming back to his hometown.... A very interesting political development in the UK over the weekend with Friday's revelation by London' top cop of a criminal investigation involving members of the Labor Party.... In Germany politicians in the government parties, the Christian Democrats and Social Democrats, are calling for the government's domestic intelligence agency to monitor the anti-mass immigration Alternative for Germany.... In Japan the party...

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Thursday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will "soon" visit Seoul as part of a series of high-profile diplomatic efforts aimed at ridding North Korea of its nuclear weapons. Moon said in a speech to parliament that a second North Korea-U.S. summit is also "near at hand" and that Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to visit North Korea soon. Moon also said he expects Kim to visit Russia soon and that Kim may meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Moon has previously said that Kim told him he would visit Seoul...

Vote against all Republicans. Every single one. By Max Boot Columnist October 31 at 3:31 PM “I am sick and tired of this administration. I’m sick and tired of what’s going on. I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired, and I hope you are, too.” — Joe Biden I’m sick and tired, too. I’m sick and tired of a president who pretends that a caravan of impoverished refugees is an “invasion” by “unknown Middle Easterners” and “bad thugs” — and whose followers on Fox News pretend the refugees are bringing leprosy and smallpox to the United States. (Smallpox...

China’s state-run Global Times panicked over the election of Jair Bolsonaro as president of Brazil, penning a Monday editorial sternly lecturing the new Brazilian leader that shifting trade away from China to the United States would be “unthinkable...On the other hand, Reuters found Chinese officials and senior executives eyeing Bolsonaro with “varying degrees of concern,” particularly when he talks about tightening Brasilia’s grip on the supremely valuable niobium industry. Bolsonaro has been critical of China’s efforts to dominate Brazilian mines, but might be obliged to mute his criticism because China has become such an important customer for Brazilian iron and...

Very interesting HD copy, one of a kind look at 1945. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=645&v=mDao1oty9Kg

TOKYO (Reuters) - A European-Japanese spacecraft set off on a treacherous seven-year journey to Mercury to probe the solar system’s smallest and least-explored planet. The BepiColombo mission, only the third ever to visit Mercury, blasted off from Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana aboard an Ariane 5 rocket at 10:45 p.m. local time on Friday (0145 GMT on Saturday), according to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). “Launching BepiColombo is a huge milestone for ESA (the European Space Agency) and JAXA, and there will be many great successes to come,” ESA Director General Jan Woerner said in a statement. “Beyond completing...