AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian authorities and Iran signed a deal this week to activate a $3.6 billion credit facility to buy oil products with long term payment terms, officials and bankers said on Wednesday.
The deal, which was agreed last May between the two allies and will allow Iran to acquire equity stakes in investments in Syria, was part of a package to extend Iranian aid to President Bashar al Assad's government, its main political ally.
Another $1 billion credit line to Damascus has already been extended to buy Iranian power generating products and other goods in a barter arrangement that has helped Syria export textiles and some agricultural produce such as olive oil and citrus, trade officials say.
Syria is short of diesel for its army and fuel to keep the economy running because of U.S. and European Union sanctions imposed after a crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. Its main supplier of petroleum products by sea has been Iran.
Despite political support from China and Russia, which have blocked U.N. draft resolutions which could have led to further sanctions on Syria and opposed military intervention to end the conflict, Assad's fuel and cash lifelines have all but dried up
Iran has steadily expanded economic ties with Syria to help it withstand Western economic sanctions and sealed a free trade deal that granted Syrian exports a low 4 percent customs tariff.
Last January, Tehran agreed during a visit by Prime Minister Wael al-Halki to deposit $500 million in Syria's central bank vaults, banking sources say.
(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; editing by Keiron Henderson)
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Water clears path for nanoribbon developmentPublic release date: 30-Jul-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: David Ruth david@rice.edu 713-348-6327 Rice University
Rice University researchers create sub-10-nanometer graphene nanoribbon patterns
HOUSTON (July 30, 2013) New research at Rice University shows how water makes it practical to form long graphene nanoribbons less than 10 nanometers wide.
And it's unlikely that many of the other labs currently trying to harness the potential of graphene, a single-atom sheet of carbon, for microelectronics would have come up with the technique the Rice researchers found while they were looking for something else.
The discovery by lead author Vera Abramova and co-author Alexander Slesarev, both graduate students in the lab of Rice chemist James Tour, appears online this month in the American Chemical Society journal ACS Nano.
A bit of water adsorbed from the atmosphere was found to act as a mask in a process that begins with the creation of patterns via lithography and ends with very long, very thin graphene nanoribbons. The ribbons form wherever water gathers at the wedge between the raised pattern and the graphene surface.
The water formation is called a meniscus; it is created when the surface tension of a liquid causes it to curve. In the Rice process, the meniscus mask protects a tiny ribbon of graphene from being etched away when the pattern is removed.
Tour said any method to form long wires only a few nanometers wide should catch the interest of microelectronics manufacturers as they approach the limits of their ability to miniaturize circuitry. "They can never take advantage of the smallest nanoscale devices if they can't address them with a nanoscale wire," he said. "Right now, manufacturers can make small features, or make big features and put them where they want them. But to have both has been difficult. To be able to pattern a line this thin right where you want it is a big deal because it permits you to take advantage of the smallness in size of nanoscale devices."
Tour said water's tendency to adhere to surfaces is often annoying, but in this case it's essential to the process. "There are big machines that are used in electronics research that are often heated to hundreds of degrees under ultrahigh vacuum to drive off all the water that adheres to the inside surfaces," he said. "Otherwise there's always going to be a layer of water. In our experiments, water accumulates at the edge of the structure and protects the graphene from the reactive ion etching (RIE). So in our case, that residual water is the key to success.
"Nobody's ever thought of this before, and it's nothing we thought of," Tour said. "This was fortuitous."
Abramova and Slesarev had set out to fabricate nanoribbons by inverting a method developed by another Rice lab to make narrow gaps in materials. The original method utilized the ability of some metals to form a native oxide layer that expands and shields material just on the edge of the metal mask. The new method worked, but not as expected.
"We first suspected there was some kind of shadowing," Abramova said. But other metals that didn't expand as much, if at all, showed no difference, nor did varying the depth of the pattern. "I was basically looking for anything that would change something."
It took two years to develop and test the meniscus theory, during which the researchers also confirmed its potential to create sub-10-nanometer wires from other kinds of materials, including platinum. They also constructed field-effect transistors to check the electronic properties of graphene nanoribbons.
To be sure that water does indeed account for the ribbons, they tried eliminating its effect by first drying the patterns by heating them under vacuum, and then by displacing the water with acetone to eliminate the meniscus. In both cases, no graphene nanoribbons were created.
The researchers are working to better control the nanoribbons' width, and they hope to refine the nanoribbons' edges, which help dictate their electronic properties.
"With this study, we figured out you don't need expensive tools to get these narrow features," Tour said. "You can use the standard tools a fab line already has to make features that are smaller than 10 nanometers."
###
The Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the Office of Naval Research Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative Graphene Program supported the research.
Read the abstract at http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/nn403057t
This news release can be found online at http://news.rice.edu/2013/07/29/water-clears-path-for-nanoribbon-development-2/
Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews
Rice University researchers discovered a meniscus-mask technique to make sub-10-nanometer ribbons of graphene. From left, graduate students Alexander Slesarev and Vera Abramova and Professor James Tour. (Credit: Tour Group/Rice University)
A fine line of conductive graphene sits atop a boron nitride substrate in this electron microscope image. The ribbon was created via a new technique discovered by researchers at Rice University. (Credit: Tour Group/Rice University)
A thin line of graphene connects two electrodes in a test field-effect transistor built at Rice University. The graphene nanoribbons was created with a new process that depends on a meniscus mask a few molecules of water thick. (Credit: Tour Group/Rice University)
A thin line of platinum sits atop a substrate. The metal nanowire was created with a new meniscus mask process discovered at Rice University. (Credit: Tour Group/Rice University)
A graphene nanowire turns a corner. The nanowire was created via a process invented at Rice University in which a water layer only a few molecules thick acts as a mask. (Credit: Tour Group/Rice University)
David Ruth
713-348-6327
david@rice.edu
Mike Williams
713-348-6728
mikewilliams@rice.edu
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Water clears path for nanoribbon developmentPublic release date: 30-Jul-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: David Ruth david@rice.edu 713-348-6327 Rice University
Rice University researchers create sub-10-nanometer graphene nanoribbon patterns
HOUSTON (July 30, 2013) New research at Rice University shows how water makes it practical to form long graphene nanoribbons less than 10 nanometers wide.
And it's unlikely that many of the other labs currently trying to harness the potential of graphene, a single-atom sheet of carbon, for microelectronics would have come up with the technique the Rice researchers found while they were looking for something else.
The discovery by lead author Vera Abramova and co-author Alexander Slesarev, both graduate students in the lab of Rice chemist James Tour, appears online this month in the American Chemical Society journal ACS Nano.
A bit of water adsorbed from the atmosphere was found to act as a mask in a process that begins with the creation of patterns via lithography and ends with very long, very thin graphene nanoribbons. The ribbons form wherever water gathers at the wedge between the raised pattern and the graphene surface.
The water formation is called a meniscus; it is created when the surface tension of a liquid causes it to curve. In the Rice process, the meniscus mask protects a tiny ribbon of graphene from being etched away when the pattern is removed.
Tour said any method to form long wires only a few nanometers wide should catch the interest of microelectronics manufacturers as they approach the limits of their ability to miniaturize circuitry. "They can never take advantage of the smallest nanoscale devices if they can't address them with a nanoscale wire," he said. "Right now, manufacturers can make small features, or make big features and put them where they want them. But to have both has been difficult. To be able to pattern a line this thin right where you want it is a big deal because it permits you to take advantage of the smallness in size of nanoscale devices."
Tour said water's tendency to adhere to surfaces is often annoying, but in this case it's essential to the process. "There are big machines that are used in electronics research that are often heated to hundreds of degrees under ultrahigh vacuum to drive off all the water that adheres to the inside surfaces," he said. "Otherwise there's always going to be a layer of water. In our experiments, water accumulates at the edge of the structure and protects the graphene from the reactive ion etching (RIE). So in our case, that residual water is the key to success.
"Nobody's ever thought of this before, and it's nothing we thought of," Tour said. "This was fortuitous."
Abramova and Slesarev had set out to fabricate nanoribbons by inverting a method developed by another Rice lab to make narrow gaps in materials. The original method utilized the ability of some metals to form a native oxide layer that expands and shields material just on the edge of the metal mask. The new method worked, but not as expected.
"We first suspected there was some kind of shadowing," Abramova said. But other metals that didn't expand as much, if at all, showed no difference, nor did varying the depth of the pattern. "I was basically looking for anything that would change something."
It took two years to develop and test the meniscus theory, during which the researchers also confirmed its potential to create sub-10-nanometer wires from other kinds of materials, including platinum. They also constructed field-effect transistors to check the electronic properties of graphene nanoribbons.
To be sure that water does indeed account for the ribbons, they tried eliminating its effect by first drying the patterns by heating them under vacuum, and then by displacing the water with acetone to eliminate the meniscus. In both cases, no graphene nanoribbons were created.
The researchers are working to better control the nanoribbons' width, and they hope to refine the nanoribbons' edges, which help dictate their electronic properties.
"With this study, we figured out you don't need expensive tools to get these narrow features," Tour said. "You can use the standard tools a fab line already has to make features that are smaller than 10 nanometers."
###
The Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the Office of Naval Research Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative Graphene Program supported the research.
Read the abstract at http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/nn403057t
This news release can be found online at http://news.rice.edu/2013/07/29/water-clears-path-for-nanoribbon-development-2/
Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews
Rice University researchers discovered a meniscus-mask technique to make sub-10-nanometer ribbons of graphene. From left, graduate students Alexander Slesarev and Vera Abramova and Professor James Tour. (Credit: Tour Group/Rice University)
A fine line of conductive graphene sits atop a boron nitride substrate in this electron microscope image. The ribbon was created via a new technique discovered by researchers at Rice University. (Credit: Tour Group/Rice University)
A thin line of graphene connects two electrodes in a test field-effect transistor built at Rice University. The graphene nanoribbons was created with a new process that depends on a meniscus mask a few molecules of water thick. (Credit: Tour Group/Rice University)
A thin line of platinum sits atop a substrate. The metal nanowire was created with a new meniscus mask process discovered at Rice University. (Credit: Tour Group/Rice University)
A graphene nanowire turns a corner. The nanowire was created via a process invented at Rice University in which a water layer only a few molecules thick acts as a mask. (Credit: Tour Group/Rice University)
David Ruth
713-348-6327
david@rice.edu
Mike Williams
713-348-6728
mikewilliams@rice.edu
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. ? Tony Stewart was not injured in a scary accident in Canada in which his sprint car rolled five times.
A day after Monday's wreck, Stewart was still scheduled for the World of Outlaws race Tuesday night at Ohsweken Speedway in Ontario. He's the defending race winner.
But the three-time NASCAR champion will sit out a pair of races this weekend as his team takes its cars to Indiana for repairs.
Stewart finished fourth Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and said he'd be in a race car every day this week. Although he declined to reveal his entire schedule, he said he was testing Wednesday, racing Thursday and would be at Pocono Raceway this weekend.
Spokesman Mike Arning says races Friday and Saturday night have been scrapped only for car repairs.
MADRID (AP) ? The driver of the train that derailed and killed 79 people in Spain was on the phone and traveling at 95 mph (153 kph) ? almost twice the speed limit ? when the crash happened last week, according to a preliminary investigation released Tuesday.
The train had been going as fast as 119 mph (192 kph) shortly before the derailment, and the driver activated the brakes "seconds before the crash," according to a written statement from the court in Santiago de Compostela, whose investigators gleaned the information from two "black box" data recorders recovered from the train.
The speed limit on the section of track was 50 mph (80 kph).
The crash occurred near Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain, and was the country's worst rail accident in decades. Some 66 people are still hospitalized for injuries, 15 of whom are in critical condition.
The driver, Francisco Jose Garzon Amo, was talking on the phone to an official of national rail company Renfe when the crash happened and apparently was consulting a paper document at the time, the statement said. Garzon was provisionally charged Sunday with multiple counts of negligent homicide.
The driver received a call on his work phone in the cabin, not his personal cellphone, to tell him what approach to take toward his final destination. The Renfe employee on the telephone "appears to be a controller," the statement said.
"From the contents of the conversation and from the background noise it seems that the driver (was) consulting a plan or similar paper document," the statement said.
Investigators from the Santiago de Compostela court, forensic police experts, the Ministry of Transport and Renfe examined the contents of the two black boxes recovered from the lead and rear cars of the train.
The investigation is ongoing. The next steps include measuring the wheels on the cars and examining the locomotive, the statement said without providing an explanation for those checks. Sniffer dogs will also be used to search for human remains in the wreckage, it said.
The train was carrying 218 passengers when it hurtled off the tracks last Wednesday evening. It slammed into a concrete wall, and some of the cars caught fire. The Spanish rail agency has said the brakes should have been applied four kilometers (2.5 miles) before the train hit the curve.
Gov. Rick Scott came to Orlando on Tuesday to help The Golf Channel celebrate the creation of 88 new jobs for which it received government incentives.
A spokesman for the Golf Channel said the network has added the new jobs primarily in digital media and had made a capital investment of $4.4 million.
Those figures exceed the requirements of two incentive deals the network made with Orlando and the state.
"The expansion has been consistent and steady but in the last couple of years since Golf Channel has been part of NBC Sports, we've really super-charged that growth," said Mike McCarley, president of NBC Golf Media. "Because of the pro-business, pro-growth environment that both the mayor and the governor have created, it's really helped us add more and more of the jobs to the Orlando area."
In exchange for creating 75 jobs and investing $1.9 million in capital improvements, the company is slated to receive $583,000 in government incentives under the Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund and the Quick Action Closing Fund, a discretionary pot of money controlled by the governor.
The jobs must have a minimum average annual salary of $75,000, not counting the value of benefits.
The popular cable TV network has been in expansion mode recently, including the construction of a new combination studio-newsroom earlier this year.
Scott praised the Golf Channel for its success and said the network's announcement brought Florida closer to adding the 700,000 jobs he promised during his campaign for governor three years ago.
"We're almost halfway there, with 333,000 jobs in two-and-a-half years," he said. "I grew up in a family that struggled to have a job, so every time we announce jobs, it's a big deal."
Scott has made job creation the cornerstone both of his first term and for his re-election bid next year.
Kathy DeVault, director of strategic partnerships for the City of Orlando, said the positions were at risk of going to Stamford, Conn., where Golf Channel's parent company has a large presence.
Earlier Tuesday, Scott was in Flagler County to announce the expansion of Aveo Engineering, an electronics maker for the aerospace industry.
Scott said Aveo is planning a design and manufacturing facility in the county with 300 jobs and $7.5 million in capital investment.
One soldier was killed and eight were injured in the most recent attack on a military camp early Monday in Northern Sinai's Rafah, security sources said.
Army conscript Mohamed Mahmoud Ali, 22, was shot in the head with life ammunition in an attack by unknown gunmen.
On Sunday, unknown assailants opened fire on a Central Security checkpoint in Arish, causing no causalities.
At least 22 people have been killed while 130 were wounded in armed attacks in the Sinai Peninsula since the army's ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi on July 3 following mass anti-regime demonstrations.
Since Mursi was ousted, reports of armed attacks in the Sinai Peninsula have increased.
Mazda is keen on making a diesel impact this year with the upcoming release of the Mazda6. Now, the automaker is applying diesel technology to its race car.?
By Jeff Glucker,?Guest blogger / July 29, 2013
The Mazda6 SKYACTIV-D Clean Diesel race car, set to debut at the Indianapolis motor speedway this week. It will be the first Diesel car in over 60 years to race at the Brickyard.
Mazda/PRNewsFoto/File
Enlarge
Mazda is keen on making a diesel impact this year. Many folks are waiting to get their hands on the upcoming oil-burning Mazda6. It's the first time a Japanese automaker has sold a diesel mill here in the States since it came attached to a vehicle wearing an Isuzu badge.
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Since this is Mazda we're talking about, the automaker is also applying the diesel tech to its racecar. That racing machine is heading to Indianapolis Motor Speedway this week, which makes it the first diesel-powered racer to hit the Brickyard in 61 years.
Back in 1952, the Cummins Diesel Special took to the track to compete in the Indianapolis 500. The Kurtis Kraft car was powered by a 6.6-liter in-line six-cylinder turbocharged diesel motor that was good for 380 horsepower.
Today, the Mazda SKYACTIV Diesel racecar "makes do" with a much smaller 2.2-liter turbocharged diesel mill. This unit is good for around 400 horsepower and 450 pound-feet of torque.
The Mazda machine made a bit of history of its own when it became the first-ever diesel powered racecar to run at Daytona. Now it's bringing the diesel tech to the Brickyard, and taking over where the 1952 Cummins Diesel Special left off. It's even more special when you consider how close to stock the Mazda motor actually is.
Mazda states that 51 percent of the engine parts are stock, and 63 percent of the weight is stock. Once that diesel-drinking Mazda6 hits the streets, we expect many a tuner will be learning new tricks to tune that four door.
The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of the best auto bloggers out there. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger,?click here.?To add or view a comment on a guest blog, please go to the blogger's own site by clicking on the link in the blog description box above.
Nokia has voiced its frustration at Microsoft's sluggish rate of progress with its Windows Phone platform.
Bryan Biniak, Nokia's VP of app development, has given an interview to the International Business Times in which he addresses some of the issues affecting Microsoft's mobile OS.
Referring to the relative lack of take-up for Windows Phone 8 devices - and in particular the Nokia flagship devices that run it - Biniak said, "To give you a reason to switch, I need to make sure the apps that you care about on your device are not only on our phones, but are better. I also need to provide you unique experiences that you can't get on your other devices."
He went on to draw attention to Nokia's prodigious hardware output, with the company having launched 10 Lumia handsets (most recently the Nokia Lumia 1020) in just 12 months, and the lack of equivalent progress on the Windows Phone app front.
"We are releasing new devices frequently and for every new device," said Biniak, "if there is an app that somebody cares about that's not there that's a missed opportunity of a sale."
He later added that "It's not just about the hardware, it's about the tools that are on the hardware. You can't sell a phone without the apps, you just can't."
Windows Phone's 165,000 apps doesn't appear to stack up to the 900,000 on iOS and the 1 million on Android, although it did launch somethan two years later. Biniak doesn't see that there are any "major gaps" in Windows Phone's app offering, but admits that there are a couple of "select applications" missing.
He believes that by the end of 2013, however, "people will be hard-pressed to say '[Windows Phone] doesn't have this app' and it makes a material difference."
Part of Windows Phone's problem, hints Biniak, is that Microsoft retains a relatively glacial approach to software upgrades and improvements - a hangover from its Windows desktop OS roots. Mobile operating systems, of course, are far more iterative and fast-evolving.
To that end, Biniak claims that Nokia is trying to "evolve the cultural thinking" at Microsoft, adding that "Waiting until the end of your fiscal year when you need to close your targets, doesn't do us any good when I have phones to sell today."
Next, read our Nokia Lumia 1020 vs Lumia 925 vs Lumia 920 comparison.
Actress Diane Lane will play Hillary Clinton in "Hillary," a new miniseries on NBC.
Betting on Hillary Clinton's second candidacy for president, NBC has ordered a four-hour mini-series based on the former First Lady, U.S. Senator, and Secretary of State's life.
"Hillary," starring Diane Lane, will recount Clinton's life from 1998 to the present and will be written by Oscar-nominated screenwriter Courtney Hunt ("Frozen River"). NBC chairman Bob Greenblatt announced the miniseries Saturday at the Television Critics Association summer press tour.
"I think she's one of the most fascinating women of our time and this world," Greenblatt. "And on the precipice of what we all assume will be her running for president, we think it's an interesting story to tell with classy producers and a great star."
The script, which has not been written, will begin with Clinton living in the White House during her husband's second term and will likely include her second run at becoming the nation's first female president. It is not based on a book and Clinton is not involved with the project, Greenblatt said. Lane was already attached to the mini-series when NBC bought it, Greenblatt said.
"She just seems like a great actress, an Academy Award-nominated actress and it seems like she has the gravitas and the poise," Greenblatt said.
The miniseries would likely air before Clinton would announce her candidacy if she decides to pursue the nation's highest office.
"She's not going to declare her candidacy for two more years," Greenblatt said. "This could well have aired before that. We have to talk through all that."
North Korean war veterans of the Korean War watch the 'Arirang' mass games song-and-dance ensemble at the May Day stadium, Friday, July 26, 2013 on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the Korean War armistice in Pyongyang, North Korea. (Wong Maye-E/AP)
Soviet Ambassador to the United Nations Jacob Malik first proposed a cease-fire in 1951, and the first negotiations began in July of that year at Kaesong. However, talks broke down in 1952 over the issue of how to deal with prisoners of war. Meanwhile, hostilities continued. It wasn?t until April of 1953 that the issue was resolved and an agreement was reached and signed in July. Though South Korea refused to sign, fighting ended soon after.
Primeros posters de Magneto y el Profesor X de "X-Men: Days of Future Past" Jul 22nd, 2013
V?deo: Intento de suicidio real confundido con truco de "Kick-Ass 2" en Comic-Con Jul 22nd, 2013
July 27th, 2013 - Javier Santos
Sony Pictures ha dado a conocer un poster domestico e internacional para "Captain Phillips" con Tom Hanks, basada en el libro de memorias "A Captain's Story: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS and Dangerous Days at Sea". Echa un vistazo a todo a continuaci?n.
Argumento: Narra la historia real del capit?n Richard Phillips (Hanks) y el 2009 el secuestro por piratas somal?es del MV de bandera estadounidense Maersk Alabama, el primer buque de carga estadounidense en ser secuestrado en doscientos a?os. Phillips pas? tres d?as como reh?n de los piratas somal?es antes de ser rescatado por los Navy SEALs en una redada.
La nueva pel?cula est? dirigida por Paul Greengrass (Bourne Ultimatum) de un gui?n de Billy Ray (Flightplan). Est? previsto que llegue a los cines el 11 de octubre.
Poster: (haz clic para agrandar)
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Public release date: 30-Jul-2013
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Sony Pictures ha dado a conocer un poster domestico e internacional para "Captain Phillips" con Tom Hanks, basada en el libro de memorias "A Captain's Story: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS and Dangerous Days at Sea". Echa un vistazo a todo a continuaci?n.