Syria’s Confirmation of Airstrike May Undercut Israel’s Strategy of Silence

Jim Hollander/European Pressphoto AgencyIn East Jerusalem, Israelis distributed gas masks on Wednesday as worries about security spread. More Photos »JERUSALEM — Israeli officials remained silent on Thursday about their airstrike in Syrian territory the day before, a tactic that experts said was part of a longstanding strategy to give targeted countries face-saving opportunities to avoid conflict...

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Chinese Hackers Infiltrate New York Times Computers

A Cyberattack From China: TimesCast: Chinese hackers infiltrated The New York Times’s computer systems, getting passwords for its reporters and others.SAN FRANCISCO — For the last four months, Chinese hackers have persistently attacked The New York Times, infiltrating its computer systems and getting passwords for its reporters and other employees. After surreptitiously tracking the intruders...

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STMicroelectronics May Pay $500 Million to Exit Venture

PARIS — STMicroelectronics, the biggest European chip maker, may have to spend up to $500 million this year to wind down the mobile chip-making joint venture with Ericsson that has been a ball-and-chain on its results, the company’s chief executive said Thursday. “We’re committed to going fast,” Carlo Bozotti, the chief executive, said during a briefing in Paris. “It’s important for us...

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Syrian Opposition Leader Softens Position on Talks with Assad

Goran Tomasevic/ReutersFree Syrian Army fighters ran for cover as a tank shell exploded against a wall. More Photos »BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syria’s top political opposition leader on Wednesday expressed willingness for the first time to talk with representatives of President Bashar al-Assad, softening what had been an absolute refusal to negotiate with the government in an increasingly chaotic civil war....

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Gadgetwise Blog: 64 Gigabytes Can't Be Wrong: Elvis USB Drives

Mimoco, the company known for its Mimobot flash drives made to resemble geek-friendly characters like Boba Fett, Captain Kirk and Batman, has added a figure from a distinctly different sphere of pop culture, Elvis Presley.Why Elvis suits the tech audience isn’t clear, but fans will have a choice between a limited edition G.I. Blues-era Elvis or a jump-suited 1973 Aloha From Hawaii Elvis.Each Elvis...

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The Consumer: The Drug-Dose Gender Gap

Most sleeping pills are designed to knock you out for eight hours. When the Food and Drug Administration was evaluating a new short-acting pill for people to take when they wake up in the middle of the night, agency scientists wanted to know how much of the drug would still be in users’ systems come morning.Blood tests uncovered a gender gap: Men metabolized the drug, Intermezzo, faster than women....

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Shell Wins 3 Pollution Suits Filed by Nigerians

In a legal dispute that had been closely watched by multinational companies and environmental organizations, a Dutch court Wednesday dismissed most of the claims brought by Nigerian farmers seeking to hold Royal Dutch Shell accountable for damage by oil spilled from its pipelines. The decision, by the District Court of the Hague, was unusual in that it was brought in a Dutch jurisdiction...

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The Lede Blog: Under Attack, Cairo Hotel Sends S O S via Twitter

Video of unidentified men streaming into the lobby of Cairo’s Semiramis InterContinental hotel was shown live on Egypt’s ONTV early on Tuesday.Last Updated, 2:56 p.m. As our colleagues Kareem Fahim, David Kirkpatrick and Mayy El Sheikh report, the mayhem on Cairo’s streets briefly spilled into the lobby of one of the city’s luxury hotels, the Semiramis InterContinental, during intense clashes between...

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Google Maps’ New Target: Secretive North Korea

Google/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesA still image from Google shows a before and after map of North Korea's capital, Pyongyang. SEOUL, South Korea — Google threw open its Google Maps program for North Korea to “citizen cartographers” around the world on Tuesday, urging them to contribute whatever knowledge they have about one of the world’s most secretive countries. The new map it published...

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Well: Ask Well: Squats for Aging Knees

You are already doing many things right, in terms of taking care of your aging knees. In particular, it sounds as if you are keeping your weight under control. Carrying extra pounds undoubtedly strains knees and contributes to pain and eventually arthritis.You mention weight training, too, which is also valuable. Sturdy leg muscles, particularly those at the front and back of the thighs, stabilize...

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