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Researchers are claiming a new world record for data transfers over long distances. Data was moved back and forth at a combined rate of 186 Gbps (gigabits per second), fast enough to transfer two million gigabytes of data or 100,000 full Blu-ray discs in one day. It could pave the way for networks with standard speeds of 100 Gbps. That would speed up the sharing of scientific research, such as that at the Large Hadron Collider.  The tests involved sending data between the University of Victoria in Victoria, British Columbia, and the Washington State Convention Centre in Seattle. The team achieved two-way data rates of 186 Gbps, breaking their previous record of 119 Gbps set in 2009. The data's fastest speed in a single direction was 98 Gbps. By contrast current fibre optic networks have a top speed of about 1 Gbps. The distances spanned nearly 131 miles (212km) and relied on the latest optical equipment, highly tuned servers and ran over a 100Gbps circuit, set u...

Online payment service Paypal plans to enter the discount coupon market. The eBay-owned business said it planned to launch the service in the US before April 2012.  Paypal's president, Scott Thompson, told the Bloomberg news agency that his firm would use its knowledge of its 103 million members' past purchases to tailor offers. The move poses a challenge to the sector's two biggest player, Groupon and Livingsocial.  Daily deal businesses offer their members the chance to buy goods or services - from spa treatments and sushi to cheap flights and theatre tickets - at a steep discount.  Buyers are usually limited to using the coupons within a restricted time span. The daily dealer business then splits the revenue with the organisation providing the goods. Companies may make a loss on the specific offer, but profit if customers return for repeat business. Discount deluge According to the daily deal data aggregator Yipit four of the biggest players sold ...

Signs of the attacks are still visible today in collapsed buildings and bullet holes in walls in Fallujah, a Iraqi city exploded against US invasion  in Iraq firstly. Two major offensives Fallujah, home to about a half a million people 60km west of Baghdad, was home to some of the first anti-US protests in the aftermath of the 2003 invasion, in May of that year. When the protests began, residents were content to throw only their shoes at US soldiers, an Arab gesture that signifies anger and disrespect.  But in March 2004, four US employees of a US private security firm, Blackwater, since renamed Xe and later Academi, were killed in the city, leading to two major offensives by US troops against Fallujah. Widespread fighting in Fallujah against the occupation begun in 2003, after a controversial event known as the "pupil's" uprising.  The US military had turned a primary school into their city headquarters in April 2003. When 200 demonstrators ga...

Peoples of Iraq are happy with the upcoming departure of US and NATO army from their beloved country.     Hundreds of people in the Iraqi city of Fallujah have taken to the streets to celebrate the impending withdrawal of US troops from the country.  Demonstrators rallied across the city on Wednesday, shouting slogans in support of the "resistance", a reference to the campaign by Iraqi fighters in the city that was a bastion of opposition against the US-led invasion. Some protesters burned US and Israeli flags while others held up banners and placards inscribed with phrases such as "Now we are free" and "Fallujah is the flame of the resistance". In the centre of the city surrounded by the Iraqi army, protesters carried posters bearing photos of apparent fighters, faces covered and carrying weapons. They also held up pictures of US soldiers killed and military vehicles destroyed in the two major offensives against the city in 2004. Th...

US President Barack Obama has declared that American troops will leave Iraq this month "with honour and with their heads held high", while at the same time warning the country's neighbours not to interfere in its progress. In a press conference with Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq's prime minister, at the White House on Monday, Obama said: "This is a historic moment. A war is ending." The president also said that the US would leave behind a sovereign and self-reliant Iraq, and that the removal of troops after nearly nine years would begin a new chapter in the relationship between the two countries - warning neighbouring nations not to interfere. "Our strong presence in the Middle East endures," Obama said. "And the United States will never waver in the defence of our allies, our partners and our interests."  "That is the concern, that at the end of the day the Iraqi officials have much closer ties to the Iranians." Obama ...

Canada will formally withdraw its stand from the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, the country's minister of the environment Peter Kent has said, making it the first nation to pull out of the global treaty.  The protocol "does not represent a way forward for Canada" and would have forced it to take "radical and irresponsible choices", Mr. Kent said in Toronto on Monday. He added that it was a mistake for Canada to have signed up for Kyoto: "As we have said, Kyoto for Canada is in the past ... We are invoking our legal right to formally withdraw from Kyoto." "The Kyoto protocol does not cover the world's two largest emitters, China and the US, and therefore cannot work," he said. China, which argues that it should be exempt from emissions reduction targets because it is a developing nation, said Canada's decision was "regrettable" and went against international efforts to tackle climate change. "We...

The World Bank is a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world. Its mission is to fight poverty with passion and professionalism for lasting results and to help people help themselves and their environment by providing resources, sharing knowledge, building capacity and forging partnerships in the public and private sectors. WB is not a bank in the common sense; it is made up of two unique development institutions owned by 187 member countries: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA).  Each institution plays a different but collaborative role in advancing the vision of inclusive and sustainable globalization. The IBRD aims to reduce poverty in middle-income and creditworthy poorer countries, while IDA focuses on the world's poorest countries. Their work is complemented by that of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Multilateral Invest...