Important news from Tamera

On Earth, we consider design, fuel efficiency, and enduring power when thinking of “green” vehicles. But there’s one solar-powered all-terrain vehicle that has by some lights out-performed anything rolling around on Earth. It is the doughty little robotic rover Opportunity, doggedly using its seven-year-old solar array to chug over the rocky surface of Mars. Opportunity, like its twin rover Spirit, was designed to drive about .6 mile (1 kilometer) along the martian surface; by last month, Opportunity had driven more than 30 times that distance. It completed its primary mission in 2004 and since then has made important discoveries about parts of ancient Mars that might have been hospitable to microscopic life. Like many earthly vehicles that are a bit past their prime, Opportunity has a few quirks, according to NASA’s Dave Lavery, who spoke at a briefing on the rover’s latest findings. “We’re no longer driving a hot sports car,” he said. “We’re now driving a 1965 Mustang that hasn’t been restored.” Even though Opportunity’s “drivers” are on Earth, controlling the golf-cart-sized robot remotely, they plainly feel a fair amount of affection for the little craft. NASA’s John Callas described the rover’s status almost as if it were a spunky grandparent. “We have a very senior rover that’s showing her age,” Callas told reporters. “She had some arthritis and other issues, but generally she’s in good health, she’s sleeping well at night, her cholesterol levels are excellent and so we look forward to productive scientific exploration for the period ahead.” Operating it takes a bit of doing. First off, to avoid wear on some gear teeth, Opportunity drove most of her latest jaunt backwards. Her NASA operators also warmed up actuators to the rover’s wheels, which made lubricants flow better — like applying a heating pad to an arthritic joint before a game of tennis, Callas said. The backwards-driving had to work around an antenna that was supposed to be on the back of the craft but was recently right in the center of the robotic vehicle’s “windshield” as it drove in reverse for miles. “It’s much like trying to drive a car and your child is waving a toy in front of your face,” according to Callas. There was also some stiffness in the rover’s robotic arm, cutting back on its freedom of movement. However, Opportunity’s batteries are in good health, suggesting that the rover will continue to send back information on the martian crater Endeavour. Opportunity has already outlasted its twin Spirit, which stopped communicating in March 2010. Is it accurate to call these robots all-terrain vehicles, since strictly speaking the only place where there’s terrain is on Earth? If not, should we call Opportunity an all-martian vehicle? Photo credits: NASA (artist’s conception of Opportunity on the martian surface) NASA (Opportunity used its panoramic camera to capture this raw image looking across Endeavour crater, August 14, 2011)

Kuwait, the world’s No. 6 crude exporter is one of the richest countries globally with its sovereign wealth fund, KIA, managing assets in excess of $290 billion. It owns stakes in companies like Citigroup , Daimler AG (DAIGn.DE) and was a cornerstone investor in the initial public offerings of Agricultural Bank of China and insurer AIA Group Ltd .While Gulf funds have historically preferred to invest in Europe, many may turn their gaze eastward as growth slows. But analysts say that investments into Asia is tricky given regulatory constraints and increased competition from local funds like Temasek and GIC.Kuwait is open to any investment opportunities in Europe if they are compatible with risk controls, the OPEC member’s finance minister Mustapha al-Shamali was quoted as saying by the state news agency last week.Shatti said he hopes that the KIA hopes to get permission “very soon” to start trading in the Shanghai Stock Exchange , as China plans to allow foreign companies to trade on the bourse. Current regulations allow foreign companies to trade only on the Hong Kong bourse, he added.Sale of Kuwaiti oil and crude products to China grew from $400 million in 2004, to about $10 billion now, Shatti said.Kuwait Petroleum Corp, the country’s state oil company, is working on a $9 billion joint project with Sinopec to build an oil refinery and petrochemical plant in southern China. The project, potentially one of China’s biggest foreign investments, would be 50-50 owned by Sinopec Group, a parent of top Asian refiner Sinopec Corp.

“North Korea continues to pose a direct threat to the security of both our nations,” Obama said at a White House news conference with his South Korean counterpart, Lee Myung-bak.”The choice is clear for North Korea: If Pyongyang continues to ignore its international obligations, it will invite even more pressure and isolation. If the North abandons its quest for nuclear weapons and moves toward denuclearization, it will enjoy greater security and opportunity for its people,” he said.Lee said Seoul and Washington were in complete agreement on North Korea policy and on their insistence that Pyongyang must first take concrete steps to show it is serious about getting rid of its nuclear weapons as it pledged to do in a 2005 international agreement.”When it comes to cooperation between our governments, we speak with one voice and we will continue to speak with one voice,” Lee said.Ties between the two Koreas have been frosty since Lee took office in 2008 and linked aid to progress on North Korean nuclear disarmament. They deteriorated further after the North’s deadly attacks on the South last year — the sinking of a South Korean warship and the shelling of an island.

Dow Jones said Langhoff had ultimate responsibility and opted to resign.”We no longer have a relationship with ELP. Because Dow Jones has zero tolerance for even the appearance of a breach of ethical standards,” Dow Jones said in a statement.It said the paper has posted a clarification on two WSJ Europe Special Report articles related to the matter.The clarification says that the articles were written in connection with a now-expired agreement between the Circulation Department of The Wall Street Journal Europe and Executive Learning Partnership that wasn’t disclosed to readers.A Dow Jones spokeswoman did not immediately respond to requests for further details.News Corp and Dow Jones are especially sensitive to any appearance of impropriety or ethical missteps following the fallout from the phone hacking at its UK tabloid News of the World, which was closed down in July.Langhoff, who became publisher of WSJ Europe in January 2009, based in London, had previously been the chief executive of newspaper publisher Ottaway.Dow Jones is a competitor to Thomson Reuters .