Syrian Defense Minister, Intel Chief Reported Killed In Damascus Bombing
Source: www.worldcrunch.com - Wednesday, July 18, 2012
REUTERS, BBC, AL ARABIYA, THE GUARDIAN Worldcrunch DAMASCUS - Syrian State television is reporting that Syria's Defense Minister Gen. Dawoud Rajha and intelligence chief Assef Shawkat were killed in a bombing at the National Security Bureau in Damascus on Thursday. Other ministers and officials were hurt and were brought to the capital's al-Shami hospital, including the Interior Minister who is reportedly in stable condition. There are still conflicting reports about who is responsible for the bombing, and who was killed. It is still unclear whether the bombing was a suicide attack, but the scope and precision of the attack suggest an inside job. UPDATE: Syrian defense minister's bodyguard said to be the suicide bomber, according to SANA. Minister killed in blast. — Andrew Chappelle (@andrewchappelle) July 18, 2012 Assef Shawkat, brother-in-law of Syrian President Assad, killed in bomb attack - Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV. Reuters.com for updates. — Reuters Top News (@Reuters) July 18, 2012 “A suicide attack has targeted the National Security building,” said State television according to Al Arabiya , adding that “The terrorist explosion which targeted the national security building in Damascus occurred during a meeting of ministers and a number of heads of (security) agencies." The bombing area was sealed and journalists were banned from entering. Liwa Al-Islam, a Syrian rebel Islamist group, claims responsibility for DamascuTaking A Big Hit On Design, Samsung Doubles Down On Chips, Puts $974M Into ASML
Source: techcrunch.com - Monday, August 27, 2012
Samsung Electronics has been knocked hard on mobile phone design innovation in the last few days, but in what might be a spectacular display of diversionary tactics, it is also doubling down on another significant part of its business — chipmaking. Today, the Dutch semiconductor machine maker ASML announced that Samsung would be investing close to $1 billion — yes, more or less the same amount for which the jury in California held it liable over Apple patent violations on Friday — towards R&D and an equity stake in the business. In doing so, Samsung will be joining Intel, which took a 10% stake in ASML in July for $2.1 billion . Samsung’s interest in ASML — along with another investor, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s – was registered at the time of the Intel investment, and today’s announcement makes a point of saying that Samsung will “commit” the funds. That implies although the deal isn’t signed, sealed and delivered, Samsung was keen to get some news out quickly that pointed to it coming out fighting in the wake of the bad news delivered on Friday. ASML describes itself as “one of the world’s leading providers of lithography systems for the semiconductor industry.” The machines it makes, which employ a technique called extreme ultraviolet lithography, can help speed up the production more powerful and smaller semiconductors — an essential component of smartphones, tablets and other devices. As Samsung pointed out in 
