A Quick Run Around the Web--July 27, 2015

Running off the rails on the crazy train ... and some sci/tech news:

• "Debt conundrum to keep Greek banks in months-long freeze."

Greek banks are set to keep broad cash controls in place for months, until fresh money arrives from Europe and with it a sweeping restructuring, officials believe.

Rehabilitating the country's banks poses a difficult question. Should the euro zone take a stake in the lenders, first requiring bondholders and even big depositors to shoulder a loss, or should the bill for fixing the banks instead be added to Greece's debt mountain?

Answering this could hold up agreement on a third bailout deal for Greece that negotiators want to conclude within weeks.

•  "Turkey, U.S. aim for safe zone cleared of Islamic State in northern Syria." 

Turkey and the United States are working on plans to provide air cover for Syrian rebels and jointly sweep Islamic State fighters from a strip of land along the Turkish border, bolstering the NATO member's security and providing a safe haven for civilians.

Long a reluctant member of the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, Turkey last week made a dramatic turnaround by granting the alliance access to its air bases and bombarding targets in Syria linked to the jihadist movement.

Struggling with more than 1.8 million Syrian refugees, Turkey has long campaigned for a "no-fly zone" in northern Syria to keep Islamic State and Kurdish militants from its border and help stem the tide of displaced civilians trying to cross.

While no such formal arrangement has been struck with Washington, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the two allies saw eye to eye on the need to provide air cover for moderate Syrian rebels fighting Islamic State.

My interpretation: We are seeing the results of one of the private agreements or assurances given in exchange for support of the Iranian nuclear deal.

• From Bloomberg: "China Has Biggest One-Day Stock Crash Since 2007."
• From the AP: "Shanghai share index suffers biggest daily drop since 2007."
• From Reuters: "Chinese securities regulator says to continue to buy stocks." "China's top securities regulator, China Securities Regulatory Commission, said on Monday that China Securities Finance Corp Ltd would continue to buy shares to stabilize the stock market." My interpretation: Not wanting to waste a good crises, the China Securities Finance Corp. will get controlling interests in many companies at fire sale prices, then later sell the shares to government insiders.
• "Gallery: from nets to lasers, there’s a lot of new ways to take down drones."
• "Stretchable Conducting Fiber Provides Super Hero Capabilities."

The fiber, made from sheets of carbon nanotubes wrapped around a rubber core, can be stretched to 14 times its original length and actually increase its electrical conductivity while being stretched, without losing any of its resistance.

An international research team based at the University of Texas at Dallas  initially targeted the new super fiber for artificial muscles and for capacitors whose storage capacity increases tenfold when the fiber is stretched. However, the researchers believe that the material could be used as interconnects in flexible electronics and a host of other related applications.

•  "Metal Foam can allow lighter radiation shielding that is twice as effective as Aluminum."