Last year, scientists using a technique called helioseismology, probed the Sun's interior, revealing that currents of gas at the base of the convective zone change velocity every 16 months.

BBC: Sun, Trace

No intelligence source in a war zone is brought into a base of any kind without being checked and screened.

CNN: Retired CIA officer: Fix the Agency

The US Coast Guard has now established a security zone in the waters around the base, and the perimeter fence has been strengthened.

BBC: Vieques protesters: 'We'll be back'

Those of us brave enough to take the ferris wheel were treated to spectacular views of Japan's second biggest city from our base in the MM21 area - a futuristic zone that wants to create an image for the 21st century and beyond.

BBC: World Cup memory lane

Carriers can operate freely from international waters, while land-based aircraft cannot easily fly in a war zone unless a nearby country offers a base.

ECONOMIST: The future of the Royal Navy

An investor in the Subic Bay economic zone, a converted former American naval base, reckons that although 80% of the transport and telecoms links to the area are finished, that is enough to attract only 10-20% of potential investors.

ECONOMIST: The Philippines

Another option is a buffer zone to offer safety for civilians fleeing the violence and a base for the FSA. This is not being encouraged by Western allies, either.

ECONOMIST: Turks fret about Syria, but few of them really want a fight

The more Turkey gets involved, the more comfortable the Americans feel about using Incirlik, the air base from where they, Britain and Turkey enforce a no-fly zone over northern Iraq.

ECONOMIST: Turkey and Iraq

And the monetary base (currency plus commercial bank reserves) has grown sharply in America, Britain and the euro zone.

ECONOMIST: The Fed

His base case scenario has Europe surviving this current debacle and devising a fiscal union that makes the euro zone stronger than ever.

FORBES: Where To Invest When There's Nowhere To Hide