viernes, 28 de febrero de 2014

US economic growth rate revised down

Cars in ChicagoThe US economy grew at a much slower rate from October to December than originally predicted, the US Commerce Department said.
US gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annualised rate of 2.4% in the fourth quarter of 2013, down from an initial estimate of 3.2%.
The revision is down to weaker than expected consumer spending.

Nuclear fusion: The ‘most complex machine ever built’

(Science Photo Library)Our pick of the week from around the web, including the quest for nuclear fusion, the invasion of the taxi snatchers and new uses for Bitcoin.

Russia must stop Crimea provocations, says Ukraine's Turchynov


Ukraine's acting President Oleksandr Turchynov has accused Russia of deploying troops to Crimea and trying to provoke Kiev into "armed conflict".
In a televised address, he said Moscow wanted the new interim government to react to provocations so it could annex Crimea.
It comes amid unconfirmed reports that Russian planes have flown hundreds of troops into the region.

jueves, 27 de febrero de 2014

Angela Merkel: EU reform not 'piece of cake'

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she can work with the UK to reform the European Union but it will not be "a piece of cake".
Following a Downing Street meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron, she said both countries could bring in laws to restrict benefit tourism, as part of "overall European cooperation".
Mr Cameron said changes to the EU

martes, 25 de febrero de 2014

US planning full Afghan pullout, Obama tells Karzai

US troops in AfghanistanPresident Barack Obama has warned his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai that the US may pull all of its troops out of his country by the year's end.
Mr Obama conveyed the message in a phone call to Mr Karzai, who has refused to sign a security agreement.
The US insists this agreement must be in place before it commits to leaving some troops behind for counter-insurgent operations and training.

lunes, 24 de febrero de 2014

Crystal is 'oldest scrap of Earth crust'

ZirconA tiny 4.4-billion-year-old crystal has been confirmed as the oldest fragment of Earth's crust.
The zircon was found in sandstone in the Jack Hills region of Western Australia.
Scientists dated the crystal by studying its uranium and lead atoms. The former decays into the latter very slowly over time and can be used like a clock.
The finding has been reported in the journal Nature Geoscience.
Its implication is that Earth had formed a solid crust much sooner after its formation

Fujitsu develops glove-style tech

Fujitsu has unveiled a wearable device in the form of a glove at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
It features near-field communication (NFC) and gesture-based technology. It is aimed at people who cannot use conventional smartphone or tablet devices while working because they need to wear gloves.
By touching an object using the glove device users can receive information displayed on a "head-mounted display".

Ukraine crisis: Russia steps up Ukraine rhetoric

Russia has stepped up its rhetoric against Ukraine's new Western-leaning leadership as tensions rise over the ousting of President Viktor Yanukovych.
Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev said interim authorities in Kiev had conducted an "armed mutiny".
And the Russian foreign ministry said

jueves, 20 de febrero de 2014

Bernie Ecclestone wins damages case after F1 deal bribe

Bernie Ecclestone outside the High Court on 6 November 2013A judge has rejected an £85m damages claim against Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone but said he did pay a bribe over a sale of F1 shares.
Mr Justice Newey, in the High Court in London, said there had been a "corrupt" deal with a German banker to facilitate the sale to a preferred buyer.

Ukraine unrest: At least 21 protesters dead in clashes

At least 21 protesters have been reported killed by security forces in Kiev following the breakdown of a truce agreed on Wednesday.
Witnesses have told the BBC that some died as a result of single gunshot wounds, typical of sniper fire.
Officials said that one policeman had died and that 67 police had been

miércoles, 19 de febrero de 2014

Cern considers building huge physics machine

LHCThe possibility of building an underground "atom-smasher" four times the size of the Large Hadron Collider is to be explored by experts.
The decision follows a high level meeting of scientists last week in Geneva, near the European particle physics centre, Cern.
The proposal is for a 100-km tunnel which would encircle the Swiss city.

Miscarriage risk 'reduced by lifestyle changes'

A pregnant womanMore than a quarter of first-time miscarriages could be prevented by making a combination of lifestyle changes, research in Denmark suggests.
Researchers said lifting more than 20kg (44lbs) each day during pregnancy and being obese or underweight increased the risk of miscarriage.

Ukraine crisis: EU sanctions push over Kiev bloodshed

Europe's leaders are to consider urgent sanctions against Ukraine after the worst violence in months of unrest claimed at least 26 lives.
There were further violent clashes on Wednesday afternoon as police renewed attempts to dislodge protesters from their stronghold in the capital Kiev.
President Viktor Yanukovych blamed

lunes, 17 de febrero de 2014

Belgium's parliament votes through child euthanasia

Parliament in Belgium has passed a bill allowing euthanasia for terminally ill children without any age limit, by 86 votes to 44, with 12 abstentions.
When, as expected, the bill is signed by the king, Belgium will become the first country in the world to remove any age limit on the practice.
It may be requested by terminally ill children who are in great pain and also have parental consent.

World must act on North Korea rights abuse, says UN report

The international community must act on evidence of widespread crimes against humanity in North Korea, say the authors of a long-awaited UN report.
A panel of experts mandated by the UN's Human Rights Council said North Koreans had suffered "unspeakable atrocities", and that those responsible, including leader Kim Jong-un, must face justice.

lunes, 10 de febrero de 2014

Can Facebook make you sad?

Woman with head in hands in front of computer (Thinkstock)Not so long ago a new form of communication swept the world, transforming life in ways unimagined just a few years before. One commentator heralded it as “the greatest means of communication ever developed by the mind of man” while others pointed to its potential to revolutionise news, entertainment and education. But the poet and playwright TS Eliot had a different take. “It is a medium of entertainment which permits millions of people to listen to the same joke at the same time, and yet remain lonesome,” he wrote.

The future of food

After global riots in 2007 and 2008, George Alagiah travelled the world to reveal why we could be heading for a food crisis, and what we can do about it.
When three continents

UK floods: Homes evacuated as swollen Thames keeps rising

Flooded homes along the River Thames are being evacuated and thousands more are at risk, with water levels expected to keep rising for the next 24 hours.
Residents in one Berkshire village say the scenes are from a "horror movie".
Fourteen severe flood warnings are in place in Berkshire and Surrey, while two remain in Somerset.

viernes, 7 de febrero de 2014

EA faces criticism over mobile Dungeon Keeper game

Gem payment optionsElectronic Arts is facing strong criticism over the in-app payment system in its Dungeon Keeper game.
Many said the game was "unplayable" unless they spent significant sums to speed up progress and get upgrades.
EA said it had designed the game to fit in with typical patterns of mobile play and people did not have to spend money if they did not want to.

Victoria Nuland gaffe: Angela Merkel condemns EU insult

Germany's Angela Merkel has said a US official's apparent insult of the EU's efforts to mediate in the Ukraine crisis is "totally unacceptable".
Victoria Nuland has apologised after she referred disparagingly to the EU's role during a conversation said to be with the US ambassador to Ukraine.
A recording of the exchange was posted online, with the US hinting at Russia's involvement in bugging and leaking it.
The EU and US are involved in talks to end months of unrest in Ukraine.

Violent protests break out in Bosnia-Hercegovina

A protester stands near a fire set in front of a government building in Tuzla February 7, 2014Demonstrators in Bosnia-Hercegovina have set fire to government buildings as violent protests continue across the country for a third day.
Police have used rubber bullets and tear gas against protesters in the capital Sarajevo and the northern town of Tuzla.
The protesters are unhappy

jueves, 6 de febrero de 2014

Gaia 'billion-star surveyor' returns test image

LMCEurope's billion-star surveyor, Gaia, is on track to begin operations in the next two or three months.
Launched in December, the satellite has now taken up its observing station some 1.5 million km from Earth.
Engineers are currently commissioning Gaia's two telescopes and its three instruments, getting them ready to begin mapping the precise positions and motions of one-thousand-million stars.

Bionic hand allows patient to 'feel'

Scientists have created a bionic hand which allows the amputee to feel lifelike sensations from their fingers.
A Danish man received the hand, which was connected to nerves in his upper arm, following surgery in Italy.
Dennis Aabo, who lost his left hand in a firework accident nearly a decade ago, said the hand was "amazing".

Pakistan enters peace talks with Taliban

Chief government Irfan Siddiqui (L) and Taliban team head Maulana Sami ul-HaqThe first formal meeting between Pakistan's government and a Taliban-nominated team has been held in Islamabad, officials say.
The talks are aimed at charting a "roadmap" for negotiations that will try to end a decade-long insurgency.
The government set out five conditions, including ending hostilities, saying a "journey for peace" had started.
The Taliban team agreed to travel to the north-west to discuss the conditions with the leadership.
Militants from the Tehreek-e-Taliban

Facebook reviews family memorials after dad's plea

John BerlinA father's plea to watch a video based on his dead son's Facebook page has provoked the network to look again at how families can remember loved ones.
Facebook recently launched a Look Back feature that creates a video generated by popular moments on a person's profile.
John Berlin posted a YouTube clip

miércoles, 5 de febrero de 2014

William S Burroughs: ‘The godfather of punk’ remembered

Burroughs with a Mugwump on the set of Naked Lunch in 1991. (Photos 12/Alamy)The Beat author scandalised literature with books like Naked Lunch. In honour of his centenary, his friends talk to Jane Ciabattari about his later years.
William S Burroughswas born 100 years ago on 5 February 1914. Descended from a well-to-do St Louis family, he was a Harvard graduate, class of 1936. His early drug-fueled exploits with fellow Beats Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, immortalised in the 2013 film Kill Your Darlings, were

Vatican 'must immediately remove' child abusers - UN

The UN has said that the Vatican should "immediately remove" all clergy who are known or suspected child abusers.
The UN watchdog for children's rights denounced the Holy See for adopting policies which allowed priests to sexually abuse thousands of children.
In a report, it also criticised Vatican attitudes towards homosexuality, contraception and abortion.

lunes, 3 de febrero de 2014

Hugh Turvey: The man who X-rayed a motorbike

(Gustoimages/Science Photo Library)The British photographer wasn’t happy shooting objects: he decided to look inside them, too.
Hugh Turvey originally wanted to be a rock ‘n’ roll photographer – but

Stephen Hawking’s new black hole theory

Stephen Hawking’s new black hole theory (Getty Images)Our pick of the week from around the web, including event horizons reassessed, the drug revolution no-one can stop, and Stephen Fry on the Mac at 30.