Google’s Eric Schmidt believes one company is an island
A week or so ago, Google’s chief executive, Larry Page, caused ripples when he suggested at a public event that laws older than 50 years or so shouldn’t apply to internet companies, and that it might be fun to have an island where Google could dabble in new ideas without all the silly meddling of governments. (That’s only a slight paraphrase.) The only way he could have seemed more like a Bond villain would be if he had been stroking a cat while speaking.
While not an island, Google created its own patch of turf in Hertf [...]
Iceland expands volcano network
23 May 2013
Last updated at 03:39 ET
By Neil Bowdler and Simon Hancock
BBC News, Iceland
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Scientists explain how they are using more sensors and real-time monitoring to help give earlier warnings of an imminent eruption
Work is under way to improve monitoring of Iceland’s volcanoes and give earlier warning of possible eruptions.
Th [...]
Japan stocks plunge on weak China data
Japanese stocks have been surging on the country’s aggressive attempts to stimulate the economy.
A seven-month rally in Japanese stocks came to an abrupt halt Thursday as the benchmark Nikkei index plunged by 7.3%, with investors rattled by weak economic data from China.
The latest numbers from China showed the country’s manufacturing sector contracted in May, contrary to expectations for narrow growth.
Japanese investors were also spooked after the U.S. Federal Reserve released minutes from its latest policy meeting re [...]
20 great Ashes moments No8: Allan Border, no more Mr Nice Guy, 1989
Throughout much of the 1980s Australian cricket was a mess, the national team cast about on the winds of rebellion, hamstrung by retirements and peppered by regular defeat. Yet in the 1990s the Baggy Green side was one of the greatest the sport has seen. A generation of England fans grew up knowing the Australian side only as an all-conquering force, one who would habitually humiliate whichever side England sacrificially put out to take them on. The pivot between the old, shambolic and (crucially) Ashes-losing Australia of the 1980s and t [...]
Trans-US solar plane sets new record
23 May 2013
Last updated at 04:12 ET
The plane took off from Phoenix, arriving in Dallas after a flight of 18 hours and 21 minutes
The Solar Impulse plane has set a new distance record for solar-powered flight on the second leg of its trans-American journey on Wednesday evening.
The craft landed in Dallas, Texas after an 18-hour flight from Phoenix, Arizona – a journey of 1,541km (958mi).
In the coming weeks, it will also stop over in St Louis, Missouri, and Washington DC before heading to New York in early July.
Th [...]
Boy Scouts vote on gay members: What’s at stake
Win Mcnamee / Getty Images
With the Boy Scouts of America set to vote on a policy that would allow openly gay youths to participate, activists ramp up the volume on their protests.
After years of emotional debate, the Boy Scouts of America are considering a proposal at their annual meeting to allow gay youths to participate openly in the popular organization for the first time.
The exclusion of gay Scouts has been the subject of much wrangling and soul searching in the century-old organization — from local troops and councils to o [...]
Bombers hit Niger mine and barracks
23 May 2013
Last updated at 04:24 ET
Two bombs have exploded at a military camp and a French-run uranium mine in two towns in northwestern Niger, officials say.
The bombers killed themselves and wounded a number of others in the attacks in the towns of Agadez and Arlit, Reuters reported.
French group Areva said 13 people at the uranium plant in Arlit were hurt.
Niger’s government blamed Mujao, a jihadist group from neighbouring Mali, French radio said.
China factory activity contracts in May
An index of activity in China’s huge manufacturing sector hit a 7-month low in May.
Fears of a slowdown in global growth were reinforced Thursday as a preliminary report on China’s manufacturing in May showed activity contracted for the first time in seven months.
Global bank HSBC said its “flash” index of purchasing managers’ sentiment fell to 49.6 from a final reading of 50.4 in April. It’s the first time the index has fallen below 50 since October 2012. Any reading above 50 signals expansion in t [...]
Football transfer rumours: Karim Benzema to Manchester United? | Paul Doyle
People are wising up to sockpuppetry but that’s OK because The Rafa Benítez Experience shows that it is time to move on to the next level: mockpuppetry. What that means, readers, is that if you want to burnish your image, the thing to do is not write fake rave reviews of yourself but rather hire a mob to publicly taunt and abuse you. Do it now, readers! Ask colleagues to gather around your desk and point at you laughing and jeering while you stoically carry on typing. Your stock will soar! Employers will queue outside your door like [...]
Today’s Toons 5/23/13
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Ethernet celebrates 40 years
A diagram from Bob Metcalfe’s original memo explaining how Ethernet works.
(Credit:
Palo Alto Research Center)
Most people probably associate Ethernet with a simple cable cinched with phone-like jacks. But, Ethernet is so much more.
It is the foundation for global Internet access and undoubtedly the world’s most-used connectivity technology. In the annals of “techdom,” Ethernet is a very big deal.
“Ethernet ranks highly among those technologies that impact day-to-day life on a global basis,” IEEE [...]
More IPL cricketers ‘being probed’
23 May 2013
Last updated at 02:09 ET
Delhi police chief Neeraj Kumar says they are “looking at other teams and other players”
The Delhi police chief has said they are watching at least three more cricketers for their role in alleged spot-fixing in the Indian Premier League (IPL), media reports say.
Neeraj Kumar said the players under scrutiny were all Indians from one team but declined to name them.
Three cricketers, including Indian fast bowler S Sreesanth, were arrested last week over allegations of spot-fix [...]