Early in 2010, the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, warned against Internet censorship and the possibility that it could create “a new information curtain” similar in many ways to the Iron Curtain that separated East and West during the Cold War.
Her remarks were widely interpreted as a criticism of Chinese censorship of the Internet which prevents people on mainland China from accessing many sites abroad, such as Wikipedia, Facebook, YouTube and many news sites. It also sensors internal content that is politically unpalatable or [...]
How The Great Firewall of China Shapes Surfing Habits in China
Early in 2010, the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, warned against Internet censorship and the possibility that it could create “a new information curtain” similar in many ways to the Iron Curtain that separated East and West during the Cold War.
Her remarks were widely interpreted as a criticism of Chinese censorship of the Internet which prevents people on mainland China from accessing many sites abroad, such as Wikipedia, Facebook, YouTube and many news sites. It also sensors internal content that is politically unpalatable or [...]
Many children among 91 feared dead in tornado-hit Oklahoma
By Alice Mannette and Ian Simpson
MOORE, Oklahoma |
Tue May 21, 2013 3:15am EDT
MOORE, Oklahoma (Reuters) – At least 91 people, including 20 children, were feared killed when a 2 mile wide tornado tore through an Oklahoma City suburb, trapping victims beneath the rubble as one elementary school took a direct hit and another was destroyed.
President Barack Obama declared a major disaster area in Oklahoma, ordering federal aid to supplement state and local efforts in Moore after the deadliest U.S. tornado [...]
Giant Oklahoma tornado kills dozens
21 May 2013
Last updated at 03:08 ET
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David Willis reports on the aftermath of the tornado in Oklahoma City
At least 91 people, including 20 children, are feared killed by a huge tornado which tore through Oklahoma City suburbs, officials in the US state say.
Worst hit was Moore, south of the city, where neighbourhoods were flattened and schools destroyed by winds of up to 200mph (320km/ [...]
Dundee consider American takeover
By Jim Spence
BBC Sport
Dundee’s board is considering a formal bid for the club from American investors based in Austin, Texas.
Two current directors, Bill Colvin and Steve Martin, are also involved in the bid to buy the club.
They have teamed up with Texan investor Tim Keyes and his business partner who both have US footballing interests.
The Dundee Supporters Society, who have three of the six directors at Dens Park, have called [...]
Intercell vaccine gets U.S. pediatric approval
VIENNA |
Tue May 21, 2013 2:47am EDT
VIENNA (Reuters) – Austria’s Intercell said on Tuesday it has won U.S. regulatory approval for pediatric use of its Ixiaro vaccine to protect against Japanese Encephalitis (JE), a step it had achieved in Europe in February.
“For the first time in nearly two years, a licensed vaccine will now be available to vaccinate traveling children and children of forward-deployed military personal in Asia as well against JE,” Chief Executive Thomas Lingelbach s [...]
Senate investigators: Apple hid $44B from taxes
Senate investigators accuse Apple of wiring together a complicated system to shield billions of dollars in international profits from both U.S. and foreign tax collectors.
A report released ahead of Apple CEO Tim Cook’s inaugural Capitol Hill appearance Tuesday alleges the tech giant took advantage of numerous U.S. tax loopholes and avoided U.S. taxes on $44 billion in offshore, taxable income between 2009 and 2012 — a characterization Apple flatly rejects.
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The bipartisan Senate probe also char [...]
NASA Administrator Visits California Centers, Meets Media
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NASA Administrator Visits California Centers, Meets Media
WASHINGTON — NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will hold media availabilities at all three of the agency’s centers in California this week, highlighting progress on the asteroid mission, commercial crew transportation and space technology development.
Bolden will tour of Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) Space Systems’ D [...]
Privacy and the moral hazard of surveillance
Whenever government surveillance is debated, someone inevitably pooh-poohs the subject as cause for alarm: after all, people overshare so much sensitive personal information with services like Facebook that there’s hardly anything to be gleaned from state surveillance that isn’t already there for the taking on “social media.”
I don’t question the assertion that people overshare on social networks – that is, people share information in ways that they later come to regret. The consequences of oversharing range [...]
Marks and Spencer sees profits fall
21 May 2013
Last updated at 02:21 ET
MS’s clothing division has been struggling in recent years.
Marks and Spencer has reported a big fall in profits, despite rising sales across the group.
Pre-tax profits fell to £564.3m, down from £658m last year, despite group sales rising 1.3% to £10bn for the year to 30 March.
While underlying sales of food rose 1.7%, sales of general merchandise – which includes clothing – fell 4.1% in the year.
Chief executive Marc Bolland described the market as “challengin [...]
The world’s best racquet-sport player?
By Piers Newbery
BBC Sport
When it’s put to him that he might be the most talented athlete in the world to hold a racquet, a bashful Ramy Ashour admits “that’s pretty great”.
The 25-year-old Egyptian is more than just the current squash world number one – his elastic, unorthodox brilliance and charisma could be the key to squash breaking out beyond its four walls and regaining a place on the wider sporting stage.
[...]
Cole: Tornado slams ‘my hometown’
Rep. Tom Cole grew emotional on CNN on Monday while surveying the damage of the tornado, which wreaked havoc in the neighborhoods surrounding Oklahoma City.
The Oklahoma Republican, who calls the city of Moore his home, was shaken as he pointed out barely recognizable areas in light of the destruction.
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“This is actually my hometown,” Cole told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer over the phone, calling in from D.C. “I talked to my wife. I can literally recognize the homes and the businesses. I just saw my clean [...]
Opening doors to foldable electronics with inkjet-printed graphene
Imagine a bendable tablet computer or an electronic newspaper that could fold to fit in a pocket. The technology for these devices may not be so far off. Northwestern University researchers have recently developed a graphene-based ink that is highly conductive and tolerant to bending, and they have used it to inkjet-print graphene patterns that could be used for extremely detailed, conductive electrodes.
The resulting patterns are 250 times more conductive than previous attempts to print graphene-based electronic patterns and could be a s [...]