International Affairs
WiFi tops best technological innovation poll
Dec 23rd
Surfing the net has become a lot more easier since wireless internet has come into being, and now Wi-Fi has rightly topped the poll for the greatest technological advance of the last decade, according to a survey.
With 35.5 percent votes, Wi-Fi has beaten Sky+, Sat Navs, iPods and Blackberries to win the poll conducted by a leading gadget magazine.
In the survey by ‘Stuff’ magazine, the readers were asked to choose the greatest technological innovation of the past ten years. (more…)
Chinese hackers may be jailed for 7yrs under proposed law
Dec 23rd
Hackers who steal data or manipulate large number of computers may be jailed for up to seven years, according to a proposed amendment to the Chinese Criminal Law.
The penalties will also be applicable to those who offer software or tools for hacking to any intruder.
The existing law offers punishment only for intruding into networks of governments, national defence or leading science sectors; or altering the functions of personal computer systems. (more…)
Volvo to unveil world’s ‘first accident-proof car’ next month
Dec 23rd
Car giant Volvo is set to unveil its first ever “accident-proof car”, which will drive itself in traffic by using radar to control the distance.
The Swedish manufacturer will unveil Volvo S60 with automatic brakes at the next month’s Detroit motor show. It will go on the market in 2010.
“This technology helps us take an important step towards our long-term vision of designing cars that should not crash,” the Telegraph quoted Thomas Broberg, the company’s safety specialist as saying. (more…)
Fossil hunters discover two new dino species in Sahara desert
Dec 17th
An expedition to the Sahara desert has found the fossilized remains of what are thought to be two new species of dinosaurs.
According to a report in The Times, the ancient remains discovered in Morocco, belong to a giant flying pterosaur and plant-eating sauropod.
Initial examinations suggest that both specimens are unknown to science.
They were unearthed during a month-long quest during which the research team braved floods and storms to reach the dig site and then preserve the fossils.
The scientists even feared that they would never get the bones out of the desert because they were so heavy that their Land Rover More >
Sea levels will rise much faster than predicted
Dec 17th
A new study has found that sea levels will rise much faster than previously predicted, as the world’s glaciers and ice sheets are melting at an alarming rate.
According to a report in The Times, the study, commissioned by the US Climate Change Science Program, said that the rises will substantially exceed forecasts that do not take into account the latest data and observations.
The adjusted outlook suggests that recent predictions of a rise of between 7 inches and 2 feet over the next century are conservative.
The study predicts that sea level rises will be far higher than the levels that were More >
GLOBAL MARKETS – Asia shares advance, but economy fears weigh
Oct 17th
HONG KONG, Oct 17 (Reuters) – Asian shares rose on Friday after encouraging earnings signals from technology firms such as IBM and a slowly improving tone in beleaguered short-term money markets helped ease concerns about a global recession.
Asian stocks posted their first weekly gain in seven, with advances in the last trading day underpinned by a rally on Wall Street on Thursday that sent the Dow Jones industrial average up more than 4 percent.
European shares were set to surge, with major indexes such as Britain’s FTSE 100 seen up by more than 4-5 percent.
Oil prices rose nearly $3 a barrel, More >
Titanic survivor to sell off mementoes to pay medical fees
Oct 17th
London, Oct 17 (DPA) The last remaining survivor of the Titanic in Britain has said she is forced to sell mementoes from the ill-fated cruise liner to pay for her nursing home fees, reports said.
Millvina Dean, 96, is hoping to raise more than 3,000 pounds ($5,200) from selling a suitcase full of clothes given to her family by the people of New York when they arrived in America after their rescue.
Dean is also putting up for auction rare prints of the Titanic which have been signed by the artists along with compensation letters sent to her mother by the Titanic More >
Soon, fridges that will text or e-mail you when food is going off!
Oct 17th
Fridges that will be able to send consumers email or text alerts when food is going off are being created by a group of researchers.
Ten scientists at Manchester University are working on an advanced device that will be able to send consumers email or text alerts.
Project head Dr Bruce Grieve said: “Food wastage costs in the UK are massive.”
UK boffins have created a battery-free label which can pick up when food is on the turn, reports the Sun.
The disposable 5p gadget – like a security label on a CD – measures the temperature of food and the time it is More >
‘US cannot shape the world without India’
Oct 17th
Washington, Oct 17 (IANS) Describing the India-US civil nuclear deal as a ‘game-changing’ success story, a senior Republican leader has advised the next US president that American efforts to shape the world may not succeed fully without India.
‘The bottom line is that American efforts to shape the world are unlikely to succeed fully without the cooperation of India,’ said Senator Dick Lugar Wednesday adding, ‘Its sheer size ensures that it will have an enormous impact on the global economy.’
The top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was laying out at the National Defence University what was described as ‘a More >
Wish India’s Moon Mission of Chandrayan-1 a grand success
Oct 13th
ISRO is going to launch Chandrayaan-1, India’s first unmanned mission to the moon. The Chandrayaan-1 mission is aimed at high-resolution remote sensing of the moon in visible, near infrared(NIR), low energy X-rays and high-energy X-ray regions. Specifically the objectives will be:
*To prepare a three-dimensional atlas (with a high spatial and altitude resolution of 5-10m) of both near and far side of the moon.
* To conduct chemical and mineralogical mapping of the entire lunar surface for distribution of elements such as Magnesium, Aluminum, Silicon, Calcium, Iron and Titanium with a spatial resolution of about 25 km and high atomic number elements More >