If You Like To Argue 

...and you're passionate about it

The Battle Lens (Debates About Everything)

Some people love a good argument. If that's you, then you've found the right place. The Battle Lens is for debating, sharing thoughts and ideas, and for discussing the differences that we all have. The Battle Lens has no rules except for those estab...

Did You Know? 

A new random fact every day!

Word Of The Day 

eclectic: Dictionary.com Word of the Day

eclectic: varying in style

Astrology LoveScope 

Weather Checker 

Airport Delays 

Fetching RSS feed... please stand by

GREEN Tip Of The Day 

Watch The Olympics 

No items were found

Sunday Night Football Matchup 

Saturday Night Live Videos 

InStyle Look Of The Day 

Bonehead Of The Day Award 

Let's face it. Stupid people are funny! We search the world media for the best stories about them. Weird news too.

Fetching RSS feed... please stand by

Books 

Richard Scarry's Biggest Word Book Ever!

by: Richard Scarry

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $26.37 (as of 01/09/2009)
List Price: $39.95
Used Price: $12.50

Jokelopedia: The Biggest, Best, Silliest, Dumbest Joke Book Ever

by: Ilana Weitzman, Eva Blank, Rosanne Green, Alison Benjamin

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $9.56 (as of 01/09/2009)
List Price: $11.95
Used Price: $1.85

The Mammoth Book of Sudoku: 400 New Puzzles - The Biggest and Best Collection of Sudoku Ever

by: Nathan Haselbauer

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $11.16 (as of 01/09/2009)
List Price: $13.95
Used Price: $1.45

Uncle John's Biggest Ever Bathroom Reader

by: Bathroom Readers' Institute

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $12.72 (as of 01/09/2009)
List Price: $14.95
Used Price: $0.58

Biggest Ever Book of Questions and Answers

by: Ian James, Jinny Johnson, Angela Royston, Philip Steele, Martin Walters. John FArdon

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: (as of 01/09/2009)
List Price:
Used Price: $0.01

Jay Leno Videos 

Motor Trend Photo Gallery 

Conan O'Brien Videos 

GapingVoid Cartoon 

Access Hollywood Gossip News 

Access Hollywood Photos 

Money Magnet Quiz 

The Blender 100 Songs 

NBC Heroes Videos 

Homer Simpson Quotes 

BBC News 

UN agency to resume Gaza aid work

The UN says its main aid agency in Gaza will resume operations there after receiving safety assurances from Israel.

Blagojevich to fight impeachment

The scandal-hit Illinois governor, Rod Blagojevich, vows to fight on after being impeached by state lawmakers.

Saudi tanker 'freed off Somalia'

A supertanker is released by Somali pirates after a ransom is dropped onto the ship by parachute, reports say.

Lloyds pays $350m to end US case

UK bank Lloyds TSB agrees to pay a $350m penalty to US authorities after admitted violating US sanctions.

Russia-Ukraine gas deal unsigned

A deal to restore flows of Russian natural gas via Ukraine is held up despite the arrival of EU monitors in the region.

US job losses hit record in 2008

More US workers lost jobs in 2008 than in any year since World War II, with employers axing 2.6 million posts.

Taylor's son jailed for 97 years

"Chuckie" Taylor, son of Liberian ex-leader Charles Taylor, is sentenced by a US court to 97 years in jail after being convicted of torture.

Zimbabwe troops 'eat elephants'

A Zimbabwean wildlife campaigner tells the BBC that soldiers are being given elephant meat to eat, as the economic crisis deepens.

Indian IT scandal boss arrested

The founder of scandal-hit Indian software company Satyam is arrested two days after he admitted falsifying the firm's accounts.

US police use Google maps and mobile signal to find missing girl

A nine-year-old girl, allegedly kidnapped by her grandmother, has been found using a mobile phone signal and Google Street View.

CNet News 

Google developer site being used to distribute malware- McAfee

McAfee says it is finding links to fake videos that download Trojans on the Google Code hosting site for developers.

Where's Windows 7 beta? Microsoft posts, then pulls the download

The file for Microsoft Windows 7 beta is hours overdue, with no announced time of arrival.

Porn producer leans on iPhone to lure new customers

Digital Playground, one of the largest makers of adult content, is among the first companies to produce an iPhone-optimized Web site.

Lawsuit over Yelp review settled

San Francisco chiropractor and his former patient settle defamation lawsuit over a negative review on the community reviews site.

Slacker Radio brings BlackBerry a neat caching trick

The awesome, free Slacker Radio app for BlackBerry does what it promises, and then some. For non-U.S. songsters, there's only one catch.

Why you should follow everyone who follows you on Twitter

Should you follow everyone who follows you on Twitter? Don Reisinger makes the case that you should -- for the good of all of us.

Twitter proposals: Good or bad?

Would you use the microblogging service to propose marriage to your beloved? Let's hear from you.

Photos: Adult Entertainment Expo crashes the CES party

Never mind computer gadgets. The Adult Entertainment Expo, also running in Las Vegas right now, is the place to be for anyone in--or interested in--the porn industry.

M&A prospects better for small companies, new media

Reports released this week show that small technology deals and ones related to nontraditional media are likely to fare better during this recession year.

Intel talks USB 3.0 at CES

Jeff Ravencraft of Intel talks about how fast USB 3.0 is and its status.

MadMoney 

Business News & Video 

Indeed Jobs 

Associate Account Executive

AOL - San Francisco, CA
The Account Manager will be responsible for supporting the AdSonar Advertiser network for the Northwest region. Specifically, he/she will be responsible for... ...

Supplier Quality Engineer II

C. R. Bard - Salt Lake City, UT
Apply for this position This position will assist in managing the BAS supplier management process including qualifying new vendors, managing supplier CAPA's... ...

Manufacturing Supervisor

C. R. Bard - Woburn, MA
Apply for this position We have an exciting opportunity for a Manufacturing Supervisor who will be responsible for supervising various personnel involved in... ...

Global Technology Leader

Cargill - Wayzata, MN
I Choose Opportunity. Whatever job you're looking for, you can probably find it at Cargill. Our diverse partnerships across a variety of industries mean... ...

IT Consultant - Identity Management

Cargill - Minnesota,
Work as part of the Identity Management Services (IDM) Team providing expert level technical consulting for Cargill's Enterprise Directory Services, Web... ...

Powered by Indeed

Music Videos 

Video Premiere: Of Montreal's "An Eluardian Instance"

New York
- Sara Lov

When She's Near
- Fiction Family

Peter Travers Video Review: "Che" and "Bride Wars"

Breaking: Adele
- Adele

Ron Asheton on John F. Kennedy

The Onion, Daily 

Gallant Man Extremely Concerned About Drunk Woman's Welfare

FORT WAYNE, IN—Derek Kriesel, 22, who shall heretofore be known far and wide as the stately prince of Shooters Sports Pub & Grub, gallantly...

Powerful Rest And Fluids Industry Influencing Doctors' Treatment Of Colds

WASHINGTON—What began as a small-scale racket has grown into a worldwide organization, with billions spent each year pushing its pro-nap, broth-focused agenda.

Consumer Electronics Show Shrinks

In the face of the struggling economy, the annual Consumer Electronics Show is expected to have fewer participants. What do you think?

[audio] Vice President Cheney Seen Dragging Egg Sac Through West Wing

Onion Radio News - with Doyle Redland

People In Commercial Having More Fun With Camera Than Humanly Possible

NEW YORK—According to sources, the people in a commercial for the Canon PowerShot S1100 IS digital camera have expressed a degree of...

Bank CEO Requests No Bonus

Following five quarters of declining profit, Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis has requested that he and other senior executives receive no bonuses....

Tim Gunn Takes Wizards Shopping For Less Hideous Uniforms

WASHINGTON—Fashion consultant and Project Runway host Tim Gunn surprised the Washington Wizards Monday by unexpectedly arriving at the Verizon Center locker room and offering to help Wizards players shop for less repulsive...

LaDainian Tomlinson To Play Next Game Without A Groin

SAN DIEGO—Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who was forced to leave last week's game in the second quarter after aggravating a groin...

[audio] New High-Tech Laugh-O-Meter Can Measure 11,000th Of A Titter

Onion Radio News - with Doyle Redland

People Like Food

These days it's hard to get people to agree on things. Some people like wearing shorts all the time, but other people think you always have to...

Top Chef Blogs 

Scientific American 

Will DTV transition be delayed?

Lovers of analog TV may get a reprieve from the scheduled Feb. 18 transition to digital television. President-elect Barack Obama wants to delay next month's nationwide transition, arguing that there isn't enough money to back the program. [More]

Influenza drug Tamiflu ineffective against most U.S. infection

Tamiflu, an antiviral used to treat the flu, doesn't work against most of the virus circulating in the United States this season, federal officials say. [More]

Can open-heart surgery make you dimmer?

Every year, about half a million Americans undergo open-heart surgery. Roughly 60 percent of them experience some degree of mental decline after the surgery, a phenomenon that surgeons call "pumphead." A new study in this month's Annals of Thoracic Surgery sheds light on possible causes of the mysterious condition, which in some patients is temporary but in others may last a lifetime. [More]

New Study: Autism Linked to Environment

 California's sevenfold increase in autism cannot be explained by changes in doctors' diagnoses and most likely is due to environmental exposures, University of California scientists reported Thursday. The scientists who authored the new study advocate a nationwide shift in autism research to focus on potential factors in the environment that babies and fetuses are exposed to, including pesticides, viruses and chemicals in household products. [More]

By Land and by Sea: New evidence of at least two early migration routes into the Americas

There's new evidence that the first inhabitants of North America might have arrived by both land and sea. Researchers analyzed the genetic material of modern indigenous people from North and South America to trace two rare lines back to the continents' first inhabitants. The study, published in Current Biology, provides the first genetic evidence that the ancestors of many living Native Americans took two distinct routes from Beringia (a region that included the now-submerged Bering land bridge as well as portions of Siberia and Alaska) some 15,000 to 17,000 years ago. [More]

What's behind all the deadly avalanches in Western ski areas?

The heavy snowfall in Western states that's been good news for skiers has come with a price: an unusual number of avalanche-related deaths on resort mountains. [More]

A Scourge of Childhood Reemerges as Polio Spreads in Western Africa

Despite a massive international effort to eradicate poliomyelitis, the disease is alive and well in some corners of the world. Several previously polio-free African countries have now become re-infected because of major outbreaks in northern Nigeria where, experts say, vaccine campaigns are flawed and failing. "There are not enough kids, particularly in the northern part of the country [getting vaccinated]…. In some areas, as much as 40 to 50 percent of the kids are missed in the vaccination campaign," says Oliver Rosenbauer, spokesperson for the World Health Organization's (WHO) Polio Eradication Initiative. [More]

Pumphead: Does the heart-lung machine have a dark side?

Editor's Note: We're posting this story from our June 2003 issue because of a new study of the phenomenon. Key Concepts: [More]

CES 2009: The Consumer Electronics Show

Netbooks, stars, and cars: ScientificAmerican.com's Larry Greenemeier reports from the keynotes and convention floor at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada [More]

Don't have a cow, but FDA could approve goat-made medicine

Some consumer groups are bleating over the prospect of a new anti-clotting drug made from genetically modified goats. [More]

Buzz Machine 

Neighbors

I was happy to pick up the new Inc. magazine today to find a nice review of What Would Google Do? (not online yet; I'll link when it is) and to find it on the same page (24) as a quote and picture from blogging friend Tom Evslin.
And speaking of blogging friends, I was [...]

After the industry association (and the industry)

Following my bum's rush from a industry association meeting yesterday - not a big deal on any scale; just personally aggravating, insulting, and embarrassing - I got to thinking (now there's the danger) about the future of the industry association … and of industries. I wonder whether there is much of one.
By being ejected [...]

Openness

I was invited to speak to a media trade organization today - I'll spare them the specifics - with the assignment of provoking discussion about new models, which I'm happy to do, even if I do often hear the same old lines and take the same old arrows. I also hear new challenges and learn [...]

Desperate measures

Great line in Matt Welch's column in Reason about the folly of bailing out newspapers: "Blaming the customer is the second-to-last refuge of any crappy industry, business, or organization (the last refuge being asking for a handout on Capitol Hill)."

Post-paper and after the tears

The great thing about Michael Hirschorn's piece in the Atlantic about the death of the print New York Times is that it sees beyond the period of mourning and imagines what a post-paper Times could and should be. That's what journalists should be doing - imagining a different - and perhaps even better - future. [...]

A homecoming at EW

I see that my baby, Entertainment Weekly, has a new editor, its fourth: Jess Cagle, who was part of the launch team at EW (when he was known as "young Jess"). My congratulations to him.

Using new media for old

Have to love this: English atheists - upset over an inflammatory (in many senses of the word) ad campaign on buses to warn nonbelievers of the hellfire of damnation - used the internet to raise money to buy ads on those same buses to assure the public that there's probably no God, so "now stop [...]

Inventions and opportunities lost

I ran out of time this morning before I had a chance to praise Jack Shaffer's piece about newspapers' failure to invent the web and reinvent themselves. Talk about burying the lead: His best lines came in his kicker:
From the beginning, newspapers sought to invent the Web in their own image by repurposing the copy, [...]

Nothing new in black & white

A lovely review of the Folger Shakespeare Library show on the birth of newspapers by Philip Kennicott in the Washington Post has some gems:
If you learn about the world primarily from newspapers, the Folger Shakespeare Library's exhibition documenting the birth of journalism in the Renaissance will be a wistful affair. It's like looking at baby [...]

Blurb!

I don't intend to quote every review What Would Google Do? gets but I can't resist this one from Michelle
Archer in USA Today, short and sweet:
Blogger/columnist Jeff Jarvis' treatise on how ? and why ? companies should think and act like Google brings to mind several trite words from the world of literary criticism: eye-opening, [...]

Washington Post Issue Tracker 

Slashdot 

Another DNS Flaw Found, Patched

darthcamaro writes "Remember the big DNS flaw that Dan Kaminsky 'discovered' last year? Well, it looks like another flaw in DNS has just been patched. This time it's an item that affects DNSSEC, which was supposed to be the savior for the Kaminsky flaw. The good news, though, is that this time, the issue is relatively minor and DNS has already been patched. 'The flaw is specific to certain usages of DNSSEC,' Joao Damas, senior programming manager of the ISC told InternetNews. 'It is strongly advised that all BIND DNSSEC deployments update in case they are using the particular pattern affected (DSA keys in some cases) and to prevent coming across the problem in the future unexpectedly.'" Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Researchers Apply P2P Principles To Car Traffic

alphadogg writes to tell us that lessons learned from peer-to-peer networks are being applied to traffic systems in order to prevent jams. "Their Autonet plan would center around ad hoc networks of vehicles and roadside monitoring posts supported by 802.11 technology (the prototype uses 11b). The vehicles would essentially be the 'clients' in such a system and feature graphical user interfaces to pass along information to drivers. They're building the system to be able to handle data on thousands of traffic incidents and road conditions." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Abused IT Workers Ready To Quit

An anonymous reader writes to tell us that new research is suggesting as many as a quarter of all IT staff in small to medium businesses have suffered some sort of abuse and are looking for careers elsewhere [PDF]. "The study also found that over a third have suffered from sleepless nights or headaches as a result of IT problems at work, while 59 per cent spend between one and 10 hours a week working on IT systems outside normal hours. [...] The biggest cause of stress among IT staff is problems arising from operational day-to-day tasks, the survey found. Another major cause came from loss of critical data, according to Connect." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Google Releases Chrome 2.0 Pre-Beta

Nick Fletcher writes "Just a few short months after the initial release, Google has released a pre-beta version of Google Chrome 2.0. It sports a few new features including form auto-completion, full-page zoom, 'profiles,' and Greasemonkey support. It seems the only notable feature would be profiles, which allows users to separate out their homepage, history, and bookmarks on a per user or category basis. It seems Google is still playing catch-up but they're definitely moving at a pace unknown to some of their competition. The full list of new features is available in the release notes." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Nvidia 480-Core Graphics Card Approaches 2 Teraflops

An anonymous reader writes "At CES, Nvidia has announced a graphics card with 480 cores that can crank up performance to reach close to 2 teraflops. The company's GTX 295 graphics cards has two GPUs with 240 cores each that can execute graphics and other computing tasks like video processing. The card delivers 1.788 teraflops of performance, which Nvidia claims is the fastest single graphics card in the market." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Using Drupal

Michael J. Ross writes "After installing and learning the basics of the content management system Drupal, many Web developers do not know how to best proceed from there. They may realize that much of the programming potential of Drupal — and thus the earning potential of Drupal developers — is derived from the use of community-contributed modules that greatly extend Drupal's power. But there are thousands of such modules, with no objective direction as to which ones are best suited for particular tasks, and what bugs and other flaws could trip up the developer. These programmers need a thorough guide as to which modules are the most promising for the development of the most common types of Web sites. A new book, Using Drupal, aims to fill this need." Keep reading for the rest of Michael's review. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Microsoft In Mobile Search Deal With Verizon

An anonymous reader writes "Verizon Wireless will forge a deal with Microsoft to include the software giant's Live Search on its mobile phones, giving Microsoft a victory over rival Google and ending a months-long dance toward the partnership. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will announce the deal in his keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas." InfoWorld notes that Microsoft is rumored to be changing the name of its Live Search service to Kumo, which is Japanese for "cloud." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Roland Piquepaille Dies

overheardinpdx writes "I'm sad to report that longtime HPC technology pundit Roland Piquepaille (rpiquepa) died this past Tuesday. Many of you may know of him through his blog, his submissions to Slashdot, and his many years of software visualization work at SGI and Cray Research. I worked with Roland 20 years ago at Cray, where we both wrote tech stories for the company newsletter. With his focus on how new technologies modify our way of life, Roland was really doing Slashdot-type reporting before there was a World Wide Web. Rest in peace, Roland. You will be missed." The notice of Roland's passing was posted on the Cray Research alumni group on Linked-In by Matthias Fouquet-Lapar. There will be a ceremony on Monday Jan. 12, at 10:30 am Paris time, at P? Lachaise. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Rare Venomous Mammal Filmed

Smivs writes "The BBC are reporting that footage of one of the world's most strange and elusive mammals has been captured by scientists. Large, and with a long, thin snout, the Hispaniolan solenodon resembles an overgrown shrew. It can inject passing prey with a venom-loaded bite. Dr Sam Turvey, a ZSL (Zoological Society of London) researcher involved with the program, told BBC News: 'It is an amazing creature — it is one of the most evolutionary distinct mammals in the world.' Along with the other species of solenodon, which is found in Cuba (Solenodon cubanus), it is the only living mammal that can actually inject venom into their prey through specialized teeth. Little is known about the creature, which is found in the Caribbean, but it is under threat from deforestation, hunting and introduced species. Researchers say conservation efforts are now needed. The mammal was filmed in the summer of 2008 during a month-long expedition to the Dominican Republic — one of only two countries where this nocturnal, insect-eating animal (Solenodon paradoxus) can be found (the other is Haiti). The researchers from the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and the Ornithological Society of Hispaniola were able to take measurements and DNA from the creature before it was released." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

First Flight of Jet Powered By Algae-Fuel

s31523 writes "Today a US airline carrier conducted a 90 minute test flight with one of its engines powered by a 50-50 blend of biofuel and normal aircraft fuel. This was the first flight by a US carrier after other airlines have reported trying similar flights. In February 2008, a Virgin 747 flew from London to Amsterdam partly using a fuel derived from a blend of Brazilian babassu nuts and coconuts. At the end of December, one engine of an Air New Zealand 747 was powered by a 50/50 blend of jatropha plant oil and standard A1 jet fuel." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Rotoworld.com Fantasy Sports News 

Guardian Unlimited 

Generation crunch: young face crisis in hunt for work

This year's graduates face the toughest battle in a generation for jobs, with tens of thousands facing unemployment, according to new evidence documenting the impact of the economic downturn. Ministers are so concerned that they are drawing up a rescue package to help the class of 2009 find a job or get new skills when they graduate this summer. The proposals, from universities minister John Denham's office, will target the 18-24 age group amid fears that a generation of young people will be scarred by recession. David Blanchflower, the influential economist and member of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee who predicted the recession, today warns of its impact on young people, describing the latest employment figures, which show 18-24-year-olds bearing the brunt of redundancies, as "scary". He said: "We don't want these spells of unemployment to get long. A spell of unemployment is bad when young and the longer it is, the worse it is. We want to do everything to prevent it becoming long-term unemployment." Evidence of the extent of the downturn in graduate recruitment uncovered by the Guardian includes: ? Major companies have narrowed their search for graduates to five elite universities as they cut recruitment numbers. ? The organisers of the annual graduate recruitment "milk round" say jobs in finance and retail are drying up. Even where companies are recruiting, vacancies will not necessarily last until summer as the economic slump worsens. ? The management consultancy KPMG, seen as a recruitment barometer, says its 600 graduate entry jobs are nearly all taken months ahead of schedule as students scramble for the top jobs. ? Manchester University careers service, the largest outside London, has seen the number of recruitment adverts taken out with its careers service tail off drastically. ? Careers service managers have been inundated with desperate students who don't know what to do when they graduate because their plans are in tatters. ? The slump in graduate jobs threatens unemployment for people with lower or no qualifications as graduates turn their sights on non-graduate vacancies. The most recent labour market survey shows unemployment growing fastest among 18-24-year-olds. Unemployment for young adults was 597,000 in the three months to October 2008, up 55,000 from the three months to July 2008. Three million people of all ages are predicted to be out of work by the end of this year; at least 40% (1.25m) of them will be under 25. A source close to Denham said he was "very much aware" of the highly competitive jobs market graduates face this year. "He has been in touch with major graduate recruiters to talk about these issues. Many have been clear that they will continue to recruit. However, he is clear that the government will need to do whatever it can to help." An announcement will be made in the spring, the source said. Carl Gilleard, chief executive of the Association of Graduate Recruiters, said: "We will almost certainly see the first contraction in vacancies in five or six years. A few percentage points dip will have a chilling effect for graduates who have witnessed years of improving job opportunities. For the class of 2009 it's going to be more difficult than they ever banked on." He urged graduates to consider taking lower-status, lower-paid jobs - including bar work or stacking shelves - rather than abandoning the search. "It's better to consider a temporary job than to sit at home and feel sorry for yourself," he said. Malcolm Grant, provost of University College London and current chair of the Russell Group of 20 leading universities, said: "Firms are already narrowing their search to a small number of universities: Oxford, Cambridge, the LSE, UCL and Imperial, and I think that's a shame. "In employment terms it's rational: it's an easier recruitment process if you have fewer jobs to fill. But it's an arbitrary decision and really unfortunate because it will be overlooking a rich source of talent at other universities." At Leeds University, careers advisers are warning students to apply now as vacancies are drying up. "Graduate positions are almost full now when normally they would still have vacancies to fill right through to the summer," Bob Gilworth, head of the university's careers service, said. Other careers services said they were operating at full stretch. Elspeth Farrar, head of careers at Imperial College London, said they had been inundated with inquiries from worried students who had expected to go into banking or management consultancy when they graduated but now felt that wasn't an option. She added: "The goalposts are shifting on a weekly, almost daily basis. One week a recruiter says it is business as normal, then the next week students are left disappointed." A poll suggests students are beginning to question the value of their degree. The Higher Education Careers Service Unit polled 640 of this year's graduates and found 62% were not confident that their degree would help them get a job. The prime minister will host a jobs summit on Monday to look at the impact of the recession on jobs more widely. The Conservative party yesterday announced its proposals to help young people ride out the recession, including a database of alternative apprenticeships for apprentices who lose their jobs in the recession and a new £180m national careers advisory service for schools. Higher educationGraduate careersSchoolsGraduationStudentsEconomic policyBorrowing & debtRecessionCredit crunchSocial exclusionWork & careersEducation policyWelfareguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

UN human rights chief accuses Israel of war crimes

The United Nations' most senior human rights official said last night that the Israeli military may have committed war crimes in Gaza. The warning came as Israeli troops pressed on with the deadly offensive in defiance of a UN security council resolution calling for a ceasefire. Navi Pillay, the UN high commissioner for human rights, has called for "credible, independent and transparent" investigations into possible violations of humanitarian law, and singled out an incident this week in Zeitoun, south-east of Gaza City, where up to 30 Palestinians in one house were killed by Israeli shelling. Pillay, a former international criminal court judge from South Africa, told the BBC the incident "appears to have all the elements of war crimes". The accusation came as Israel kept up its two-week-old air and ground offensive in Gaza and dismissed as "unworkable" the UN security council resolution which had called for "an immediate, durable and fully respected ceasefire". Protests against the offensive were held across the world yesterday just as diplomacy to halt the conflict appeared to falter. With the Palestinian casualty toll rising to around 800 dead, including 265 children, and more than 3,000 injured, fresh evidence emerged yesterday of the killings in Zeitoun. It was "one of the gravest incidents" since Israel's offensive began two weeks ago, the UN office for the co-ordination of humanitarian affairs said yesterday. "There is an international obligation on the part of soldiers in their position to protect civilians, not to kill civilians indiscriminately in the first place, and when they do, to make sure that they help the wounded," Pillay told Reuters. "In this particular case these children were helpless and the soldiers were close by," she added. An Israeli military spokeswoman, Avital Leibovich, said the incident was still being examined. "We don't warn people to go to other buildings, this is not something we do," she said. "We don't know this case, we don't know that we attacked it." Despite the intense bombardment, militants in Gaza fired at least 30 rockets into southern Israel yesterday. Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, told al-Jazeera TV: "This resolution doesn't mean that the war is over. We call on Palestinian fighters to mobilise and be ready to face the offensive, and we urge the Arab masses to carry on with their angry protests." Israeli officials said they could not be expected to halt their military operation while the rockets continued and said they first wanted an end to the rocket fire and a "mechanism" to prevent Hamas rearming in future. "The whole idea that Israel will unilaterally stop protecting our people when Hamas is sending rockets into our cities to kill our people is not a reasonable request of Israel," said Mark Regev, spokesman for prime minister Ehud Olmert. Israel wanted security for its people in southern Israel, he said, and dismissed suggestions his military might seek to topple Hamas, saying they were "not in the regime-change business". Israeli public opinion still strongly favours the war. One poll of Jewish Israelis yesterday, by the War and Peace Index, said 90% of the population supported continuing the operation until Israel achieved all its goals. Olmert held a meeting of his security cabinet, and on the agenda was discussion about whether to intensify the offensive by launching a fresh stage of attacks in which Israeli troops would invade the major urban areas of Gaza as more reservists were called up. There was no word on the outcome. So far 13 Israelis have been killed in this conflict, of whom three were civilians. Another 23 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli military yesterday. Seven from one family, including an infant, died when Israeli jets bombed a five-storey building in Beit Lahiya, in northern Gaza. There was heavy aerial bombing and artillery fire across the territory. More than 20,000 Gazans have fled their homes in the north of the strip and thousands more in the south. In some cases Israeli troops have told them to leave, or dropped leaflets warning them to evacuate their homes. Some are even dividing their families between different addresses for fear of losing them all in a single air strike. "Many people are leaving their homes and moving to the centre of the cities," said Abdel Karim Ashour, 53, who works with a local aid agency, the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committee. He, his wife and their four children fled their house on the coastal road in northern Gaza on the third day of the conflict. He sent the four children to stay with his brother while he and his wife are staying at a friend's house. "We were in an area of heavy shelling, so we left and I divided the family to try to reduce the victims if we face any trouble. We try and keep in touch by telephone but there are problems with the network," he said. "We're just hoping for a ceasefire. If the fighting goes on there will be more victims." GazaIsrael and the Palestinian territoriesMiddle EastHuman rightsWar crimesUnited Nationsguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Governor Blagojevich vows to resist impeachment

The scandal-ridden governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, yesterday vowed to fight on after Illinois lawmakers overwhelmingly voted to impeach him. Blagojevich, who is accused of trying to sell president-elect Barack Obama's vacant US Senate seat, told a press conference in Chicago: "I am going to fight every step of the way." He added to his reputation for political theatre with another bizarre performance, in which he surrounded himself with poor people he claimed to have helped. Proclaiming a fondness for British poetry, the governor followed a recitation of Kipling last week with Tennyson yesterday, ending the press conference with the quote "to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield". Not to be outdone, the deputy governor, Pat Quinn, followed an hour later with a press conference of his own and a poem suggesting the governor put the country first and resign immediately. Quinn chose an American poet, Katharine Lee Bates, and her America the Beautiful. He suggested Blagojevich reflect on the third verse, the line about the American heroes "who more than self their country loved". The battle of the poets came hours after the Illinois House of Representatives voted by 114 to one to start the impeachment process, clearing the way for a trial next week in the state senate which could result in his removal from office. "It's our duty to clean up the mess and stop the freak show that's become Illinois's government," said Jack Franks, one of the Democrats who voted for impeachment. Although Chicago in particular, and Illinois in general, is used to political scandal, the arrest of Blagojevich by the FBI last month created a level of embarrassment that even hardened lawmakers could not live with. It is the first impeachment in the state's 190-year history. At the end of the state senate impeachment process, a vote of two-thirds of members will be enough to remove him from office. The process could take three weeks or more. Blagojevich, who had been under investigation by the FBI for some time and had been subjected to a wiretap, was arrested on 9 December on charges of fraud and soliciting bribes. Rod BlagojevichUS CongressBarack ObamaUnited Statesguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Big chill: Bulgarians battle to keep warm

Huddled around an electric heater with his wife and baby daughter, Krasimir Ivanov admitted he never thought much about politics. "But that was before it entered my own living room." He checks the radiator for signs of life. To no avail. The tiny 7th floor two-room flat remains as frigid as it has been since the central heating suddenly went cold on Wednesday, shortly after gas supplies from Ukraine were shut off. With temperatures outside plummeting to -16C, and thousands of apartments heat-less, the Ivanovs have spent the past few days trying to keep their daughter Anjela warm. "Medical advice is to keep the temperature at 20 degrees," said Krasimir. "We can barely afford the electricity bill we'll receive at the end of this. But it's simple - if we don't pay for electricity, we'll be paying for medicine for our child." And yet the flat is warm compared to Pavlina's place of work at a TV ratings company in central Sofia, where there is no heating at all and staff keep their coats on at their computers. "The bosses have resisted our pleas for electric heaters so we just sit there and freeze all day, hardly able to concentrate," she says. "At the end of the day I hurry home through the ice and snow to try and warm up." Things will get even more complex if Anjela's nursery is shut down, a very real prospect if relief does not come soon. "Anjela might have to go to my mother-in-law near Kazanluk, in central Bulgaria who heats with a wood-burning stove. It's bizarre, isn't it, that in 2009 she's actually better off with such primitive heating?" "We feel like pawns in someone else's game," said Krasimir with a philosophical grin. That game of diplomatic chess mixed with energy hardball appeared to be inching closer to resolution yesterday, but even if the gas taps are switched back on, Bulgarians are still facing a chilly weekend. The earliest that supplies can be restored is Monday. In the meantime, the country is left to rue its position as the most vulnerable EU state to the habitual rows between Russia and Ukraine over gas supplies and payments. Bulgaria sources almost all of its gas from Russia. When it is turned off, the country feels its acutely. Schools were closed as pupils were sent home. Concern even spread to the prisons and their inmates, who "unlike pupils can't be sent home," said justice minister Meglena Tacheva. Taxis which run on methane gas, were largely off the roads. Drivers of trams were ordered to turn off heating on public transport between 10 am and 4pm, although there was much evidence the order was being defied. "I don't think they'd dare," said pensioner Davinka Ivanova, 62, dressed against the cold in leather trousers and a fur coat, on the number 1 tram in central Sofia. "There'd be a revolt. It's cold enough outside and in our homes as it is." Gas supplies to many companies, except for those production plants who could not do without it, was cut back. Glass, steel, beer and metal producers were forced to shut down, as experts estimated the loss to industry to be around 500m Bulgarian Lev (£227m) a day. Electric heaters were brought into Sofia zoo to ensure the survival of its animals, particularly the elephants, monkeys, reptiles and fish. The consumption of electricity soared to record levels as people sought alternative forms of heating. Lighting on public buildings and Christmas illuminations were turned off. "We've sold 240 electrical heaters in two days," said Alexandra Nikolova, sales assistant in an electrical shop. The air was thick with a mix of tar and burning rubber, as some plants switched from gas to heating oil. The anger was palpable. "Who will pay for this?" asked Irina Bankova who runs a small bakery production line in eastern Sofia which has seen a slump in trade this week as businesses she provides with breads and cakes have been temporarily forced to close. "I don't expect we'll see any compensation from those responsible." If it continued she said, she would be forced to lay some of her work force off. Other criticism trained on the government for doing next to nothing to diversify Bulgaria's energy supply. "Bulgaria is almost 100% dependent on Russia for energy, and has no access to any alternative gas routes or suppliers," said Ognyan Minchev, a political analyst with the independent thinktank the Institute of Regional and International Studies. "In the 20 years since the end of communism, the Bulgarian government has done almost nothing to change this state of affairs, indeed it has only deepened Bulgaria's dependence on Russia," he said, highlighting a controversial gas contract signed between Russia and Bulgaria two years ago. "Being dependent on the goodwill of Gazprom in a harsh winter leaves Bulgaria not just vulnerable, but helpless, and it amounts to a complete negligence and betrayal of national interests," he added. To the alarm of the European Union, President Georgi Parvanov's populist reaction to the crisis has been to suggest firing up a mothballed reactor at the Kozloduy nuclear plant which was shut down amid safety concerns as a condition of Bulgaria's accession to the EU in 2007. The proposal has received much support at home. Oil and gas companiesRussiaUkraineguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Coalisland's ghostly attraction

Fourteen moonlit faces stared up at the jagged silhouette of the derelict house in the early hours yesterday. Shining torch beams into the thick mist, they were the latest midnight pilgrims to Mullaghmoyle Road, a quiet country lane on the edge of Coalisland, County Tyrone, which is fast gaining notoriety as the home of the UK's most talked about phantom. Each night this week hundreds of ghost-seekers from Ireland and Britain have descended on the ruined cottage after dozens of recent sightings of a pale old woman drifting by. Yesterday's visitors were greeted with a suitably haunting scene. Beneath a full moon the dilapidated stone house, complete with rotting doors and trees protruding through the roof, looked like the set of a vampire film. Then, as if on cue, three shrill screams came from the woods, followed by a white shape halfway up a tree, looking suspiciously like a bedsheet. Moments later a naked, smiling torso bobbled over the hedge, accompanied by giggles. For Coalisland's teenage population the opportunity to hoax visitors was irresistible. "I don't think it's going to work, because everyone's been trying it," said Sean O'Neill, 20, holding "Bruce" - the top half of a mannequin that he planned to hide in the bushes. "We've been dressing up in sheets and stuff, but it's not working at all." Pranksters aside, there was however no shortage of committed believers in the ghost of Mullaghmoyle. Annoyed at the loud car horns and carnival atmosphere that, they suspected, would scare away the spirits, they found quiet corners beneath trees to regale their stories. Daniel Holbrook, 21, who has visited the site every night in vain this week, noted hopefully how he had seen "lights flickering" in the house. "We turned on our lights," he said. "There was nothing there." Laura Burns, 19, recounted the moment she saw a "black figure of a woman" standing on the top of the hill. "I think it was a ghost. It seemed too real not to be," she said. "She was appearing to walk across the road and then she stopped. Then she appeared to be coming towards us." "I will believe it when I see it," countered Linda Hosseini, 56. "If she's there, and I think she is there, I don't think she'll harm me." According to most accounts, the misty figure appearing beside the hollow in the road is that of an old woman. That is the description provided by Ryan Bell, 16, Coalisland's most prolific phantom spotter, who spent much of yesterday appearing on national television and radio, giving accounts of his multiple sightings. "It's an old woman," he said confidently. "With a big long cape or something like that coming off her back. She's just in the middle of road and stops in the same place. It's not really scary. Just weird - kind of odd behaviour." The sketch of Mullaghmoyle Road's apparition also - by coincidence or design - bears an eerie resemblance to the elderly woman who last occupied the now derelict house, named locally as Dora Gilmore. "She was a lovely wee lady; very witty, she could tell you everything about the town," said Louise McCann, 40, a care worker who looked after her at a nearby nursing home. What the late Dora might say about the nightly commotion outside her old home is a mystery, although those who knew her suggest she might have laughed. "She'd have told people what she thought of them," McCann said. Unfortunately the theory that Dora's spirit haunts the lane she once lived in doesn't stand up to scrutiny. She is said to have died around seven years ago; the supposed ghost has been spooking Mullaghmoyle Road for at least 20 years. Drinkers at the nearby Four Corners recall drive-by encounters with misty objects beside the hollow in the road - which sits by a stream - since the mid-1980s. Reports of phantoms in Mullaghmoyle Road have been so common that several years ago the area was investigated by the Northern Ireland Paranormal Research Association (NIPRA). "We have received more than 10 reports of paranormal activity at that location over the years," said Warren Coates, who runs the spirit-seeking group. The real Mullaghmoyle mystery, then, is why there has been such a sudden rise in sightings over the last fortnight? That question draws a blank at the Four Corners. Northern Irelandguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark on the trail of Pakistan's Taliban

Authorities in Pakistan have often seemed in cahoots with home-grown terrorists. Not any more. Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark report from Islamabad on a new intelligence unit

Government to underwrite 80% of small business loans

The government is preparing to guarantee up to 80% of loans to small businesses as part of a multi-billion pound package of measures to stimulate the economy. An announcement is expected in the middle of next week about the latest attempts to kick-start lending to some of the country's leading employers. The details are being finalised in a frantic round of negotiations with officials at Lord Mandelson's Department of Business and Enterprise, but it is thought the business secretary wants to agree a broader package of measures than was outlined in Alistair Darling's pre-budget report. The government wants to cover loans of up to £1m to businesses for up to 10 years because it is concerned that the economy will grind to a halt without a renewed flow of funds to small businesses, which claim they are being starved of cash by overly cautious banks. Gordon Brown, the prime minister, yesterday insisted banks should honour a commitment in a government rescue package to maintain the supply of loans to mortgage holders and small businesses at 2007 levels. "We will be meeting the banks in the next few days to agree with them on how we can move this forward," he said. Mandelson's department is at the heart of the current negotiations and the business secretary conceded more steps would be needed to get banks lending again. "Having saved the banks from collapse in the autumn we've got to take further action, I suspect, to get the banks back on their feet and lending properly," he said. The government is looking at providing loan guarantees to medium-sized businesses, which employ 50 to 250 people and have a turnover of less than £50m. It is coming under increasing pressure, not least from the automotive industry, to bring in measures to help stimulate the availability of credit to boost demand and help these companies ride out the economic crisis. In the wake of Nissan's decision to cut its 5,000 strong Sunderland workforce by almost a quarter, Mandelson indicated he was looking at ways to help boost the availability of finance to carmakers. The government cannot help the car industry without spreading aid more broadly across the business community. Mandelson said yesterday: "There is an issue to do with [the car industry's] ability to raise finance to fund new car purchases and that links back to the credit crunch, it links back to their access to liquidity, to drive their financing arms and that's something that I'm in close contract with car companies about, the Treasury is too." "It may well be that we've got to see how the motor finance arms can be assisted, in terms of their additional liquidity needs, and that we're going to be looking at in the coming weeks." Ministers have been working on a package to guarantee loans to smaller businesses since the pre-budget report. Economic policySmall businessCredit crunchBankingBanks and building societiesguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Son of village postmaster shot dead in robbery

Three armed men were on the run today after storming a village post office and opening fire in a flash of violence which left a young man dead and his father with a gunshot wound to his leg. Wearing balaclavas and carrying a handgun and sledgehammer, the men burst into the sub post office in Fairfield, Worcestershire at 8.20am as children from a nearby primary school were on their way into the playground. What happened in the next few seconds was witnessed by villagers who were in the shop to pick up their pensions or buy stamps. Craig Hodson-Walker, 29, was shot fatally in the chest, his father Ken was hit in the leg, before the men ran out and jumped into a silver Volkswagen Golf and sped away. Minutes later, the car with fake plates was found abandoned. It had been stolen on New Year's Eve in Solihull, police said later. As villagers woke today to the sound of police helicopters, news of the shootings spread quickly through the rural community which is loved for its peace and harmony. Confronted by the reality of a rise in armed robberies across the country over the last couple of years, neighbours and friends were horrified by the gratuitous violence which had taken the life of a popular young man who was due to be married. Alice Raybould, 29, a close friend of Craig who lives across a field at the back of the shop, said: "The minute he moved into the shop we made friends straight away. He is, I should say he was, the nicest and kindest person I've known in my life. We spent quite a lot of time together. He's just a really nice bloke." Asked if he would have put up a fight, she said: "Yes, he probably would have done. He loved his parents to bits. You protect whoever is there and I'm sure he would have done." The father and son had been confronted shortly after they opened the shop, in front of witnesses, by the three men. As the gang stormed the shop, the postmaster's wife, Judy, ran to a neighbour for help but within minutes the three men had jumped into the silver car. Villager Eddie Bretherton, 76, said Judy Hodson-Walker ran to a neighbouring house after the shooting. Police warned the public that they were armed and dangerous and should not be approached. Fairfield primary school closed ­immediately after the shooting and police helicopters hovered over the area, which is close to the M5 and the M42 and is within commuting distance from ­Birmingham and Worcester. More than 100 police, some with dogs, were ­searching for the gang and the village was sealed off. Villagers said the post office had been the heart of the community. Mr Hodson-Walker and his wife moved to the village several years ago after selling a business in the Forest of Dean and took over the post office five years ago. Their business was so successful the family won an award before Christmas for being one of the three best-performing post offices in the West Midlands. Pat Murphy, who works for BBC Five Live, and lives in Fairfield, said: "It's ­completely unprecedented ? you're used to hearing the sound of bird song around here, and people choose to live here because it's such a peaceful, harmonious area. The family who run the post office have been there for about five years and are fantastic. "They are great sports lovers and always talk to me about the football and cricket. The post office was the focal point of the village. You could get everything in there and there was sometimes a queue because they had a good word to say to everyone." Kerrie Rawlings, 30, had known Craig since they were children. "Everyone loved him and his whole family," she said. "The whole village is in a state of shock. They lived here for about 17 years and they did so much for the community. "They built up their post office and shop from nothing which has been very important for the village. While they were here it became the centre of village life. I'm sure he'll be missed by everyone who ever knew him." Others spoke of recent armed robberies in nearby villages. One last March took place at the post office in the village of Romsley and involved three masked men who were armed but not carrying firearms. The most recent was a knife point robbery at a shop in Lickey End. Police said yesterday they would examine whether the crimes were linked, but would not comment further. Detective Superintendent Jon Groves said the robbers were "clearly ­dangerous" and should not be approached. But he appealed to motorists who may have seen them before they put on their balaclavas as the getaway car was caught in traffic queues. He said: "I am leading this investigation and a team of detectives and staff in excess of 100 are working on this case. "I can assure you that we are ­determined to bring these offenders to justice as soon as possible. "Any information people may have, no matter how insignificant it may seem, could provide a vital lead. Please get in touch with us." UK gun violenceCrimeguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Hijacked Saudi oil tanker released Hijacked Saudi oil tanker released after ransom dropped by parachute

The Saudi supertanker seized by Somali pirates in the world's biggest ever hijacking has been freed following a reported ransom payment of $3m. Last night the US navy released a photo showing a small package apparently containing the ransom parachuting to the deck of the Sirius Star from a small aircraft. The Sirius Star, which was carrying 2m barrels of oil when it was captured on November 15, sailed from the pirate lair of Harardheere on Somalia's eastern coast today. Two Britons ? chief engineer Peter French, from County Durham, and second officer James Grady, from Renfrewshire ? are among the crew of 25 who were all reported to be unharmed. "All our people have now left the Sirius Star. The ship is free, the crew is free," Mohamed Said, one of the pirate leaders, told Agence France-Presse by telephone. "There were last-minute problems but now everything has been finalised." A regional maritime group confirmed the release. An associate of the pirates, who call themselves the Central Regional Coastguard (CRC), said the owner of the ship, the oil giant Saudi Aramco, had paid a ransom of $3m (£2m). The pirates had originally demanded $25m. There was no immediate comment from the company on the release of the ship or the ransom claim. The hijacking of the 330-metre long vessel was the culmination of a dramatic surge in piracy off Somalia this year. Both the $100m cargo and the daring nature of the attack, which took place 500 miles off the coast of Kenya, prompted numerous governments around the world to send warships to the region. The shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden, to Somalia's north, and the Indian Ocean, to the east of the lawless country, are among the busiest in the world. With no effective government on land to stop them, at least five Somali pirate gangs equipped with speedboats, AK-47 machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades attacked more than 100 ships near the Horn of Africa in 2008, netting tens of millions of pounds in ransoms. More than a dozen ships, including the Faina, a Ukrainian vessel carrying 33 T-72 battle tanks, are still being held along Somalia's east coast. The Sirius Star, whose cargo represents a quarter of Saudi Arabia's daily oil production, was en route to the US when it was hijacked. Andrew Mwangura, the head of the East African Seafarers Association, said the supertanker was headed south-east this evening. It was too large to dock at Mombasa, Kenya, but could anchor in deep waters to allow the crew to come ashore in a smaller boat, he said. The pirate gang's income may increase in the coming days. The CRC is also believed to be holding the Faina, tugboats from Nigeria and Indonesia, and two Turkish cargo ships. Negotiations for the release of all the vessels were close to concluding, Mwangura said. "These pirates could get a lot more money in the next few days. Maybe they can now take a holiday." The number of successful attacks by Somali pirates dropped significantly in December, with only two vessels captured. Maritime analysts say merchant ships have been taking protective measures to avoid being boarded by gunmen, while the glut of international warships on patrol has been a deterrent. The EU now has a dedicated naval fleet escorting ships in the region, while the US navy announced that it had created a new international force specifically to deal with Somali pirates. Individual countries such as Russia, China and Iran have sent their own warships to patrol Somalia's coast. Piracy at seaSomaliaUnited Statesguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Tory plan to scrap new runways could cost billions

A future Conservative government would use new legislative powers to block the expansion of Heathrow and Stansted airports, which could leave taxpayers liable for multibillion-pound compensation payments to the contractors and airport group BAA. A decision on a third Heathrow runway could come next week, with the government putting together a "complete package" of transport measures aimed at easing ministerial and backbench unease. The decision is likely to become a parliamentary battle of wills, as the Guardian has learned that a Conservative government would use the government's new legislative powers to block extra runways at Heathrow and Stansted. The long-awaited decision to intensify use of Heathrow has been bitterly opposed by thousands of local residents, environmental campaigners and a cross-party coalition of MPs concerned that it runs counter to climate change commitments and will make it impossible for the UK to reach the target of an 80% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. A decision was delayed last month after ministerial concerns at the potential environmental impact. The government is now working on a package of measures described by one aide as "wider than those discussed so far". Last week Lord Adonis suggested an international rail interchange for Heathrow was being given high priority for government spending. On Wednesday the transport secretary, Geoff Hoon, met the prime minister to update him on progress but yesterday a government source insisted no decision had been taken. Such is their determination to ensure the plans do not go ahead that the Tories are considering at least three options if they win the next general election: ? Rushing through a new aviation policy to block Heathrow expansion under the 2008 Planning Act; ? Enacting new legislation to halt Stansted's growth; ? Paying off contractors and BAA to stop construction at Stansted. It is understood a planning application for Heathrow will not be submitted until 2011, six months after the last possible date Gordon Brown can hold a general election. If Labour lost, that would give the Tories enough time to draft a new aviation policy ruling out a new runway. The planning application for a third runway will be heard by the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC), a body created under the 2008 Planning Act to fast-track projects of national importance. Under controversial guidelines for the IPC, government infrastructure policy will carry enhanced importance when the commission considers whether to approve schemes such as new runways. Theresa Villiers, shadow transport secretary, said: "The Conservatives are against a third runway at Heathrow and a second runway at Stansted. People who want to stop these runways going ahead have a clear choice at the general election. If they don't want these runways, they should vote Conservative." However, legal experts warned that the Conservative pledge to "cancel" all plans to build a second runway at Stansted, the UK's third largest airport, could cost taxpayers billions of pounds in compensation. The Tories have discussed the possibility of paying compensation to contractors who have signed deals but not started heavy construction work. Villiers has warned companies not to sign contracts but a government's power to stop them striking deals will diminish once planning permission is granted. The planning inquiry for a new Stansted runway starts on 15 April and will be the last big infrastructure proposal to be heard under the 1990 Town and Country Planning Act. The inquiry is expected to finish before mid-2010 and a Conservative government will not be able to repeal a positive verdict without paying off contractors and BAA, Stansted's owner, for loss of earnings. One legal source told the Guardian that the bill could run into billions of pounds because BAA, having won the legal right to develop its land, could sue for the profits it expected to make from a second runway. "It is a property right that has been granted, so you have to pay compensation if you revoke the planning permission." The source added that a Conservative government might have to introduce legislation in order to revoke planning permission for Stansted, amid doubts that the 1990 act allows ministers to scrap a planning application approved by a previous government. It is understood that the Tories harbour private fears that a general election victory might come too late to block a second runway, despite assertions from Villiers yesterday that an election will come before the Stansted inquiry ends. Transport policyConservativesLabourTransportTravel and transportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

ComputerWorld 

NASA tests scientific balloon 21 miles above Earth

NASA and the National Science Foundation have jointly launched a super-pressure balloon prototype they hope can keep 1-ton instruments miles above the Earth for at least 100 days.

Via displays netbooks, PCs with rival chip to Intel Atom

Via Technologies on Thursday showed off several new products armed with its new Nano microprocessor, the chip it hopes will compete with the Intel Atom in netbooks and other devices.

Expect Office 2007's 'Ribbon' UI to permeate Windows 7 apps, Microsoft says

The controversial 'Ribbon' user interface that Microsoft introduced in Office 2007 is being used for some of Windows 7's built-in applications, such as WordPad and Paint.

Dell shows its new ultraslim Adamo laptop at CES

Dell unveiled its upcoming Adamo computer, revealing it to be a lightweight laptop, which could make it a possible competitor to Apple's MacBook Air.

Microsoft testing a better rival to Google Docs

Microsoft is testing new capabilities for Office Live Workspace that will make it a closer rival to online application suites such as Google Docs.

Microsoft postpones Windows 7 public beta

Microsoft postponed the rollout of the Windows 7 beta today, citing "very heavy traffic" on its Web site, but it did not offer a new schedule for delivering the beta of its newest operating system.

Google: Chrome in 'never-ending' beta

Google on Thursday announced that its Chrome browser would be in a 'never-ending' beta test, and that it plans to give users three options to update their copies at varying intervals.

Elgan: Palm and Sony out-Apple Apple

Turns out an 'iPhone Elite' and a 'MacBook Nano' were both announced -- but the news didn't happen at Macworld and it was not by Apple.

Memory card standard could provide up to 2TB on an SD card

The SD Association announced at the International CES this week that a new specification called SDXC will soon offer up to 2TB of capacity on SD cards along with superfast read/write speeds.

CES: Despite speed promises, USB 3.0 unlikely to become the next VGA

Many technologies are being touted to replace VGA and DVI. The two leading candidates are HDMI and DisplayPort, while USB remains the underdog.

Christian Science Monitor 

Rocket fire from Lebanon: a second front for Israel?

Hezbollah denies firing three rockets Thursday. Israeli officials blame Al Qaeda militants.

Falling US consumer spending making tough times tougher

Personal consumption may fall this year to levels not seen since 1942, some economists say.

United Nations halts relief work in Gaza

The U.N. and Red Cross criticized Israel for imperiling relief workers and restricting the delivery of aid throughout the Gaza Strip.

Rafah: A border town caught between Egypt and Hamas

The Rafah crossing is seen by Israel as a weapons supply line for Hamas and a humanitarian lifeline by Gazans.

Chávez restores free home heating oil program to US poor

In an abrupt turn, the Venezuelan president reinstated the program two days after its suspension.

In findings on reading, some surprises

A look at skills among the youngest could change how preschools teach children.

Church Of The Customer 

What is online authority, really?

How to prepare for being laid off, the Warren Sukernek way

A leadership treat

The Last Temptation of Twitter

If the world is a target...

Life in the bubble II

Joseph Cao's word of mouth story

Life in the bubble

Peter Schiff was right

Creativity under pressure

Wired News 

Top 11 Most Anticipated Games of 2009

It's gonna be a great year for videogames, and these titles look likely to deliver maximum fun. From big winners to little-known gems, Wired.com runs down the year's most promising games.

Why the Budget All-in-One Desktop Will Fail

Attempting to ride the success of netbooks, companies are introducing inexpensive all-in-one PC desktops. They don't stand a chance in the market, and here's why.

Online Threat to Kill Obama Leads to Arrest

Secret Service agents raid the home of a man suspected of promising Barack Obama a "50 cal in the head" on a Yahoo message board. They take away his .50 caliber rifle.

Army Assembles 'Mad Scientist' Conference. Really

The "Mad Scientist Future Technology Seminar," a three-day conference hosted by the U.S. Army, posits a near future where access to advanced military technology is available to all. So we'd better get our problems sorted out pretty damned quick.

Video: the Magic of Mushroom Spores

High-speed video reveals that the fantastic variety of shapes of mushroom spores serves to help them catapult themselves into the air.

How Video Will Save the Audio Star

Audiophiles, rejoice: Sound quality is about to get much better, thanks to high-definition video standards.

Intel Cash Register Knows Who You Are, What You Want

Asking the question: "Do you know who I am?" is not likely to score you any points at the store, even in these trying economic times. But Intel wants to change that with a proof of concept cash register that knows not only who you are, but also what you want.

Obama Urges DTV Delay as Time, Money Runs Out

The deadline for switching to digital-only TV is 39 days away, but the move is in serious trouble. Millions of households aren't ready for the conversion and a government program to subsidize the hardware needed by many is out of money.

Vicarious Vegas: On the Ground at CES 2009

: The impending money apocalypse has forced even the most die-hard gizmo geeks to become careful penny pinchers. Never fear, if you couldn't quite stretch your dollar to Vegas this year, you can still get a taste for what it's like to be there in this tour of the grounds.

If you just want to gorge yourself on gadget news, check Wired.com's full CES 2009 coverage on Gadget Lab's blog.

Left: Not all the gadgets at CES are tiny. Giant TVs still mesmerize the crowd.
: Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.comMembers of the media swarm Panasonic chairman Yoshi Yamada after a press conference Wednesday at the Venetian hotel.: Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.comPalm's executive chairman Jon Rubinstein announces the new Palm Pre at the invite-only press briefing in the Venetian.: Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.comAttendees flock to product stations at the LG booth, eager to test out their new electronics, like the LG Cookie.: Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.comHigh-definition home-audio listening booths are among the most popular attractions on the floor of the Las Vegas Convention Center.: Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.comConventioneers mill around outside the hall as a hard day of gadgeting finally wraps.: Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.comA splash of red light illuminates a CES devotee outside the Microsoft exhibit.: Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.comAn exhibitor looks on while a CES junkie plays with the CXC Motion Pro II Racing Simulator at the Intel booth.: Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.comThe sun sets on fleeing gadget lovers after a long day at CES.

Hotel 747 Now Boarding

What d'ya do with a decommissioned 747 you picked up for cheap? Turn it into a youth hostel, of course.

CNN Live 

Key Democrats blast Obama stimulus plan

Key measures of Barack Obama's economic recovery plan are facing a barrage of criticism from some Senate Democrats, with Iowa's Tom Harkin, above, charging the plan's tax breaks were a return to "trickledown" economics. "I'd rather spend the money on the infrastructure, on direct investment, on energy conversion," said Sen. John Kerry.

Gaza death video genuine, journalists say

There's no truth to accusations by bloggers that a Palestinian camera crew staged a video showing the death of the videographer's brother after an Israeli rocket attack, said the team's employer.

Israel says map shows Hamas risks civilians

The Israeli military says it has found a "sketch" detailing "the deployment of explosives and Hamas forces" in the Al-Attara neighborhood