Why Should We Care? The Politics of Picking a Pope

Feb 28, 2013 9:34am                              (Image Credit: L’Osservatore Romano/Vatican/Getty Images)ANALYSISVATICAN CITY – In a U.S presidential campaign, the New Hampshire primary is thought of as “retail politics,”...

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US research to be put online for free

YOU paid for it, so you should be able to see it. On Sunday the US government said that all federally funded research results must be available for free online. The UK made a similar decision last year. Most research papers are behind paywalls. Now all...

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Portugal seizes 79 tonnes of meat containing horse

LISBON: Portuguese authorities said they had launched fraud proceedings after seizing 79 tonnes of wholesale food and thousands of packaged meals that contained horsemeat despite not being labelled with it.The 79 tonnes of "meat and meat-based products" were seized in plants that processed, packaged and distributed meat to supermarkets, the government's Economic and Food Safety Authority...

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Lily Cole's social network Impossible starts granting wishes in April

Model Lily Cole attends a photo call to announce the winners of the Gatwick Runway Models competition at Gatwick Airport North Terminal on Aug.6, 2010, in London. (Credit:Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) A social network based on making wishes and helping others, backed by Lily Cole and Jimmy Wales, is to launch in April -- but first, it's helping Oxbridge students help each other.I caught up...

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A History of Balloon Crashes

A hot-air balloon exploded in Egypt yesterday as it carried 19 people over ancient ruins near Luxor. The cause is believed to be a torn gas hose. In Egypt as in many other countries, balloon rides are a popular way to sightsee. (Read about unmanned flight in National Geographic magazine.)The sport of hot-air ballooning dates to 1783, when a French balloon took to the skies with a sheep,...

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Pope Thanks Crowd in Final Address

On his final full day as the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI thanked a huge crowd for respecting his historic decision to step down and told them that God will continue to guide the church."The decision I have made, after much prayer, is the fruit of a serene trust in God's will and a deep love of Christ's Church," Benedict said to cheers in his last public...

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China takes steps to clean up 'cancer villages'

The Chinese government has acknowledged the existence of "cancer villages": areas where rates of cancer are unusually high, probably because of industrial and agricultural contamination of drinking and irrigation water. The reference...

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Impact of China's demand for iron ore on shipping industry

SINGAPORE : China's appetite for iron ore may be among the few bright spots for the shipping industry this year, although there are still many empty vessels plying the waterways.Analysts have said that those unable to wait out the recovery are likely to go under.After years of low freight rates, overcapacity and few cargoes, dry bulk shipping firms are finally seeing the light on the horizon....

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Windows 8 $15 upgrade registration ends Thursday

Registration for the Windows 8 $15 upgrade offer expires this Thursday.(Credit:Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET)Those of you who recently bought a Windows 7 PC can score Windows 8 for just $15 but you'll have to register before Thursday.To drum up interest in its latest OS, Microsoft cooked up a couple of upgrade deals last year.The first one allowed any user of Windows 7, Vista, or XP to upgrade...

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Sharks Warn Off Predators By Wielding Light Sabers

Diminutive deep-sea sharks illuminate spines on their backs like light sabers to warn potential predators that they could get a sharp mouthful, a new study suggests.Paradoxically, the sharks seem to produce light both to hide and to be conspicuous—a first in the world of glowing sharks. (See photos of other sea creatures that glow.)"Three years ago we showed that velvet belly lanternsharks...

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