Global Economics-13

St Petersburg is one of Russia and Europe's most glamorous cities.

Brimming with history, culture, wealth and beauty, it comes as a shock to discover its dark underbelly.

But in these times of hardship, the weaknesses in the Russian economy and social welfare systems have been laid bare. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7975245.stm>

BBC News asked people from all corners of the world's largest democracy what they would do if they were prime minister. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7970921.stm>

G20 call for action amid protests

Obama: We have to act with urgency US President Barack Obama has spoken of a "sense of urgency" needed to confront the global economic crisis. The President met UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown at Downing Street ahead of the G20 summit of world leaders. Thousands of demonstrators have gathered in the City of London. Some scuffles have broken out as they call for changes in the economic system. Windows were broken at a branch of RBS in Threadneedle Street and some protesters entered the building. Your pictures: G20 protests Earlier, outside the Bank of England a small group of protesters had thrown small missiles at police lines. Scotland Yard said 11 people - travelling in a renovated armoured personnel carrier - had been arrested on suspicion of possessing police uniforms. Police estimated that up to 4,000 protesters - anti-capitalists, anarchists, and climate change activists - had gathered in the City of London. Police leave during the two-day summit has been cancelled and six police forces are involved in the £7.5m security plan. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7975851.stm>

The leaders of the Group of 20, or G20, of the world's most powerful countries are meeting in London with the global economic crisis topping the agenda. 

Dark matter remains elusive despite strong evidence for its role

This is thought to make up 23% of the Universe, but can only be detected through its effects on "normal" matter.

Writing in the journal Nature, scientists relate how a satellite-borne instrument found an unexplained source of positrons in space.

But the researchers say their mysterious signal must be further investigated before they will know if they have "discovered dark matter".

The space-based experiment, known as Pamela, was launched in June 2006, and carries instruments designed to investigate dark matter particles.

Many leading theoreticians think this signal must come from dark matter Piergiorgio Picozza

It detected an "excess" of positrons in an area where the scientists expected to see far fewer.

The instrument that recorded this signal was measuring the ratio of positrons - the anti-particles of electrons that have a positive rather than a negative charge - to electrons.

It found a relatively high ratio of positrons within a "high energy level".

"The ratio [of positrons to electrons] should decrease with increasing energy," said Piergiorgio Picozza, a professor at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy, and one of the authors of the research.

"But we found that, at one particular energy range, it increases, and that's not what we expected." <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7977102.stm>

Treading carefully in Lahore

Lahore's famous puppet shows are among arts programmes hit by militancy By M Ilyas Khan BBC News, Lahore Wine glasses and tumblers sit in a row atop a huge sideboard along the wall and a couple of servants are rearranging furniture in the hall. They are laying the scene for the weekend party at an outhouse across the back lawns of a sprawling villa in the Gulberg locality of Lahore, Pakistan's cultural capital. But the hosts are increasingly nervous. "These days you have to be very careful about who to invite and who to pass over, because the word goes around and there are people who don't like such get-togethers," says one of the hosts, requesting not to be named. Lahore's party scene has been unlike any other in Pakistan, bringing together aspiring artists, their potential promoters, business magnates, media dons, bureaucrats and politicians. But the growing influence of armed religious groups now threatens the late night revelries of the city's whisky-drinking professionals and topless dancers. 'Nervous' This threat became more pronounced recently when the city suffered two attacks by militants in a single month. "There's extra security at the gates, and we are increasingly careful with our guests' cameras. This is making everybody nervous," says the host. "During the last couple of years, the partying crowds have thinned out," he says. When reactionary forces try to take hold of a society, art and culture are their first target Imran Peerzada, Lahore impresario The situation is no better at Lahore's famous Rafi Peer theatre which until recently was exporting dozens of live shows each month to rural and urban centres in Pakistan as well as abroad. There are hardly any programmes in the making now. "Things have been gradually getting tough since last year and this has led to widespread unemployment among artists and musicians," says Imran Peerzada, one of the owners. Until last year, programmes overseen by Mr Peerzada alone employed 150 to 200 people, among them actors, puppeteers, dancers, technicians, set designers and other staff. Many more worked with Mr Peerzada's several brothers who together manage the company. Nearly all of them are unemployed now, he says. This happened because of diminishing audiences as people have grown more cautious about their movements, he says, and also because the sponsors are increasingly reluctant to invest in live shows. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7976866.stm>

Multi-screen cinemas have boomed in Indian cities

The protest means no new films will be released in popular multiplex cinemas.

Producers are demanding a 50% share in the revenues generated by the cinemas. Owners say the share should be lower if a film performs poorly.

India's film industry, the world's largest, has already been badly affected by the global economic crisis.

The indefinite strike is expected to begin on Saturday.

Actor-producer Vinay Pathak said many high-budget films have been put on hold and all parties stood to lose from the dispute.

"This problem can only be resolved if both parties find a solution that will be beneficial for producers, distributors and multiplexes, and hence for the audience," he said. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7981283.stm>

Adam discovered the role of 12 different genes in yeast cells

The robot, called Adam, is the first machine to have independently "discovered new scientific knowledge".

It has already identified the role of several genes in yeast cells, and is able to plan further experiments to test its own hypotheses.

The UK-based team that built Adam at Aberystwyth University describes the breakthrough in the journal Science.

Ross King from the department of computer science at Aberystwyth University, and who led the team, told BBC News that he envisaged a future when human scientists' time would be "freed up to do more advanced experiments".

Robotic colleagues, he said, could carry out the more mundane and time-consuming tasks.

"Adam is a prototype but, in 10-20 years, I think machines like this could be commonly used in laboratories," said Professor King. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7979113.stm>

The first thing to be said is that everyone is in the same boat. And they have to bail together. This contrasts to the old days when capitalists and communists exchanged insults as their ships passed in the night.

The worst threat at this G20 summit was a remark by French President Nicolas Sarkozy that he would walk out if there was not better regulation of banks and financial markets, not exactly the kind of casus belli that plunged Europe into war nearly 100 years ago. We have moved on. Nor did he walk out. Indeed, he was pleased, he said, at the result.

The Franco-German analysis might well have been right. But being right about the past does not mean that you alone can put right the future. The European Union as a whole, normally so free in its advice to all and sundry, was a bit chastened, with many newer and some older members on the verge of or in financial crisis.

We have moved on too from the 1930s, when depression helped fuel the rise of dictatorships. Whether the world solves its financial crisis this time has yet to be determined, but the players at least seem to have learned some lessons. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7979918.stm>

Speaking before a Nato summit, Mr Obama said the US wanted to see Europe with stronger defences, as it wanted to be a partner rather than a patron to Europe.

However, Nato's secretary general said draft Afghanistan laws violated human rights, hindering involvement.

A massive French-German security operation is in place for the summit.

Mr Obama said he and French President Nicolas Sarkozy had discussed Afghanistan.

"It's not just a matter of more resources, but more effectively using the resources we have," Mr Obama said.

He thanked France for leadership regarding Afghanistan.

"France recognises that having al-Qaeda operate safe havens that can be used to launch attacks is a threat not just to the United States but to Europe.

"In fact it is probably more likely that al-Qaeda would be able to launch a serious terrorist attack in Europe than in the United States because of proximity.

"This is not an American mission, this is a Nato mission, this is an international mission."

Mr Obama flew in from London, where he attended the G20 summit.

After meeting Mr Sarkozy in Strasbourg, he is due to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Baden-Baden.

The Nato secretary general said it could be difficult to persuade European countries to contribute more in Afghanistan operations because of planned Afghan laws which he says violate human rights.

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer was talking about a planned law that, among other things, sanctions rape within marriage.

NATO: KEY MOMENTS Founded 1949, largely to block Soviet expansion into Europe Twenty-six member states who vow to defend each other Militarily dominated by the US Acted in non-member state for first time in 1995 - implementing military aspects of Bosnia peace accord Operated outside Europe for first time in 2003 - in Afghanistan New doctrine for new threats

He told the BBC: "How can I defend this, and how can the British defend this, when our boys and girls are dying there in defence of universal values, and here is a law that fundamentally violates human rights.

"That worries me greatly."

France last month announced it would be fully re-integrated into Nato.

For decades it has stood at a distance from the alliance, taking part in military operations but not in its central planning and decision-making.

On the issue of wider defence, Mr Obama said: "We would like to see Europe have much more robust capabilities."

He added: "We're looking to be partners with Europe, and the more capable they are defensively, the more we can act in concert on the shared challenges we face." <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7980835.stm>

Butrint's early Christian Baptistery has fine mosaics In pictures: Sights of Butrint

But it has happened - at Butrint, a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Just 5km (three miles) from the vibrant Greek holiday island of Corfu, Butrint preserves the tranquil, classical atmosphere beloved of 19th Century tourists such as Lord Byron.

Ancient ruins are lapped by water and shrouded by foliage. Massive Hellenistic walls share the site with precise Roman structures, Byzantine mosaics and two Venetian castles. The local ferry is still a raft, the views are sublime and the sunsets magical.

How has Albania managed to safeguard Butrint, when so much of its recent history has been turbulent, with communist dictatorship giving way to freewheeling capitalism?

The answer lies in partnership between local, national and international bodies, and the careful nurturing of systems new to the country.

The creation of a national park, and modern legislation to control it, led to a protected zone, which is now backed by international bodies including the World Bank.

A UK-based charity, the Butrint Foundation, is working with Albanian officials to develop the heritage site in a way that is sustainable and attractive to tourists. Archaeology, conservation and museum management are all areas where Albania is benefiting from Western expertise. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7978443.stm>

Analysts believe accurate voice search could boost Google's business

The company's vice president of engineering made the comments during a wide-ranging discussion at the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco.

"We believe voice search is a new form of search and that it is core to our business," said Vic Gundotra.

SearchEngineLand editor Greg Sterling agreed: "If done right, it could be a valuable strategic feature for Google."

Mr Gundotra acknowledged to the audience that "voice recognition in the early days was a nice trick but not very usable".

There were early complaints that Google's offering could not understand accents other than American and that results were often garbled.

"Look how far we have come. I get the advantage of looking at daily voice queries coming in and it's amazing. It's working. It's reached a tipping point. It's growing and growing very, very fast and we are thrilled about it," said Mr Gundotra.

He declined to share figures about just how many queries the company deals with via voice search.

However, Mr Gundotra did say: "It's one of those technologies we think gets better with usage.

"We launched it on the iPhone and have seen a 15% jump in accuracy because, as more people use it, we collect more data and our accuracy gets better." <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7982763.stm>

The gene flaw affects how 'thrusting' sperm is

The study of Iranian families found mutations in the CATSPER1 gene which controls a protein determining sperm movement.

Researchers say the finding could lead to treatments for infertile men - and potentially to a new contraceptive.

Condoms or a vasectomy are still the only male contraceptive choices.

UK researchers from the Medical Research Council Reproductive Biology Unit in have previously carried out surveys showing that men would be willing to take a contraceptive pill if one was available.

Hyperactive

In this study, the researchers were looking at a population with high rates of disease-causing gene mutations to investigate genetic causes of deafness.

However, while they were collecting genetic information, the scientists discovered that two families had different DNA mutations in the CATSPER1 gene.

The affected men's infertility was diagnosed using standard semen analysis. There were no other identifiable causes for their fertility problems.

This may also provide a new target for a revolutionary male contraceptive Dr Allan Pacey, University of Sheffield

Both mutations would likely lead to either a much shortened, non-working version of the protein the gene controls, or no protein at all.

Neither mutation was found in the DNA of 576 Iranian individuals who were also screened.

Tests on mice have previously found CATSPER1 mutations cause infertility because they affect sperm "hyperactivation" - the ability to move with the required energy and speed to enter the female egg during fertilisation.

Dr Michael Hildebrand, who led the research, said: "We have identified CATSPER1 as a gene that is involved in non-syndromic male infertility in humans, a finding which could lead to future infertility therapies that replace the gene or the protein.

He added: "Identification of targets such as the CATSPER1 gene that are involved in the fertility process and are specific for sperm - potentially minimising side effects of a drug targeting the protein's function - provide new targets for a pharmacological male contraceptive." <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7979722.stm>

The Communists are trying to harness hopes of a "European Moldova"

After eight years of unchallenged domination of the political scene, the Moldovan Communist Party - the only communist party wielding majority rule in any country in the world - is hoping to emerge the winner for a third consecutive term.

It has been polling about 36% in surveys - ahead of the 22% for centre-right rivals - but around a third of voters have said they are undecided.

The election heralds the end of the presidency of Vladimir Voronin, the dominant figure of Moldovan politics, who has served two terms and is barred from a third.

Even so, he seems set to remain a formidable presence, possibly as speaker of parliament.

Once it has been formed, the new parliament will elect a new president.

Money from abroad

Mr Voronin and his party boast of returning Moldova to stability and economic growth. Government policies have included tax cuts and measures to encourage foreign investment.

However, Moldova remains the poorest country in Europe, with an average monthly salary of just over 2,500 Moldovan lei (£167, $243) at the end of 2008.

Vladimir Voronin (right) tries not to antagonise Russia

And according to the World Bank, nearly a third of GDP depends on remittances from the hundreds of thousands of Moldovans working abroad - the highest proportion anywhere in the world.

Moldova has also been criticised by international agencies for not doing enough to clamp down on corruption, and for limiting press freedom.

Nevertheless, opposition parties have had little impact. Only three self-declared liberal parties are likely to cross the 6% threshold needed to take up seats in parliament, and none poses a real challenge to the Communists.

Balancing act

Mr Voronin has tried in the past four years to steer Moldova towards closer ties with the European Union, while trying not to antagonise Russia.

Moldova is part of the EU's "neighbourhood policy", a scheme which grants some assistance, but does not guarantee potential membership, which many Moldovans aspire to.

The country is also still not reconciled with Trans-Dniester, the Russian-backed region that broke away during a short but bloody civil war in 1992.

Trans-Dniester arch sends a clear message to Moldova

An economic "blockade" of Trans-Dniester with the help of the EU in 2006 has backfired, with Russia imposing its own embargo on Moldovan wine imports, striking a severe blow to the economy, and repeatedly hiking prices for exported gas.

The election will be largely ignored in Trans-Dniester.

Of its population of about 560,000 people, it is thought no more than 20-30,000 will vote.

A white triumphal arch, sporting the Russian coat of arms, transmits a clear message towards the Moldovan capital Chisinau - "Russia supports us".

The Russian military is ever-present, and many of the local industrial enterprises are Russian-owned.

Every month, Russia pays about $15 to every pensioner in the territory.

"We see Russia as a big caring brother," Asya, a 17-year-old student in Tiraspol, said.

There are some in Trans-Dniester who ask whether their future lies as a European nation with Moldova, while others believe it is safer to remain with Russia.

In Moldova itself many would like to see reunification with Trans-Dniester - but some suggest the prize of EU membership and future prosperity is enough to forget about the breakaway region and simply let it go. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7982157.stm>

Ships still ply Hong Kong waters but many are emptier than usual

But the ships once sitting heavily in the water, loftily loaded with containers, are now visibly higher in the water.

There is less cargo moving around the world, so less need for ships. Hence, dramatically lower rates for hiring large ships, and so a growing crisis in world shipping.

As the China boom deflates, demand for steel, iron ore and other bulk items from around the world diminishes, leaving bulk carrying ships all dressed up with nowhere to go.

"If you sit in one of the glamorous bars on the south side of Hong Kong, especially in the evening, you will see the lights of lots of ships," says Tim Huxley, chief executive of Wah Kwong Shipping, one of Hong Kong's largest ship-owners.

"Those ships are sitting there, waiting," he says.

The whole shipping market starts to unravel Chris Howse Partner, Richards Butler law firm

"Those are bulk carriers and container ships that haven't got anywhere to go at the moment, there's no cargo for them to carry.

"They're sitting waiting for instructions, waiting for an upturn in trade that will see them moving again, carrying the raw materials that are needed to make the finished goods that are then exported out of southern China to the markets of the West." <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7973752.stm>

Mr Darling will deliver the Budget later this month

The government may have to find £39bn a year by the end of 2015/16, to plug the gap in its finances, the IFS predicted.

Mr Darling, who will present his Budget on 22 April, has said the recession will be more severe than forecast.

He and Gordon Brown are due to meet the Bank of England governor to discuss measures agreed at the G20 summit. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7984889.stm>

In the Katcha Ghari camp near Peshawar, at the edge of abandoned and crumbling Afghan homes, row after row of tents stretch into the distance.

They are divided into clan and family groupings and separated by neatly packed dirt roads, lending an air of permanence to a temporary village.

This is the other side of Pakistan's battle against the Taleban and al-Qaeda.

Huge cost

More than half a million people have been displaced by the fighting in the tribal belt near the Afghan border. And American plans to intensify the conflict in the border region could deepen the crisis.

The residents of Katcha Ghari camp are both angry and confused

Already the government is struggling to cope.

Thousands of homes have been destroyed by military operations, particularly in the tribal area of Bajaur.

The army has declared victory, saying it has won back territory from the militants. But this has been at a huge cost to civilians.

Many have fled to the camps, many more have squeezed in with relatives or rented cheap accommodation. They are not sure it's safe to return, and few have anything left to go back to.

Some of the tents in Katcha Ghari serve as makeshift classrooms. These provide a refuge from the conflict for children. Their schools have been targeted by militants, and used as bases by the army.

For girls especially, school is the plus side of homelessness. Bound by the conservative tribal culture, they are rarely educated.

But 12-year-old Samina Khanpur has just had the opportunity to finish kindergarten and enter first grade.

She remembers bombing raids, and cowers in her tent when planes fly overhead, but comes eagerly to learn her lessons. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7979094.stm>

Fidel Castro said the US should acknowledge calls for better ties

Cuba is not invited to attend the Summit of the Americas, which opens in Trinidad and Tobago on 17 April.

In a newspaper editorial, the former president said that the summit would be a "trial by fire" for the region.

He urged leaders to ensure that both Cuba's isolation and the US trade embargo against it were on the agenda.

Almost all the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean now support an end to the embargo and want Cuba re-admitted to the organisation of American states, says the BBC's Michael Voss, in Havana.

Mr Castro said that he had seen a draft text of the final statement which the US wants to be signed at the summit.

It contained "a great number of inadmissible concepts", he wrote, and did not acknowledge the calls for better Cuba-US ties.

"Who is now demanding our exclusion? Perhaps they don't understand that times of exclusionary agreements against our people have been left far behind," he wrote.

US President Barack Obama has taken a less confrontational approach to the communist nation than his predecessor, George W Bush, our correspondent adds.

But his administration continues to insist that there must be progress towards democracy and on human rights before the trade embargo can be lifted.

The US began imposing restrictions on Cuba after Mr Castro took power in 1959, making it the only Communist state in the Americas - and a Cold War flashpoint.

Mr Castro's younger brother, Raul, formally took over the presidency from him in February last year. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7984850.stm>

Australia's isolated communities has made telecoms progress difficult

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd described Australia as a "broadband backwater" and likened the project to building the railways in the 19th Century.

He dropped plans for a private tender, in favour of a government investment of about A$43bn ($30bn, £20.9bn)

Mr Rudd had promised a fast, affordable broadband system in the 2007 elections that brought him to power.

Just as railway tracks laid out the future of the 19th Century and electricity grids the future of the 20th Century, so broadband represents the core infrastructure of the 21st Century Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd

Private firms, such as Singapore's Optus and Canada's Axia NetMedia had been bidding for a A$10bn - A$15bn fibre-to-the-node network offering speeds up to 12 megabits per second.

Experts advised the government to choose instead the more ambitious fibre-to-the-home network offering 100 megabits per second, accessible by 90% of Australian homes.

Turbo-charged

Mr Rudd described the broadband plan as "the single largest nation-building infrastructure project in Australia's history" which would play a huge role in "turbo-charging Australia's economic future".

"Just as railway tracks laid out the future of the 19th Century and electricity grids the future of the 20th Century, so broadband represents the core infrastructure of the 21st Century," he said.

Under the new plan, the government will initially invest A$4.7bn with the overall investment from government and the private sector reaching up to A$43bn over eight years.

Construction would begin early next year and the government would sell its stake in the broadband company five years after the network was up and running.

Australia's largest telecoms firm Telstra was excluded from the initial tender but Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said it would be invited to take part in the new project.

The government also said it was considering a major regulatory shake-up in the telecoms industry.

It has proved difficult to bring fast internet to all Australians because of the large clusters of population in coastal areas contrasting with small, far-flung rural communities across a vast land.

Mr Rudd linked the project to his plans to help Australia cope with the global financial downturn, saying it would create 25,000 jobs a year during construction. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7986918.stm>

The group have said they aimed to 'listen and talk' to Cubans

State television showed Mr Castro talking to members of the delegation, which is in Havana to explore ways of improving US-Cuban relations.

No details of what was said in their discussions were released.

Barack Obama is expected to ease some of the travel and economic restrictions imposed on Cuba nearly 50 years ago.

Barbara Lee, the leader of the seven-strong group of Democrats, said the group did not carry a message from President Barack Obama but had come only to "listen and talk" with the Cubans.

Failed policy

Last week, a bipartisan group of US senators introduced a bill that would allow all US citizens to travel freely to Cuba for the first time since 1962.

Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan said the policy had "failed for 50 years", adding that he believed it would win enough votes in the US Congress to pass.

But Republican Mel Martinez said the US should support pro-democracy activists, not "the Castro regime".

At present, the US only allows its citizens to go to Cuba if they are journalists, government officials or on a humanitarian mission. Students or people wanting to visit close relatives can also apply for special licences.

The US began imposing restrictions on Cuba after Fidel Castro took power in 1959, making it the only Communist state in the Americas - and a Cold War flashpoint.

His younger brother, Raul, formally took over the presidency from him in February last year. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7986899.stm>

Hillary Clinton says Pyongyang ignored its international obligations

Talks are continuing at the UN after divisions emerged at the Security Council over Sunday's rocket test.

China and Russia are both calling for restraint, but Mrs Clinton says the rocket test was a provocative act.

The US military says North Korea failed to show an ability to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile.

US officials say the rocket failed to fire its later stages and fell into the Pacific.

However, analysts say the test was partially successful and should increase North Korea's bargaining power at the negotiating table.

Earlier, the emergency meeting of the Security Council ended without agreement.

"It's a provocative act that has grave implications," Mrs Clinton told reporters. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7986856.stm>

Do You Own Facebook? Or Does Facebook Own You?

Trust is a fragile commodity.

Thailand is expected to be among the worst-hit countries in the region

The 10 countries, including China and Thailand, will grow by 5.3% this year, half of the growth seen in 2007, the World Bank said in a report.

China's economy is expected to grow by 6.5% in 2009, down from 13% in 2007.

But the organisation said China's huge stimulus package meant its economy should start to recover later this year, potentially boosting the region.

Poverty

East Asia is expected to be among the worst hit areas by the global economic crisis, as richer nations in recession cut back on importing goods from the region.

"There is no doubt that the East Asia and Pacific region is confronting very difficult times," said Vikram Nehru, the World Bank's chief economist for the region.

Among the World Bank's forecasts, the biggest reversals were Thailand, which is expected to shrink by 2.7% after growing 4.9% in 2007, and Cambodia, predicted to contract 1% after growing by more than 10% two years ago.

As a result, the World Bank said it expects about 10 million more people in the region to stay below the poverty line as funding for poverty reduction is cut back.

The organisation said the effects of China's stimulus package - announced last November and worth about 4tn yuan ($586bn; £421bn) - are likely to begin this year and take "full hold in 2010, potentially contributing to the region's stabilisation, and perhaps recovery". <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7986960.stm>

Drug adverts make up the vast majority of all spam mails

The e-mails are dominated by spam adverts for drugs, and general product pitches and often have malicious attachments.

The report found that the global ratio of infected machines was 8.6 for every 1,000 uninfected machines.

It also found that Office document attachments and PDF files were increasingly being targeted by hackers.

Microsoft said people should not panic about the high levels of unwanted e-mail.

Cliff Evans, head of security and privacy for Microsoft in the UK, told BBC News: "The good news is that the majority of that never hits your inbox although some will get through."

Ed Gibson, chief cyber security advisor at Microsoft, said the rise in spam was due to traditional organised crime figures moving away from exploiting software vulnerabilities and "targeting the weak link that is you and me".

"With higher capacity broadband and better OS (operating systems), and higher power computers it is easier now to send out billions of spams. Three or four years ago the capacity wasn't there." <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7988579.stm>

Nissan's operations in the UK will receive £185m

The EIB approved a £340m (366m euros) package for Jaguar Land Rover to help cut vehicle emissions.

And it awarded Nissan £370m (400m euros) - to be split equally between its plants in Sunderland and Spain - to build more fuel-efficient vehicles.

The funding is the first money provided to any carmaker in the UK since the financial crisis began. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7986755.stm>

Some say it is time to 'reboot' the system and redistribute the wealth

Media owner Rupert Murdoch has questioned if aggregators like Google should pay to use content.

The Associated Press is to sue to protect its content as a time when the industry is losing readers to the web.

"I would encourage everybody to think in terms of what your reader wants," Mr Schmidt told newspaper bosses.

"These are ultimately consumer businesses and if you piss off enough of them, you will not have any more," he warned the Newspaper Association of America's (NAA) annual conference in San Diego.

While he praised the way newspapers initially embraced the internet, Mr Schmidt said they had since dropped the ball allowing the likes of Google to take over content distribution.

"There wasn't an act after that. You guys did a superb job, and the act after that is a harder question." <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7988561.stm>

Mr Brown pledged to aid economic recovery by 'building a greener Britain'

Trials of electric cars, a roadside network of vehicle-charging points and incentives for environmentally-friendly carmakers are among planned measures.

Mr Brown told the Independent there was scant room for further fiscal stimulus.

Instead, he said, the Budget on 22 April would be "a job creator, a quality of life improver, and an environment-enhancing measure".

Mr Brown told the newspaper: "It is not just what we do to give real help to people and business now, but about setting a path for the future as well.

"We always take into account both what we need to do now and what is the best future for the fiscal position," he said.

BBC political correspondent Ross Hawkins said Mr Brown's words "will be seen by many as a sign he has heeded the warning from the governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, that Britain cannot afford another fiscal stimulus". <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7989015.stm>

Many Afghans head to Iran illegally in search of a better life

Two of the men had bandages around their heads and another wore a neck brace.

The group of Afghans had been packed into a speeding vehicle on the way to the Iranian capital, Tehran, when they had swerved to avoid an oncoming vehicle.

"Our car then flipped," said Nowrous Haji Yakous, 22. "One of my relatives was killed in the accident."

The men were all then arrested by the Iranian police and an hour later were deported from the country because they had no relevant paperwork. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7951092.stm>

Environment-friendly structures save energy, architect says

Traffic pollution was identified as a significant problem

They found the higher a mother's level of exposure in early and late pregnancy, the more likely it was that the baby would not grow properly.

The study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, looked at 336,000 babies born in New Jersey between 1999 and 2003

UK experts said much more detailed research into a link was needed. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7988619.stm>

Wati says she attends political rallies in order to earn money

If voters had political logos, Wati's would be cooking gas. It makes life in her cramped kitchen a lot easier - she has 14 mouths to feed.

But there is not always the money to buy it these days. So sometimes, here in central Jakarta, in 2009, Wati uses wood.

And as Indonesia's political candidates strut the campaign trail promising shiny new economic miracles, the sooty stains have built up, layer upon layer, on her kitchen ceiling.

But now Wati's found a quicker way for politics to improve her economy... political rallies.

"I go for the money" she told me, giggling, "and the free T-shirts. The first time, my friends said 'Come on - you get money if you go!' So I went..."

She pulls out the money she got for turning up last time - still crumpled in the pocket of her house-dress. It's the equivalent of about $5 - enough to feed her large and hungry family for about a day.

So far, Wati has been to five rallies - all run by different parties - even though she already knows exactly who she'll vote for. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7985473.stm>

Developing countries want big emission cuts from rich nations by 2020, as well as finance for climate protection and more transfer of "clean" technologies.

The top UN climate official said richer nations should show "more ambition".

The talks in Bonn were the first round in a series aimed at reaching a new global deal by December.

This would supplant the Kyoto Protocol, whose targets for cutting emissions expire in 2012.

We have reached a crossroads, and rich countries get to choose the route we all take Antonio Hill Policy adviser, Oxfam

Earlier in the meeting, President Barack Obama's lead negotiator, Jonathan Pershing, told BBC News that the US would only offer cuts that were "politically and technologically achievable".

The president is looking at measures that would bring US emissions back down to 1990 levels by 2020.

But the EU has already pledged a cut of at least 20% from 1990 levels by that date; and developing countries, backed by environment groups, are calling for the industrialised world to act on recommendations made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and make a reduction of 25-40% - some say the science now mandates at least 45%.

Mr Pershing said the US wanted to concentrate on achieving larger cuts but over a longer period of time, saying some of the demands from developing countries were "implausible".

But the calls for stronger action were backed by the executive secretary of the UN climate convention (UNFCCC), Yvo de Boer.

"The numbers being discussed so far are still a significant distance from that range," he said.

"More ambition is clearly needed on the part of industrialised countries." <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7991039.stm>

IBM is among the firms that can now be sued for damages

IBM, Ford and General Motors are among those corporations now expected to face demands for damages from thousands of apartheid's victims.

They argue that the firms supplied equipment used by the South African security forces to suppress dissent.

The companies affected have not yet responded to the judge's ruling.

'Wilful blindness'

US District Judge Shira Scheindlin in New York dismissed complaints against several companies but said plaintiffs could proceed with lawsuits against IBM, Daimler, Ford, General Motors and Rheinmetall Group, the German parent of an armaments maker.

"Corporate defendants accused of merely doing business with the apartheid government of South Africa have been dismissed," she said.

The plaintiffs argue that the car manufacturers knew their vehicles would be used by South African forces to suppress dissent. They also say that computer companies knew their products were being used to help strip black South Africans of their rights.

The judge disagreed with IBM's argument that it was not the company's place to tell clients how to use its products.

"That level of wilful blindness in the face of crimes in violation of the law of nations cannot defeat an otherwise clear showing of knowledge that the assistance IBM provided would directly and substantially support apartheid," she said.

More than 50 companies were initially sued, but after a court demanded more specific details, the plaintiffs decided to target fewer companies.

The US and South African governments supported the companies' efforts to get the complaints dismissed.

They argue that the legal action is damaging to international relations and may threaten South Africa's economic development. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7991134.stm>

Some of the city's residents depend on weekly water rations

The closure, due to last 36 hours, will affect five million people, or a quarter of the city's population.

Unusually low rainfall last year and major leakage are blamed for leaving reservoirs less than half full.

Hundreds of water trucks have been deployed in the areas worst affected by the cuts.

The local government says it will carry out emergency repairs to the water supply network.

More than 50% of the water carried by the pipeline leaks out before it reaches its destination.

This is the third time the capital has faced such a drastic form of water rationing this year, the BBC's Stephen Gibbs in Mexico City reports.

It has been deliberately timed to coincide with Easter weekend, when many residents, or at least those who can afford to, leave the city, our correspondent says.

Mexico City was once a floating city, built on a spectacular chain of volcanic lakes, and flooding used to be its main environmental threat.

But since the lakes were finally drained in the 1960s, the city has been struggling with its water supply, our correspondent says. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/7993279.stm>

Palmerston did not hesitate to send in the gunboats

If the navies of the world need some advice on ways to stop piracy off Somalia, they could look to Lord Palmerston, British Foreign Secretary in 1841.

"Taking a wasps' nest... is more effective than catching the wasps one by one," he remarked.

Palmerston, the great advocate of gunboat diplomacy, was speaking in support of a British naval officer, Joseph Denman.

Denman had attacked and destroyed slave quarters on the West African coast and had been sued by the Spanish owners for damages.

It was British policy to try to destroy the slave trade, but this sometimes ran into legal complications.

The British attorney general, in a gem of delicate legal advice, declared the following year that he "cannot take it upon himself to advise... that the instructions to Her Majesty's naval officers are such as can with perfect legality be carried into execution...

"[He] is of the opinion that the blockading of rivers, landing and destroying buildings and carrying off of persons held in slavery... cannot be considered as sanctioned by the law of nations."

Denman, a hero of the anti-slave trade campaign, was eventually vindicated and the Royal Navy carried on with its anti-slavery operations.

The legal system in Kenya cannot deal with suspected pirates

James Walvin notes in his book Black Ivory: "Between 1820 and 1870 the Royal Navy seized almost 1,600 ships and freed 150,000 slaves."

With Somali piracy still threatening shipping, it sounds as if modern navies need a few Captain Joseph Denmans, or the like-minded American, Commodore Stephen Decatur.

Sent to attack the Barbary pirates off North Africa in 1815, Decatur simply captured the flagship of the Algerian Bey [ruler] and forced a capitulation.

When the Bey later tried to repudiate the agreement, the British and Dutch bombarded Algiers.

No such action against the "wasps' nests" along the Somali coast is possible today, even though the UN Security Council has authorised the use of the "necessary means" to stop pirates on the high seas and hot pursuit into Somali territorial waters. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7991512.stm>

Security experts say the technology protecting the grid has not kept pace

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) newspaper reported that Chinese and Russian spies were behind this "pervasive" breach.

It said software had been left behind that could shut down the electric grid.

"The vulnerability is something [we] have known about for years," said US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

"We acknowledge that... in this world, in an increasingly cyber world, these are increasing risks," Ms Napolitano added.

She refused to comment on the WSJ story that an intrusion had taken place, but security experts said they were not surprised by the claims.

"There is a pretty strong consensus in the security community that the SCADA equipment, a class of technology that is used to manage critical infrastructure, has not kept pace with the rest of the industry," said Dan Kaminsky, a cyber security analyst and director of penetration testing for IOActive.

"Software for desktops and the internet have been dealing with the issue of security for the last 10 years, and that hasn't really come into the SCADA realm.

"From a geo-political standpoint, this has created an opening for skilled 'hostiles' to obtain a presence in places we would rather they didn't have one." <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7990997.stm>

The sat collision in February spawned thousands of pieces of debris (red)

At the time, some observers put the odds of such an event occurring at millions, maybe billions, to one.

But experts had been warning for years that useable space was becoming crowded, boosting the possibility of a serious collision.

They have argued both for better monitoring of the space environment and for policies aimed at controlling the production of debris.

Over the past two years, a number of incidents have drawn attention to the problem of space debris.

We really have to understand the environment in which our space infrastructure operates Jean-Jacques Dordain, director-general, Esa

In January 2007, China tested an anti-satellite weapons system by destroying one of its own spacecraft.

According to the US military, the A-sat test created 2,500 new pieces of debris which have been jeopardising satellites in the vicinity ever since.

In 2008, the US used a sea-launched missile system to shoot down a wayward spy satellite loaded with fuel.

Then on 12 March this year, a close approach by a piece of debris measuring about 1cm (0.3in) in size forced the crew of the International Space Station (ISS) to shelter in their Russian Soyuz escape capsule. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7916582.stm>

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran was open to an offer of fresh talks with world powers, but only if they were based on "justice" and "respect".

Once operational, the new plant could produce sufficient plutonium for two nuclear weapons a year, analysts say.

Iran denies Western claims that it aims to build a nuclear bomb.

The BBC's Jon Leyne in Tehran says Mr Ahmadinejad made it clear he did not see any change in US policy towards Iran, and therefore offered nothing in return.

"The Iranian nation has from the beginning been after... negotiations based on justice and complete respect for rights and regulations," Mr Ahmadinejad said.

"One-sided negotiations, conditional negotiations, negotiations in an atmosphere of threat are not something that any free person would accept," he said. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7991282.stm>

A scar is an area of tissue that replaces normal skin after an inury

Avotermin was tested in healthy volunteers with scars monitored over the period of a year.

The wounds injected with the treatment were less red, raised and visible than those treated with a dummy drug, The Lancet medical journal reported.

Further trials are now starting across Europe, the researchers said.

Early work on the drug was done at the University of Manchester before a spin-off biotechnology company - Renovo - was set up to develop it further.

What we know from our studies is you have to give the treatment when you close up the wound so if someone has had trauma it could be given within 48 hours of the injury Professor Mark Ferguson

People taking part in three trials were given identical 1cm full thickness skin incisions on both arms and were given an injection of avotermin in one and placebo in the other when the wounds were made and then 24 hours later.

Doctors assessing the subsequent appearance of the scars on a 100-point scale did not know which wound was treated with which drug.

The studies, which were done to test safety and find the best dose in more than 200 people, found the scars treated with avotermin looked more like normal skin than the scars treated with placebo.

It comes after decades of research identifying that the active ingredient in the drug - a signalling protein in the body called TGF?3 - had anti-scarring properties.

Wound management

Study leader Professor Mark Ferguson, an expert in wound healing at the University of Manchester and co-founder and CEO of Renovo, said advanced clinical studies were underway. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7990588.stm>

Speaking after a meeting with his top economic advisers, he said there was still "a lot of work to do".

Mr Obama promised more action on the economy in the coming weeks.

He said he and his team had discussed the stability of the financial system, the housing market and plans to help banks clear their books of bad assets. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7994186.stm>

There are about 2.5 million Native Americans in the USA

Pearl Sunrise held out a perfectly round loaf of bread wrapped in a cellophane bag.

It had been baked traditionally in an outside oven or "orno" on a nearby reservation.

"Put it in your suitcase," she said. "It will still be fresh by the time you return home and it's lovely toasted!"

The loaf was a farewell present after I had dinner with Pearl, her three grown-up daughters, their other-halves, and her grandchildren.

Shared by three generations, hers was a suburban, all mod-cons, family home in the city of Albuquerque, but with a Native American twist.

Plastic toys and dinosaurs shared space with traditional pottery, baskets and Pearl's weaving loom and spindle.

This dinner was a chance for me to find out whether this was a typical Native American family, but my sweeping question was greeted with mild derision.

"What's normal? What's typical? We fight like all families do!" one sister laughed.

But then a serious discussion ensued.

Everyone agreed this family was traditional and proud of its heritage.

Despite living outside the reservation they hold on to their customs, going to dances and ceremonies.

"Us girls are very rare," said the middle sister, Deborah, "because we'll never starve. We learnt how to butcher and we can make bread."

Her older sister agreed: "We're rustic on the inside and we're fortunate to have that because a lot of Natives have lost their culture."

Ceremonial protection

All the same, this family was integrated into mainstream American life.

The eldest daughter, Beulah, was a Prom Queen at High School, very rare for a Native American, her doting mother said.

The youngest daughter, Shawna, a television producer, told me how she hoped to make a film about her boyfriend's experience as a soldier in Iraq.

"Tell her about it!" she urged Victor who takes his nature-based belief system extremely seriously and is the grandson of a medicine man.

In 2003 he was part of a team renovating a school near the border with Iran and one morning, eating his breakfast of cereal and hot milk, he picked up a little bird which had fallen from its nest.

Then he noticed what he thought was a stick, but it was a snake. A bad omen in the Navajo culture and a warning that something terrible will happen.

Victor was so worried that he sought permission - which he got - to phone his mother so she could perform ceremonial offerings by the river which he believed would keep his unit safe.

The next morning he made his own offerings towards the sun holding a pouch containing his grandfather's ashes.

Later that day, Victor was told about a series of near-miss events that could have taken his life and the lives of his comrades.

Believing all things to be connected, Victor explained the moral of the story: "Never mess with Mother Nature. I should never have picked up that bird." <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/7992718.stm>

There are concerns about economic inequality in Vietnam

The government believes that joining the WTO is vital to the country's chances of maintaining its rapid economic growth and achieving its dream of leaving the ranks of the world's poorest countries by 2010.

But every year the country needs to create a million new jobs for its young population and some economists are worried that the economy may not be able to deliver.

Vietnam is the darling of the international aid community, one of its few development success stories. In the past 20 years it has lifted huge numbers of people out poverty.

In 1998 a total of 38% of the population lived below the internationally-accepted poverty line, but by 2002 that was down to 29% and in the past few years it's fallen even further. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6084910.stm>

"There were no testing services, no education, no treatment and certainly no monitoring of treatment. People just died."

That was the situation in Bwindi, Uganda, three years ago. Dr Williams, formerly a GP in North-East England, has since transformed a tiny and very basic health centre on the edge of the Impenetrable Forest into an efficient community hospital.

The hospital's community team takes HIV testing kits out to remote villages

And for the past five months, thanks to a small but important piece of equipment, Dr Williams' medical team has been able to monitor the health of patients with HIV from a clinic that fits into the back of their four-wheel-drive "community ambulance".

Bwindi Community Hospital now provides health care for about 40,000 people.

It has a dedicated maternity programme and a children's ward that deals with many cases of malnutrition, as well as other common diseases including malaria and HIV. In total, the hospital takes care of 1,000 HIV positive patients.

Dr Williams describes the environment in which he works: "We're a mile away from the rainforest where there are mountain gorillas, right on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"There aren't any tarmac roads here, there isn't any public transport, and lots of the patients live a day's walk from the hospital. Many of them live a subsistence existence and they can't afford to get here."

So his team packs an "HIV outreach clinic" into its vehicle, and takes it out to remote communities.

Along with the rest of the equipment loaded into the back and strapped on to the roof of the ambulance, there is one modest-looking grey box.

This piece of equipment is a PointCare NOW machine. It was donated to the hospital last year, and has since transformed the care Dr Williams can offer HIV patients.

The hospital is on the edge of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

The machine is a portable blood-testing device - pop in a blood sample and, within 10 minutes, it gives a print-out detailing the condition of a patient's immune system. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7989856.stm>

Mothers use touch to sooth their babies

A team, including scientists from the Unilever company, have identified a class of nerve fibres in the skin which specifically send pleasure messages.

And people had to be stroked at a certain speed - 4-5cm per second - to activate the pleasure sensation.

They say the study, published in Nature Neuroscience, could help understand how touch sustains human relationships.

There are some mechanisms in place that are associated with behaviour and reward which are there to ensure relationships continue Professor Francis McGlone

For many years, scientists have been trying to understand the mechanisms behind how the body experiences pain, and the nerves involved in conveying those messages to the brain.

This is because people can suffer a great deal.

Neuropathy, where the peripheral nervous system is damaged, can be very painful and sometimes the messaging system goes wrong a people feel pain even when there is no cause. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7992299.stm>

The project tracked the change of air quality in 51 American cities since the 1980s.

During that time general life expectancy increased by more than two and half years, much due to improved lifestyles, diet and healthcare.

But the researchers calculated more than 15% of that extra time was due to cleaner air.

You do have a choice on whether you smoke, drink, exercise or what type of food you eat - but you do not have a choice on what air you breathe Dr Douglas Dockery Harvard School of Public Health

"We think about five months of that is due to the improvement of air quality," said Dr Douglas Dockery, head of the Environmental Health Department at Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, which undertook the research.

He added that, due to the relatively clean air in the US, the impact was far larger than anticipated.

Dr Dockery said there were many factors which had an impact on life expectancy.

But he added: "Clean or dirty air is something that is being imposed on you.

"You do have a choice on whether you smoke, drink, exercise or what type of food you eat. But you do not have a choice on what air you breathe."

Dr Dockery believes that if his research was transposed onto the heavily polluted cities of the developing world, such as Beijing or Mexico City, the life expectancy impact would be far greater. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7946838.stm>

They opened fire from a nearby warship as a pirate pointed a gun at the captive, the navy said.

A fourth pirate, who was on a navy ship at the time, surrendered.

Capt Richard Phillips, hailed as a hero for his actions during the hijacking of his vessel last week, was unharmed and has been resting aboard a US warship.

He has spoken to his wife and family back in the US and is said to be looking forward to celebrating Easter when he gets home.

While defending the rescue operation, a navy spokesman acknowledged that the incident might increase the threat from pirates, whose mounting attacks on shipping have been relatively bloodless to date.

Mr Obama said he was very pleased that Capt Phillips had been rescued and that his courage was a "model for all Americans".

Chinese, Asean and other leaders had to be airlifted out of Thailand

China has unveiled plans to establish a $10bn (£6.8bn) investment fund for south-east Asian countries.

It has also offered credit of $15bn to the Association of South-East Asian Nations, or Asean.

Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao had planned to announce the fund at the cancelled Asean summit this weekend.

Asean was set up in 1967 in part to counter influence from communist China but has since become a vehicle for close ties.

The collapse of the Asean summit, scheduled in Pattaya, Thailand, this weekend, delayed the conclusion of a key investment agreement between China and the economic bloc.

That deal is intended to create the world's largest free trade area, covering nearly two-billion people. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7996300.stm>

Handel's investments meant he did not need a wealthy patron

I am a bit old now for scoops, but I seem to have run into one the other day, deep behind the scenes at the Bank of England.

BBC Radio 3 asked me to take part in the extensive commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the death of the great Anglo-German composer, George Frideric Handel.

They wanted to know about Handel's money and how he made it, ending up with a fortune (maybe £3m in today's money) in financial times no less tumultuous than our own day.

Interesting, and a programme rather different from my normal output on In Business and Global Business.

For one thing, no carbon footprint was required. All the locations were within bicycling distance for me and the producer Paul Frankl. I naturally agreed.

There is, of course, a torrent of wonderful music, but really rather few recollections of Handel the person.

Born in Germany, he ended up spending most of his life in London after his employer in Hanover became George I in 1714.

And there is a tantalising suggestion by Handel's biographer, Jonathan Keates, that he may have come to London in 1710 and settled in 1712 to spy out the land for the eventual Hanoverian successor to Queen Anne.

Entrepreneur

But delved into, the money story is a fascinating one. Handel seems to have been among the very first modern musicians not to rely on patronage of court or cathedral for his main income.

Instead, he was an entrepreneurial promoter, risking his own money on operas and oratorios. His fortunes waxed and waned with the popularity of the genres and the fashions of the time.

Eventually, oratorios made him a rich man. But he also did quite a lot of investing, and some records survive of his investments in the newly emerging financial markets.

Handel was a wizard with music notes and banknotes alike

He invested in the original South Sea Company stock in 1716, when it was still fashionable, but he appears to have got out unscathed.

His name has disappeared from the list of investors by the time the company blew up in 1720, a burst bubble caused by a frenzy of speculation on British government stock.

The fledgling Bank of England stepped in to refloat the South Sea annuities, thus supporting the credit of the government, but also no doubt enhancing the developing reputation of the Bank itself, which had only been founded a few decades earlier in 1694.

The Bank of England insisted that investors living in London had to appear in person at the bank.

Handel had installed himself in a new, fresh part of London, Brook Street in Mayfair, with wide streets to turn carriages in and bordering on the rural idyll of Hyde Park.

It was also, crucially, west of the older part of London, so didn't suffer from the smoke and smell that was beginning to overwhelm London.

This meant that he had to travel some distance to Threadneedle Street, the old medieval part of London that must have seemed a world apart and, by comparison, must have seemed quite scary - and, given that he was often appearing and leaving with great amounts of cash, must have been quite dangerous.

We can speculate about him visiting Garraways Coffee House, where he may have met with his broker and discussed whether to move into 3% annuities. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7992395.stm>

The six-year study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, followed a single family of elephants in northern Kenya.

The study shows how the elephants lost out to cattle grazing on grasses.

It also shows the rate of conception rising as food and water resources become more abundant each year.

The study is part of an ongoing research programme tracking the elephant family using GPS receivers on each individual and determining a dietary history from their tail hairs.

That history is laid out chronologically in an "isotope record" along the hair. Isotopes are naturally occurring variations of atoms that are chemically identical but have a slightly different mass.

Different food or water sources that the elephants might access contain different ratios of isotopes of carbon, hydrogen or nitrogen.

The team's prior work in 2006 showed the power of the maxim "you are what you eat"; a clear record of the elephants' diets was evident in the proteins that made up their tail hairs. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7992786.stm>

The ad-serving system profiles the sites people visit online

It follows complaints to the EC over how the behavioural advertising service was tested on BT's broadband network without the consent of users.

Last year Britain had said it was happy Phorm conformed to European data laws.

But the European Commission has said Phorm "intercepted" user data without consent and failed to keep people's online details confidential.

"Technologies like Internet behavioural advertising can be useful for businesses and consumers but they must be used in a way that complies with EU rules," the EU's Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding said in a statement.

She added: "We have been following the Phorm case for some time and have concluded that there are problems in the way the UK has implemented parts of the EU rules on the confidentiality of communications."

Ms Reding said Britain needed to to change its national laws to ensure there were proper sanctions to enforce EU confidentiality rules.

Unless Britain complies, Ms Reding has the power to issue a final warning before taking the country to the 27-nation EU's top court, the European Court of Justice. If it rules in favour of the European Commission, the court can force Britain to change its laws.

At the heart of the legal action by the EC is whether users have given their consent to have their data intercepted by the advertising system.

Phorm's system works by "trawling" websites visited by users whose ISPs have signed up to the service and for whom the technology is switched on, and then matches keywords from the content of the page to an "anonymous" profile.

Users are then targeted with adverts that are more tailored to their interests on partner websites that have signed up to Phorm's technology.

The service has proved controversial for some campaigners who believe it breaks UK data interception laws.

Last year, the firm received clearance from the Home Office and police closed a file on BT trials of the technology.

The UK government said last year the technology could only be rolled out if users had given their consent and it is easy for people to opt out.

The European Union Directive on privacy and electronic communications requires member states to ensure confidentiality of the communications and related traffic data by prohibiting unlawful interception and surveillance unless the users concerned have consented.

The Commission has also said it is concerned that the UK does not have an independent national supervisory authority dealing with the intentional interceptions of users' data. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7998009.stm>

Twitter was hit by a worm over the weekend

Over the weekend, a self-replicating computer program, or worm, began to infect profiles on the social network.

The worm was set up to promote a Twitter rival site, showing unwanted messages on infected user accounts.

Michael Mooney, a 17-year-old US student, told the Associated Press he created the worm to promote his site.

Mooney, who lives in Brooklyn, New York, said he wanted to expose vulnerabilities in Twitter. He told AP: "I really didn't think it was going to get that much attention, but then I started to see all these stories about it and thought, 'Oh, my God'."

The worm worked by encouraging users to click on a link to the rival Twitter site, called StalkDaily.com.

Once the link was clicked, infected users themselves automatically began to send out messages to friends, promoting the site.

No personal or sensitive information, such as passwords, was compromised in the attacks, according to Twitter, which has more than seven million users.

Mikko H Hypponen, chief research officer at security specialists F-Secure, told BBC News the attack could have been much worse.

"All the problems stayed on Twitter. Even if you were infected, nothing happened to your computer.

"It would have been simple to integrate a web browser exploit into this so that you could have done anything you wanted to the infected computer, including recording all keyboard strokes and capturing credit card details."

Mr Hypponen said he was surprised that the vulnerability had been present in Twitter.

"It was a very basic vulnerability. Similar holes were found in other web social services, such as MySpace and Facebook, quite a while ago.

"I guess Twitter has learned its lesson." <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7997732.stm>

These ants do not need males

The ants reproduce via cloning - the queen ants copy themselves to produce genetically identical daughters.

This species - the first ever to be shown to reproduce entirely without sex - cultivates a garden of fungus, which also reproduces asexually.

The finding of the ants' "world without sex" is published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Anna Himler, the biologist from the University of Arizona who led the research, told BBC News that the team used a battery of tests to verify their findings.

Unusual evolution

By "fingerprinting" DNA of the ant species - Mycocepurus smithii - they found them all to be clones of the colony's queen.

And when they dissected the female insects, they found them to be physically incapable of mating, as an essential part of their reproductive system known as the "mussel organ" had degenerated.

This species has evolved its own unusual mode of reproduction Anna Himler University of Arizona

Asexual reproduction of males from unfertilised eggs is a normal part of some insect reproduction, but asexual reproduction of females is "exceedingly rare in ants", write the researchers.

"In social insects, there are a number of different types of reproduction," explained Dr Himler. "But this species has evolved its own unusual mode."

She and her colleagues do not know exactly why this particular species has become fully asexual, and how long ago the phenomenon evolved.

They are carrying out further genetic experiments, which will enable them to estimate how long ago the evolutionary change occurred. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7998931.stm>

At Calais, Boulogne and Dunkirk fishing fleets were preventing ships entering or leaving the harbour.

However, ferry company P&O says the Calais blockade has now been lifted and stranded passengers are on the move.

British police have warned of serious delays and have started parking lorries on the M20 motorway.

Richard Barclay, returning from an Easter break in Belgium with his family, said some passengers had showed signs of frustration towards the port authorities, but "most people are just resigned to wait".

"The main problem is there is nothing to do, and only one facility, with an hour's wait to buy a sandwich," he told BBC News.

Calais relief

Late on Tuesday ferry operator P&O said that the blockade of Calais had been lifted, and it hoped to clear the back-log of 3,000 passengers by morning.

French fishing unions say they are protesting at ever tougher EU-imposed quotas, and are demanding that the French government take a stand on their behalf or offer more financial assistance.

They have not said how long their protest will last.

The EU says limiting the size of fishing catches is the best way to stop stocks being wiped out through over-fishing. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7998795.stm>

Army chief Frank Bainimarama has strengthened his grip on power

The new Reserve Bank governor Sada Reddy made the announcement soon after he was installed by the military-led government.

His predecessor, Savenaca Narube, was dismissed on Tuesday and is reported to have been detained.

Military chief Frank Bainimarama has strengthened his grip and blocked radio broadcasts since a court ruled last week that his rule was illegal.

Fiji's central bank also announced the introduction of exchange controls to prevent capital flight.

It said the devaluation would help boost Fijian tourism and exports - both badly hit by the political crisis and global economic downturn.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully said the Fiji economy was in serious strife even before the last week's upheaval and the military did not understand the role of the central bank.

Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith described Fiji as "now effectively a self-imposed military dictatorship".

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that its transmitters in Fiji have been disabled to prevent local broadcasts, but said its short-wave service continued.

The Pacific Islands News Association has called on the government "to immediately remove its security force presence in newsrooms and to stop its censoring of news items". <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7999327.stm>

The risks of piracy mean little to people accustomed to violence

Even here, where pirate millions first reach Somalia, desperate poverty is everywhere and insecurity is the norm.

US President Barack Obama has said that Somali piracy must be brought under control. But the world's attention is for the most part fixed on the ocean, while the real challenges lie ashore.

What we are seeing in the Gulf of Aden and western Indian Ocean is just the visible tip of a complex web of challenges inside Somalia, a web that reaches across the country, the region and the world.

Somalia is one of the poorest, most violent, least stable countries anywhere on Earth.

It suffers from severe drought and its people face hunger and violence on a daily basis. This is not a new situation, Somalia, especially the south, has been in this state for many years.

The risks associated with piracy can be seen as little worse than those faced every day

What is new is that the world is now once again concerned with the goings on of this collapsed state.

Somalis have learnt to live in circumstances under which many might be expected to give up.

In the face of overwhelming adversity they have created thriving businesses, operating entirely in the informal sector, and hospitals built and maintained with money sent home by the diaspora.

However, people who have been forgotten by the world and who hear of toxic waste being dumped on their beaches and foreigners stealing their fish have difficulty being concerned when representatives of that world are held to ransom.

And for many who have grown up surrounded by constant insecurity and bloodshed, violence and the risk of death are unexceptional hazards.

For this reason the current attempts to fight piracy from the sea are only dealing with symptoms. They do not address the reasons why young men are prepared to risk their lives chasing ships around the ocean. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8001183.stm>

Mr Obama's books have been on best-seller lists for years

The figures also show the president and first lady gave $172,050 to various charities and paid $933,000 in taxes.

Most of the money came from royalties for sales of the president's books.

Mr Obama has written two non-fiction books, an autobiography and a political manifesto, which have remained in the best-seller lists for several years.

The White House said Mr and Mrs Obama filed their mandatory annual tax returns just in time to make the 15 April deadline.

Together, they declared gross earnings of $2,656,902, "the vast majority" of which came from sales of Mr Obama's books.

Mr Obama's political manifesto, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, was published in 2006 and has remained on the New York Times best-seller list for 67 weeks.

His autobiography, Dreams From My Father, has been on the list for 142 weeks and is currently at number eight.

As well as the $855,323 paid in federal taxes and $77,883 in state income taxes, the Obamas gave 6.5% of the income to charity.

The largest donations were $25,000 each to the humanitarian organisation Care and the United Negro College Fund, which provides assistance to US students from ethnic minorities.

The Obama's income is down from their 2007 tax return, where they declared $4.2m in gross earnings.

Vice-President Joe Biden and his wife Jill have also filed their tax returns, declaring $269,256 in pre-tax earnings.

The US president earns a statutory salary of $400,000, while the vice-president's salary is about $220,000.

US families have an average annual household income of about $50,000. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8001255.stm>

Coniferous forests are particularly susceptible to climatic changes

The International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) says forests are under increasing degrees of stress as a result of climate change.

Forests could release vast amounts of carbon if temperatures rise 2.5C (4.5F) above pre-industrial levels, it adds.

The findings will be presented at the UN Forum on Forests, which begins on Monday in New York.

Compiled by 35 leading forestry scientists, the report provides what is described as the first global assessment of the ability of forests to adapt to climate change.

The fact remains that the only way to ensure that forests do not suffer unprecedented harm is to achieve large reductions in greenhouse gas emissions Professor Andreas Fischlin, Assessment co-author

"We normally think of forests as putting the brakes on global warming," observed Professor Risto Seppala from the Finnish Forest Research Institute, who chaired the report's expert panel.

"But over the next few decades, damage induced by climate change could cause forests to release huge quantities of carbon and create a situation in which they do more to accelerate warming than to slow it down." <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8004517.stm>

Could electronic subscriptions help struggling newspapers one day

With newspapers in crisis, there are now suggestions that e-books might offer journalism a new portable platform and subscription model.

One French firm already taking advantage of the electronic subscription model is Ave! Comics which provides cartoon strips to paying e-book users.

"Our idea is to get cartoons more widely distributed to another public and in the end an international public," said Allison Reber from Ave! Comics.

Industries such as newspapers, magazines and books, even copyright-free content from Google, could benefit from the sale of text content as downloads. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/8003724.stm>

Addressing an Asian regional forum in southern China, he announced a $10bn (£6.7bn) fund for infrastructure projects in south-east Asia.

The Boao Forum for Asia has been dubbed the Oriental Davos.

Politicians, business leaders and academics are discussing Asia's response to the global downturn.

External demand continues to shrink, there has been a large drop in exports Wen Jiabao Chinese premier Hainan tourism suffers downturn

China's economic performance and its influence abroad have become the focus of attention at the annual conference in Hainan Province, says the BBC's China Editor, Shirong Chen.

Mr Wen has tried to inspire confidence in neighbours hit badly by the global economic crisis, our correspondent reports.

More foreign dignitaries have attended this year than before, including Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key and Vietnamese Premier Nguyen Tan Dung, as well as ex-US President George W Bush.

Nearly two dozen Chinese government ministers are also in Boao to debate with other delegates on how to manage beyond the crisis and what role the emerging markets can play in reforming the international financial system. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8006029.stm>

The disease tends to affect older people - but can strike at any time.

Excluding certain skin cancers, there were more than 270,000 new cases of the disease in 2001 - and the rate is increasing by about 1% a year.

Some cancer, such as breast, are becoming more common, while new cases of lung cancer fall away due to the drop in the number of smokers.

However, while the overall number of new cancers is not falling, the good news is that successful treatment rates for many of the most common types are improving rapidly.

BBC News Online has produced, in conjunction with Cancer Research UK, a guide to some of the most common forms of cancer and the treatments used to tackle them.

To learn more about different types of cancer, and to read the experiences of patients, click on the links to the right. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3444635.stm>

The Treasury says the Tarp plan is the best response

Neil Barofksy, the special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (Tarp), has delivered a 250-page report to Congress on the plan.

Part of Tarp is a "Public-Private Investment Programme" to buy troubled mortgages and securities that have been at the root of the credit crunch.

But Mr Barofsky said taxpayer risk was many times that of the private parties.

He also warned that the initiative, which includes giving private parties government subsidies to buy the troubled assets, could lead to more scope for fraud.

The public-private partnerships - comprising Treasury, Federal Reserve and private investor money - could total $2 trillion.

'Taxpayer risk'

To encourage private investors to take part in the scheme, low-interest loans and guarantees will be offered to private investors via the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp - a government agency that backs bank deposits.

This means that the private investors, which the US hopes will include private equity, individual investors, pension plans and insurance companies, will shoulder relatively little risk, with 93% borne by the government.

But Mr Barofsky has issued a warning about the disproportionate risk carried by the government and US taxpayers in comparison to the private partners.

"The sheer size of the programme... is so large and the leverage being provided to the private equity participants so beneficial, that the taxpayer risk is many times that of the private parties, thereby potentially skewing the economic incentives," his report stated.

The Treasury has committed $75bn to $100bn of Tarp money to the public-private programme and said the private sector would also contribute.

'Extraordinary effort'

Treasury officials insist the programme is the best response to the troubled loans and securities clogging the system.

Mr Barofsky recommends that the Treasury should establish conflict of interest rules on public-private fund managers to prevent investment decisions that benefit them at the expense of the taxpayer.

He says the Treasury should also disclose the owners of all private equity stakes in a public-private fund.

His report also notes that the Treasury Department has refused to adopt the inspector general's recommendation that all recipients of Tarp money account for the use of government money received.

"In light of the fact that the American taxpayer has been asked to fund this extraordinary effort to stabilise the financial system, it is not unreasonable that the public be told how those funds have been used by Tarp recipients," the report stated. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8009656.stm>

Do people put too much information on Facebook?

The findings come in the latest Unisys Security Index, a bi-annual global study into consumer security concerns.

Nearly 9 out of 10 people were concerned about people accessing their personal information and using it.

Some 88% were worried about people gaining access to and misusing their bank details.

Concerns regarding financial security now exceed 2007 levels - when the nation witnessed a run on Northern Rock.

In the UK, the security index, which rates on a scale of 0 to 300 with 300 being total fear, has jumped 20 per cent, from 125 a year ago to 150.

This trend is also echoed in the US, Germany and Spain where rising financial security scores are the greatest security concern for consumers. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8009890.stm>

The device allows users to draw in light on each other

Moray-based technology laboratory, Distance Lab, hopes to find three couples willing t use Mutsugoto.

The device allows couples, who are separated by distance, to draw in light on each other's bodies or beds.

Stefan Agamanolis, one of its three developers, said it will be the first time it is tested in this way.

Volunteers will be sought at the Edinburgh Arts Festival in August.

Distance Lab, which describes itself as a creative research organisation, hope to find couples where one partner lives in the capital while the other, who will be given a portable device, lives a few hundred miles away. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/highlands_and_islands/8004769.stm>

The Timeline archives date back to the 1400s

A feature known as Similar Images uses a picture rather than text to find other matching images.

Timeline presents information already available in Google News but organised and displayed chronologically.

Alongside these features is a new version of Google Labs, in which users can take a peek at what its thousands of engineers are working on.

Amid past criticism that Google has wasted too much time and effort on projects that have little impact, the aim of the Labs upgrade is to make prototypes available earlier.

"The idea we are trying to build here with Labs and the culture of innovation is to close the gap at the point of which a new idea is hatched and the time it takes to get into the hands of users for feedback," said Google director of product management R J Pittman.

This means engineers can find out at a much earlier stage what does and does not work in a new feature or product allowing them to either reshape it or scrap it altogether.

Google said that in the present economic climate this approach made complete sense.

"We are not especially sure where the industry is headed or the economy is headed but we do know that innovation is alive and well at Google," said Mr Pittman.

"This is a time when innovation is at its most critical in any company." <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8009400.stm>

Meltdown losses of '$4 trillion'

European budget deficits rising

EU forces big mobile price cuts

World first for strange molecule

Poverty hits African Americans hard

All clear for Google Street View

Finance chiefs urge bank reform

UK super-rich 'hit in downturn'

Doctors welcome malaria microchip

Statins link to healthy prostate

Russia mulls rocket power 'first'

US cybersecurity 'embarrassing'

'Barcode' shows mosquito threats

Second chance for French net bill

Web tool 'as important as Google'

Was the UK mission in Iraq a success?

South Sudan's bike ambulance lifeline

Invisibility cloak edges closer

'Reduction' seen in abuse sites

Murder raises ethnic tension higher

Africa's genetic secrets unlocked

Fertilisers 'reducing diversity'

Brazil clears Indian reservation

Swine flu nations make trade plea

Canada farm worker 'infects pigs'

Mining a mint in eastern DR Congo

Drugs 'can help mild depression'