December 30, 2013 |
Historians, environmentalists oppose Calif. solar power plant Los Angeles (UPI) Dec 26, 2013 - A proposed solar power plant in California has come under fire over concerns it will mar historic elements of a World War II internment camp and harm wildlife. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power says that despite the objections is it going ahead with plans to put 1 million photovoltaic panels on 1,200 acres it owns in the Owens Valley north of the city. The $680-millio ... more | |
GM, Ford to recall more than 1.5 mln cars in China Shanghai (AFP) Dec 27, 2013 - US auto giant General Motors (GM) and its counterpart Ford will recall more than 1.5 million vehicles in China over defective parts, the country's quality watchdog said Friday. Shanghai GM, a joint venture between GM and China's SAIC Motor, will recall more than 1.46 million Buick and Chevrolet cars due to defective fuel-pump brackets, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspe ... more | |
Batteries as they are meant to be seen Richland WA (SPX) Dec 28, 2013 - Researchers have developed a way to microscopically view battery electrodes while they are bathed in wet electrolytes, mimicking realistic conditions inside actual batteries. While life sciences researchers regularly use transmission electron microscopy to study wet environments, this time scientists have applied it successfully to rechargeable battery research. The results, reported in De ... more | |
After Impressive Demonstrations of Robot Skill, DARPA Robotics Challenge Trials Conclude Homestead, FL (SPX) Dec 28, 2013 - On December 20-21, 2013, 16 teams were the main attraction at the DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC) Trials, where they demonstrated their prototype robots' ability to perform a number of critical real-world disaster-response skills. DARPA constructed eight tasks at the Homestead Speedway in Homestead, Fla., to simulate what a robot might have to do to safely enter and effectively work inside a disa ... more | |
China's Zhejiang Loong Airlines confirms order of 20 A320s Paris (AFP) Dec 29, 2013 - China's Zhejiang Loong Airlines has ordered 20 Airbus planes of the A320 series, firming up a deal made in September, Airbus announced in a statement Sunday. The carrier which is based in Hangzhou, east China, had been given the green light for the transport of passengers when it signed the Memorandum of Understanding with Airbus at the 15th Aviation Expo China 2013 in Beijing. Zhejiang ... more | |
Study: Teens abandoning Facebook, leaving it 'dead and buried' London (UPI) Dec 27, 2013 - Teenagers are abandoning Facebook in large numbers, citing their parents as the biggest deterrent to their using the service, a European study found. "Facebook is not just on the slide - it is basically dead and buried," researcher Daniel Miller, professor of material culture at University College London, said. A study of teens 16 to 18 years old in eight EU countries found as p ... more | |
Blast from the past: 1970s games revived on Internet Washington (AFP) Dec 27, 2013 - For those old enough to remember console games like "Asteroids" or "Red Baron," from the 1970s and 1980s: the games are back. The Internet Archive this week launched its "Console Living Room," offering browser emulations of pre-Internet era video games which used to be played on consoles from firms like Atari, Coleco or Magnavox. "For a generation of children, the most exciting part of a ... more | |
Target says 'strongly encrypted' data taken in breach New York (AFP) Dec 27, 2013 - US retailer Target said Friday that hackers obtained "strongly encrypted" data in a recent security breach, but that customer debit cards do not appear to have been compromised. "While we previously shared that encrypted data was obtained, this morning through additional forensics work we were able to confirm that strongly encrypted PIN (personal identification number) data was removed," Tar ... more | |
Twitter tumbles after warning on overvaluation New York (AFP) Dec 27, 2013 - Twitter shares tumbled Friday after a brokerage analyst warned the popular messaging network was overvalued following a meteoric rise since its initial public offering in November. Twitter shares closed down 12.99 percent at $63.79. But the stock has more than doubled from its offering price at $26 on November 7. Jon Ogg at 24/7 Wall Street said Friday's decline followed a five percent g ... more | |
Fighting rages in S.Sudan oil regions, 'progress' for peace mission Juba (AFP) Dec 26, 2013 - Heavy fighting raged in South Sudan's oil-producing north Thursday, officials said, although neighbours Kenya and Ethiopia claimed "good progress" in efforts to broker an end to the civil war there. Army spokesman Philip Aguer said troops loyal to President Salva Kiir were battling forces allied to former vice president Riek Machar inside the town of Malakal, capital of Upper Nile state. ... more | |
Obama signs defense, budget bills into law Kailua, United States (AFP) Dec 26, 2013 - President Barack Obama Thursday signed into law the compromise US budget bill recently negotiated by feuding lawmakers and a massive defense bill that takes a step toward ultimate closure of Guantanamo. After signing the legislation while vacationing in Hawaii with his family, Obama praised the National Defense Authorization Act for allowing accelerated repatriation of detainees from the US ... more | |
Two Libya army officers killed in Benghazi Benghazi, Libya (AFP) Dec 27, 2013 - Two Libyan army officers have been killed in the past 48 hours in the eastern city of Benghazi, cradle of the 2011 revolt against Moamer Kadhafi, officials and medics said. The restive east has seen frequent attacks on security forces as the weak government in Tripoli has struggled to exert control over former rebels who have refused to disarm or join the security forces. A security sour ... more | |
Mumbai's last generation of letter writers signs out Mumbai (AFP) Dec 27, 2013 - Letter writer Shakil Ahmed is a proud keeper of secrets. For decades he penned the missives of Mumbai's illiterate workers, whether lovers pledging devotion to faraway sweethearts or prostitutes sending home money while concealing their trade. Today, Ahmed is lucky if he gets to write an address. "Thousands of people used to come - we didn't have time to eat. But in the last seven y ... more | |
Cathay Pacific orders 4 more long-haul Boeing planes Hong Kong (AFP) Dec 27, 2013 - Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific ordered four additional long-haul planes from Boeing on Friday, a week after it ordered 21 Boeing 777-9X planes, in a move to modernise its fleet. The airline said it would purchase an additional three Boeing 777-300ER passenger planes along with a Boeing 747-8 freighter, with a total list price of HK$7.4 billion ($954.25 million). Cathay did not rev ... more | |
Amazon to compensate customers for late gifts New York (AFP) Dec 26, 2013 - Amazon Thursday said it would give $20 gift cards and pay shipping costs for customers affected by problems at UPS and FedEx that delayed some Christmas package deliveries. The Amazon pledge came after UPS in particular came under fire for late packages despite vows from retailers to meet a December 25 deadline. Some customers took to Twitter to voice their displeasure, likening one or ... more | |
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More Americans shopped on their phones on Christmas Washington (AFP) Dec 27, 2013 - Most stores were closed but Americans still managed to shop on Christmas Day - increasingly on their smartphones. An IBM survey showed Christmas Day online sales were up 16.5 percent over last year, with a strong boost from smartphones and tablets. Mobile traffic was the highest IBM found over this holiday season, accounting for 48 percent of all online traffic. And mobile accounted for ... more | |
Renewables Provides All New US Electrical Generating Capacity In November Washington DC (SPX) Dec 24, 2013 - According to the latest "Energy Infrastructure Update" report from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's Office of Energy Projects, solar, biomass, wind, geothermal, and hydropower "units" provided 394 MW - or 100% - of all new electrical generation placed in-service in November 2013. There was no new capacity during the month from natural gas, coal, oil, or nuclear power. Renewable e ... more | |
Japan OKs record budget, sees deflation threat recede Tokyo (AFP) Dec 24, 2013 - Japan approved its biggest ever budget Tuesday, as an improving economy and a sales tax hike made room for more defence spending and the first step towards achieving a balanced budget. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet rubber-stamped a plan that will see the government spend 95.88 trillion yen ($922 billion) in the year from April 2014, up from 92.61 trillion yen the previous year. The ... more | |
Fukushima operator readies new restructuring plan Tokyo (AFP) Dec 25, 2013 - Tokyo Electric Power Wednesday submitted a fresh restructuring plan to a Japanese government-backed fund that envisages the creation of a special unit to dismantle the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant. TEPCO president Naomi Hirose pledged thorough implementation of the plan, once approved by the government as expected next month. The utility's board Tuesday approved a draft plan that wou ... more | |
Rusal starts legal case against London Metal Exchange London (AFP) Dec 24, 2013 - Rusal, the world's largest aluminium producer, has triggered a judicial review of plans by the London Metal Exchange to reform how it stockpiles commodities, the LME's owner said on Tuesday. Russian company Rusal filed a claim in the English High Court on Monday, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange said in a statement. The Hong Kong bourse last year bought the LME, which is the world's biggest meta ... more | |
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