News

Nokia's single-chip phones sales volumes high: report

Nokia (NOK1V.HE: Quote, Profile, Research) has reached high volumes in single-chip mobile phone sales, the company's head was quoted in a newspaper as saying on Friday.

Loud bar music makes customers drink more: study

Customers of bars that play loud music drink more quickly and in fewer gulps, French researchers said on Friday.

Cells from humans grow blood vessels in mice: study

Cells taken from human bone marrow, blood and umbilical cords grew into functioning blood vessels in mice with just the right coaxing, U.S. researchers reported on Saturday.

Brain region linked to obsessive disorder risk

Scientists have located an area in the brain that fails to "kick-in" for people with obsessive compulsive disorder and those at risk of developing the condition.

Wetlands could unleash 'carbon bomb'

The world's wetlands, threatened by development, dehydration and climate change, could release a planet-warming "carbon bomb" if they are destroyed, ecological scientists said on Sunday.

Emergency Beijing Olympic pollution scheme begins

Beijingers breathed easier on Sunday as traffic restrictions and factory closures came into effect in a last ditch attempt to turn the often smoggy Chinese capital into a pollution-free venue for next month's Olympics.

Kenya biofuel project stirs controversy

In a clearing on Kenya's coastal grasslands, a group of nomadic herders shout down government officials who have flown in from Nairobi to explain the benefits of a proposed $350 million sugar project.

Starbucks closures heaviest in Calif, Fla, Texas

California, Florida and Texas, the U.S. states with the most Starbucks Corp (SBUX.O: Quote, Profile, Research) stores, will see the most shuttered as the coffee chain axes more than 600 underperforming outlets in the coming year.

'Dark Knight' sets opening day record

The new Batman movie, "The Dark Knight," raked in $66.4 million (33.2 million pounds) in its opening day to set the single-day box office record, according to its distributor Warner Bros.

Growth ahead for more diversified game industry

The video game industry looks set for at least another year or two of strong growth, driven by geographical expansion, a strong hardware lineup and growing pool of casual gamers, industry executives said.

UK captive death claim taken seriously

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Saturday he was taking seriously a claim by militants in Iraq that one of five Britons they are holding hostage has killed himself.

ETA blamed for blasts in northern Spain

Four bombs exploded at popular seaside resorts in Cantabria northern Spain on Sunday, after warning calls from the Basque separatist group ETA and following a small explosion outside a Barclays bank near Bilbao.

MPs say cannot rely on U.S. torture assurances

Britain should no longer rely on U.S. assurances that it does not use torture on terrorism suspects, an influential committee of MPs said in a report released on Sunday.

Mugabe threatens to seize foreign firms

Zimbabwe will transfer ownership of all foreign-owned firms that support Western sanctions against President Robert Mugabe's government to locals and investors from "friendly" countries, a state newspaper reported on Sunday.

Foreign airstrike kills nine Afghan police

A foreign airstrike killed nine Afghan policemen in western Afghanistan overnight after a clash in which both sides mistook the other for Taliban militants, Afghan officials said on Sunday.

Jump in firms in critical condition

The number of British firms in their death throes or on the brink of bankruptcy rose almost seven-fold in the second quarter compared with the same period last year, a survey showed on Sunday.