Mar
01

Canada's Q4 GDP flat, growth at 1.8% for 2012

OTTAWA: Canada's economy grew 1.8 percent last year, a bit less than the central bank's forecast and down from 2.6 percent in 2011, the government statistics agency said on Friday.Gross domestic product in the fourth quarter was up 0.2 percent, similar to the previous quarter's gains, as mining and oil and gas extraction was up and manufacturing recorded a significant decrease.The arts...
Read More..

Google's European conundrum: When does privacy mean censorship?

Google's New York City headquarters.(Credit:Zack Whittaker/CNET)How Google and other American Internet companies operate in Europe could come down to a link that, depending on what side of the Atlantic Ocean you're on, should or should not be deleted.A case heard Tuesday before the European Court of Justice (ECJ) hinges on a complaint submitted by a Spanish citizen who searched Google for his name...
Read More..

With no pope, cardinals summoned for conclave

VATICAN CITY The Catholic Church has awoken with no pontiff following Benedict XVI's resignation, in which he pledged obedience to his successor and described himself as "simply a pilgrim" starting the final part of his life. Now begins a period known as the "sede vacante" or "vacant see" — the transition between the end of one papacy and the election of a new pope. During these few days — no more...
Read More..

Sequester Set to Trigger Billions in Cuts

Nobody likes the sequester.Even the word is enough to send shivers of fiscal panic, or sheer political malaise, down the spines of seasoned politicians and news reporters. And today, the sequester will almost certainly happen, a year and a half after its inception amid the stalemate of the debt-limit crisis in 2011.Automatic budget cuts will be triggered across federal agencies,...
Read More..
Feb
28

US pledges US$60m for Syria opposition

ROME: The United States on Thursday pledged US$60 million in "non-lethal" assistance for the Syrian political opposition to President Bashar al-Assad as well as the first direct US aid to rebel fighters in the form of food and medical assistance."The US will be providing an additional US$60 million in non-lethal assistance to support the efforts of the Syrian opposition coalition over...
Read More..

Barnes & Noble's earnings slide on declining Nook business

The Nook is having some trouble.(Credit:James Martin/CNET)Barnes & Noble had a rough fiscal third quarter -- the three-month period ended January 26 -- due mainly to its ailing Nook operation.During the period, Barnes & Noble snagged $2.2 billion in revenue, down 8.8 percent compared to the same period last year. The company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization...
Read More..

Five major psychiatric disorders linked in new study

(CBS News) An international group of scientists have identified genetic links between five major psychiatric disorders, including autism, ADHD, bipolar disorder, depression and schizophrenia. Their study, published in the medical journal Lancet, could change how we understand and treat the illnesses. For the first time, researchers were able to see if there are any genetic variants that are linked...
Read More..

Why Should We Care? The Politics of Picking a Pope

Feb 28, 2013 9:34am                              (Image Credit: L’Osservatore Romano/Vatican/Getty Images)ANALYSISVATICAN CITY – In a U.S presidential campaign, the New Hampshire primary is thought of as “retail politics,”...
Read More..
Feb
27

Portugal seizes 79 tonnes of meat containing horse

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

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

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