Samsung's mobile chief says has options to settle war with Apple

Sun, 20 May 2012 22:00:00 GMT

SEOUL (REUTERS) - Samsung Electronics' mobile division chief JK Shin said on Sunday the South Korean technology giant was still seeking to resolve differences in its international patent war with Apple.

Philippines seeks to blunt threatening knife fish invasion

Sun, 20 May 2012 08:21:00 GMT

MANILA (AFP) - The Philippine fisheries chief on Sunday said he had ordered a study into a foreign species called the 'knife fish' that was posing a threat to the local fishing industry at the country's largest lake.

SpaceX scrubs launch to ISS over rocket engine problem

Sat, 19 May 2012 09:28:00 GMT

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AFP) - The California-based company SpaceX on Saturday scrubbed the highly anticipated launch of its Dragon capsule toward the International Space Station (ISS) due to a rocket engine problem.

Gay marriage spawns big spike in online videos

Sat, 19 May 2012 04:12:00 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) - President Barack Obama's announcement that he favours same sex marriage led to a huge spike on the video-sharing website YouTube. The announcement resulted in a record number of searches and a rush of users uploading videos on the subject.

UK surveillance programme could expose private lives

Sat, 19 May 2012 02:30:00 GMT

LONDON (AP) - British officials have given their word: 'We won't read your e-mails.' But experts say the government's proposed new surveillance programme will gather so much data that spooks won't have to read your messages to guess what you're up to.

Researcher apologises for study of gay therapy

Sat, 19 May 2012 01:26:00 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) - A prominent retired psychiatrist is apologising to the gay community for a decade-old study that concluded some gay people can go straight through what's called reparative therapy.

New lawsuit takes aim at Facebook privacy

Fri, 18 May 2012 23:49:00 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - A new lawsuit consolidating several complaints about Facebook's privacy policies was filed on Friday in California, seeking damages for United States (US) users of the social network for improper tracking.

Breastfed babies may gain less weight: Study

Fri, 18 May 2012 22:00:00 GMT

(REUTERS) - Babies who are breastfed gain less weight over their first year of life compared to babies fed either breast milk or formula from a bottle, according to a United States study.

World's first Wikipedia town to launch in Wales

Fri, 18 May 2012 01:35:00 GMT

LONDON (AP) - A small Welsh town where English King Henry V was born is about to make history again by becoming the world's first 'Wikipedia town.'

Twitter joins Firefox effort to thwart online tracking

Fri, 18 May 2012 01:29:00 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Twitter on Thursday took a stand for online privacy by backing a Firefox web browsing feature that lets people signal that they don't want their Internet activity tracked.

Pinterest gets $127m, led by Japan's Rakuten

Thu, 17 May 2012 22:00:00 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Japanese online giant Rakuten announced on Thursday that it was leading a US$100 million (S$127 million) investment in Pinterest, a fast-growing United States (US) bulletin-board style social media website.

'Ring of Fire' eclipse visible from China to Texas

Thu, 17 May 2012 22:00:00 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Sunrises and sunsets often dazzle, but they'll have a special ring to them in a few days for people in the western United States and eastern Asia: The moon will slide across the sun, blocking everything but a blazing halo of light.

Toshiba drops Japan TV operations due to slow demand

Thu, 17 May 2012 22:00:00 GMT

TOKYO (AFP) - Toshiba said on Thursday that it has stopped making televisions in Japan, citing slow domestic demand as falling prices, fierce global competition and a strong yen pressure the country's electronics makers.

LG unveils new smartphone to revive business

Thu, 17 May 2012 06:34:00 GMT

SEOUL (AFP) - South Korea's LG Electronics on Thursday unveiled a new version of its Optimus smartphone with greater memory and a more powerful battery, in an attempt to catch up with its rivals.

'Good' cholesterol doctrine may be flawed, says study

Thu, 17 May 2012 01:23:00 GMT

PARIS (AFP) - Researchers on Thursday challenged a tenet of modern medicine that higher levels of 'good' cholesterol automatically boost cardiovascular health.

Study suggests lower death risk for coffee lovers

Thu, 17 May 2012 00:17:00 GMT

(REUTERS)- Older people who reported drinking a few daily cups of coffee were less likely to die over the subsequent 14 years than were those who abstained from the beverage or rarely drank it, according to a US study of 400,000 people.

YouTube launching food channel with TV veterans

Wed, 16 May 2012 23:41:00 GMT

(AP Food Editor) Mr Bruce Seidel is confident the future of food television won't be seen on television.

Revealing brain damage from battlefield to playing field

Wed, 16 May 2012 22:31:00 GMT

NEW YORK (REUTERS) - Traumatic brain injury, the signature wound of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, is doubly cruel: it leaves many victims emotionally shattered and cognitively crippled.

Google search engine gets smarter with major upgrade

Wed, 16 May 2012 22:21:00 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Google on Wednesday began making its search engine smarter, in what the Internet giant called a major upgrade that looks beyond query words to figure out what people are actually seeking online.

Paralysed woman uses thoughts to move robotic arm

Wed, 16 May 2012 22:10:00 GMT

CHICAGO (REUTERS) - Using just her thoughts, a 58-year-old paralysed woman instructed a robotic arm to grasp a cup of coffee and guide it to her mouth where she sipped from a straw, the first drink she has been able to serve herself in 15 years.

Apple readies iPhone with larger screen: Sources

Wed, 16 May 2012 22:00:00 GMT

TOKYO (REUTERS) - Apple plans to use a larger screen on the next-generation iPhone and has begun to place orders for the new displays from suppliers in South Korea and Japan, people familiar with the situation said on Wednesday.

Bank of England cuts growth forecasts, warns on euro crisis

Wed, 16 May 2012 12:32:00 GMT

LONDON (AFP) - The Bank of England (BoE) on Wednesday cut its forecast for British growth and warned that the eurozone debt crisis was the biggest threat to recovery, even if a credible solution is found.

Japan's DoCoMo to launch smart phones for elderly

Wed, 16 May 2012 11:00:00 GMT

TOKYO (AFP) - Leading Japanese mobile operator NTT DoCoMo on Wednesday unveiled its first smart phone specially designed for elderly users, as the company bids to tap into an ageing consumer population.

High blood pressure affects 1 in 3 adults: WHO

Wed, 16 May 2012 08:13:00 GMT

GENEVA (AFP) - One in three adults suffers from high blood pressure, a key cause of strokes and heart disease, according to World Health Organisation figures released on Wednesday.

Japan firm NEC unveils gesture controlling device

Wed, 16 May 2012 07:42:00 GMT

TOKYO (AFP) - Japanese technology titan NEC has unveiled a gadget that allows users to control their TV, mobile phone or tablet computer using a virtual input device.