The US economy continued to contract in the first quarter of 2009, led by the biggest fall in exports for 40 years. US GDP contracted at an annualised rate of 6.1% during the quarter, little improvement on the 6.3% fall in the last three months of 2008. Exports fell by 30%, the Commerce Department said, [...]
The UN’s World Health Organization has raised the alert over swine flu to level five – a "strong signal that a pandemic is imminent", it says. A phase five alert means human-to-human transmission in at least two countries. The move comes after a 23-month-old Mexican child died in Texas – the first death from swine [...]
Google has defended its online book deal amid reports it is being reviewed by the US justice department. An investigation is expected to examine whether or not the book search agreement with authors and publishers violates anti-trust laws. Google reached a settlement in October to create a $125m (£85m) fund to pay authors to have [...]
The end of the UK’s military presence in Iraq is imminent after six years. Defence Secretary John Hutton is in Basra for a memorial service at 0830 BST for the 179 British personnel who have died during the conflict. Defence officials say plans for the withdrawal of British forces in Iraq are well advanced. They [...]
Scientists have produced the most compelling evidence to date that genetics play a key role in autism. They highlighted tiny genetic changes that appear to have a strong impact on the likelihood of developing autism and related conditions. The changes influence genes which help form and maintain connections between brain cells. The Nature study highlighted [...]
Microsoft has launched a trial product to connect users to the people and places they care about especially when crisis hits. The company said the main inspiration for Vine came from Hurricane Katrina. The product is designed to keep family and friends in touch when other communications fail or falter. The Seattle Times has described [...]
Societe Generale’s chairman Daniel Bouton has announced his resignation, saying the personal attacks against him risked "harming the bank". Mr Bouton has faced increasing criticism ever since a rogue trader lost the bank 4.9bn euros ($6.5bn; £4.4bn) at the start of 2008. SocGen then needed a 1.7bn-euro loan from the government in December because of [...]
The BBC has seen documents alleging that a former rebel leader indicted for war crimes is playing a leading role in a mission involving the UN in DR Congo. The documents appear to prove that Gen Bosco Ntaganda is taking an active part in the mission’s chain of command, a BBC correspondent in the country [...]
A team at the University of California, Irvine discovered oleic acids from fats are converted into a memory-enhancing agent in the gut. They hope their work, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could offer a new way to treat memory-related problems. Drugs to mimic the action of the compound are in trials [...]
The Home Office has been accused of colluding with online ad firm Phorm on "informal guidance" to the public on whether the company’s service is legal. E-mails between the ministry and Phorm show the department asking if the firm would be "comforted" by its position. The messages show Phorm making changes to the guidance sought [...]
German carmaker Daimler has reached a deal to give up its 19.9% stake in Chrysler, the company has said. The deal, which will also see Daimler forgive Chrysler’s outstanding loans, marks a definitive separation of the German and US firms, Daimler said. Daimler bought Chrysler in 1998 but sold most of the loss-making unit to [...]
A deadly swine flu virus first detected in Mexico can no longer be contained, a World Health Organization (WHO) official has said. WHO Assistant Director General Keiji Fukuda said countries should now focus on mitigating the effects of the virus. The WHO has raised its alert level from three to four, two steps short [...]