Mainstream News

Forget premiums: A peer-to-peer network will cover you

"An online insurance firm called Peercover lets groups of people insure each other on their own terms and at a fraction of the cost. Insurance is the latest financial service to get a shake-up from peer-to-peer (P2P) dynamics. Already, individuals can lend money for a return with interest. Similarly, people wanting to exchange currency can avoid banks and instead use P2P services to find other people looking to make the opposite trade. 'The changes in financial services that are happening now are happening more quickly and dramatically than anything we've seen over the last 100 years,' says Ron Suber of peer-to-peer loan company Prosper. 'Peercover is a great example.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingForget premiums: A peer-to-peer network will cover you

Scientists plan to launch thousands of GM ‘Frankenflies’ into fields

"Thousands of GM insects developed by British scientists are set to be the first released into fields in Europe as an alternative to chemical pesticides. The plan is to release a large number of genetically modified olive flies that would be used to kill off wild pests that damage the crop. The technology is the brainchild of experts at British company Oxitec, who insist the GM insects are better for the environment that spraying crops with chemical pesticides. The Oxitec chief executive, Hadyn Parry, accused critics of the technology who warn of danger to health and the environment of scaremongering." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingScientists plan to launch thousands of GM ‘Frankenflies’ into fields

Japan nuclear agency says Fukushima water leak risk exaggerated

"The chief of Japan’s nuclear watchdog chided the operator of the Fukushima plant Thursday for its inability properly to explain problems, which he said was inflating fears around the world. Shunichi Tanaka, chairman of the Nuclear Regulation Authority, said information given by Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) on the level of radioactive contamination was 'scientifically unacceptable'. Tanaka’s comments come after TEPCO announced it had detected a hotspot with a reading of 2,200 millisieverts per hour. TEPCO has confirmed that a reading of 2,200 millisieverts per hour would be enough to kill a person in a matter of hours." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJapan nuclear agency says Fukushima water leak risk exaggerated

NJ Causes Bridge Jam With Unannounced Lane Closures For ‘Study’

"Police and elected officials in Fort Lee, N.J., say they weren't given warning that the Port Authority planned to reduce the number of local access lanes directly from Fort Lee to the bridge from three to one—causing traffic to back up in the borough—and are still puzzled by the official explanation that the agency was conducting a study of traffic patterns. After the two local lanes handling Fort Lee traffic were closed, cars and trucks quickly clogged streets used by local travelers to reach the bridge and New York City. Local officials said the backup led to long delays for Fort Lee buses traveling for the first day of school Monday." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNJ Causes Bridge Jam With Unannounced Lane Closures For ‘Study’

Bangladesh police fire rubber bullets at workers seeking $100 month wage

"The vast majority of the impoverished nation’s three million workers earn a basic monthly wage of 3,000 taka ($38) — among the lowest in the world — following a deal between unions, the government and manufacturers in August 2010. On Saturday, dozens of factories were forced to shut after at least 20,000 workers left their machines to demand the wage rise. Angry demonstrators hurled stones at the outside of some 20 factories after managers refused to allow some employees to join the protests, police said. Widespread protests seeking wage rises in 2006 and 2010 led to deadly clashes, leaving dozens of workers dead and hundreds of factories vandalised." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBangladesh police fire rubber bullets at workers seeking $100 month wage

Saudi Arabian women call new day of defiance against driving ban

"'I will drive on October 26,' activist Nasima al-Sada told AFP on Sunday, saying that some 20 women are going to take part in the campaign in the kingdom’s Eastern Province. 'Many women are enthusiastic about learning to drive, or to teach other' women how to drive, she said, as many Saudi women have obtained abroad the driving licences they are denied in their homeland. 'There is not a single text in the Sharia Islamic law that prevents us (from driving). Any pretexts used to do that are based on inherited customs,' said the online petition. The last day of of defiance against the ban was on June 17, 2011." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSaudi Arabian women call new day of defiance against driving ban

Investigation to record victims of US drone attacks in Pakistan

"The objective, said TBIJ deputy editor Rachel Oldroyd, is to take these deaths out of obscurity and make it easier to test statements about the nature and use of drones. US authorities have been reluctant to acknowledge any civilian deaths caused by the drone operations, which have been going on since 2006. The CIA has claimed a high rate of killings of militants, saying that strikes since May 2010 have killed more than 600 militants but no civilians. This claim is contested by experts, journalists and researchers on the ground." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingInvestigation to record victims of US drone attacks in Pakistan

Egyptian farmer arrested for naming donkey after top general

"An Egyptian farmer has been arrested for putting the name of the country’s military chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and an army cap on his donkey, state media said Saturday. Omar Abu al-Magd Ali al-Saghir, 31, was arrested late on Friday in the central province of Qena for allegedly insulting the general, state news agency MENA reported. The farmer was arrested after he rode the donkey through his home village in an act deemed 'directly insulting' to the army, MENA said. Sisi, who ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi on July 3, is vice prime minister and defence minister as well as army chief." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEgyptian farmer arrested for naming donkey after top general

Thousands march in Edinburgh to support Scottish independence

"Thousands of people marched through the Scottish capital Edinburgh on Saturday calling for independence, a year ahead of Scotland’s historic referendum on whether to break away from the United Kingdom. The pro-independence campaign 'Yes Scotland' estimated that 20,000 supporters joined the march, turning the city centre into a sea of blue and white as they waved thousands of Scottish flags. Some of the men were clad in traditional Scottish kilts as they marched up Calton Hill, overlooking the city, to the sound of bagpipes. The ‘no’ campaign — backed by British Prime Minister David Cameron’s government — claims Scotland is stronger as part of the larger United Kingdom." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThousands march in Edinburgh to support Scottish independence

With its leaders facing trial, Kenya quits International Criminal Court

"Yesterday Kenya’s parliament voted to pull out of the ICC – the first African country to do so. That decision comes shortly before the ICC starts trials of Kenya's president and vice president. So far both men have said they will appear at The Hague, but speculation has begun that the vote may be the first step toward cutting off cooperation. President Uhuru Kenyatta and Vice President William Ruto were indicted for mass violence and deaths after the 2007 elections. This summer ICC officials hinted that they might allow parts of Ruto’s trial to take place in Kenya or Tanzania. But today, less than 24 hours after Kenyan lawmakers in a raucous session voted to leave the ICC, the possibility was ended." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWith its leaders facing trial, Kenya quits International Criminal Court