Archive for BBC News
BBC Science And Nature News: 16 February 2009
February 16th, 2009 • BBC News, Science, Technology
- Galapagos tourism ‘needs curbs’
The Galapagos Islands face irreversible damage unless the growth in tourism is curbed, according to conservationists. - Richard Dawkins on Darwin
Richard Dawkins on the relevance of evolution - Fishermen in ‘dolphin rescue’
Fishermen rescue about 200 dolphins stranded in shallow waters off the Philippines. - Global warming ‘underestimated’
The severity of global warming over the next century will be worse than forecast, a leading climate scientist warns. - Tracking reveals songbirds’ route
The migration routes of two species of songbirds have been tracked for the first time, say scientists. - Gestures ‘develop infant speech’
Toddlers who use gestures more often have better vocabularies on reaching school age, US researchers say. - Simulation targets early cosmos
Scientists use a supercomputer to simulate what the Universe was like as the first galaxies were forming. - Russian and US satellites collide
US and Russian satellites collide in space, creating a cloud of debris above Siberia in the biggest reported accident of its kind. - Neanderthals ‘distinct from us’
Scientists studying the DNA of Neanderthals say they can find no evidence that this ancient species ever interbred with modern humans. - Missile warning technology lofted
Europe’s Ariane 5 rocket launches two satellites to test technology for a missile early warning system. - Backstage at Kew
Audio tour of the botanical gardens’ largest glasshouse - Sound future
Hi-tech help for music makers - Earth Watch
Why a new deal on whaling now looks unlikely - Killer blow
Did a shift in the climate kill off the Neanderthals? - Pipes of peace
Why water can be a path to peace rather than wars - Complex clues
What kissing says about the kisser… and the kissed - Population: The elephant in the room
Environmentalists must accept that uncontrolled population growth threatens to undermine efforts to save the planet. - Lightening our ‘water footprints’ is best way to quench the planet’s thirst
Reducing the impact of our “water footprints” is the best way to help the world quench its growing thirst. - DNA testing fails on ancient British polar bear remains
A scientist says she has been unable to extract DNA for analysis from ancient Scottish bear remains. - Bleak forecast on fishery stocks
Changing ocean temperatures will force many fish species to migrate towards the poles, hitting fish stocks, scientists warn. - Light ‘could detect Parkinson’s’
A light as bright as a million-watt bulb could help identify early signs of Parkinson’s disease, British researchers say. - Cancer ‘danger receptor’ found
A “danger receptor” that may kick-start an immune reaction to cancer in the body has been found by UK researchers. - Galaxy has ‘billions of Earths’
There could be one hundred billion Earth-like planets in the Milky Way galaxy, a US conference is told. - HIV gene therapy trial promising
One of the first attempts to use gene therapy to treat HIV produces promising results in preliminary clinical trials. - Vibrations ‘could save elephants’
Zoologists in Namibia experiment using vibrations from the sound of female elephants to lure rampaging males back to safety. - Dance duet helps male birds mate
Rather than compete for females, male long-tailed manakins pair up to perform their courtship song and dance. - Ice oceans ‘are not poles apart’
A marine census finds that at least 235 species live in both polar regions, despite being 12,000km apart.
BBC Americas News: 16 February 2009
February 16th, 2009 • Americas, BBC News, World
- Hard times
America’s favourite motorsport faces credit crunch impact - Cop for a day
Take command of New York’s finest - for a price - Woody’s war
Woody Harrelson on Iraq war movie The Messenger - Eternal revenue
How the US taxman gets you and never lets you go - Border beat
US turns to songs to deter illegal border crossings - Making a turn
US prisoners learn secrets of business running - Hard times in Charlotte
Downturn bites in once thriving US financial hub - Mobilising Venezuela’s voters
Campaigners aim for big referendum turnout on Sunday - Candidates for 2016 Olympics
Chicago and Rio among the bidders - Iraqi finds new life in New York
An Iraqi journalist on settling in New York city - Complex clues in a kiss
What kissing says about the kisser… and the kissed - Tecnobrega beat rocks Brazil
Tecnobrega takes Brazil by storm - Intel announces $7bn plant plan
Computer chipmaker Intel announces plans to build new plants worth $7bn (£4.78bn) over the next two years. - Shares fall after US banking plan
Global markets give the $1.5 trillion US bank bail-out plan a muted response, following sharp falls overnight on Wall Street. - Oil rises on stimulus plan hopes
Oil prices jump after a week of falling crude prices on hopes US President Obama’s stimulus plan will revive the economy. - Family anger over Menezes review
No UK police officers will be prosecuted over the death of Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes. - Obama hails bail-out ‘milestone’
US President Obama says Congress approval of his $787bn stimulus plan is a “major milestone” to economic recovery. - Doubts over Swiss attack claims
A Brazilian woman who said she miscarried twins after an alleged racist attack in Zurich was not pregnant, investigators say. - US ‘keen to strengthen Asia ties’
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tells the BBC the US is keen to deepen its Asia ties, ahead of a tour of the region. - US plane ‘crashed flat on house’
An aircraft that crashed in New York state, killing 50 people, fell flat onto a house, investigators say. - Venezuela expels Spanish deputy
Venezuela expels a Spanish deputy of the European parliament for reportedly calling Hugo Chavez a dictator. - Baseball star lied about drug use in the sport
US baseball star Miguel Tejada pleads guilty to lying to Congress about the use of performance enhancing drugs in the sport. - Fresh twist in Beckham tug-of-war
AC Milan refuse to be put off signing David Beckham, despite LA Galaxy’s insistence the midfielder will return when his loan ends on 8 March. - Why saying ’sorry’ is all the rage
Why ’sorry’ seems to be the easiest word - Woman with world’s longest fingernails loses them in car crash
An American woman who held the record for having the world’s longest fingernails has them broken off in a car crash. - White House to honour Stevie Wonder with a special award
Motown legend Stevie Wonder is to be honoured with a concert and special award at the White House later this month. - Octuplets PR team ‘death threats’
A PR firm is to stop representing the California woman who gave birth to octuplets after it says it got death threats. - US army ‘wants more immigrants’
The US army is to accept immigrants with temporary US visas for the first time since the Vietnam war, a report says. - Holbrooke begins key India talks
The new US envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, is holding talks with Indian leaders on the last leg of a regional tour. - Clinton makes first visit to Asia
Hillary Clinton is due in Japan on her first overseas visit as America’s top diplomat, days after pledging stronger Asian ties. - Reporters track the changes
The BBC’s Washington correspondents track developments in the first 100 days of Barack Obama’s presidency. - Guantanamo inmate ‘fit to travel’
A British man held at Guantanamo Bay - Binyam Mohamed - is fit enough to return to the UK, the Foreign Office says. - Crash plane ‘dropped in seconds’
A plane that crashed onto a house in New York state killing 50 people dropped 800 feet in five seconds, officials say. - Venezuelan leader wins key reform
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez wins a referendum, allowing him to stand for re-election beyond his second term.
BBC Asia Pacific News: 16 February 2009
February 16th, 2009 • Asia, BBC News, World
- Living on the edge
Why Philippines can be a deadly country for journalists - Corruption classes
Indonesia takes the anti-bribery battle to schools - Australia’s fire-starters
On the trail of Australia’s shadowy ‘enemy within’ - Burmese gloom one year on
Burmese are pessimistic one year after protests - China voices on financial crisis
Workers discuss how financial crisis is affecting them - Eyewitness: Fiji’s worst floods
Fiji resident, agricultural consultant Charles Eaton, describes the impact of the storms. - South Korea rates hit record low
South Korea’s central bank cuts interest rates to a record low of 2% and signals further cuts could lie ahead. - Australian stimulus plan approved
The Australian Senate approves the Labor government’s A$42bn stimulus plan, after earlier blocking the bill. - World Bank gives China $710m loan
The World Bank is giving China $710m to help rebuild the areas which were hit by last year’s Wenchuan earthquake. - Japanese ruling may split family
Japan orders a Filipino couple to leave the country due to illegal entry - leaving behind their Japan-born daughter. - Thai colonel defends expulsions
The Thai military officer at the centre of controversy surrounding the expulsion of Rohingya asylum-seekers defends his role. - Tajikistan risks ’social unrest’
Tajikistan, Central Asia’s poorest nation, risks becoming a failed state, an international think-tank has warned - Australia mourns for fire victims
Victims of Australia’s devastating bush fires have been mourned at services across the country. - Taleban release Chinese engineer
Taleban militants in north-western Pakistan release a Chinese engineer held hostage for more than five months. - Earth Watch
Why a new deal on whaling now looks unlikely - What happened?
Bushfire survivors want emergency response change - Out of control
The Beijing fireworks party that went wrong - Reynolds’ China
Why apologising is important if you’re in China - In pictures
East Timor’s violent history leaves its mark on its people - Bryant’s Australia
PM Kevin Rudd grows in stature amid bushfire anger - Washout sees Aus & NZ draw series
Australia retain the Chappell-Hadlee trophy after the deciding game in the five-match series is abandoned with New Zealand closing in on victory. - Fishermen in ‘dolphin rescue’ off Philippines coast
Fishermen rescue about 200 dolphins stranded in shallow waters off the Philippines. - New Zealand dog who died saving children honoured for bravery
A dog which died protecting children from two pitbull terriers in New Zealand is given a posthumous honour. - China’s Hu grants aid to Tanzania
China’s President Hu Jintao grants $22m in aid to Tanzania as he continues an African tour aimed at building ties. - Chinese firm to buy Oz Minerals
Chinese firm Minmetals offeres to buy debt-laden Australian miner Oz Minerals for 2.6bn Australian dollars ($1.7bn, £1.2bn). - UN rights envoy returns to Burma
The UN envoy on human rights in Burma visits Karen state, hoping to see political prisoners, in his second visit since May. - North Korea fuels missile rumours
North Korea asserts its right to “space development”, amid speculation of a planned long-range missile launch. - Ivory trade hits Asia’s elephants
The illegal ivory trade in Vietnam is threatening the survival of South East Asia’s elephants, a wildlife monitoring group says. - Japan’s economy in quarterly dive
Japan’s economy contracted by 3.3% in the final quarter of 2008 - its worst showing since the oil crisis of the 1970s, figures show. - China warns against protectionism
China warns against protectionist measures by other countries, amid fears such action could aggravate the economic slump. - Australian arson suspect named
The first suspect to be charged with arson over Australia’s bushfires is named, despite fears for his safety. - Clinton makes first visit to Asia
Hillary Clinton is due in Japan on her first overseas visit as America’s top diplomat, days after pledging stronger Asian ties.
