Legislation has been tabled in the United States aimed at making a ban on oil drilling at a wildlife refuge in Alaska permanent. Wildlife campaigners are hoping the new Democrat-led Congress will adopt such a move, which has been rejected on several occasions in the past. The legislation would make about 500,000 hectares of land along Alaska's Arctic coast a protected wilderness. It is rich in wildlife but also has more than 10bn barrels of oil. Read more...
British gaming mags PC Gamer and PC Zone have spilled the beans on a new Oblivion expansion titled The Shivering Isles. The new content will let players explore The Isles, which are divided into northern/southern areas titled (not too invitingly) Mania and Dementia, respectively. Players will be able to reach the Shivering Isles through a door on an island that appears in Niben Bay near Bravil. Read more...
Complex video card specifications and reviews are great if you have the time to do the necessary research. At the end of the day, however, what gamers really need is simply to get the best video cards that their money can buy. So, if you don't have the time to research and assess all the benchmarks, or if you don't feel confident enough in your ability to make the right decision, fear not! We at Tom's Hardware Guide have come to your aid, with a simple list of the best gaming cards available. Read more...
If the U.S. or Israel attack Iranian nuclear power facilities "huge amounts of radioactive material will be lofted into the air to contaminate the people of Iran and surrounding countries," an eminent international authority on nuclear weapons warns. "This fallout will induce cancers, leukemia, and genetic disease in these populations for years to come, both a medical catastrophe and a war crime of immense proportions," Dr. Helen Caldicott writes in her new book, "Nuclear Power Is Not The Answer," published by The New Press. Read more...
The Bush administration would be required to negotiate drug prices for the Medicare health program under legislation introduced today by Democratic Representative John Dingell of Michigan. The measure, set for a Jan. 12 vote by the House of Representatives, says the secretary of Health and Human Services ``shall negotiate with pharmaceutical manufacturers the price'' of drugs. Such a move, which is likely to pass the House, may lower the government's costs and cut into drugmaker profits, analysts said. Read more...
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she won't support any proposal by President George W. Bush to increase U.S. forces in Iraq, an option he is considering as he works on a new plan to quell sectarian violence. "I don't support it," Pelosi, a California Democrat, said in an interview. "It's an escalation of the war, and the American people spoke very clearly in the election that if there is any place that they want a new direction, it was in Iraq." Read more...
Web users are being urged to upgrade their Adobe reader software as a security flaw is found in older versions of the program. Millions of people use the reader software to view documents prepared in the popular PDF format. Security researchers said malicious hackers exploiting the flaw could view victim's hard drives or use it to make phishing scams look more plausible. So far there is no evidence that the bug is being exploited in the wild. Read more...
UK scientists planning to mix human and animal cells in order to research cures for degenerative diseases fear their work will be halted. They accuse the body that grants licences for embryo research, the HFEA, of bowing to government pressure if it fails to consider their applications. Ministers proposed outlawing such work after unfavourable public opinion. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority is to discuss if two research requests come under its remit. Read more...
The circumstances of the hanging of Saddam Hussein have turned the former Iraqi leader into a martyr, Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak has said. Mr Mubarak said the unofficial pictures that emerged of the event were revolting and barbaric. The chaotic scenes at the execution, during which Saddam was taunted, have been condemned across the world. Read more...
Making an early mark in the green electronics market for the new year, NEC today announced the availability of a solar-powered system that uses energy from the sun with a reduced amount of regular electricity, and is compatible with the entire line of its desktop monitors. NEC has teamed up with alternative energy firm Carmanah Technologies to create the system, which it is claiming makes it the first company to "offer a solar-powered system for all of its monitors." Read more...
A speed camera in Wales mailed a ticket to a cab driver claiming his 1995 Vauxhall Cavalier was speeding in a 30 MPH zone at 420 MPH. Tom Matthews, 34, had been driving a woman home at 2:20 in the morning on November 17 when his car was photographed. "If they insist I was going that fast I should be a Grand Prix driver," Matthews told The Sun. "I'm wasted in taxis." Read more...
This year is set to be the hottest on record worldwide due to global warming and the El Nino weather phenomenon, Britain's Meteorological Office said on Thursday. The Met Office said the combination of factors would likely push average temperatures this year above the record set in 1998. 2007 is set to be the sixth warmest on record globally. "This new information represents another warning that climate change is happening around the world," said Met Office scientist Katie Hopkins. Read more...
President Bush's frequent use of signing statements to assert that he has the power to disobey newly enacted laws is ``an integral part" of his ``comprehensive strategy to strengthen and expand executive power" at the expense of the legislative branch, according to a report by the non partisan Congressional Research Service. In a 27-page report written for lawmakers, the research service said the Bush administration is using signing statements as a means to slowly condition Congress into accepting the White House's broad conception of presidential power, which includes a presidential right to ignore laws he believes are unconstitutional. Read more...
President Bush has quietly claimed sweeping new powers to open Americans' mail without a judge's warrant, the Daily News has learned. The President asserted his new authority when he signed a postal reform bill into law on Dec. 20. Bush then issued a "signing statement" that declared his right to open people's mail under emergency conditions. That claim is contrary to existing law and contradicted the bill he had just signed, say experts who have reviewed it. Read more...
Evangelical broadcaster Pat Robertson said Tuesday that God has told him that a terrorist attack on the United States would cause a "mass killing" late in 2007. "I'm not necessarily saying it's going to be nuclear," he said during his news-and-talk television show "The 700 Club" on the Christian Broadcasting Network. "The Lord didn't say nuclear. But I do believe it will be something like that." Robertson said God told him about the impending tragedy during a recent prayer retreat. Read more...
Today Funcom announced the release of a free trial of its adventure game Dreamfall: The Longest Journey. The demo opens up the first two chapters of the game, allowing players to experience the first few hours of the journey. Read more...
Starbucks Corp. is cutting trans fats from the doughnuts, muffins and other treats in half of its U.S. stores, and plans to eventually drop the artery-clogging fats from company-operated coffeehouses across the country. The world's largest specialty coffee retailer has been working to eliminate trans fats from its food menu for about two years, spokesman Brandon Borrman said Tuesday. "This is just something we have been working on, and our focus has always been on providing our customers with healthy and nutritious food options," Borrman said. Read more...
Legislators in Massachusetts, the only US state to legalise gay marriage, have approved a measure which could allow a popular vote on whether to ban it. Within hours they voted to reconsider the move, then again backed it. The proposed constitutional amendment would define marriage as between one man and one woman, while banning future gay marriages. About 8,000 same-sex couples have married since a state supreme court ruling in 2003. Read more...