As the Olympics near, converns over the effects of pollution in China’s capital are growing. Air pollution has been on the agenda for some time, with the authoritarian government resorting to drastic measures and mobilising armies of farmers to seed clouds, and planning emergency factory closures at a moment’s notice. But the New York Times [...]

In an oh-so-unexpected turn of events, Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe was today announced as the landslide winner in the country’s presidential elections. Despite it being a somewhat hollow victory due to intimidation, killings, and the opponent being forced to pull out resulting in an uncontested election, the BBC reports that he was rapidly sworn in [...]

Reuters reports on the Israeli Transport Minister’s recent comment that an attack on Iran looks “unavoidable”. Shaul Mofaz made the claim to an Israeli newspaper on Friday, saying that UN sanctions were not enough. While Iran isn’t exactly a master of tact - and, indeed, may or may not be trying to build a bomb [...]

By Balakov on Flickr - original here. I love this pic, though I had a hard time choosing which one to post as the whole Classics in Lego set is class

“The upshot is that if Yahoo, AOL, Microsoft, or so on received a wiretap order for text or voice flowing through their IM networks, they could (and would) be able to comply because the services are centralized … [Skype couldn't] Which means that it’s the most privacy-protective mainstream method of communicating through voice or instant [...]

The Guardian reports on the Treasury Select Committee’s recommendation that, after 2011, census data should come from government databases rather than manual form-filling. While on the face of it it may seem a sensible, time-saving proposal, this raises many questions - both about technical and feasibility aspects, and surrounding civil liberties and data protection. Regardless [...]

The BBC reports that more than 100 countries (thankfully, Britain included) have agreed to ban current designs of cluster bombs. These weapons are dangerous not only at time of use but also for many years afterward, as unexploded bomblets essentially become landmines littering the ground. However, while the number of signatories is positive news it’s [...]

I saw this last month but didn’t get round to blogging it. Showing what can be achieved when big business considers social issues, YouTube software has been adapted to help analysts from the US National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) find child pornography. In turn, this will allow solutions to be developed to [...]

“Burma is still exporting rice even as it tries to curb the influx of international donations of food bound for the starving survivors of the cyclone that killed up to 116,000 people … The continuing rice sales looked like just another facet of the Burmese regime’s insensitivity to the suffering of its own people as [...]

Scotland on Sunday have a fascinating article about the plight of Sudanese children who are abandoned by their parents. Until recently they were not considered orphans in Sudan, and 80% of those in the country’s orphanages died of neglect. However, a recent law and fatwa have drastically changed this only a few years, helping Sudanese [...]