US President Barack Obama has lifted restrictions on federal funding for research on new stem cell lines. Mr. Obama signed an executive order in a major reversal of US policy, pledging to "vigorously support" new research.
Better known in Russia as the Patriotic War (Russian Отечественная война, Otechestvennaya Vojna), not to be confused with the Great Patriotic War (Великая Отечественная война, Velikaya Otechestvennaya Vojna). The Patriotic War is also occasionally referred to as the "War of 1812", which is not to be confused with the conflict of the same name between the United Kingdom and the United States.
In an attempt to gain increased support from Polish nationalists and patriots, Napoleon in his own words termed this war the Second Polish War (the "first" Polish war being the War of the Fourth Coalition to liberate Poland from Russia, Prussia and Austria), because one of the official declared goals of this war was the resurrection of the Polish state on territories of former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
A team of astronauts have attached a $1bn Japanese laboratory to the International Space Station (ISS).
The 16-tonne Kibo lab was delivered by the shuttle Discovery. It will be the station's biggest room, for the study of biomedicine and material sciences.
Astronauts Akihiko Hoshide and Karen Nyberg maneuvered Kibo into place, using the space station's robotic arm. The lab was anchored after two crew members had made preparations during a spacewalk lasting more than six hours.
Discovery docked at the ISS on Monday after a two-day voyage. As well as the Japanese laboratory, the shuttle has also brought a pump to unblock the station's toilet, which broke nearly two weeks ago. The crew has been performing manual flushes several times a day.
Envoys from 26 Latin American and Caribbean countries meet on Friday to discuss the rising cost of food and draw up a united policy for the region.
The talks in Caracas, Venezuela, mark the beginning of a week of meetings on the issue, leading up to a three-day UN food crisis summit in Rome on Tuesday. According to the World Bank, global food prices have risen by 83% over the past three years. The lender has announced a package of food grants totaling $1.2bn.
An influential report on Thursday warned that higher food prices might be here to stay as demand from developing countries and production costs rose. Prices would fall, but only gradually, the report by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said.
They are missing the point once more; there is NO TIME FOR TALK! People are starving to death!
A NASA spacecraft has sent back the first historic pictures of an unexplored region of Mars.
The Mars Phoenix lander touched down in the far north of the Red Planet, after a 680 million-km (423 million-mile) journey from Earth. The probe is equipped with a robotic arm to dig for water-ice thought to be buried beneath the surface.
It will begin examining the site for evidence of the building blocks of life in the next few days. A signal confirming the lander had reached the surface was received at 2353 GMT on 25 May (1953 EDT; 0053 BST on 26 May).
Engineers and scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California clapped and cheered when the landing signal came through. "Phoenix has landed - welcome to the northern plain of Mars," a flight controller announced. The final seven minutes of the probe's 10-month journey to Mars were regarded as the hardest part of the mission.
US talk show host Ellen DeGeneres is to marry her partner, actress Portia de Rossi, after California lifted its ban on same-sex ceremonies.
"I am announcing I am getting married," DeGeneres told the audience during a recording of The Ellen DeGeneres Show. "It is something of course that we have wanted to do and we wanted to be legal, and we are just very, very excited."
DeGeneres came out in 1997, and was in a relationship with actress Anne Heche until 2000. She has been with Portia de Rossi, who appeared in the TV series Ally McBeal, for about four years.
Congratulations is the only thing you can say!
Nobel Prize-winning author Doris Lessing has said winning the prestigious award in 2007 had been a "bloody disaster".
The increased media interest in her has meant that writing a full novel was next to impossible, she told Radio 4's Front Row. Lessing, 88, also said she would probably now be giving up writing novels altogether. Her latest book is the partly fictional memoir entitled Alfred and Emily.
Since her Nobel win she has been constantly in demand, she said. "All I do is give interviews and spend time being photographed." Speaking about her writing, she said: "It has stopped; I don't have any energy any more.”This is why I keep telling anyone younger than me; don't imagine you'll have it forever.
"Use it while you've got it because it'll go, it's sliding away like water down a plughole." Lessing is the 11th woman to win the Nobel Prize for literature in its 106-year history. Her best known works include The Golden Notebook and The Good Terrorist.
The disaster is that she’s not writing anymore and makes you think the cost of these …ten minutes for the ones who could do without the Hollywood style fame.
Hundreds of screaming fans have greeted the stars of the Sex and the City movie at its world premiere in London.
Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon all got a noisy reception as they arrived on the red carpet in Leicester Square. "This is a miraculous and simply unforgettable night for all of us," Parker said. Fans have waited four years to see the big screen version of the hugely popular TV series.
Judging from the hat …it is fruitless the whole thing!!!
Usually their nests are found in remote areas, often around the coast, resting on cliff edges and rocky outcrops. To see them would require specialist climbing gear and a long lens. But in Worcester, a pair have nested bang in the city centre - it is possible to clearly see the adults coming and going during the day and now the chicks have begun to hatch, one is often seen standing guard over the nest.
They have built their nest on St Andrew's spire, known locally as The Glover's Needle.
Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer formally withdrew the offer in a letter to Yahoo chief executive Jerry Yang. Mr. Ballmer said Microsoft had raised its original offer from $44.6bn to $47.5bn - $33 per share.
But he added that Yahoo had insisted on at least $53bn or $37 a share - more than Microsoft was prepared to pay. The software giant had wanted to do a deal to be able to compete with Google, which dominates the lucrative market for internet advertising.
Bill gates must have a sad weekend!!!
The eruption of the Chaiten volcano caught local authorities by surprise, as experts say it has been dormant for at least 450 years. But on Friday morning, it blew a thick cloud of ash high into the air. This prompted the evacuation of sick and elderly people from the town of Chaiten, just six miles away.
Residents have been told not to drink the water, because the reservoirs in the area are covered in a layer of ash. Emergency workers are handing out face masks to help people breathe more easily. The eruption also dumped a layer of ash in neighboring Argentina, forcing the closure of schools and a regional airport.
Chile is one of the most volcanic countries on Earth, with more than 100 active volcanoes. Of those, experts say about 20 are in danger of erupting at any time.
Classic comic hero Dan Dare fired the imagination of young Britons in the 1950s and heralded the birth of hi-tech Britain, an exhibition at the London Science Museum reveals.
A British-built nuclear bomb and a prototype of the BT Tower are on display as part of the show. The museum says the Eagle comic's space hero not only reflected but influenced the UK's wealth of inventions during the 1950s and 60s. Portable televisions and radio alarm clocks are among the collection, capturing the upbeat spirit of Eagle.
I always loved those funny spaceships and I have to admit I always found funny the film they made inspired by Dan Dare sometime in late 80s!
The UK's chief environment scientist has called for a delay to a policy demanding inclusion of biofuels into fuel at pumps across the UK. Professor Robert Watson said ministers should await the results of their inquiry into biofuels' sustainability.
Some scientists think biofuels' carbon benefits may be currently outweighed by negative effects from their production. The Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO) is to introduce 2.5% biofuels at the pumps from 1 April.
Professor Robert Watson warned that it would be insane if the RTFO had the opposite effects of the ones intended. He said biofuels policy in the EU and the UK may have run ahead of the science.
Everything has to do with the overconsuming and overproduction. To create biofuels companies will destroy whole areas of nature and then we will end up with a new problem!
A woman has sued the company behind Oprah Winfrey's TV chat show, claiming she was injured when audience members rushed to find seats at a recording. Orit Greenberg has demanded $50,000 (£25,100) in damages after allegedly being pushed down a flight of stairs.
She said this caused her "severe and permanent injuries" and claimed the crowd in the studio was not properly controlled by Harpo Studios staff. The production company declined to comment on her allegations.
Some people definitely do anything they can to get their 10 minutes of fame!!!
If you have …allies like this you definitely don’t need …enemies!!!
Six people have been killed in a US air strike near the Iraqi town of Samarra, with some reports suggesting they were US-allied anti-al-Qaeda Sunni fighters. The US denied claims by a police source and a militia member that those killed at the checkpoint were members of an Awakening Council. The US-funded groups are credited with helping to curb the level of violence.
It came as four more US soldiers were killed in Iraq, bringing the death toll since the 2003 invasion close to 4,000. Three soldiers died when a roadside bomb hit their vehicle near Baghdad on Saturday, the US military said. Another US soldier died after a rocket or mortar attack on Friday, bringing estimated US fatalities to 3,996.
Whoever takes over after George W. Bush has a lot of cleaning and explanation to do especially to …allies!
For years everybody rapes this country, there are so many stories that can fill libraries not only books. But here we go again …the Sudanese army has criticized a recent UN report accusing it of raping women and girls, and looting towns during attacks in western Darfur.
The UN said raids by aircraft and ground forces on three towns in February left at least 115 people dead. A Sudanese military spokesman said the army was doing its job of protecting civilians by forcing rebels out. The United Nations says more than 200,000 people have died in Darfur since rebels took up arms in 2003. Two million people have been displaced and now live in camps.
Brig Gen Osman Mohamed al-Aghbash blamed rebels in Darfur for attacks on civilians in the area and the looting of their property. "The army, discharging its duty... regarding the prevalence of security and protection of civilian lives, would go after rebels and bandit groups all over the country," he is quoted as saying by Sudan's official news agency Suna.
They are amazing when it comes to blames and excuses but the sometime more people are raped and killed and please remember when it comes to crime there is full equality they rape without looking gender!
