Few have explored the most remote areas of the Galapagos Islands - but soon it will take just a click of a mouse to see the place that inspired Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. More »Google To Add Galapagos Islands To Street View
By Koh Gui Qing BEIJING (Reuters) - As evidence mounts that China's economy is losing momentum, economists are fast abandoning their rosy recovery forecasts and bracing for what could be the country's slowest growth rate in 23 years. In the space of five months, analysts have swung from confidently predicting a modest pick-up in the world's second-biggest economy to pondering the chance that China will miss its own 7.5 percent growth target this year. ... More »Rosy China growth forecasts fade on further signs of slowdown
Two of Google's most senior executives have used a lecture in London to press their belief in the transparency of the internet and warned of the dangers of "digital ethnic cleansing". More »Google Boss Fears 'Digital Ethnic Cleansing'
Professor Stephen Hawking has been turned into a comic book character for an illustrated series about his life. More »Stephen Hawking Stars In Comic Book Series
A tiny Ecuadoran satellite that collided in space with the remains of a Soviet rocket survived the crash, but was damaged and is not transmitting, according to Quito's space agency. More »Ecuador satellite hits Soviet-era space junk
By Belinda Goldsmith CANNES (Reuters) - A trip to space with Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio raised 1.2 million euros (994 thousand pounds) for charity at a glitzy fundraiser at the Cannes film festival on Thursday. At the 20th annual event organized by amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, DiCaprio emerged as the mystery guest to accompany the winner on a Virgin Galactic flight into space. DiCaprio stars in the film "The Great Gatsby," which opened the 66th Cannes film festival. ... More »Cannes auction of space trip with DiCaprio raises 1.2 million euros for charity
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators are in the early stages of an antitrust probe into whether Google Inc, the top player in Web display advertising, breaks antitrust law in how it handles some advertising sales, a source told Reuters on Thursday. The source said that it was unlikely that the Federal Trade Commission had sent out civil investigative demands in relation to the probe, which would be the sign of a formal and more serious investigation. ... More »Google faces new federal antitrust probe - source
By David Milliken and Marc Jones LONDON (Reuters) - The euro zone is more stable than a year ago but economic conditions remain challenging and governments must push on with reforms and banking union plans, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said on Thursday. Speaking in London almost a year after he vowed to do "whatever it takes" to save the euro, Draghi said European countries should strengthen their ties and flesh out plans made last June for closer integration, including a banking union. ... More »Draghi says euro zone more stable, "needs a more European UK"
Slovenian adventurer Matevz Lenarcic landed on Thursday in Western France after having overflown the North Pole in an ultra-light plane equipped to measure air pollution. More »Slovenian flyer lands in France on return trip from Arctic
Nasa chief Charles Bolden has inspected a prototype spacecraft engine that could power an audacious mission to lasso an asteroid and tow it closer to Earth for astronauts to explore. More »Nasa chief views asteroid plan
The United States is gearing up for more Atlantic hurricanes than usual this year, triggered by warmer water temperatures than average, US forecasters said Thursday. More »US Atlantic braces for active hurricane season
A blockbuster study in which US researchers reported that they had turned human skin cells into embryonic stem cells contained errors, its lead author has acknowledged. More »Researcher admits mistakes in stem cell study
Cockroaches will eat anything. Except sugar, that is. More »Cockroaches can sense danger in sugar
The H7N9 strain of bird flu can spread among ferrets and could do the same among humans under certain conditions, according to lab animal studies on the virus published Thursday. More »H7N9 bird flu can spread in mammals: study
By Fredrik Dahl VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran is trying to accelerate its uranium enrichment programme, a U.N. nuclear report showed, but experts said it was unclear when Tehran's new machines could start operating and how efficiently they would work. The Islamic state's progress in introducing next-generation centrifuges is closely watched in the West and Israel as it would enable Tehran to speed up accumulation of material that could be used to build atomic bombs. Iran denies any such aim. ... More »Iran seeks to speed up nuclear activity - IAEA
The Queen picked up some tips to pass on to the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge during a visit to a maternity hospital, a mother has joked. More »Queen gets pregnancy tips on visit
By Jason Lange WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday called on Europe to act decisively to boost its economy and counter the risk of a protracted stagnation that would undermine economic growth in America. "Decisive action is needed now to restart demand and avoid the risk of protracted stagnation," U.S. Treasury Undersecretary Lael Brainard told lawmakers. Europe is locked in a grinding recession that in some corners of the continent increasingly looks like a depression. Unemployment in the 17 nations that use the euro hit a record high in March at 12.2 percent. ... More »U.S. urges Europe to act to avert prolonged stagnation
Google has followed in the footsteps of Charles Darwin to gather images of the beauty and biological diversity of the Galapagos Islands for the Internet titan's online maps. More »Google team captures Galapagos Island beauty for maps
Spain honoured the US photographer Annie Leibovitz, known for her iconic portraits of a naked John Lennon and a pregnant Demi Moore, with its top humanities prize on Thursday. More »US photographer Leibovitz wins top prize in Spain
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday called on Europe to act decisively to boost its economy and counter the risk of a protracted stagnation that would undermine economic growth in America. "Decisive action is needed now to restart demand and avoid the risk of protracted stagnation," U.S. Treasury Under Secretary Lael Brainard told U.S. lawmakers. Speaking for the administration of President Barack Obama, Brainard said Europe should rethink a broad push toward fiscal austerity, saying some countries should be given more time to get their budgets in order. ... More »U.S. urges action from Europe to avert prolonged stagnation
By Niklas Pollard and Philip O'Connor STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - The scene of Sweden's worst riots in years, Husby is on the surface at least a typically neat suburb of colourful playgrounds, manicured parks and low rise apartment buildings. Conversations with residents of this immigrant neighbourhood soon bring tales of fruitless job hunts, police harassment, racial taunts and a feeling of living at the margins that are at odds with Sweden's reputation for openness and tolerance. ... More »Sweden riots expose ugly side of 'Nordic model'
By Nigel Stephenson LONDON (Reuters) - Some of the biggest names in literature, science and politics will pitch up to a small British town over the next week for a clan gathering of the world's most "promiscuous minds". The 26th Hay Festival of literature, which begins on Thursday in Hay-on-Wye on the English/Welsh border, will play host to writers, scientists, philosophers, economists and readers in the thousands. Among star names this year at what former U.S. ... More »'Promiscuous minds' gather for Britain's Hay Festival
Big Brother housemates will be forced to grow their own food this year, as part of the show's eco-friendly revamp. More »BB housemates to grow own food
Three decades after Ronald Reagan launched his "Star Wars" project, the costly missile defense program has become a pillar of US strategy despite lingering doubts about its technology. More »US missile defense still plagued by technical doubts
The first manned aircraft that can fly day and night powered only by solar energy set a new distance record Thursday when it landed after the second leg of a cross-country US tour. More »Solar plane sets distance record on US tour