A group of academics have warned that Michael Gove's national curriculum proposal will severely erode education standards by 'dumbing down' teaching and learning. More »Academics attack curriculum plans
Researchers have completed the first high-quality sequencing of a Neanderthal genome. More »Neanderthal's genome sequenced
By Himank Sharma (Reuters) - BlackBerry inventors Mike Lazaridis and Doug Fregin are pairing again to launch a $100 million (66 million pounds) fund to incubate and commercialize quantum science technologies capable of spearheading the next wave of computing. Lazaridis, who stepped down as co-CEO of BlackBerry in January, 2012, is known for his passion for physics. Last year, he launched the Quantum-Nano Centre, a research facility in Waterloo, Canada, to promote discoveries in emerging technologies underpinning quantum computing. ... More »BlackBerry inventors pump $100 million into quantum technologies
A tiny implant that conducts blood tests under the skin could greatly improve the tracking and treatment of cancer and other diseases, researchers claim. More »Tiny implant conducts blood tests
By Anthony Boadle BRASILIA (Reuters) - The Brazilian economy is hardly growing and inflation is rearing its head, but President Dilma Rousseff's popularity continues to climb to new highs. The personal approval rating of Brazil's first woman president rose to 79 percent in March from 78 percent in December, according to a CNI/Ibope opinion poll released on Tuesday. The number of Brazilians who say they trust her leadership climbed two points to 75 percent of those polled, and 63 percent of them view her government as good or very good, up from 62 percent in December. ... More »Brazil's Rousseff as popular as ever
A species of prehistoric flying reptile dating from 115 million years ago has been discovered by a girl who was only five at the time. More »Daisy, five, discovers dinosaur
A British woman is recovering from injuries to her legs after jumping out of her hotel window to escape an alleged sex attack in Agra in India - the home of the iconic Taj Mahal. More »Brit Injured 'Escaping Sex Assault' In India
By Cris Chinaka HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabweans have approved a new constitution that curbs presidential powers after 33 years of Robert Mugabe's rule and puts the southern African state a step closer to a vote, the election commission said on Tuesday. Nearly 95 percent of voters in a referendum approved the new charter, which was backed by Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, political rivals who were forced into a power-sharing deal after disputed elections in 2008. The turnout, at slightly more than half the 6 million eligible voters, was higher than many had expected. ... More »Zimbabwe approves constitution curbing presidential powers
Sharon Osbourne is reported to be in pole position to replace Tulisa Contostavlos on The X Factor judging panel. More »Sharon Osbourne tipped for X Factor
Nearly one in five people uses a smartphone to watch television in the toilet, a report has revealed. More »Britons watching TV in the toilet
More signs of past water on Mars have been uncovered by the American space agency Nasa's Curiosity rover. More »Nasa finds more signs of Mars water
By James Davey LONDON (Reuters) - J Sainsbury, Britain's third-biggest grocer, beat forecasts for underlying sales in its fourth quarter, with strong growth online and in convenience stores more than offsetting a weaker performance in its traditional outlets. Online sales and convenience stores are the two fastest growing areas for Britain's supermarkets as shopping habits change, with consumers increasingly using the internet to shop and high fuel prices discouraging trips to town centres and out-of-town malls. ... More »Convenience stores, online help Sainsbury top forecasts
By Neha Dasgupta and Tony Munroe MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's central bank lowered its benchmark policy rates by 25 basis points on Tuesday for the second time this year in a bid to help revive growth in Asia's third-largest economy, but warned that the scope for further easing is limited. The rate cut was overshadowed by a political crisis in the governing coalition when a key ally quit, raising fresh doubts about Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's ability to push through a late burst of reforms and win back investors' confidence. ... More »India cuts interest rates; warns of limited room for more easing
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australia will cut government funding to its top sports if they fail to bring governance standards up to scratch in the wake of the country's London Olympics flop and the release of a clutch of embarrassing reports. The Australian Sports Commission (ASC), which holds the purse strings for sports Down Under, said swimming, cycling, athletics, sailing, rowing, hockey and basketball were the most well-funded sports and the first to see cuts of up to 20 percent if they failed to meet new mandatory standards. ... More »Sport-Australia threatens to cut funding to top sports
Nasa's Mars rover has been sidelined again, further delaying the restart of science experiments after its recovery from a computer problem. More »New IT glitch halts Mars rover
By Alistair Barr SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - EBay Inc shares hit a new low for 2013 on Monday as concern mounted about the impact of a new "digital wallet" fee on the company's PayPal business. MasterCard Inc, one of the largest payment networks, said earlier this year that it plans a new fee for digital wallet operators like PayPal starting in June. The actual dollar amount PayPal ends up paying may not be that large, analysts say. However, they are worried that this is part of a broader move by payment networks to target PayPal, which has become more of a direct competitor recently. ... More »EBay hit as "gloves come off" over PayPal digital wallet fee
Uplifting music can boost mental alertness and concentration, according to researchers who studied the effect of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons. More »Uplifting music 'boosts alertness'
AstraZeneca is to cut 700 jobs in the UK as part of a restructuring, partly aimed at saving costs. More »Drugs Firm AstraZeneca To Cut 700 UK Jobs
Pharmaceuticals giant AstraZeneca is to cut 700 jobs in the UK over the next three years and relocate up to 300 other posts abroad under plans announced on Monday. More »AstraZeneca to cut 700 UK jobs
Collisions with road vehicles are driving a population of swallows to evolve into faster, more agile fliers with shortened wings. More »Swallows 'evolve' to avoid traffic
Chinese solar panel giant Suntech Power announced Monday that it was in default on its debt after failing to make a payment on $541 million worth of bonds. More »Solar giant Suntech defaults on debt
By Matt Scuffham LONDON (Reuters) - State-backed Royal Bank of Scotland is to invest 700 million pounds between 2013 and 2016 in improving its branches, it said on Monday, part of a continuing shift in focus towards its domestic lending business. The bank, which owns NatWest and Ulster Bank, said the money would be spent on refurbishments across its network of 2,066 branches and initiatives to improve services to its 15.4 million customers within the UK. ... More »RBS to spend 700 million pounds on improving branches
Dumfounded drivers filmed last month's meteor hit from their own cars - all thanks to 'dashboard cameras' millions of Russians have installed on their front windscreens. More »The real reason why Russian drivers captured last month's meteor in perfect detail
By Leila Abboud and Niklas Pollard PARIS/STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - STMicroelectronics and Ericsson will end their loss-making mobile chip joint venture ST-Ericsson by splitting parts of the business between them and closing the rest with the loss of about 1,600 jobs. The announcement follows months of speculation about the future of ST-Ericsson, which has been hit by a big drop in orders from top customer Nokia as the phone maker lost market share to Apple and Samsung. ... More »Owners end ST-Ericsson venture, 1,600 jobs to go
By Alistair Barr SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A brewing conflict between Amazon.com Inc and its merchants over fee hikes could benefit rival eBay Inc, and provide an opening for Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Google Inc, which are just getting into the space. Amazon's online bazaar generates margins many times higher than traditional retail as the company takes a cut of every sale on its site made by a merchant, known as a third-party seller, and charges extra fees for handling logistics. ... More »Analysis - Amazon's sellers unhappy about fee hikes, eye rivals