clipped from news.bbc.co.uk Andy Murray beats Marcos Baghdatis at French Open
Andy Murray recovered from a dreadful third set to beat 25th seed Marcos Baghdatis on Court Suzanne Lenglen and secure a place in the last 16 at the French Open.
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Friday, 28 May 2010
Andy Murray beats Marcos Baghdatis at French Open
Wednesday, 26 May 2010
BBC News - Facebook reveals 'simplified' privacy changes
Mark Zuckerberg said the changes were necessarySocial network Facebook has said it will offer a one-stop shop for privacy settings in response to user concerns.
Mark Zuckerberg admitted the settings had "gotten complex" for users.
It follows a storm of protest from users over a series of changes on the site that left its members unsure about how public their information had become.
"We needed to simplify controls," he told a press conference.
The new system will offer users one privacy page with a list of all their applications and a choice of three settings for each.
The redesigned privacy page allows users to see all their information in one grid and apply privacy settings to each. Facebook will suggest defaults.
As with the changes made in December, users will be able to choose to share their applications with just friends, friends of friends or everyone.
"We've focused on three things: a single control for your content, more powerful controls for your basic information and an easy control to turn off all applications," said Mark Zuckerberg, speaking at Facebook's Palo Alto headquarters.
Analysis
Continue reading the main storyRory Cellan-Jones
Technology correspondent, BBC NewsOn the face of it, Mark Zuckerberg has delivered on his promise to make the privacy settings simpler.
One button which will change everything is certainly an advance on what went before.
There's also the opportunity to opt out completely from sneding your data out of Facebook to other applications.
But questions remain - the recommended setting still look designed to encourage users to share just about everything.
And I'm still working out just how I can stop my list of friends being visible to the whole world. Experience shows that every change at Facebook seems innocuous at first - and creeps up later to bite some users and the company itself.
Q&A: Facebook privacy changesPeople who want more "granular control" will still be able to access existing settings.
Facebook has also reduced the amount of information that is visible to everyone. People will now be able to control who sees their interest pages and friends lists.
Users will also be able to turn off applications to ensure no information is shared without consent.
One of the things users found complicated was the need to apply new settings to every new feature introduced on the site.
From today, whatever setting users choose for "Sharing on Facebook" will now automatically be applied to any new products.
Initial reactions to the changes questioned whether Facebook had gone far enough.
Big battle"The vast majority of people don't use privacy settings so the reforms are not likely to have as great an impact," said Simon Davies, director of Privacy International.
"If the default is for less information then we've really made a step forward," he said.
With European privacy commissioners calling for companies to set defaults for the minimum sharing of information, the big battle could be "yet to come", he warned.
"That's where the rubber hits the road at a legal level."
Andrew Walls, a research director at Gartner wondered how the changes would affect Facebook's business model.
"Some questions not really answered were issues around the sharing of personal data with advertisers for doing targeted ads based on profile content. That's a tricky one - how do you make money if you can't sell targeted ads? How do you compete with Google?"
"They want sufficient privacy to attract users into service and take advantage of it but some sharing of data is also required in order for Facebook to make money," he said.
Mr Zuckerberg said that developers had "worked weekends, camped out in the conference centre" in order to overhaul its privacy settings.
"The number one thing we've heard to that the settings have gotten complex and hard for people to use," he said.
"It is something we take very seriously," he added.
He spent time explaining how Facebook has evolved from a very basic system when it was launched in 2004 to the 400m user site it is today.
"When we started Facebook, we built it around a few simple ideas. People want to share and stay connected with their friends and the people around them. When you have control over what you share, you want to share more. When you share more, the world becomes more open and connected," he said.
But since then the site has rolled out hundreds of new features and, alongside them, a raft a privacy settings.
Changes made to the site earlier this year and in December 2009 infuriated users and led to formal complaints from privacy groups.
The European Commission described the changes as "unacceptable".
Are you a Facebook user? What is your view on the new privacy settings?
AT LAST!
Monday, 24 May 2010
Thieves ransack Leeds Rhinos star Ryan Bailey's home
clipped from news.bbc.co.uk Leeds Rhinos player Ryan Bailey said he was "devastated" after his four Super League title winners rings were stolen from his family home.
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Sunday, 23 May 2010
Bradford Bulls 12-26 Leeds Rhinos
clipped from news.bbc.co.uk Bradford Bulls 12-26 Leeds Rhinos Scrum-half Danny McGuire ran in a hat-trick as Leeds saw off Bradford Bulls in the West Yorkshire derby at Odsal.
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Friday, 21 May 2010
Winger Scott Donald is back after injury for Leeds
clipped from news.bbc.co.uk Leeds winger Scott Donald will make his comeback after three months out following shoulder surgery in Sunday's derby against Bradford at Odsal.
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Wednesday, 19 May 2010
Spotify undercuts itself - The Inquirer
ONLINE MUSIC SERVICE Spotify has cut its subscription fee in half in the hope of luring punters.
When it was launched, Spotify was hailed as the music industry's saviour, as if it needed one. Since all four of the major record labels took control of Spotify, the one size fits all £10 per month subscription model has deterred users from signing up. To fill in the gap between its paid and free service, the firm has introduced a £5 a month "Unlimited" service.
The new tariff gives users unlimited access to the firm's seven million song library without adverts. However in a bid to avoid cannibalising its original £10 per month service, Spotify will not allow access from mobile devices or the ability to listen to music when offline in its Unlimited service. So it's a somewhat limited, er, Unlimited service, really.
To further diminish the quality of its half price service, Spotify doesn't offer what it claims is "enhanced quality sound", that is, a stream with a bitrate of 320kbps. At press time, Spotify had not responded to our request to reveal the bitrate it will offer in its Unlimited service.
In recent months, Spotify has come under criticism for shafting artists, paying them next to nothing despite hours of airplay. The firm retorted by saying that as its service increases in popularity, the richer artists will become.
This latest price cut could, if Spotify is to be believed, help artists as well as itself. µ
Interesting move!
Tuesday, 18 May 2010
Saturday, 15 May 2010
BBC News - Warning of ash flight disruption
The volcano has become more active again in recent weeksParts of the UK's airspace are at risk of closure from Sunday because of volcanic activity in Iceland, the Department for Transport has said.
Disruption could hit airports in south-east England until Tuesday, it warned.
Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said the situation was "fluid" but that passenger safety was the top priority.
British Airways will discuss the likely impact with air traffic control body, Nats. Airport operator BAA said the situation would be clearer by Sunday.
Ash from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano has caused disruption to thousands of flights since April.
It's good to have information in advance but we are acutely aware that things can change quickly
BAA spokesmanMeanwhile, Italy has fined Irish low-cost airline Ryanair 3m euros (£2.5m) for failing to help some passengers after cancelling their flights during the crisis.
Ministers agreed on Saturday that five-day ash prediction charts would be made available on the Met Office website.
"Within this timeframe, different parts of UK airspace - including airspace in the south east - are likely to be closed at different times," the Department for Transport said in a statement.
Previous forecasts were only given for the following 18 hours.
Transport Secretary Mr Hammond said the five-day forecasts would ensure "airlines, other transport providers and the public [had] the best possible information".
But he stressed the situation "remained fluid" and the forecasts - based on assumptions about future volcanic activity and prevailing weather conditions - were "always liable to change".
"Nats - the UK's air traffic services provider - will advise of any airspace closures as and when they become necessary and I urge passengers to check with their airlines before taking any action," he added.
'No firm details'
A spokesman for BAA, which operates Heathrow, Stansted and Southampton airports in the south of England and Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen airports in Scotland, welcomed the new five-day forecasts.
A volcano can be erupting for several years and not cause any problems
Dr Dougal JerramVolcanologist, Durham University
"It's good to have information in advance but we are acutely aware that things can change quickly," he said.
"Over the next 24 hours we'll have a much clearer idea how it will affect southern England," he added.
A British Airways spokesman said: "There is a possibility of some disruption of airspace but we can't give any firm details yet," he said.
"The public will understand if there are some disruptions. It is out of our hands."
BA is facing strike action in the coming days, potentially adding to travel disruption.
Safe-to-fly threshold
Dr Dougal Jerram, a volcanologist from Durham University, warned the last big eruption of Eyjafjallajokull - in the 1820s - went on for around two years, and its current eruption could last "several months".
But he said the continued eruptions would not necessarily cause problems to air travel, as a number of factors - explosive eruptions, a concentrated plume and certain weather patterns - needed to be in place at the same time to create "the perfect storm".
"During the last phase, where it was more explosive, the weather patterns weren't so bad and it wasn't as disruptive as it could be.
"A volcano can be erupting for several years and not cause any problems," he said.
In April, airspace across Europe was shut down for five days following concerns that ash could turn to molten glass in high temperatures, crippling plane engines.
Scientists and engineers have since revised the safe-to-fly threshold, but clouds of volcanic ash have continued to drift over Europe, causing airport closures, flight delays and cancellations.
But in the past week, several airports in southern Europe have been forced to close and flights have been re-routed.
Italy's civil aviation authority fine on Ryanair comes after it said it knew of 178 cases of passengers who did not receive mandatory assistance, such as food - required under EU regulations - between 17 and 22 April.
Ryanair, which initially insisted it would only refund the cost of passengers' tickets, but later agreed to fully implement European regulations and pay all "reasonable expenses", was not immediately available for comment.
Here it comes again!
Tuesday, 11 May 2010
BBC News - Gordon Brown resigns as UK prime minister
Gordon Brown has been prime minister for less than three yearsGordon Brown has announced he is resigning as UK prime minister.
Mr Brown is on his way to officially tender his resignation to the Queen, and recommend that Conservative leader David Cameron should succeed him.
Speaking alongside his wife Sarah outside No 10 Downing Street, he said the job had been "a privilege" and wished his successor well.
His decision comes as the Tories and Liberal Democrats are poised to agree a deal to form a government.
Labour's attempts to negotiate a deal of their own with the Lib Dems, after last week's inconclusive election result, ended in failure on Tuesday.
Mr Brown succeeded Tony Blair as prime minister in June 2007 after spending ten years as chancellor of the exchequer.
In an emotional farewell speech outside No 10, Mr Brown said he had "loved the job" and it had been "a privilege to serve".
"I wish the next prime minister well as he makes the important choices for the future," he said.
His two young sons joined him and wife Sarah for his brief statement which ended with the words: "Thank you and goodbye."
His resignation follows Thursday's general election in which no party won an overall majority but the Conservatives won the most seats and votes.
Both Labour and the Tories have since been trying to persuade the Lib Dems to join them in a coalition government to run the country.
Mr Brown had previously said he would resign as Labour leader, but stay on as prime minister until September, if Labour could agree a deal with the Lib Dems.
But after this possibility ended, the BBC's Political Editor Nick Robinson said Mr Brown decided he could not form a government and should stand down.
Before making his announcement, Mr Brown consulted with his wife Sarah and close colleagues including Lord Mandelson, Douglas Alexander, Ed Balls and Ed Miliband.
Mr Brown also spoke to former prime minister Tony Blair by phone.
Labour's ruling National Executive Committee has indicated it wants Mr Brown's successor as leader to be chosen as soon as possible, possibly by the end of July.
That's it then!
Monday, 10 May 2010
Brown steps Down.
clipped from news.bbc.co.uk
Gordon Brown has said he is stepping down as Labour Party leader - as his party opens formal talks with the Lib Dems about forming a government.
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Saturday, 8 May 2010
Leeds United 2-1 Bristol Rovers
clipped from news.bbc.co.uk Leeds came from a goal down and a man down to beat Bristol Rovers and clinch promotion to the Championship.
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Thursday, 6 May 2010
Nigel Farage injured in plane crash on election day
clipped from news.bbc.co.uk Nigel Farage injured in plane crash on election day The former UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage has been injured in a plane crash in Northamptonshire.
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Wednesday, 5 May 2010
BBC News - Facebook fixes embarrassing security flaw
Facebook privacy is once again under scrutinyFacebook has fixed a security flaw that allowed users to eavesdrop on the live chats of their friends and see their pending friend requests.
The exploit used the site's privacy features - intended to protect a user - to expose the personal information.
With just a few clicks users could spy on their friends' personal chat messages and see who had requested to join their network.
Facebook has temporarily removed its chat facility while it fixes the flaw.
The exploit - originally reported by the blog TechCrunch - worked via an option in privacy settings that allows people to preview their profiles as it would appear to their friends.
Prompt fixBut it was never intended to show others what their friends were actually doing.
"For a limited period of time, a bug permitted some users' chat messages and pending friend requests to be made visible to their friends by manipulating the 'preview my profile' feature of Facebook privacy settings," Facebook said in a statement.
"When we received reports of the problem, our engineers promptly diagnosed it and temporarily disabled the chat function. We also pushed out a fix to take care of the visible friend requests which is now complete," it added.
The chat function will be turned back on "shortly" it said.
"For any organisation, whether you are a social networking site or not, privacy breaches are worrying," said Candid Wueest, security expert at Symantec.
"Unfortunately, this isn't the first privacy breach of its kind to plague a social networking site - other high-profile sites have also been affected with similar problems."
He praised Facebook's quick response to the issue.
"Facebook has acted quickly in fixing the alleged flaw, whereas some social networking sites have been known to take days to fix issues reported," he said.
Confirms my doubts about FB!Everyone should check their security settings.
Saturday, 1 May 2010
BBC News - Weather hampers Gulf of Mexico oil slick clean-up
Bad weather hampered efforts to tackle the huge Gulf of Mexico oil slick, with high seas and winds keeping boats and planes away from the clean-up site.
Reports suggest that the slick is growing rapidly - one report said it had tripled in size in a day.
Sheen from the spill has begun washing up on the Louisiana coast, fuelling fears of environmental disaster.
President Obama is due there on Sunday as is BP head Tony Hayward who has been criticised over the BP response.
Up to 5,000 barrels of oil a day are gushing into the sea after the British Petroleum-operated Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and sank last week.
Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Florida have all declared a state of emergency, and analysts say the spill could rival the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster as the worst in US history.
High winds
Worsening weather conditions have been hampering efforts to contain the slick, now more than 130 miles (200km) long.
BP is ultimately responsible
President Barack Obama
Choppy seas meant that smaller boats - contractors and fishermen - that could have helped with the clean up were unable to go out.
Military planes deployed to spray oil-dispersing chemicals have also been grounded.
Rescue groups have been receiving their first patients - seabirds coated in oil - but a BBC correspondent in the area says that at the moment the wind is keeping most of the oil offshore.
The high winds are also forcing some of it over booms meant to contain it, however, and forecasters say that strong winds on Sunday could push more oil onto the Louisiana shore.
Wetlands off the Louisiana coast sustain hundreds of wildlife species, and a major seafood and fishing industry.
The president of Louisiana's Plaquemines Parish, Bill Nungesser, said that the oil could cause enormous damage.
"We need to have something out there," he said. "Once it gets into the marsh it is too late. Once it gets behind these islands, through these little canals, you will never clean it up."
Reports suggest that the slick is growing rapidly. Experts from the University of Miami said that the slick had tripled in a day, citing satellite images.
Two natural gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico have halted production because of the slick and one of them has been evacuated as a safety precaution.
The command centre co-ordinating the response said that the percentage of gas production affected was less than one-tenth of one per cent of the Gulf of Mexico's daily total.
Insurance fears
On Friday Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano called on BP to commit more resources to tackling the catastrophe.
ANALYSISBy Joe Lynam, BBC business correspondent
BP's shareholders would probably prefer a few years out of the limelight after a five-year period in which the firm's reputation has been blown about. The fire at a Texas City refinery, the leak of an Alaskan gas pipeline and the sudden departure of former boss Lord Browne, have all been PR disasters.But this Gulf of Mexico leak may surpass all of them. Apart from the environmental catastrophe, £10bn ($15bn) was wiped off the value of Britain's third-largest company this week.
And now we learn that BP is not even covered by any external insurance and will have to meet compensation claims from its own resources - at a cost of billions of dollars.
And that does not even put a price on the damage to the reputation of a company which describes itself as "Beyond Petroleum".
The British oil giant says it has begun using dispersants underwater in an attempt to break up the leaking oil at its source.
It has dispatched remotely operated vehicles to try to shut off an underwater valve, so far without success. It is also having a relief-well drilled to slow the leak, though experts say that could take up to three months.
In a statement, Mr Obama said BP was "ultimately responsible... for paying the costs of response and clean-up operations".
The president said he had asked Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to conduct a "thorough review" of the catastrophe and report back in 30 days on ways to prevent a repeat.
BP spokeswoman Sheila William told AFP news agency the energy firm was prepared to assume costs for the clean-up and for damages.
The BBC's business correspondent, Joe Lynam, says that BP has no external insurance cover in the traditional sense, instead using a form of "self insurance" to cover major events like this.
The company would therefore have to cover the full cost of any legitimate compensation claims from the oil spill from its own resources.
The cause of last week's blast, which left 11 workers missing, presumed dead, remains unclear.
But it has emerged that BP last year downplayed the possibility of such a disaster at the offshore rig.
In BP's 2009 exploration plan for the well, the firm suggested an oil spill was unlikely or virtually impossible, AP news agency reports.
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What a tragedy--another energy solution MUST be found!