Taliban insurgents launched a coordinated assault on a coalition air base in eastern Afghanistan early on Sunday in an operation that highlights the challenges the country continues to face even as coalition forces are preparing to scale back operations in advance of the combat … … Read More
Prosecution of Anonymous activists highlights war for Internet control
From a video posted by the Anonymous hacking collective urging the US public to stop the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and … Read More
XOXO: A Festival of Indie Internet Creativity
The XOXO Festival in Portland, Ore., over the weekend brought 400 people together to discuss the many ways that the Internet is helping to “creatively disrupt” traditional businesses and industries. Here are a few of the highlights. … Read More
Oi, don’t leave Cymru in broadband slow lane, MPs warn
Welsh demand alternatives to BT fibre
The UK government’s broadband rollout plan fails to address the needs of businesses in Wales, MPs have warned in a report published today. The dossier highlights an apparent “gap” in internet access in more remote parts of Cymru.…
Work Stress Could Raise Heart Risks: Study
Having a tough week at work? Make sure you de-stress — a new review of studies highlights how work stress could be hurting your health. The review, published in the journal The Lancet and conducted by researchers at the University College London, shows that people with demanding, straining jobs have an overall 23 percent increased risk of heart attack. The findings are based on job stress and heart attack data from 200,000 people in Europe, who participated in a total of 13 studies between 1985 and 2006. The studies had an average follow-up period of 7.5 years, during which 2,356 heart attacks or heart-related deaths occurred. Read More…
More on Photo Galleries
Putin Explains The Rationale Behind His Absurd Photo-Ops
Vladimir Putin has come clean. Russia’s president and resident wannabe action star has admitted what all but the most ardent believers of his nation’s state media had already put together: Those absurd photos documenting his macho exploits—from shooting a wild tiger with a tranquilizer gun to discovering an ancient treasure while deep-sea diving—were carefully staged. "Of course it was a set up," Putin told a Russian journalist this week about the time he dove to the bottom of the Black Sea and returned with an ancient Greek vase, a comment that could serve more or less as blanket quote for the rest of his action resume.
The way Putin tells it, however, those easily-ridiculed photo-ops aren’t about his carefully crafted strongman image but instead about wildlife conservation and the other causes he apparently champions. "Why did I dive?" he said. "Not to show my gills off but to make sure people learn history."
As Reuters explains, Putin’s spokesman had previously admitted that at least one of the high-profile stunts was staged, but his boss had mostly played along as state media covered his outdoor action highlights as though they were the real deal.
Putin’s admission came in an interview with Masha Gessen, a journalist who lost her job as editor of a travel magazine for refusing to send reporters to cover Putin’s recent crane flight. Reuters has the rest of that rather complicated story here. … Read More
Dozens dead in Afghan bus-tanker collision
A passenger bus has collided with a fuel tanker in Afghanistan, killing 50 people and injuring several others, with women and children among the victims, officials said.The incident happened on… … Read More
