“Insurgents in Iraq have hacked into live video feeds from unmanned American drone aircraft, US media reports say.Shia fighters are said to have used off-the-shelf software programs such as SkyGrabber to capture the footage.”

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8419147.stm

Iran has denied a report in the Times newspaper that it has been working on a key component of a nuclear bomb.

A spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Ramin Mehmanparast, said the report had political aims and was part of a psychological war.

The paper reported that it had obtained documents referring to a neutron source – uranium deuteride – that experts say can only relate to weapons research.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8414373.stm

The largest animals on Earth are singing in ever-deeper voices every year. Among the suggested explanations are ocean noise pollution, changing population dynamics and new mating strategies. But none of them is entirely convincing.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/12/blue-whale-song-mystery/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+%28Wired%3A+Index+3+%28Top+Stories+2%29%29

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/8371037.stm

the British soldier who smuggled himself into Auschwitz – incredible story –

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8382457.stm

“After inspectors paid a visit to a once-secret Iranian nuclear facility near Qom, the Islamic Republic stuck to its guns: Hey, it’s just part of our peaceful atomic energy program!    

But after taking a close look at the technical specs on Iran’s Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, two arms-control experts arrived at a different conclusion.”

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/11/does-iran-have-a-secret-nuke-weapons-network-experts-think-so/

“Few American officials know the Soviets’ bitter Afghan predicament better than Mr. Gates. In the 1980s, he was the deputy director of the CIA, overseeing a massive U.S. effort to fund, train and equip the Islamic insurgents, called mujahedeen, who fought the Soviet army to a standstill.”

Full Article

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125831141804049337.html?mod=rss_Politics_And_Policy

“The Digital Economy bill has sparked a wave of protest among consumers and rights groups.

Soon after the bill began its journey through Parliament on 19 November, many expressed worries about parts of it.

The bill suggests the use of technical measures to tackle illegal file-sharing that could involve suspending the accounts of persistent pirates.

Critics fear this and other powers the bill reserves could damage the UK’s growing digital economy. “

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8374732.stm

“Africa is poised to experience a surge in civil wars, causing nearly 400,000 additional battle deaths by 2030 – all as a direct result of rising temperatures. This bold prediction is one of the most alarming results yet to emerge from attempts to discover how climate change will affect patterns of human conflict. It is already proving controversial”

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18185-african-conflicts-spurred-by-warming.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/technology/2009/11/vaz_v_watson_modern_warfare_2.html