Genetically modified potatoes 'resist late blight'
British scientists have developed genetically modified potatoes that are resistant to the vegetable's biggest threat.
A three-year trial has shown that these potatoes can thrive despite being exposed to late onset blight.
That disease has plagued farmers for generations and triggered the Irish potato famine in the 1840s.
EU approval is needed before commercial cultivation of this GM crop can take place.
The research is published in the journal, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.
Potatoes are particularly vulnerable to late blight, a fungus-like organism that loves the damp and humid conditions that often occur during the growing season in Europe.
Curbing the sprays
The speed with which this infection takes hold and the devastating impacts on the crop, makes it the number one threat to six million tonnes of potatoes produced in the UK each year.
Farmers have to be continuously on their guard and need to spray up to 15 times a season to protect against the disease.
As part of an EU-wide investigation into the potential for biotechnology to protect crops, scientists at the John Innes Centre and the Sainsbury Laboratory began a trial with blight-resistant potatoes in 2010.
The researchers added a gene to Desiree potatoes from a wild South American relative, which helps the plant turn on its natural defences to fight off blight.
The scientists involved say that the use of techniques to add in extra genes was crucial in developing a plant that was resistant to the blight.
"Breeding from wild relatives is laborious and slow and by the time a gene is successfully introduced into a cultivated variety, the late blight pathogen may already have evolved the ability to overcome it," said Professor Jonathan Jones from the Sainsbury Laboratory, the lead author of the research paper.
"And I think it is better to control disease with genetics than with chemistry."
In 2012, the third year of the trial, all the non-GM potatoes in the trial became infected with late blight by August while the modified vegetables remained fully resistant to the end of the experiment.
There was also a difference in yield with the GM variety producing double the amount of tubers.
The scientists say that since the potatoes are grown from tubers rather than seeds, they are sterile and the issue of GM pollen escaping into the wild does not arise.
One area the scientists cannot comment on is the taste, as they were barred from eating the GM variety. However they do not believe there is any mechanism by which the new genes can impact the flavour.
As late blight is a highly adaptive organism, the scientists at the Sainsbury Laboratory are eager to find more resistance genes and add them into the plant in a "stack".
This would make the chances of late blight overwhelming these potatoes very low. However it might make the GM variety more expensive to plant.
"The balance will be in favour of the farmer," said Prof Jones.
"Yes they may pay more for the seed but they will spend an awful lot less on fungicide."
The scientists believe the big challenge will be in getting regulatory approval for the new variety in Europe. The researchers have licensed the technology to an American firm, Simplot, who want to grow them in the US.
"I think it is unfortunate that American famers are going to benefit from the fruits of European taxpayers funded work way before Europeans," said Prof Jones.
"This kind of product will likely be on the US market within a couple of years and if we are lucky within 8-10 years in Europe."
Critics of GM crops said that no matter how big the scale of the environmental benefits, they believe that consumers wouldn't be interested.
"Is anyone really going to grow, sell or buy genetically modified potatoes?" said Liz O'Neil, director of GM Freeze.
"The law says that they will have to be labelled GM, experience shows that the UK doesn't want GM in its shopping basket and British farmers are far too smart to grow something they can't sell."
Regulatory hurdles
Other researchers in the field have welcomed the development but were equally negative about the chances of these new potatoes being grown in the UK.
"Late blight of potatoes is a difficult disease to control, and using genes from distant relatives is a valuable tool," said Professor Chris Pollock, from Aberystwyth University.
"Unfortunately, the problems in the current European regulatory process, which is expensive and extremely slow, means that this advance by UK scientists is far more likely to help farmers in other countries."
Only 600 of the GM potato plants have been grown, but the scientists have had to spend £40,000 to protect them over the three years of the trial.
South Korea credit card firms punished over data theft
South Korean regulators have punished three credit card companies for their role in the country's largest-ever theft of financial data last month.
KB Kookmin Bank, Lotte Card and NH Nonghyup Card will each be fined 6 million won (£3,371;$5640).
They will also be banned from issuing new credit cards for three months.
This comes after financial data on more than 20 million people - more than 40% of South Korea's population - was stolen and sold to marketing firms.
South Korea's Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said the three firms had "neglected their legal duties of preventing any leakage of customer information".
Last month, branches of the three firms were swamped with thousands of angry customers looking to cancel their cards or be issued new ones.
The three bosses of the credit card firms involved made a public apology for the breach, and several executives have resigned or offered to step down over the issue.
The data was stolen by a computer contractor working for personal credit ratings firm Korea Credit Bureau, who was arrested last month.
He allegedly stole the data - which included names, social security numbers and phone numbers - by saving it on a USB stick between October 2012 and December last year.
South Korea has one of Asia's highest usage rates for credit cards - an average adult owns multiple cards and will regularly switch companies in order to get better deals or rewards.
However, an increasing number of South Korean firms have been the subject of cyber-attacks.
In 2012, two hackers were arrested for getting hold of the details of 8.7 million subscribers to KT Mobile.
In 2011, details of more than 35 million accounts of South Korean social network Cyworld were exposed in an attack.
Google buys sound authentication firm SlickLogin
Google has acquired SlickLogin - an Israeli start-up behind the technology that allows websites to verify a user's identity by using sound waves.
It works by playing a uniquely generated, nearly-silent sound through computer speakers, which is picked up by an app on the user's smartphone.
The app analyzes the sound and sends a signal back to confirm the identity.
The technology can be used either as a replacement for a password or as an additional security layer.
SlickLogin confirmed the acquisition on its website but did not provide any financial details of the deal.
"Today we`re announcing that the SlickLogin team is joining Google, a company that shares our core beliefs that logging in should be easy instead of frustrating, and authentication should be effective without getting in the way," the firm said in a statement.
"Google was the first company to offer two-step verification to everyone, for free - and they're working on some great ideas that will make the internet safer for everyone."
Gravity wins Bafta for best British film
Gravity has been named best British film at the Baftas.
It was also honoured for visual effects, cinematography, best sound and original music. Alfonso Cuaron also won best director.
12 Years a Slave won best film with its star Chiwetel Ejiofor winning best actor while Cate Blanchett picked up best actress for Blue Jasmine.
In the supporting categories, Captain Phillips star Barkhad Abdi won as did Jennifer Lawrence for American Hustle.
The actress was not at the ceremony with director David O Russell accepting the award instead.
Russell was back on stage minutes later to pick up the award for best original screenplay for the 1970s crime drama, about two con artists who get entangled with the FBI.
Director Steve McQueen accepted the best film award for 12 Years. The filmmaker thanked his "one and only mother for having the faith. Never give up".
Ejiofor, who seven years ago was nominated for the Bafta rising star award, accepted his award from US actress Uma Thurman.
He said he was "so deeply honoured and privileged to receive it", thanking McQueen for his "artistry and passion".
He joked: "This is yours, by the way, I know that, you know that. I'm going to keep it but it's yours".
The Great Gatsby picked up two awards for production design and costume design.
Room 8 was named best short film; the short animation award was won by Sleeping With the Fishes.
The awards were hosted for a ninth time by actor Stephen Fry.
Best animation went to Frozen, which came out ahead of Monsters University and Despicable Me 2.
The Bafta for outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer went to Kieran Evans for Kelly + Victor, the tale of a young couple embarking on a passionate love affair.
US director Ron Howard, whose film Rush - about the rivalry between F1 drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda - won the award for best editing, joked on the red carpet he felt like "a grateful foreign exchange student".
Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope won for their adapted screenplay for the film Philomena, based on the true story of an Irish woman trying to find the son she was forced to give up for adoption.
Coogan praised the "real Philomena Lee", adding that "her story has been told and her story finished in the Vatican. She has been heard but there are 60,000 women who are yet to trace their children".
She may have lost out to Blanchett but Dame Judi set a Bafta record with her 15th acting nomination.
When asked about it on the red carpet, she replied "I didn't know until you told me. Thanks for reminding me".
She added: "It means I've been gong for a very, very long time."
Blanchett paid tribute on stage to the late actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, who died earlier this month in New York, calling him "a continual profound touchstone".
She added: "Phil, buddy, this is for you, you bastard. I hope you're proud."
The Baftas can be an indicator of which films go on to win Academy Awards two weeks later.
Last year Argo won best film, Daniel Day-Lewis won best actor, and Christoph Waltz and Anne Hathaway took the best supporting acting prizes. They all went on to win Oscars.
Highest accolade
Presenters and guests included Eddie Redmayne, Jeremy Irons, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Stanley Tucci and Uma Thurman.
The ceremony opened with a duet from Tinie Tempah and Mercury Prize nominee Laura Mvula.
Prince William, the academy's president, presented Dame Helen Mirren with the British Academy fellowship, its highest accolade.
Previous winners have included Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg and Stanley Kubrick.
Dame Helen paid tribute to her drama teacher Alice Welding, who died recently at the age of 102.
Peter Greenaway also received the outstanding British contribution to cinema award, presented by Juliet Stevenson.
The winner of the public vote for this year's Rising Star award was also announced with 21-year-old British actor Will Poulter from We're the Millers accepting the award.
Nigeria's Boko Haram 'in village massacre'
Suspected Islamist militants have raided a Nigerian village and murdered dozens, according to witnesses.
The gunmen reportedly rounded up a group of men in Izghe village and shot them, before going door-to-door and killing anyone they found.
Officials said they suspected the Boko Haram group was behind the attack.
Boko Haram, which claims to be fighting to create an Islamic state in northern Nigeria, is notorious for extreme violence and indiscriminate attacks.
Bodies in the streets
The senator for Borno state, where the attack took place, has told the BBC that 106 people were killed in the latest attack.
Ali Ndume said around 100 Islamist militants attacked Izghe for five hours on Saturday evening, without any intervention from the army.
He said the military recently withdrew from the area after nine soldiers were killed in an ambush last week.
Residents who fled the attack in Izghe said some of the victims were shot, while others had their throats slit.
"All the dead bodies of the victims are still lying in the streets," resident Abubakar Usman told Reuters news agency.
"We fled without burying them, fearing the terrorists were still lurking in the bushes."
Other witnesses described how the attackers had arrived on Saturday evening in trucks and motorcycles.
They asked the men in the village to gather, and then they hacked and shot them to death.
More than 30 people were killed in the town of Konduga, also in Borno state, earlier this week in an attack blamed on Boko Haram.
Following the attack in Konduga, the governor of Borno state, Kashim Shettima, called for more troops to be deployed to combat Boko Haram militants fighting in the area.
Numerous villages in the area around the state capital of Maiduguri have been attacked in recent months, despite the state being under emergency rule.
Frustrated with the army's efforts to combat the rebellion, President Goodluck Jonathan replaced his top military brass on 16 January.
The attack on Izghe will be the biggest since those new appointments.
Boko Haram has killed many hundreds of Christians and Muslims since it launched a campaign of mass violence in 2009.
Venezuela president expels three US consular officials
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro is expelling three US consular officials, accusing them of meeting students involved in anti-government protests.
The country has seen growing political tension and rallies, with three protesters dying in clashes last week.
An arrest warrant has been issued for opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, who has pledged to lead a march in the capital Caracas on Tuesday.
The US has expressed concern about arrests of opposition protesters.
Mr Maduro did not name the US officials being expelled, when he made the announcement in a national TV broadcast, but said the foreign ministry would give details later.
"It's a group of US functionaries who are in the universities. We've been watching them having meetings in the private universities for two months. They work in visas," the president said.
"Venezuela doesn't take orders from anyone!" he added.
On Saturday, US Secretary of State John Kerry issued a statement expressing concern about the rising tensions in Venezuela.
"We are particularly alarmed by reports that the Venezuelan government has arrested or detained scores of anti-government protestors and issued an arrest warrant for opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez," read the statement.
The main opposition grievances are high inflation, crime and the shortage of some staples.
The government has blamed the shortages on "saboteurs" and "profit-hungry corrupt businessmen".
'Dress white'
Opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez was last seen on Wednesday, when three men were shot dead at the end of opposition protests in the capital.
President Nicolas Maduro says an arrest warrant was issued against Mr Lopez shortly after the incidents.
Mr Maduro has accused Mr Lopez of inciting violence as part of a coup plot against his left-wing government.
The opposition say they were killed by pro-government militias known as "colectivos".
Mr Lopez, 42, is a former mayor of Chacao district, in eastern Caracas. He organised the recent protests against the government.
On Sunday morning, Venezuelan police searched the houses of Mr Lopez and his parents.
Hours later, he posted a new message on Twitter and a three-minute long video. He said he had not committed any crime and challenged the authorities to arrest him at the next protest.
"I want to invite all of you to join me on a march on Tuesday from Venezuela Square [in central Caracas] towards the Justice Ministry building, which has become a symbol of repression, torture and lies," Mr Lopez said on the video.
He called on his supporters to dress white, "to reaffirm our commitment to peace".
"I will be there to show my face. I have nothing to fear. I have not committed any crime. If there is any order to illegally arrest me, well, I will be there," added Mr Lopez.
For his part, President Maduro called on oil workers from the state company PDVSA to march to the presidential palace on Tuesday.
NSA Australia allies 'spied on US law firm' in Indonesia row
Australian spies tapped a US law firm representing Indonesia in a trade dispute with the US, new leaks say.
The 2013 document obtained by the New York Times does not identify the US law firm, but says the Australians offered the intercepts to their allies at the US National Security Agency (NSA).
Previous allegations of Australian spying on Indonesia has led to worsening ties.
The alleged documents have been leaked by ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
Last month, Mr Snowden alleged that the NSA conducted industrial espionage.
In an interview with Germany's ARD TV channel, the former contractor said the agency would spy on big German companies that competed with US firms.
The February 2013 document says the Australian Signals Directorate monitored a US law firm used by the government of Indonesia for trade talks, according to the New York Times (NYT).
The Australians said that "information covered by attorney-client privilege may be included" in the intelligence they offered to share with the NSA, it says.
It is not clear which trade talks were involved.
Indonesia has recently been embroiled in a number of disputes with the US - one over the US ban of clove cigarettes, another centring on the exports of prawns which the US alleged were being sold at below-market prices.
Chicago-based firm Mayer Brown was identified by the newspaper as having advised the Indonesian government at the time. The firm has not commented, nor has the Indonesian government or the NSA.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot refused to confirm the alleged document, adding that intelligence-gathering was used "to protect our citizens and the citizens of other countries".
"We certainly don't use it for commercial purposes," Mr Abbot said.
In November, Indonesia suspended co-ordinated military co-operation with Australia amid an ongoing row over reports that Canberra spied on Jakarta officials, including President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
The suspension included operations to stop people-smuggling, joint military exercises and intelligence exchange.
The NSA is prohibited from targeting Americans inside the US without warrants, but it can intercept the communications of Americans if they are in contact with a foreign intelligence target abroad.
In August last year, Russia granted Mr Snowden asylum for one year, after he leaked details of US electronic surveillance programmes.
The US has charged Mr Snowden with theft of government property, unauthorised communication of national defence information and wilful communication of classified communications intelligence.
Each of the charges carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence. Earlier this week he said he has "no chance" of a fair trial in the US and has no plans to return there.
South Africa miners freed from collapsed pit
Illegal gold miners trapped in an abandoned shaft near Johannesburg have begun to emerge, a day after they were caught in a collapse.
South African rescuers had said they were communicating with a group of 30 miners trapped by fallen boulders near the top of the mine.
Those miners suggested there may be 200 more people trapped below.
The miners are believed to have been trapped since Saturday morning but there no reports of any injuries yet.
Authorities suspect the mine, near the town of Benoni, was an illegal operation.
Werner Vermaak of ER24 emergency services said the mine was in the middle of a public field and was not blocked off.
He told the BBC that police were patrolling the area on Sunday morning when they heard cries for help coming from underground.
The first group of miners trapped near the surface began to emerge at 16:00 GMT on Sunday (18:00 local time).
Before they emerged, Mr Vermaak said they would be handed over to police
Heavy equipment was brought in to try to remove the boulders blocking the mine shaft.
Safety concerns
Mining is a vital part of the South African economy and the country is the fourth-biggest gold exporter.
According to South Africa's Department of Mineral Resources, a 2008 study of the gold sector found that an estimated $509m (£309m) in revenue was lost a year as a result of illegal mining.
South Africa has some of the world's deepest gold mines and safety is a major issue.
In recent years the majority of deaths underground have occurred in illegal mines.
Earlier this month nine South African miners died in three different incidents at various legal gold mines operated by the Harmony gold company.
At least 82 men died in a fire at a Harmony gold mine in 2009.
UK storms: Mother killed by falling masonry named
A mother-of-three who died when falling masonry hit her taxi has been named.
Julie Sillitoe, 49, was one of two people killed on Friday as strong winds and heavy rain hit southern England, adding to problems already caused by widespread storms and flooding.
An 85-year-old man died after a freak wave hit a British cruise ship in the English Channel.
More than 65,000 homes remain without power and severe weather warnings are in place for much of the UK.
Prime Minister David Cameron chaired the government's emergency committee, Cobra, on Saturday.
Mrs Sillitoe, from north London, died after her minicab was crushed when part of a building collapsed on to it at about 23:00 GMT on Friday, near Holborn Underground station, in central London.
Her next of kin have been informed. Her passengers, a 25-year-old man and 24-year-old woman, were taken to hospital with non life-threatening injuries.
Elsewhere an 85-year-old man died after waves crashed through a window of the cruise ship, MS Marco Polo, as it headed for its home port of Tilbury in Essex.
He and a woman in her 70s had been airlifted off the ship but he later died.
Meanwhile a third storm victim Bob Thomas, 77, died in hospital on Friday, two days after he was hit by a falling tree in his garden in Caernarfon, north-west Wales.
Speaking after Saturday's Cobra meeting, the prime minister warned flood levels would remain "very high" and in many places would continue to rise, despite an improved weather forecast.
"I was reassured that all the agencies involved - thousands of people locally and nationally - have made huge efforts over last few days to protect more homes and businesses, with over 3,000 of our troops deployed on task tonight and many hundreds more on standby".
Tim Field, from the Energy Networks Association, said engineers will be working through the night in a bid to reconnect homes without power. He warned some will still be without power on Sunday.
UK 'sleepwalking'
In an interview with the Observer, Labour leader Ed Miliband said the events of recent weeks showed climate change was a "national security issue" for the UK.
He said Labour had warned climate change could destabilise "entire regions of the world" and now Britain's homes, businesses and livelihoods were "under attack".
"The science is clear. The public know there is a problem. But, because of political division in Westminster, we are sleepwalking into a national security crisis on climate change," he said.
BBC weather presenter Susan Powell said parts of the UK could expect a "breather" on Saturday night and she expected next week's wet weather to be much less "aggressive".
A yellow "be aware" weather warnings of icy driving conditions will be in effect until 10:00 GMT on Sunday for most of the UK as temperatures drop.
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