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Surveyors report 'tentative signs' of a recovery despite small numbers of homes being sold, a survey shows.

Any hyperbole about swine flu was created by the media, not by virologists, says Tom SheldonSimon Jenkins is right to say that obsessive media coverage of swine flu, ever thirsty for hyperbole and impatient for new developments, can be misleading (Sophie's sniffle mocks the peddlers of swine flu panic, 6 May). And advice issued by government should rightly be debated.But the suggestion that scientists 'depend on regular pandemic scares for government grants' is paranoid (we might as well say Jenkins invents contrary opinions in order to be paid by the Guardian). In his dismay at the lack of a pandemic he reminds me of a man playing Russian roulette who, after two squeezes of the trigger, declares: 'Ha! This isn't dangerous after all!' The possibility of a pandemic is real but cannot yet be predicted with assurance. Jenkins declares that 'no medical authority ... has confined its reporting to the facts'. Yet the majority of scientists have been cautious and measured on the subject. At t

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asian shares fell for a second consecutive session on Tuesday as some of the confidence that fueled a recent rally was dampened by reports that highlighted the weakness in the global economy.

The number of cases of swine flu may have been several times higher than reported and the potential for rapid spread of the illness justified the World Health Organization's decision to raise the global pandemic alert, a new study concludes.

An Indian man who fathered seven daughters has not washed for 35 years in an apparent attempt to ensure his next child is a boy, newspapers reported.

Some of the biggest names in British entertainment will tomorrow today call for Britain's internet service providers to police their customers' activity to stem the flood of online piracy and safeguard an estimated 800,000 jobs in the creative economy.The call, from a unique coalition of business and union leaders, comes as Lord Carter puts the finishing touches to his final Digital Britain report, due out on 16 June. As part of that process, Carter has proposed a Rights Agency, backed by media regulator Ofcom, which would bring the ISPs and media owners together to fight illegal peer-to-peer sharing of music, films and software.But at The Future of the Creative Economy conference in London today, an alliance including the Federation Against Copyright Theft, the Publishers' Association, BPI and actor's union Equity, will call for tighter regulation, with ISPs disconnecting persistent illegal file-sharers.'It is now time for the government to be bold and to offer full and proper protect

A Best Buy employee has told Samantha Rose Hunt of TG Daily that the much ballyhooed Palm Pre will be arriving on June 7 with more than just fanfare. The device has been reported to come with an optional wireless battery charger, called Touchstone, which exists in the form of a pad the Pre rests [...]

Here's one more thing for stressed out parents to worry about. There may be a harmful chemical in your baby's bottle or your child's sippy cup. But as CBS 2's Derrick Blakley reports, there's a new move in Chicago that could make your family safer by banning bisphenol A, also known as BPA.

HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba has reported its first confirmed case of the H1N1 flu that has sickened thousands of people around the world, the public Health Ministry said on Monday.

Shaun Nichols in san francisco, vnunet.com, Tuesday 12 May 2009 at 02:00:00 The new IdeaPad S10 model will cost $349 Lenovo has launched a new model in its line of netbook systems. Reports suggest that the new model will be known as the IdeaPad S10-2 and should be available by the end of the month. The new model is said to sport an Intel Atom N270 processor and will run Windows XP. The device will sport a 10.1in display, and carry 1GB of memory and a 160GB hard drive. The device will be available in four colours and priced at $349 (£229). Lenovo is also said to be working on a 3G-equipped system which will cost an additional $50 (£32). The new IdeaPad will expand Lenovo's presence in a netbook market, which has been steadily rising over the past year. Companies such as Toshiba and Samsung recently updated their netbook ranks, while Chinese vendor Skytone is poised to make waves later this summer with the release of a netbook based on Google's Android software.