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. scientists warn lower funding will hit environmental research. Report calls for Lord Mandelson's department to be broken upPressure on scientists to deliver commercial benefits is compromising research, marginalising blue skies work and making universities behave more like businesses, according to a report published today .The independent group Scientists for Global Responsibility argues that government policy has 'driven a corporate agenda into the heart of universities', undermining their openness and independence. It calls for Lord Mandelson's newly formed Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to be broken up.'There is very obviously a trend pushing in the direction of commercialisation. It is as strong under Labour as it was under the Conservatives,' said Stuart Parkinson, co-author of the report, Science and the Corporate Agenda. 'We have gathered extensive evidence of the damaging effects of the commercial influence. Urgent action - by government and others - is needed

Thousands of activists took to the streets of the nation's capitol demanding equality for all. As Kimberly Dozier reports, the main focus for most of the protestors was on Gay Rights.

Sockatume writes 'Scientists in Italy have developed a robot which will move around the lower digestive tract using legs. The 'Spider-Pill' is fitted with a camera and will stow its legs until it reaches the lower intestine. Once there it can crawl around and take pictures under direction from surgeons. Its USP is that it's more appealing that an endoscopy.' The BBC also has video. of this story at Slashdot.

Links with China help Africa develop, Rwanda's president says, criticising the West for basing relations on aid not trade.

Johannesburg - Algeria are just one point away from qualifying for the World Cup finals in South Africa next year after securing a 3-1 victory at home against Rwanda on Sunday. With one game to go in the African qualifying campaign, the Desert Foxes ...

Johannesburg - Nigeria and Tunisia will take the race to qualify for the World Cup finals in South Africa next year down to the last game after both countries won their penultimate Group B matches. Nigeria's Super Eagles needed a last-gasp goal from ...

. Companies claim there were 'no technical issues' in broadcast. BBC highlights programme attracts peak of 4.3m viewersThe companies behind the screening of England's World Cup qualifier in Ukraine as a pay-per-view online broadcast today hailed it as a success after almost half a million people tuned in, despite complaints about the picture quality.The Swiss agency Kentaro, left holding the rights after Setanta went bust this year, and Perform, the internet broadcaster it employed to show the match after receiving no 'satisfactory' offers from TV broadcasters, said almost nine in 10 viewers who responded to a post-match survey found the picture quality 'satisfactory or better'.The experiment had been billed as a glimpse of the future but some viewers calling radio stations today claimed it was more like stepping back in time, complaining there were glitches in the feed and delays in the commentary.But the doomsday scenario predicted by some observers, who said the internet might grin

Frenchman of Algerian origin corresponded online with a contact in north Africa's al-Qaida branchA French physicist arrested last week while working at the world's largest atom smasher has told investigators he corresponded over the internet with a contact in north Africa's al-Qaida branch, a judicial official said today.The exchange vaguely discussed plans for terror attacks, but nothing concrete was planned, the French official said, speaking on condition that his name not be used because the investigation is ongoing. The 32-year-old Frenchman of Algerian origin was one of more than 7,000 scientists working on the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland. He and his brother were taken into custody Thursday in south-eastern French city of Vienne.The brother was released from custody on Saturday. The physicist was still being held in the Paris area on Sunday, with no charges filed against him. Under French law, terror suspects can be held without charges for up to four days.US monitors pic

Frenchman of Algerian origin corresponded online with a contact in north Africa's al-Qaida branchA French physicist arrested last week while working at the world's largest atom smasher has told investigators he corresponded over the internet with a contact in north Africa's al-Qaida branch, a judicial official said today.The exchange vaguely discussed plans for terror attacks, but nothing concrete was planned, the French official said, speaking on condition that his name not be used because the investigation is ongoing. The 32-year-old Frenchman of Algerian origin was one of more than 7,000 scientists working on the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland. He and his brother were taken into custody Thursday in south-eastern French city of Vienne.The brother was released from custody on Saturday. The physicist was still being held in the Paris area on Sunday, with no charges filed against him. Under French law, terror suspects can be held without charges for up to four days.US monitors pic

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 11, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican translation of the address given Friday afternoon by the specially invited guest Rodolphe Adada, the former joint special representative of ...