Welcome to Newslip. I'm Wesley Gerrard. Today is Sunday, 8th March 2009. Here are this week's Newslip stories.
Social networking websites are causing alarming changes in the brains of young users, an eminent scientist has warned. Sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Bebo are said to shorten attention spans, encourage instant gratification and make young people more self-centred. Baroness Greenfield, an Oxford University neuroscientist and director of the Royal Institution, believes repeated exposure could effectively 'rewire' the brain.'My fear is that these technologies are infantilising the brain into the state of small children who are attracted by buzzing noises and bright lights, who have a small attention span and who live for the moment.'
Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, while speaking at the start of the annual session of China's parliament, has said that he is ready to speak to Taiwan about ending hostilities.Beijing claims sovereignty over Taiwan, which split from the mainland at the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. Reacting to Mr Wen's overture, Taiwan's government said it would prefer to negotiate economic deals before political ones.
British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, flew to Washington this week to be the first European leader to meet President Obama. Brown addressed Congress and talked of ways to overcome the global economic crisis as well as emphasizing the need for Britian and America to cement their special relationship. The visit set the agenda ahead of the forthcoming G20 meeting in London.
The Sri Lankan cricket team were ambushed as they drove to a stadium in Lahore, Pakistan. Six policemen were shot dead, also a bus driver. Seven members of the Sri Lankan team plus their coach were injured. Sri Lanka had only stepped in to tour Pakistan at the last minute because India had pulled out in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks. The event has been cited as 'a grim day for sport.'
50 year old pop star Michael Jackson gave a press conference in London to announce a series of ten tour dates at the O2 Arena. He told the throng of fans that it would be his last tour. The star is hoping to overcome his financial problems by earning approximately $400 million for the shows.
A British couple, both suffering from terminal cancer, committed suicide together at a Swiss euthanasia centre. Peter and Penelope Duff, from Bath, ended their lives at the Dignitas clinic in Zurich on Friday. They were both great patrons of Bath's culture. A spokesman said that their decision did not reflect on the excellent healthcare they had received in Britain.
Prime Minister of Zimbabwe Morgan Tsvangirai has survived a car crash in which his wife was killed. President Robert Mugabe has visited him in hospital. Suspicions have arose about foul play being behind the incident.
Riot police in Malaysia have fired tear gas to disperse thousands of people in Kuala Lumpur, who protested against the use of English in local schools. Some 124 people were reportedly held, as the demonstrators tried to march to the royal palace in the capital. The ethnic Malay protesters demanded a return to Malay as the teaching language for maths and science.
An unmanned Nasa mission to search the sky for Earth-like planets with the potential to host life has launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The Kepler telescope will orbit the Sun to watch a patch of space thought to contain about 100,000 stars like ours.
And this week's top story...
Masserene army base in Antrim, Northern Ireland has seen an attack of which the Real IRA has claimed responsibilty.Two soldiers were killed and four others were injured by a volley of shots from gunmen using automatic rifles. They were waiting in a nearby car and waited for a pizza delivery to arrive before seizing their opportunity to strike in the terrorist attack. Political leaders on both sides have condemned the assault on the Peace Process.
That's it for this week. Thanks for tuning in. See you again soon.
Social networking websites are causing alarming changes in the brains of young users, an eminent scientist has warned. Sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Bebo are said to shorten attention spans, encourage instant gratification and make young people more self-centred. Baroness Greenfield, an Oxford University neuroscientist and director of the Royal Institution, believes repeated exposure could effectively 'rewire' the brain.'My fear is that these technologies are infantilising the brain into the state of small children who are attracted by buzzing noises and bright lights, who have a small attention span and who live for the moment.'
Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, while speaking at the start of the annual session of China's parliament, has said that he is ready to speak to Taiwan about ending hostilities.Beijing claims sovereignty over Taiwan, which split from the mainland at the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. Reacting to Mr Wen's overture, Taiwan's government said it would prefer to negotiate economic deals before political ones.
British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, flew to Washington this week to be the first European leader to meet President Obama. Brown addressed Congress and talked of ways to overcome the global economic crisis as well as emphasizing the need for Britian and America to cement their special relationship. The visit set the agenda ahead of the forthcoming G20 meeting in London.
The Sri Lankan cricket team were ambushed as they drove to a stadium in Lahore, Pakistan. Six policemen were shot dead, also a bus driver. Seven members of the Sri Lankan team plus their coach were injured. Sri Lanka had only stepped in to tour Pakistan at the last minute because India had pulled out in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks. The event has been cited as 'a grim day for sport.'
50 year old pop star Michael Jackson gave a press conference in London to announce a series of ten tour dates at the O2 Arena. He told the throng of fans that it would be his last tour. The star is hoping to overcome his financial problems by earning approximately $400 million for the shows.
A British couple, both suffering from terminal cancer, committed suicide together at a Swiss euthanasia centre. Peter and Penelope Duff, from Bath, ended their lives at the Dignitas clinic in Zurich on Friday. They were both great patrons of Bath's culture. A spokesman said that their decision did not reflect on the excellent healthcare they had received in Britain.
Prime Minister of Zimbabwe Morgan Tsvangirai has survived a car crash in which his wife was killed. President Robert Mugabe has visited him in hospital. Suspicions have arose about foul play being behind the incident.
Riot police in Malaysia have fired tear gas to disperse thousands of people in Kuala Lumpur, who protested against the use of English in local schools. Some 124 people were reportedly held, as the demonstrators tried to march to the royal palace in the capital. The ethnic Malay protesters demanded a return to Malay as the teaching language for maths and science.
An unmanned Nasa mission to search the sky for Earth-like planets with the potential to host life has launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The Kepler telescope will orbit the Sun to watch a patch of space thought to contain about 100,000 stars like ours.
And this week's top story...
Masserene army base in Antrim, Northern Ireland has seen an attack of which the Real IRA has claimed responsibilty.Two soldiers were killed and four others were injured by a volley of shots from gunmen using automatic rifles. They were waiting in a nearby car and waited for a pizza delivery to arrive before seizing their opportunity to strike in the terrorist attack. Political leaders on both sides have condemned the assault on the Peace Process.
That's it for this week. Thanks for tuning in. See you again soon.
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