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Dopo 10 anni di tentativi e messe a punto, He Liang può finalmente guidare la sua valigia a motore lungo le strade di Changsha, cittadina cinese nella provincia di Hunan. L'ingegnoso veicolo a motore fai-da-te può raggiungere i 20km/h e percorrere circa 50/60 km con una carica.

Brazil hopes the expected 600,000 foreign tourists travelling for the World Cup will spur growth Brazil's economy grew 0.2% in the first three months of 2014, official statistics show. The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics also revised down economic growth in the last three months of 2013, to 0.4%. The sluggish growth figures come just before the start of the World Cup and presidential elections in October. President Dilma Rousseff, who is seeking re-election, has said the football event will spur growth. But high inflation and low business investment have put a damper on the expected lift from government investment in projects leading up to the sporting event. This has spurred protests from Brazilians angry over the expense of the World Cup and the lack of trickle-down growth. Business investment fell 2.1% in the first three months of 2014, the biggest decline in two years. "I couldn't find anything positive at all in the [data]," said

Combating the activities of the criminal bands is one of the priorities of the Colombian government Colombian police have arrested 46 members of the Rastrojos criminal gang in northern Atlantico department. They are accused of extortion from shop owners and selling illegal drugs in the coastal city of Barranquilla. President Juan Manuel Santos described the operation as "the biggest blow against Colombian criminal organisations in a decade". The US says the Rastrojos have smuggled at least 30 tonnes of cocaine into Mexico since 2008. Some of the criminal organisation's leaders in the area were detained in the raid, which happened on Friday but was announced later by President Santos. Among those arrested are Bonangel Madel Nunez, known as La Negra, and Oscar Junior Navarro, alias El Mello. Election time According to the Colombian authorities, the gang demanded $30 (£18) to $40 (£24) a month from shop owners, market stallholders and other businessmen in th

Turkish police have used tear gas to disperse demonstrators in Istanbul and Ankara on the first anniversary of deadly anti-government protests. Some 25,000 police surrounded and blocked Istanbul's Taksim Square, the epicentre of the 2013 rallies. PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier urged youths to not join Saturday's protests. Protests against plans to redevelop Gezi Park in Istanbul turned into mass rallies against PM Erdogan last year after a heavy-handed police response. A number of people were killed in the unrest, with thousands more injured. A 64-year-old woman, who fell into a coma after inhaling tear gas during another crackdown on protesters in the capital in December, died on Friday. Reporter detained Clashes broke out in Istanbul on Saturday after protesters marched on Taksim Square despite a government ban on gatherings in force there. Riot police, water cannon and armoured vehicles were deployed to block access to the square and nearby Gezi Park. A numb

Huge ash clouds thrown up by an Indonesian volcano have forced airlines to cancel all flights to and from the northern Australian city of Darwin. Mount Sangeang Api began erupting on Friday and plumes of ash have been sweeping south towards Australia. Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Australia have all cancelled flights. Services between Australia and the province of Bali have also been hit. The authorities say other airports could be affected in the coming days. 'Rather significant' Hundreds of passengers have been caught up, with disruption expected to continue until at least Sunday. "The volcano is undergoing a sustained, rather significant eruption at the moment," Emile Jansons, manager of the Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre told Reuters news agency. "For the last 10 hours we've been observing large masses of volcanic ash being generated. "Nobody has a very good handle on what this volcano is likely to do in the next 24 hours or beyon

US Army Sgt Bowe Bergdahl was captured in Afghanistan in June 2009 (file photo) A US soldier who has been held by the Taliban in Afghanistan for nearly five years has been freed in deal that includes the release of five Afghan detainees, US officials say. US Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, 28, was handed over to US forces in good health, the officials said. The five Afghan detainees have been released from the US prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. They were handed over to Qatar, which mediated the transfer. Sgt Bergdahl was the only US soldier being held by the Taliban in Afghanistan. A video grab image from 2010 showed Sgt Bergdahl in captivity Officials said he was in good condition and undergoing medical tests at Bagram Air Field, the main US base in Afghanistan. He would later be flown to a US military medical centre in Germany to "decompress" after his ordeal, American defence sources told the AFP news agency. 'Joyful and relieved' Sgt Bergahl&#

L'organo-ventosa sul dorso della remora L'uso più comune dell'espressione deriva probabilmente dal comportamento della remora, un pesce che grazie a un potente organo-ventosa sul dorso si attacca ad altri pesci e allo scafo delle imbarcazioni e si lascia trasportare. Dimensione e peso degli esemplari adulti, e il fatto che dov'è ancorata una remora se ne troveranno altre, comportano che l'ospite si muova con maggiore fatica. E proprio in questo senso  avere una remora indica un  forte dubbio , un indugio  o un  impedimento morale  a fare qualcosa. Il suo contrario, senza remore , a seconda del contesto indica sia la  piena disponibilità  sia la  mancanza di regole morali  o di  pudore  nel fare qualcosa. Il pesce remora.  L' Echeneidae  è una famiglia di otto specie di pesci di acqua salata noti come  remore , la cui peculiarità è quella di avere una sorta di ventosa sul dorso grazie alla quale si attaccano al ventre di altri animali mar

Italiani campioni di cattive abitudini? Sembra proprio di sì, soprattutto se sono alla ricerca di un partner. Lo afferma un recente studio sul tabagismo condotto sui single europei: dai dati emerge che il 35% degli uomini e il 31% delle donne non impegnati in una relazione consuma tabacco più di una volta al giorno. E il 41% di loro dichiara di cercare un compagno con lo stessa inclinazione. A sorpresa, i non fumatori si dichiarano invece piuttosto tolleranti: il 21% di loro accetterebbe un compagno con il vizio della sigaretta. Nel dubbio perchè non smettere? Magari inziando proprio oggi, vistio che in tutto il mondo si celebra la giornata mondiale senza tabacco.

La BCN, società d’analisi nipponica, ha pubblicato nelle scorse ore un report sul numero di iPhone 5s venduti nel territorio del Sol Levante nel mese di aprile e i risultati non sono per nulla positivi per la Mela. A marzo Apple ha venduto 3.9 milioni di iPhone 5s in Giappone. Ad Aprile invece, le vendite sono calate dell’85%, raggiungendo quota 570 mila. Anche l’iPhone 5c ha subito un crollo simile: da 430mila unità vendute a marzo a 150mila vendute ad aprile (-65%). Uno dei motivi alla base di questo clamoroso crollo risiede nell’aumento delle imposte che il governo nipponico ha applicato sulle vendite a partire dall’1 aprile: dal 5 all’8 per cento. Durante il primo trimestre fiscale 2014 in Giappone sono stati venduti 8 milioni di iPhone, circa il 18% delle vendite totali (43.7 milioni). Il modello più venduto di iPhone 5s per la settimana conclusasi il 25 maggio è stato quello da 16 GB. Ai primi due posti della classifica nipponica di vendita degli smartphone per queste ultime s

Chuck Hagel: "China has undertaken destabilising, unilateral actions asserting its claims in the South China Sea" The US defence secretary has accused China of "destabilising" the South China Sea, saying its action threatened the region's long-term progress. Chuck Hagel said the US would "not look the other way" when nations ignored international rules. Mr Hagel was speaking at a three-day summit - the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore - that involves the US and South-East Asian countries. He also urged Thailand's coup leaders to restore democratic rule soon. The forum comes amid growing tensions between China, Vietnam and the Philippines, with Japan-China ties also strained over disputed islands in the East China Sea. The summit gives senior delegates from the region a chance to meet face-to-face to try to resolve tensions. 'No to intimidation' "In recent months, China has undertaken destabilising, unilateral actions ass

La grande G del Web obbedisce alla Corte Europea e pubblica un modulo col quale ognuno di noi può richiedere che informazioni e i nostri dati personali non compaiano tra i risultati del motore di ricerca. Il numero uno di Google Larry Page ha deciso di attenersi alle disposizioni della Corte europea di giustizia circa la privacy (Foto: Reuters) Un paio di settimane fa la decisione della  Corte europea di giustizia di Lussemburgo, secondo cui ogni persona ha il diritto di cancellare dal Web le informazioni  apriva un interrogativo: come si sarebbe comportato Google?  La risposta è arrivata per bocca del suo capo, Larry Page, durante un'intervista. Page ha preso atto della sentenza e ha deciso di rendere immediatamente disponibile, ai cittadini europei che ne sentissero la necessità, un modulo col quale si può richiedere di cancellare i risultati delle ricerche che includano il loro nome "qualora tali risultati siano inadeguati, irrilevanti o non p

Almost 2,000 people have been killed by Syrian government air attacks in the northern city of Aleppo so far this year, an activist group says. The dead included 283 women and 567 children, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). The Syrian air force has used so-called "barrel bombs" dropped from aircraft to try to put down a rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad. Aleppo has seen fierce fighting since a rebel offensive in the area in 2012. The UK-based SOHR said 1,963 people had been killed in the city - Syria's largest - and the surrounding area since January. The government has used air and ground forces to drive the rebels back, but they remain in control of some areas to the east of Aleppo. Crude bombs The SOHR - which has a network of activists around the country reporting on the violence - says more than 162,000 people have been killed in the three-year conflict. Analysis: Jim Muir, BBC News, Beirut The barrels, packed wi

Divya Arya reports on the disturbing scene which met villagers in Uttar Pradesh Two police officers in India have been sacked for refusing to help search for two missing girls who were later found gang-raped and hanged, officials say. They were also charged with criminal conspiracy, police said, adding that three people had been arrested so far. The government has pledged to set up a fast-track court to prosecute the crime, which took place earlier this week in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Alleged police inaction sparked outrage in the teenagers' village. The father of one victim told the BBC he was ridiculed by police when he sought help in finding his missing daughter. He said that when policemen found out he was from a lower caste, they "refused to look for my girl". Indian media reacts to hangings The incident has received top coverage on India's main TV channels such as NDTV, Times Now and CNN-IBN. "Uttar Pradesh Rape shockers", reads