read more:http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30429349
Thursday, 11 December 2014
Russia Baltic military actions 'unprecedented' - Poland
Video shot by Dutch F-16 pilots for Nato's Baltic Air Policing mission on 8 December shows the apparent interception of Russian military aircraft
read more:http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30429349
read more:http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30429349
Wednesday, 10 December 2014
The hidden motives behind workplace perks
10 December 2014
The hidden motives behind workplace perks
GoDaddy employees can let off steam at its own adult-sized pedal go-kart track. (GoDaddy)
Ryan Schaffer watched the sun rise over the mountains of northern Portugal from the terrace of a refurbished medieval monastery. He sipped his espresso, took his time getting ready, then headed down to join his workmates for their regular morning meeting.
Yes, his workmates.
more info:http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20141209-hidden-motives-behind-work-perks
Israel: China 'agrees to gift pandas' to Haifa zoo
From China, with love: A gift that few people would want to return
Panda diplomacy will soon be arriving in the Middle East, after China agreed to gift two of its much-loved bears to Israel, it's been reported.
A zoo in the northern city of Haifa will become home to the new arrivals,according to the Israel Hayom website. Haifa recently signed a twinning agreement with the Chinese city of Chengdu, home to a famous panda breeding centre. Aside from being cute and cuddly, the city's mayor thinks pandas are also a potent anti-racism symbol. "It is black, white, Asian and still beloved and adored by the entire world," he tells the website. While Israel Hayom is excited about the "extraordinary gesture", the Haaretz newspaper sounds a note of caution, saying the deal won't be officially sealed until Chinese officials are happy that conditions are perfect for the precious bears. Zoo staff must now visit Chengdu to learn about panda care, and they'll also have to build a special panda compound that meets with Chinese officials' approval.
China has given bears to other countries for hundreds of years in order to strengthen diplomatic ties, but the pandas are only on loan. Typically they are given away for 10 years, although any cubs born while abroad can be called home sooner, as happened to American-born Tai Shanin 2009. But if everything falls into place at Haifa's zoo, "Israelis risk the danger of melting into helpless puddles of love," Haaretz says. "We're game. Beijing, bring it on."
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more info:http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-30309033
Hong Kong students urged to leave
more infi:http://www.bbc.com/news/world/asia/china/
Hong Kong students urged to leave
Hong Kong's top civil servant Carrie Lam urges students to vacate the streets ahead of the expected clearance of the main protest camp.
Can Iran 'control' its cohabiting couples?
Despite Iran's strict Islamic laws, increasing numbers of young couples are choosing to live together before marriage. It has become so prevalent that the office of the Supreme Leader has issued a statement expressing deep disapproval, as BBC Persian's Rana Rahimpour reports.
"I decided to live with my boyfriend, because I wanted to get to know him better," says Sarah from Tehran.
"It's hard to get to know someone just by going to restaurants and cafes together."
Sarah's decision to enter into what is known in Iran as "white marriage" would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.
In a country where strict Islamic laws mean shaking hands with the opposite sex is illegal, cohabitation is a crime that risks severe punishment
more read:http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-30391593
Palestinian minister dies at West Bank protest
Photographs appeared to show Ziad Abu Ein (left) being held by the throat by an Israeli soldier
A Palestinian minister has died after a confrontation with Israeli troops at a protest in the West Bank.
Palestinian medics told the BBC Ziad Abu Ein had died from complications related to tear gas exposure.
But several witnesses said the minister had been hit and shoved by soldiers. One said he had been hit in the chest by a tear-gas canister fired by them.
Israel's Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon expressed regret for the minister's death in a statement.
Kevin Connolly says there are conflicting reports about what happened
The Israeli military (IDF) said it was investigating the incidents surrounding Mr Ein's death.
Palestinians gathered outside the hospital in Ramallah where Mr Abu Ein's body was brought
Israeli and Jordanian experts would attend a post-mortem examination, the IDF said. It has also proposed setting up a joint team with the Palestinians to investigate Mr Abu Ein's death.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for an investigation into the death and urged "all sides to exercise maximum restraint and avoid escalation".
Following the incident dozens of Palestinians reportedly gathered at the scene, near the village of Turmusaya, setting fire to tyres and throwing stones at security forces.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas led prayers at a PLO meeting called following Ziad abu Ein's death
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held a Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) meeting in Ramallah following news of the death of the minister, whom he called a "martyr".
Confiscation protest
Mr Abu Ein, a minister without portfolio, was among dozens of foreign and Palestinian activists taking part in a protest against land confiscations.
They had planned to plant olive tree saplings on a patch of land near the Jewish settlement of Shiloh, which Palestinians believe has been earmarked for annexation by Israel.
Leading Palestinian activist Mahmoud Aloul, who was also at the protest, told the Associated Press news agency the soldiers had fired tear gas and had beaten some of the activists with rifle butts.In the course of the protest, they came into confrontation with a group of about 15 Israeli soldiers.
At one point, Mr Abu Ein was hit by a tear gas canister, Mr Aloul said.
A Reuters photographer said he had seen Mr Abu Ein being struck by a hand on the neck during an altercation with two soldiers.
An AFP news agency photographer said the minister had been hit in the chest.
Protesters had planned to plant olive tree saplings on a patch of land they fear will be annexed by Israel
Photos of the incident showed Mr Abu Ein lying unconscious before he was taken away in an ambulance. He died before reaching hospital in the nearby city of Ramallah.
There are reports he had a health condition that may have contributed to his death.
The BBC's Kevin Connolly in Jerusalem says Palestinians are likely to see the exact cause of death as a secondary issue, and it will serve to sharpen tensions.
'Cruel death'
Condemning "the brutal assault" on Mr Abu Ein as a "barbaric act", Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas promised to take unspecified measures and declared three days of mourning.
One senior Palestinian official said the Palestinian Authority would halt security co-ordination with Israel.
Instagram now bigger than Twitter
Instagram has told Newsbeat it has the potential to "change the world" as it announced it has overtaken Twitter with 300 million users.
The company's CEO Kevin Systrom described the milestone as "exciting" and said the company would "continue to grow".
Twitter claims to have 284 million users accessing the network each month.
Facebook, which boasts 1.35 billion monthly active users, bought Instagram in 2012.
Speaking to Newsbeat ahead of the announcement, Kevin Systrom said: "Instagram is about seeing a live pulse of the world right now, it's not just about taking a photo of a cute baby or a cute dog."
Instagram is also introducing verified accounts similar to the blue tick symbols used by Facebook and Twitter.
Newsbeat understands regular users who have been impersonated could be verified, alongside celebrities, sports stars and brands.
"We want to be all about authentic users and you making sure that you know you're following real people not bots, not spam accounts, not fake accounts." Mr Systrom added.
In an attempt to get rid of fake accounts or those breaking the company's rules, Instagram said it is deleting "spammy" accounts.
The company has warned that some users may find they have fewer followers as a result.
Instagram's co-founder hinted the company would soon be adding new features based around specific events.
"You're literally getting a view of what's happening in the world right now.
"What we need to do is figure out how to take the fact that everyone's contributing in the world and broadcast that more globally.
"If you're interested in what's happening at the World Cup, you can peer in, see the football players and see what they're thinking and doing before they go onto the field.
"Those are the types of things that I want to enable over the next year."
Since it was set up by co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger in October 2010, Instagram has grown rapidly.
In February 2013, the company announced it had reached 100 million active monthly users.
Recently Instagram introduced advertising, with "sponsored posts" allowing brands to reach the app's growing number of users.
"Early on I would review and approve every single ad before it went on," Kevin Systrom said.
Although some users were not happy about seeing adverts on Instagram, he said that adverts were needed to allow the company to grow and cope with its increasing size.
"The reason why we're doing this is as a growth engine for Instagram.
"When you get to 300m users it's not cheap to run that service and you need to make sure to be able to hire more people."
The company responded to Twitter's Vine app with a video-sharing feature of its own and introduced direct messaging to compete with rivals WhatsApp and Snapchat.
In June 2014 Instagram defended its rules on nudity as "fair" after criticism for removing photos of topless women.
Kevin Systrom told Newsbeat that Instagram's close relationship with Facebook had allowed it to learn from its mistakes.
"We're absolutely paying attention to the pitfalls companies have faced before and trying our best to avoid them."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/30410973
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