Ryssland säger att Ukraina inte har betalat sina räkningar, och hotar nu att stänga av gaskranarna till grannen. Flera EU-länder riskerar därmed denna iskalla vinter att inte kunna värma upp sina hus, eftersom de får sin energi via Ukrainas gasledningar.

Ryssland säger att Ukraina inte har betalat sina räkningar, och hotar nu att stänga av gaskranarna till grannen. Flera EU-länder riskerar därmed denna iskalla vinter att inte kunna värma upp sina hus, eftersom de får sin energi via Ukrainas gasledningar.

Is the world ready for modified mosquitoes and engineered salmon?

South Africa's intelligence officer is summoned to meet a slightly 'paranoid' spymaster in Morocco.

Analysis: Israel's spies sought detailed information on Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood - to what end?

Tre brittiska tonårsflickor som är efterlysta eftersom de befaras vilja söka sig till de militanta jhadistkretsarna i Syrien, tros redan ha tagit sig över gränsen mellan Turkiet och Syrien. Det brittiska etermediebolaget BBC återger uppgifter om att flickorna passerade gränsen vid övergången Kilis i förra veckan.

Också det brittiska överhuset har sagt ja till provrörsbefruktning med dna från tre föräldrar. Därmed blir Storbritannien det första landet att godkänna den omstridda metoden.

Storbolagen på Stockholmsbörsen höjer aktieutdelningen, och det rejält. Totalt får aktieägare i storbolagen dela på 180 miljarder i år, en ökning med 20 procent jämfört med förra året, skriver Dagens Industri. Det historiskt låga ränteläget gör utdelningar till hårdvaluta för ägarna.

An anonymous reader writes: As expected, President Obama has vetoed a bill that would have given the green light for construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. "By saying no to the legislation, Mr. Obama retains the authority to make a final judgment on the pipeline on his own timeline. The White House has said the president would decide whether to allow the pipeline when all of the environmental and regulatory reviews are complete. ... Since 2011, the proposed Keystone pipeline, which would deliver up to 800,000 barrels daily of heavy petroleum from the oil sands of Alberta to ports and refineries on the Gulf Coast, has emerged as a broader symbol of the partisan political clash over energy, climate change and the economy."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader writes: The rise of wearable technologies and big-data analytics means companies can track their employees' behavior if they think it will improve the bottom line. Now an MIT Media Lab spinout called Humanyze has raised money to expand its technology pilots with big companies. The startup provides sensor badges and analytics software that tracks how and when employees communicate with customers and each other. Pilots with Bank of America and Deloitte have led to significant business improvements, but workplace privacy is a big concern going forward.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Suppose you watched a movie illegally, because it was convenient to watch it at home, and you feel like a jerk for not paying the $15 for a seat in the theater.

There are lots of reasons not to go to a theater. Poor sound quality. People who bring infants to the theater, or talk about the movie loudly as if we were in their living room.

What if?

What if there was a way to pay for the movie, after-the-fact?

No movie chain is going to do this, so why not start a proxy for them?

1. You'd log into a central site, if you're new, enter your credit card info

2. Navigate to the page for the movie you just watched.

3. Click the box, and click OK, and you've paid the fee.

I don't think it should be a voluntary amount. It should the the price of a ticket, either the average price, or the price at a theater local to you (think about this). This isn't charity, it's about convenience. You're not trying to avoid paying for the movie-watching experience, or negotiate a better price.

Where does the money go?

This is where it gets interesting.

At first, at least, no movie company is going to want this to exist. They might try to sue it out of existence. In the meantime, the money goes into escrow accounts, earning interest, to be paid to the rights-holder, when they demand it. Who is the rights holder? That's probably a large part of what will be litigated.

It would be like the lottery, the jackpot would keep growing, and the pressure would build (think about shareholders) to just take the money. And if that were to happen, we would have a whole new way of doing content on the Internet, for pay.

Why?

It's a way to bootstrap a new economy, one that will be useful in other contexts.

For example, I was just reminded that I could pay the New Yorker $1 per month to read all their articles. I would totally do this. If I didn't have to create an account, and give them all my info, and be subject to all the marketing these guys do. The price isn't just $1 a month. That's just what you pay so they can begin to aggressively upsell you. But I'd like to give them the money.

We need a middle-man here, some entity that doesn't belong to the vendors or the users. It cares equally for both. This would ultimately be good for the vendors, because the system is very inefficient.

US President Barack Obama vetoes a bill that would have approved construction of the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline, White House officials say.

Leaked papers expose 'doomed' relationship between South African and Israeli intelligence.