Aston Villa sign Charles N'Zogbia from Wigan Athletic

New Villa signing N'Zogbia scores double (UK users only)Charles N'Zogbia has completed his move from Wigan to Aston Villa after agreeing personal terms on a five-year deal at Villa Park.The two clubs settled on a fee, reported to be about £9.5m, for the 25-year-old winger on Monday, after Villa's initial bid was turned down. "I am really happy and excited to sign for Aston Villa," said N'Zogbia. "It is a great club and a really big step for me in my career, so I am sure I will enjoy my football...

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US economy: GDP growth much weaker than thought

US economic growth is much weaker than first thought, government figures show.The economy grew at an annualised rate of 1.3% in the second quarter, the Commerce Department said. Economists had forecast growth of 1.8%. And in a surprise move, first-quarter growth was revised down sharply from 1.9% to 0.4%. This evidence of economic weakness increases the pressure on the government as it attempts to increase its borrowing limit. Slow growth makes it more difficult for the US to tackle its deficit. If...

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Dyslexia makes voices hard to discern, study finds" By Jennifer Carpenter

People with dyslexia struggle to recognise familiar voices, scientists suggest.The finding is the first tentative evidence that small sounds in the human voice that vary between people are difficult for dyslexics to hear. Writing in the journal Science, the scientists say that many people could have some degree of "voice blindness". And by studying it, scientists hope to better understand how the human brain has evolved to recognise speech. Humans rely on small sounds called phonemes to tell...

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Marvel wins superhero copyright claim

Marvel has won a legal battle to retain copyright of its lucrative comic book characters including Spider-Man and The Incredible Hulk.The company sued the family of late co-creator Jack Kirby last year after they laid claim to copyrights for work he created from 1958 to 1963. However a New York judge ruled Kirby's illustrations of characters like Iron Man had been created "for hire". A lawyer for Kirby's estate has said they will appeal the ruling. Other characters at the centre of the dispute...

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Libya taunts UK over rebel leader death

Libya's regime has taunted the UK over the death of rebel military commander Gen Abdel Fattah Younes.He was killed this week in mysterious circumstances. A spokesman suggested the incident showed the UK government had made a mistake by recognising the rebel council as the sole authority in Libya. There have been claims that Gen Younes, a former minister in Col Gaddafi's government, was shot by fellow rebels or by al-Qaeda. On Wednesday, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said the UK would recognise...

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Richard Nixon Watergate testimony ordered released

The secret grand jury testimony given by former US President Richard Nixon over the Watergate scandal is set to be released after more than 36 years, following an order by a federal judge.Judge Royce Lamberth granted a request by historian Stanley Kutler to release the transcript, citing of its historical significance. But it will not be unsealed until the government has had a chance to appeal. The political scandal prompted Nixon to resign in 1974. Nixon, who died 17 years ago, was the only...

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Venezuela President Hugo Chavez in middle class appeal

The Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, says he wants to open up his socialist political project to the middle classes and private sector. Mr Chavez said his government had to convince Venezuela's middle classes they were needed. Speaking by telephone on state television, he said he was entering a more reflective period of his life. Mr Chavez recently underwent cancer treatment in Cuba, but plans to stand for re-election next year. The Venezuelan leader made his comments a day after he celebrated...

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Turkey: Military chiefs resign en masse

The chief of the Turkish armed forces, Isik Kosaner, has resigned along with the army, navy and air force heads.They were furious about the arrest of senior officers, accused of plotting, shortly before a round of military promotions. A series of meetings between Gen Kosaner and PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan failed to resolve their differences. Turkish President Abdullah Gul moved quickly to appoint General Necdet Ozel as the new army chief. Gen Ozel is widely expected to be swiftly elevated to chief...

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National Museum of Scotland to reopen after £47m refit

BBC Scotland has a look around the refurbished National Museum of Scotland before its opening to the public Crowds are expected to flock to the newly-refurbished Victorian part of the National Museum of Scotland as it reopens following a £47.4m refit.Sixteen new galleries take visitors on a journey through the wonders of nature, the cultures of the world and through to science and discovery. More than 8,000 objects will be on display in the new area, 80% for the first time in generations. The...

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Baseball pitcher Hideki Irabu dies, aged 42

Baseball pitcher Hideki Irabu, who played on two World Series championship teams and was one of the first Japanese players in US baseball, has died at 42.Irabu's death at his home near Los Angeles was being investigated as a suicide, police said. Beginning in 1997 he pitched six seasons in the Major Leagues, including three with the New York Yankees. He had a career record of 34 wins and 35 losses in 80 starts, and retired from Major League baseball in 2002 Born in Hyogo, Japan, Irabu was a hard-throwing...

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Australia probes self-harm by asylum seekers

Australian officials have announced an investigation into rising rates of self-harm and suicide attempts by asylum seekers in detention centres.Allan Asher, who heads a government watchdog body, said official data indicated there was a problem. There were more than 1,100 actual or threatened self-harm incidents in the past year, government figures show. The UN has criticised Australia's policy of detaining all asylum seekers while their applications are processed. Mr Asher said he had spent a...

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North Korea nuclear talks business-like, says US

The US says a first day of talks on North Korea's nuclear programme had been "serious and business-like".The talks between US North Korea envoy Stephen Bosworth and North Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan are to continue on Friday in New York. US officials stress that the talks are "exploratory", aimed at gauging whether North Korea is serious about resuming negotiations that ended in 2008. North Korea conducted nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009. "Today's discussions have been serious...

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Somali famine: Fighting in Mogadishu after 'aid threat'

Africa Union peacekeepers say they have seized key territory from Islamist insurgents in Somalia's capital after they allegedly threatened aid camps.The heavy fighting came a day after the UN World Food Programme airlifted in its first famine emergency aid. An AU spokesman told the BBC the action would increase security and enable aid agencies to get food to people displaced by the severe drought. Thousands have arrived in government-controlled suburbs in search of food. The WFP delivery is...

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MPs set to debate public's petition demands

Campaigners who gather more than 100,000 petition signatures could have their ideas debated in Parliament, via a newly launched government website.The e-petitions site, which will ask the public for proposals, is aimed at "building confidence" in MPs' work. House of Commons leader Sir George Young said politicians could not afford to be complacent and had to give a "megaphone" to people's concerns. But Labour has said the petitions could lead to debates on "crazy ideas". The system, launched...

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House prices are stabilising, says Nationwide

House prices are stabilising, according to the latest monthly report from the Nationwide building society.Prices across the UK rose by 0.2% in July, to £168,731, leaving them just 0.4% lower than a year ago. The society said demand for homes was still sluggish, with completed sales still running at roughly half the level recorded before the banking crisis. On Thursday, the Land Registry for England and Wales said average prices were unchanged, at £161,479. The Nationwide's chief economist Robert...

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MoD to cut further 7,000 civilian jobs

Thousands of civil servants are to lose their jobs at the Ministry of Defence, in addition to some 25,000 posts that were already set to be cut. The Guardian has seen a letter, being sent out by the department's top civil servant, which says a further 7,000 civilian jobs are to be cut in a bid to bring its budget under control. The letter says the MoD needs to "bear down further on non-front line costs". Union leaders and defence officials have expressed concern at the decision. The cuts...

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Phone hacking: Murdoch may be recalled by MPs

 Tom Watson MP questions James Murdoch about whether he was aware of the "for Neville" email A committee of MPs will be asked to recall News International chairman James Murdoch to give more evidence on phone hacking.Labour MP Tom Watson said he would also call for ex-News of the World editor Colin Myler and the paper's ex-legal manager Tom Crone to answer questions. Mr Murdoch told MPs he had not been "aware" of an email suggesting hacking went wider than a "rogue" NoW reporter. Mr Myler...

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BT ordered to block links to Newzbin 2 website

A High Court judge has ruled that BT must block access to a website which provides links to pirated movies.Newzbin 2 is a members-only site which aggregates a large amount of the illegally copied material found on Usenet discussion forums. The landmark case is the first time that an ISP has been ordered to block access to such a site. It paves the way for other sites to be blocked as part of a major crackdown on piracy. In his ruling, Mr Justice Arnold stated: "In my judgment it follows that...

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Trojan asteroid seen in Earth's orbit by Wise telescope

2010 TK7 traces a complex path at its orbital point, moving above and below the plane of the Earth's orbit Continue reading the main story Related StoriesAsteroid found in space graveyard Dancing with Neptune Astronomers have detected an asteroid not far from Earth, moving in the same orbit around the Sun.The 200-300m-wide rock sits in front of our planet at a gravitational "sweet spot", and poses no danger. Its position in the sky makes it a so-called Trojan asteroid - a type previously...

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Huge Arctic fire hints at new climate cue" By Richard Black

In the summer of 2007, more than 1,000 sq km of Alaskan tundra burned near Anaktuvuk River An exceptional wildfire in northern Alaska in 2007 put as much carbon into the air as the entire Arctic tundra absorbs in a year, scientists say. The Anaktuvuk River fire burned across more than 1,000 sq km (400 sq miles), doubling the extent of Alaskan tundra visited by fire since 1950. With the Arctic warming fast, the team suggests in the journal Nature that fires could become more common. If...

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Man arrested over computer hacking claims

An 18-year-old man has been arrested in the Shetland Islands as part of an investigation into hacking groups, Anonymous and LulzSec.The man is suspected of using the online nickname Topiary and presenting himself as a spokesman for the groups. Both high-profile hacker groups are known for stealing and releasing private information from websites. Police are also searching a house in Lincolnshire and interviewing a 17-year-old boy under caution. Officers from the police's Central e-Crime Unit arrested...

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"Doctors begin major stem cell trial for MS patients" By Pallab Ghosh

A major clinical trial will investigate whether stem cells can be safely used to treat multiple sclerosis (MS).It is hoped eventually to slow, stop or even reverse the damage MS causes to the brain and spinal cord. The trial, involving up to 150 patients across Europe, is due to start later this year. Dr Paolo Muraro from Imperial College London said: "There is very strong pre-clinical evidence that stem cells might be an effective treatment." Researchers will collect stem cells from the bone...

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Millions hit in South Korean hack

South Korea has blamed Chinese hackers for stealing data from 35 million accounts on a popular social network.The attacks were directed at the Cyworld website as well as the Nate web portal, both run by SK Telecom. Hackers are believed to have stolen phone numbers, email addresses, names and encrypted information about the sites' many millions of members. It follows a series of recent cyber attacks directed at South Korea's government and financial firms. Details of the breach were revealed by...

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Virtual people to get ID checks

The faces and behaviour of online avatars could help identify the people controlling them, scientists believe.Using both characteristics, researchers hope to develop techniques for checking whether the digital characters are who they claim to be. Such information could be used in situations where login details are not visible or for law enforcement. Impersonation of avatars is expected to become a growing problem as real life and cyberspace increasingly merge. Signature moves Avatars are...

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WHO: Hepatitis toll 'in millions'

Medical experts are calling for global action to tackle the viruses that cause the liver disease hepatitis. The first worldwide estimates in drug users show 10 million have hepatitis C while 1.3 million have hepatitis B. Writing in the Lancet, experts say only a fraction of those who could benefit are receiving antiviral drugs. Only one in five infants around the world are vaccinated against hepatitis B at birth, they say. The figures, published in the Lancet, show about 67% of injecting drug users...

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India lose Zaheer to injury for second Test, England wait on Tremlett

England and India face injury concernsIndia bowler Zaheer Khan has been ruled out of Friday's second Test against England because of a hamstring injury.The 32-year-old left-arm pace bowler picked up the injury during the first Test at Lord's last week. England have concerns over Chris Tremlett, who pulled up with back and hamstring trouble on Thursday, for the match at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. "We expect him to be fit but obviously we'll see in the morning," said England captain Andrew Strauss. ...

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United States fire coach Bob Bradley

Bradley took over from Bruce Arena in January 2007 Bob Bradley has been sacked as United States coach after four and a half years in charge.The 53-year-old took the team to the last 16 of the 2010 World Cup after drawing 1-1 with England in Group C. Bradley was subsequently linked with the Aston Villa manager's job, before opting to sign a four-year deal extension with US Soccer. "We felt now was the right time for us to make a change," said US Soccer president Sunil Gulati. Bradley's...

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"Japan's industrial output and household spending rise"

Japan's economy has continued to recover from the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami, latest government data showed.Factory output rose 3.9% in June from the previous month as supply chain concerns eased, while household spending increased by 0.8%. Analysts said it showed the economy was recovering faster than expected. The data comes a day after Japan reported a rise in retail sales for the first time since the 11 March quake. "I thought we had to wait until the middle of next year for production to come back up to levels seen before the...

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Madonna royal drama to screen at Venice Film Festival

Madonna's film about King Edward VIII's romance with American divorcee Wallis Simpson will have its world premiere at this year's Venice Film Festival.W.E, which the singer directed, screens out of competition at the event, which runs from 31 August to 10 September. British actress Andrea Riseborough plays Mrs Simpson in the film, which contrasts her scandalous relationship with a contemporary romance. In all, 21 titles will compete for the prestigious Golden Lion award. The new film version...

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