Robot soldiers more fact than fiction
May 6, 2009
The world is on the brink of a “robotics revolution” in military combat that will have profound social, psychological, political and ethical effects, says a leading US defence analyst.
Peter Singer, who headed Barack Obama’s defence policy team during last year’s presidential campaign, said yesterday that the use of robots for fighting war was growing exponentially.
Russian tycoon loses yacht in poker
May 6, 2009
Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has lost one of the yachts in his sizeable personal fleet in a game of poker, a Russian newspaper reported.
The popular daily Moskovsky Komsomelets said the oligarch lost the $US500,000 yacht while playing poker in Barcelona, which he was visiting to watch the London football team he owns, Chelsea, in action.
An everyday Italian soap: the Berlusconis
May 5, 2009
So what do Italians make of the public disintegration of their ageing prime minister’s marriage?
Silvio Berlusconi’s gaffes and his public to-and-fro with his wife mirror the Italian way of life, says one Italian commentator.
