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Finance Ministers of the leading 20 world economies, the G20, ended a meeting in Sydney, 23.2.14, with an agreement adopt a joint target for economic growth over the coming five years. … Read More »
The European Union has started its giant-scale research drive – €1.2-billion ($A1.85-billion; xe.com, 1.1.14) over ten years — to create the best and most true understanding yet of the human brain. … Read More »
Gatherings in Warsaw and Colombo kept the international community’s focus on anxiety about climate change and sustainability, at the year’s end, though the Australians started to march out of step.
Actions on the home front in Australia show clear trends in a ‘non-environmentalist’ direction.
                               The British government has announced its plan for regulation of the press, with a new complaints procedure; mirrored by far-less successful efforts, and less cooperation among legislators, in Australia.
It followed the media scandals of 2011 and after, which provoked questions on what to do about the London tabloid newspapers. … Read More »
Software services becoming all-but-indispensable to the world, on the strength of a good idea, have trouble from time to time with the idea of being regulated as businesses.
Microsoft has had a second tussle with the European Commission, reminiscent of the long contest that ended in 2007, which cost the company €497-million (then $A826-million) — while the EU itself now gears up for future challenges in a “digitised†economy.
See background from 2007, involving objections to such practices as locking-in purchasers of packages, to use only Microsoft products: EUAustralia Online, “Court confirms: Microsoft must shareâ€, 18.9.07; also “EU to probe Googleâ€, 1.12.10.
At the same time this year, an attempt at regulation by customers, instigated by Choice consumer magazine in Australia, has seen Adobe, Microsoft and Apple jumping to justify higher prices being charged for their services in that country. … Read More »
Lawmakers in Europe are moving towards requiring enterprises under cyber attack to tell the authorities, as a chance for containing it and averting destruction of social and economic fabric. … Read More »
Not for the first time computer hackers from Romania have broken into small business credit card systems to go on a large-scale spending spree; on this occasion, in Australia. … Read More »