The Pacific island of Samoa is planning to move forward to a different time zone to help boost business. Samoa is currently 21 hours behind Australia, which is one of its biggest trading partners. The change in time zone is due to happen later in 2011. Reporter: Mike Wooldridge When Samoa put itself on the [...]

Microsoft has confirmed it will buy the internet phone service Skype. The $8.5 billion deal will connect Microsoft with the 663 million people around the world who use Skype. It is the most money Microsoft has spent to buy another company. Reporter: Rory Cellan-Jones One is the giant business, whose software powers more than 90% [...]

Portugal’s caretaker prime minister Jose Socrates says he has reached agreement on a financial aid deal with the EU and the International Monetary Fund. The plan includes cuts in government spending as well as selling off state-owned assets. Reporter: Alison Roberts In a statement with distinctly political overtones, no doubt with next month’s general election [...]

The typewriter, rather than the computer, was responsible for creating the modern office. But now, the only company in the world that still makes and sells them says there are just 500 left, and no more are to be made. Reporter: Mark Gregory India is well known for its legions of computer programmers, but the [...]

A new Super League is being launched for some of the top English ladies’ teams including Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool. England’s Football Association is hoping the league will attract more supporters to the sport. Reporter:  Maddy Savage Women’s football – or soccer as it’s known in many countries – has been played in England for [...]

The newest and biggest online database of historic objects in the world has been launched in Jordan. The Middle Eastern Geodatabase for Antiquities, Mega, has information on all of Jordan’s 11,000 historic sites. Reporter:  Dale Gavlak Lying at the crossroads of three continents, Jordan hosts a number of World Heritage sites. The most famous is [...]

India’s former telecoms minister has appeared in court over allegations of an almost $40 billion fraud. He is charged with accepting bribes in return for selling mobile phone licences for much less than they were actually worth. Reporter:  Sanjoy Majumder Andimuthu Raja and seven others, including two former bureaucrats, will be produced in a special [...]

Following the recent Japanese earthquake and tsunami disasters, a massive amount of rubbish has washed into the Pacific Ocean. The US Navy is watching the garbage with interest as it floats towards Hawaii and the west coast of the United States. Reporter: Mark Lobel Entire houses, bodies, car parts, tractors and many upturned boats have [...]

Australia has unveiled what it claims are the toughest anti-smoking measures in the world. They would completely ban logos and branding on packets of cigarettes. Packets would also be plain olive green; the colour that smokers apparently find least attractive. Reporter: Nick Bryant The colour olive green is the latest weapon in the ongoing battle [...]