Apple is expected to give details this week of how outside programmers can create software for its iPhone, a move aimed at spurring demand for the multifunction device. Apple also said it will unveil new iPhone features aimed at businesses, potentially stepping up competition with Research in Motion’s popular Blackberry devices.
Computing-industry leaders claimed on Monday a leading role in the fight against climate change, arguing that software could cut world energy use. ”Green computing” has been adopted as a theme of the CeBIT computing expo, which opens in Hanover, Germany, on Tuesday.
Google will not use advertising to support its new internet health service, CEO Eric Schmidt said recently in the search company’s first detailed public comments about a venture raising concerns among privacy advocates. Schmidt said the service is merely a platform for American users to store their medical information.
Microsoft announced on Monday that it is expanding the range of business software it makes available as a service on the internet. The move comes as people increasingly use writing, accounting, email and other programs online instead of buying packaged software and installing it on their own machines.
The British government has no plans for a blanket ban on sportsmen from Zimbabwe, Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s spokesperson said on Tuesday, rebuffing a report from the BBC. The spokesperson said Downing Street had been ”surprised” by the report suggesting that Britain was considering such a ban.
World number three Ernie Els is in buoyant mood for this week’s Tampa Bay Championship at Palm Harbour after winning his first title on United States soil in nearly four years. The smooth-swinging South African shrugged off gusting winds in Sunday’s final round of the Honda Classic to seal his 16th PGA Tour victory by one shot.
Johannesburg Metro police said on Tuesday they had not tested Kwaito star Mandoza for driving under the influence of alcohol after an accident on Saturday because he was being treated at the scene by paramedics. Two people were killed when Mandoza smashed into the back of their car.
Floods in Namibia have killed 42 people and displaced thousands since early February and officials said on Tuesday more flooding can be expected. Gabriel Kangowa, head of the Emergency Management Unit of Namibia, said 4 500 people have been displaced from their homes in central and northern Namibia.
Colombia said on Tuesday that Farc rebels had been planning to make a ”dirty bomb” with radioactive material, threatening the entire Latin American region. The charges by Vice-President Francisco Santos marked a dramatic turn in a regional crisis that has seen Venezuela and Ecuador cut diplomatic ties with Colombia.
China will raise its heavily scrutinised defence spending by nearly a fifth this year, a top official said on Tuesday, warning self-ruled Taiwan that Beijing would ”tolerate no division”. Jiang Enzhu, spokesperson for China’s National People’s Congress, or Parliament, stressed that China adhered to a path of peaceful development.