Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesIranian Protesters Clash With PoliceBy NAZILA FATHI and ROBERT F. WORTH Opposition supporters at Tehran University on Monday were among thousands nationwide to join in the first major anti-government protests in weeks.   

  Barack Obama may come to regret giving America its moment of vengeance for September 11thThe trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will be a sensation – perhaps for the wrong reasons By Con Coughlin
Published: 6:20AM GMT 20 Nov 2009Comments 51 | Comment on this articleTrial of the century: the first problem is to find 12 jurors with an open mind ? especially since Mohammed has confessed to masterminding the attacks on the World Trade Centre Photo: Reuters  Prepare yourselves for the trial of the century – if not the millennium. If you thought the O J Simpson or Michael Jackson cases were sensational, just wait until Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-confessed mastermind of the
September 11 attacks, shuffles into a Lower Manhattan courtroom in his shackles and orange jumpsuit to stand trial for the worst terrorist atrocity in American history.In the United States, people are generally as keen on the retribution as the trial. Earlier this week, a convicted murderer – who protested his innocence until the last – was strapped into a 101-year-old electric chair in Virginia's Greenville Correctional Centre. After six prison guards had fixed Larry Elliott to the oak chair with leather restraints, his head and right leg were shaved to allow the electrical contacts to be clamped on, and a leather mask put across his face. Two 90-second cycles of electric current were then passed through his body, causing Elliott to jerk back in his seat, gripping the arms of the chair. Smoke rose from his leg and his head. Ten minutes later the prison doctor pronounced him dead.It was a grisly spectacle – yet to judge by Barack Obama's comments this week, he would have no qualms if Mohammed suffered a similar fate. Without any apparent…

   Paul Sakuma/Associated Pres  Apple’s Chief Taking a Medical Leave By BRAD STONE Saying his health-related issues were “more complex” than he originally thought, Steven P. Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, announced Wednesday that he would take a medical leave of absence from the company until the end of June. In a letter to Apple employees released after markets closed, Mr. Jobs said that curiosity over his personal health “continues to be a distraction not only for me and my family, but everyone else at Apple as well.” Mr. Jobs said he had asked Tim Cook, Apple’s longtime chief operating officer, to take on responsibility for Apple’s day-to-day operations. “As C.E.O., I plan to remain involved in major strategic decisions while I am out,” Mr. Jobs added. “Our board of directors fully supports this plan.” An Apple spokesman could not immediately be contacted for comment. Apple’s stock dropped sharply in after-hours trading. Mr. Jobs, 53, released a letter just last week saying that doctors had recently diagnosed a “hormone imbalance” that was depleting proteins in his body as the cause of his weight loss. The remedy, he said, “is relatively simple and straightforward, and I’ve already begun treatment.” Ryan Jacob, founder of the Los Angeles-based Jacob Internet Fund, which owns a stake in Apple, said the letter indicated that “his health situation is probably more serious than we thought.” Mr. Jacob expressed disappointment that Mr. Jobs, in last week’s letter, sought to downplay the severity of his illness. “It’s disturbing. I think its going to be especially disturbing to people given the letter of last week.” 

  Web could run out of addresses next year, warn web expertsBy Claudine Beaumont, Technology Editor
Published: 6:38PM GMT 02 Nov 2009Comments 4 | Comment on this articleWe could run out of web addresses in the next two years, unless businesses and government organisations heed the advice of the European Commission Photo: GETTY  A survey, conducted by the European Commission, found that few companies are prepared for the switch from the current naming protocol, IPv4, to the new regime, IPv6. Web experts have warned that we could run out of internet addresses within the next two years unless more companies migrate to the new platform. The IPv4 and IPv6 protocols refer to the way in which web addresses are created and assigned. Each website has a unique IP address, represented by a string of numbers, such as 192.168.1.1, which are then given a user-friendly web address, such as telegraph.co.uk, to make them easier to remember. The IPv4 protocol uses 32-bit addresses, which enables the web to support around 4.3 billion unique addresses. By contrast, IPv6 uses 128-bit web addresses, creating billions of possible new web addresses – experts estimate it could assign a unique address for every blade of grass on the planet. The EC survey found that of the 610 government, educational and other industry organisations questioned across Europe, the Middle East and Asia, just 17 per cent have upgraded to IPv6. The Commission has warned that the timely deployment of the protocol is vital to the growth and stability of the internet. "In the last 10 years, the internet has become hugely important worldwide from a socio-economic perspective," said Detlef Eckert, a director in the Commission's information society and media directorate-general. "Only by ensuring that all devices connected to the internet are compatible with IPv6…

   From Times of London Online October 2, 2009   Lula pips Obama in battle of presidents at vote for 2016 Olympic Games Ashling O'Connor in Copenhagen 7 Comments The contest to win the 2016 Olympics today became a battle of presidential rhetoric as Chicago, Rio de Janeiro, Madrid and Tokyo went head-to-head to convince the International Olympic Committee (IOC) of their worth in hosting the world’s largest sports event. President Barack Obama was the first to the podium at the Bella Convention Centre in Copenhagen to argue for the United States as an accessible and multi-ethnic nation that would be a safe and financially lucrative place to host the Games. After a statesman-like speech to be expected of a seasoned orator, Mr Obama told the IOC that America was ready to re-engage with the world after years when its sense of diversity had not been reflected abroad. During an eight-minute pitch, the US President spoke about his African roots, his Hawaii upbringing and how he finally “fell in love” with Chicago and found his home in the Midwestern city. “It is a rich tapestry of neighbourhoods,” he said, referring to Greek, Latino and Ukrainian districts. He also talked up Chicago’s sporting credentials and established infrastructure. “It is a city that works. We know how to put on big events and scores of spectators and visitors will tell you we do it well. If you choose us we walk this path together.” But the man considered the best speechmaker in contemporary politics was given a run for his money by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, batting for Rio and the first Games to ever be held in South America. There vote might have been split on the quality of delivery, but IOC…