BBC News - Silicon Valley's hottest start-ups vie for attention

BBC News - Silicon Valley's hottest start-ups vie for attention: ""The future of transportation" is how Danny Kim and his engineering team at Lit Motors describe their first-of-its-kind vehicle.

Designed to withstand the brute force of an impact with an SUV (sport utility vehicle), the C-1 is the world's first two-wheeler stabilised by electronically-controlled gyroscopes that create over 1,000 pounds of torque.

That, combined with a set of flywheels, help keep the vehicle upright in challenging conditions including rain, snow, traffic and collisions."

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America's Richest Cities: San Jose Tops List With Highest Median Household Income (PHOTOS)

America's Richest Cities: San Jose Tops List With Highest Median Household Income (PHOTOS): "Two other California cities, San Francisco and San Diego, also came in the top five for median household income--both of which have been buoyed by surging technology scenes. Of the 25 largest metropolitan areas in the country Detroit, Philadelphia, Memphis, Baltimore and Indianapolis had the lowest household incomes.

Despite the health of these coastal urban centers, California as a whole went backwards in 2011. Poverty increased by nearly a full percentage point as over 330,000 California resident slipped below the poverty line. The statewide median household income dropped four percent to $59,540.

Unsurprisingly, income inequality is high in California, as much of the state, particularly in the Central Valley region that was battered by collapse of the housing bubble and still struggles with both household poverty and increasingly dire city government shortfalls."

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BBC News - Social entrepreneurship takes off in China

BBC News - Social entrepreneurship takes off in China: ""We actually started out as a non-profit and in the process of working on community projects we realised that in order to reach all the people who have this need we would have to scale in a big way," she says.


One Earth will sell solar cookers to the government, which will then subsidise them for rural villagers
"And the only way to do that sustainably is by generating sustainable profits."

In China, Ms Powers estimates that about 700 million people use solid fuels that cause pollution and pollution-related deaths.

A similar number exists in India, while about 300 million burn such fuels in South East Asia.

In rural areas where villagers cannot afford the $100 to $200 price tag for each of the cookers, One Earth plans to sell directly to the Chinese government, which will then resell them at a heavily subsidised price.

The company, which will begin to sell the cookers this year, expects to break even next year. By 2016, sales are projected to top $45m."

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BBC News - Ivory Coast closes Ghana border after deadly attack

BBC News - Ivory Coast closes Ghana border after deadly attack: "Ivory Coast has closed its border with Ghana after several people were killed in an attack on an army checkpoint.

Ivorian Defence Minister Paul Koffi Koffi said "armed elements from Ghana" carried out the attack in the border town of Noe.

At least five attackers died and others fled back over the border, he added."

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BBC News - Does Africa really benefit from foreign investment?

BBC News - Does Africa really benefit from foreign investment?: "African economies have grown robustly over the past decade, but that has not solved the continent's economic problems.

According to Mthuli Ncube, chief economist of the African Development Bank (ADB), this is because Africa has weak manufacturing and agro-processing sectors.

He further maintains that at least 70% of growth over the past decade has been driven by natural resources.

"Exploiting natural resources is capital intensive and does not create many jobs directly," he says.

He says that for more people to benefit and to create more jobs, there has to be value-added processing of those resources.

"But more importantly, the answer lies in creating what is known as sovereign wealth funds," he says."

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BBC News - Senegal floods uncover ancient artefacts in Dakar

BBC News - Senegal floods uncover ancient artefacts in Dakar: "Pieces of jewellery, pottery and iron tools dating back thousands of years have been discovered in Senegal's capital, Dakar, following recent floods, researchers say.

The discovery was made at a construction site, local academic Alioune Deme told the BBC.

A colleague, Moustapha Sall, stumbled across the items after the rains washed away sand, he said.

The objects could date back between 2,000 and 7,000 BC, Mr Deme said."

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BBC News - Egypt's sexual harassment of women 'epidemic'

BBC News - Egypt's sexual harassment of women 'epidemic': "Campaigners in Egypt say the problem of sexual harassment is reaching epidemic proportions, with a rise in such incidents over the past three months. For many Egyptian women, sexual harassment - which sometimes turns into violent mob-style attacks - is a daily fact of life, reports the BBC's Bethany Bell in Cairo."

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