USA - Police: 20-year Army officer in Washington state threatened to blow up the state Capitol &

Published on Mar 14, 2012 by AssociatedPress

A 20-year Army officer in Washington state threatened to blow up the state Capitol and kill his superior officer, his estranged wife and his girlfriend, authorities said Tuesday. (March 14)

France - Petrol prices pile pain on European consumers / Qatar buys into Total

Published on Mar 14, 2012 by Euronews

http://www.euronews.com/ The centre of Paris is not the best place to buy petrol, as hypermarkets are far away in the suburbs and a lack of competition means some filling stations are gouging motorists mercilessly.

However, all over Europe consumers are groaning at the spiralling petrol and diesel costs, even if not everywhere is facing Parisian prices.

"2.02 euros for a litre of 95 unleaded? It's too much...it keeps going up, it doesn't stop. Where's it going to end?" said one commuter, and he was riding a thrifty moped.

The disparity between the price of a litre of oil and a litre of refined fuel is enormous, and mostly because of taxes, which will not fall as long as governments are strapped for cash.

Then there are supply-side problems. Non-OPEC producers are struggling to increase production, and OPEC itself has little spare capacity. Lead producer Saudi Arabia is already pumping nearly 10 million barrels a day, a near 30-year peak in output.

World demand for a finite product continues to rise, while new discoveries fail to keep pace with that booming demand, mostly from Asia. The only check on rising prices appears to be that they may in themselves choke economic recovery and stifle demand, surely no economist's suggested method of trimming pump prices.

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Published on Mar 14, 2012 by Euronews

http://www.euronews.com/ Cash-rich Qatar has become the third investor in French oil company Total after a Belgian investment group and Total's employees. Groupe Bruxelles Lambert has four percent, the employees a little over three, and now sovereign wealth fund Qatar Holdings has two percent of the company, a share worth around two billion euros.

Italy - euronews hi-tech: Spotlight on MIDO eyewear trade show held in Milan

Published on Mar 14, 2012 by Euronews

http://www.euronews.com/ MIDO, the International Optics, Optometry and Ophthalmology Exhibition, is the leading global eyewear trade show held in Milan. This year it attracted more than 1,000 exhibitors from more than 40 countries all over the world. From the very largest global players to the smallest start-ups, everyone was there.

MIDO is a chance for opticians, eye specialists and buyers from across the globe to network and source products.

Polaroid's 3D glasses are equipped with unique premium 3D circular polarized lenses. Eva Dudek, the project manager with Polaroid Eyewear, said: "There are actually two big 3D technologies right now in the market, one is active that works with frames with batteries, one is passive which uses circular polarisation. All the glasses that Polaroid produces in 3D have circular polarisation and can be used in any passive 3D device such as cinema or 3D TVs."

Electromagnetic pollution break-up poses a health risk. Italian company i.Care has developed technology based on activated silicon bio-magnets capable of converting harmful electro-smog frequencies in harmonic body forces. Professor Flavio Gazzola, an expert in electronic medical checkups, explained: "Bio-magnets are silicon microchips capable of protecting the body from the effects of electro-smog aligning the chaotic energy of electro-smog in harmony with the body's forces."

Sole Amico - the Sun Friend - was also unveiled at MIDO. It is a free app for iPhone, iPad and Android smartphones designed to give personalised advice on protecting the eyes and skin from UV rays. It uses information on time, weather conditions and geography as well as on the user's physical characteristics and age to produce advice on staying safe in the sun.

For more information see http://www.mido.it

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USA - Citigroup the country's third largest, fails bank stress test along with three other big banks

Published on Mar 14, 2012 by Euronews

http://www.euronews.com/ The latest annual round of bank stress tests in America has thrown up a surprise casualty, with Citigroup, the country's third largest, failing along with three other big banks, MetLife, America's largest life insurer, Ally Financial, and SunTrust. 15 of the 19 big banks did however pass, and many have announced boosted dividends and share buy-backs.