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Obamas brain project: US President Barack Obama has launched a $100m project to map the enormous mystery o the human

brain! "e hopes the B#%& 'Brain #esearch throu(h d)ancin( %nno)ati)e &eurotechnolo(ies* project +ill help us understand ho+ the

brain +orks and learn more about diseases such as l,heimer-s!

.he president-s ad)isors call the B#%& project ambitious/

e)en audacious! %t aims to produce dynamic pictures o thebrain that sho+/ in the +ords o a hite "ouse statement/ho+ indi)idual cells and comple neural circuitsinteract atthe speed o thou(ht! nnouncin( the pro(ramme/ BarackObama said humans could identiy distant (alaies andstudy subatomic particles/ but still had a limitedunderstandin( o the brain!

Barack Obama:

.here-s this enormous mystery +aitin( to be unlocked! .heB#%& Initiative+ill chan(e that by (i)in( scientists thetools they need to (et a dynamic picture o the brain inaction and better understand ho+ +e think and ho+ +elearn and ho+ +e remember!

.hat kno+led(e/ he said/ +ould be transformative: amiliesno lon(er helpless at the onseto Parkinson-s/ and warveteransable to re)erse the eects o traumaticbraininjury! .he administration reckons it costs around $200bn ayear to treat the )arious conditions this project hopesto address! %t belie)es that technolo(ical ad)ances/ in dataprocessin( and re)olutionary ne+ techni3ues likeoptogeneticsmean that/ or the irst time/ this hu(elyambitious research is actually possible!

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Chavezs body to be preserved and displayed: .he body o President "u(o 4ha)e, is to (o on permanent display in a militarymuseum in 5ene,uela/ like many socialist leaders beore him!

&o matter ho+ bafflingit may seem to outsiders/the allureo a dead socialist leader can-t be

underestimated! %n 6osco+/ Beijin( and "anoi/ the corpseso 7enin/ 6ao and "o 4hi 6inh are displayedunder subduedli(htin( or e3ually subdued lines opeople to file past/ payin( silent respects!%n &orth 8orea/ 8im %l9sun(-s public restin( place +asrecently reno)ated to accommodate the embalmedremainso his son 8im on(9il!

%n Beijin(/ )isitors to 6ao ;edon( are encoura(ed to buylo+ers or him/ thou(h they must lea)e them outside!

"o 4hi 6inh/ 5ietnam-s re)olutionary leader/ +anted tobe crematedbut +as preser)ed nonetheless! Outside hismausoleum 5ietnamese 3ueue in their hundreds or entry:schoolchildren/ grizzledold men< +omen dressed in

traditional ao dai!.he pull o the embalmin( luid becomes still more pu,,lin(+hen a country has politically mo)ed on! 7enin has so arsur)i)ed se)eral attempts to evicthim rom #ed S3uare/thou(h the So)iet Union is lon( (one!%n 4hina/ 6ao lingersat the heart o a capital +hich alsoplays host no+adays to Starbucks and 6c=onald-s! But soar/ 4hina-s politicians can still 3uote the sayin(s o 6ao+hile pursuin( policies +idely at variance withhis le(acy!%t-s a balancin( act that critics o the embalmin( o5ene,uela-s president +ill no+ be aniously +atchin(!

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Wikileaks soldier reveals why he shared secrets: .he US soldier accused o (i)in( lar(e numbers o secret documents to ikileakshas admitted he is (uilty to 10 o the >> char(es a(ainst him! But he denied a more serious char(e o aidin( the enemy!

e no+ ha)e a first-hand accounto+hat compelledBradley 6annin( to carry out the

bi((est leako (o)ernment secrets in merican history!"e told the military court he-d been appalled by thebloodlust o a helicopter mission in %ra3 ? )ideo o +hichhe passed on to ikileaks! "e said that +hile ser)in( in%ra3/ he-d become depressed at +hat he called merica-sobsession +ith capturin( and killin( human tar(ets! ndthat the merican people should kno+ the true costs o

+ar!s or the leaked State =epartment cables/ Pri)ate6annin( said they documented backdoordeals andcriminality unbecomingo a superpo+er/ and insisted hisconscience +as clear!.he military jud(e accepted the deendant-s pleao (uilty to10 o the >> counts! But Bradley 6annin( denies the most

serious char(e o aidin( merica-s enemies ? a char(e+hich potentially carries a life sentence! Prosecutors ha)eindicated that they plan to push ahead witha ull courtmartialin the summer!

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! discusses "killer robots: 4ountries are meetin( in @ene)a to decide +hether to consider bannin( Akiller robots- +hich can makedecisions by themsel)es about +hen to kill people! "uman ri(hts (roups claim +eapons like these raise serious moral 3uestions aboutho+ +e conduct +ar!

#ronesha)e already raised 3uestions about >1st

century warfare? but +hile they ha)e no pilots/ they arecontrolled by humans on the (round! $ethalautonomous+eapons/ or Akiller robots-/ are pro(rammed inad)ance< on the battleield it could be the robot/ not thehuman/ +hich decides +ho to kill!

.he United States/ Britain and %srael are all de)elopin(

lethal autonomous +eapons/ althou(h all three countriessay they don-t plan to take humans out of the decision-making loop!

Supporters o the ne+ technolo(y say it could sa)e li)es/ byreducin( the number o soldiers on the battleield/ buthuman ri(hts (roups 3uestion the ethicso allo+in(machines to take decisions o)er lie and death!

&o+ the 20 countries +hich ha)e ratifiedthe con)ention oncon)entional +eapons ? the countries +hich ha)e alreadyappro)ed a ban on blindinglaser +eapons ? +ill consider+hether to be(in talks on bannin( killer robots!

drones: aircrat +hich are controlled by people on the (round+arare: the acti)ity o i(htin( a +arlethal: causin( deathautonomous: independent/ able to make its o+n decisionsout o the decision9makin( loop: not part o the process o makin( decisionsethics: set o belies or principles that tell people +hat is ri(ht and +ron(ratiied: made 'an a(reement become* oicialblindin(: causin( blindness 'not able to see*