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The Facebook Resisters Steve Dykes for The New York Times Tyson Balcomb, a college student in Oregon, stopped using Facebook, saying its effects were maybe “a little unhealthy.” By JENNA WORTHAM Tyson Balcomb quit Facebook after a chance encounter on an elevator. He found himself standing next to a woman he had never met — yet through Facebook he knew what her older brother looked like, that she was from a tiny island off the coast of Washington and that she had recently visited the Space Needle in Seattle. Todd Heisler/The New York Times Erika Gable refuses to use Facebook. She does use social media applications such as Twitter and Spotify. The New York Times “I knew all these things about her, but I’d never even talked to her,” said Mr. Balcomb, a pre-med student in Oregon who had some real-life friends in common with the woman. “At that point I thought, maybe this is a little unhealthy.” ...

China protest in Guangdong's Wukan 'vanishes from web'   Images supplied by villagers show massive rallies in Wukan China's internet censors have blocked searches relating to an ongoing protest in the village of Wukan, web users say. Users of Sina Weibo, the country's Twitter-like micro-blogging site, say searches for Wukan return no results. Instead, a message appears saying: "According to relevant law, regulations and policies, search results for Wukan cannot be displayed." A land dispute in the Guangdong village intensified this week when a villager died in police custody. Hundreds of villagers are now locked in a stand-off with security forces. Roads into the village have been closed and are being guarded by heavily armed security personnel. 'What's going on?' China's village unrest 14 Dec 11: Stand-off in Wukan after a villager dies in custody 21-23 Sept 11: Three days of rioting in Wukan Nov 0...

Supermassive black hole will 'eat' gas cloud   Simulations suggest that the cloud will be ripped to bits and partially swallowed by the black hole Researchers have spotted a giant gas cloud spiralling into the supermassive black hole at our galaxy's centre. Though it is known that black holes draw in everything nearby, it will be the first chance to see one consume such a cloud. As it is torn apart, the turbulent area around the black hole will become unusually bright, giving astronomers a chance to learn more about it. The cloud, which is described in Nature, should meet its end in 2013. Researchers using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope estimate that despite its size, the cloud has a total mass of only about three times that of Earth. They have plotted the cloud's squashed, oval-shaped path and estimate it has doubled its speed in the last seven years - to 2,350km per second. It should spiral in to within a...

US flag ceremony to mark end of Iraq war role Most US troops have already left Iraq to fly home via Kuwait The US flag is to be lowered in Baghdad, formally marking the end of US military operations in Iraq after nearly nine years of war. Most of the 5,500 remaining soldiers have now left Iraq, with security in the hands of the Iraqi authorities. President Barack Obama, who came to office pledging to bring troops home, said the US left behind a "sovereign, stable and self-reliant Iraq". Some 4,500 US soldiers and more than 100,000 Iraqis have died in the war. It has cost the US some $1tr. Republicans have criticised the pullout citing concerns over Iraq's stability, but most Americans support the move. In a speech to troops just returned from Iraq in North Carolina on Wednesday, Mr Obama hailed the "extraordinary achievement" of the military and said they were leaving with "heads held high". "Everything that American tro...

India toxic alcohol kills 80 in West Bengal   Relatives gathered at the Diamond Harbour hospital after the news broke At least 80 people have died after consuming toxic alcohol in India's West Bengal state, police say. Several residents of the Magrahat, Usthi and Mandirbazar areas in South 24 Parganas district fell ill after drinking the alcohol on Tuesday night. Four people have been arrested. Some 100 others are being treated in hospital in the Diamond Harbour area, with fears the death toll could rise. Toxic alcohol deaths are a regular occurrence in India. Last week, the state of Gujarat brought in a new law making the illegal manufacture and sale of toxic alcohol there punishable by death. Ransacked The BBC's Amitabha Bhattasali in Calcutta says that 32 people have died overnight, pushing up the death toll from 48 from Wednesday evening. A large number of people were also admitted to hospitals overnight with symptoms of alcohol poisoning ...

Hong Kong 'most developed' financial market, says WEF   Hong Kong's rise to the top spot is because of non-banking services such as IPOs and insurance Hong Kong is the world's most developed financial market, according to a World Economic Forum report, overtaking the US and the UK for the first time. The US slipped to second place, as financial stability remains a concern there, said the report. "Hong Kong's ascent to the top of our index marks a major milestone," said Kevin Steinberg, of the World Economic Forum. The WEF's Financial Stability Index ranks 60 countries' financial systems. Mr Steinberg added that it was the first time in the report's history that the United Kingdom or the US were not in first place. Leadership challenge Hong Kong's rise was attributed to non-banking services such as IPOs or initial public offerings and insurance, the report said. Launched in 2008, the ranking is based on eff...

Can China keep its workers happy as strikes and protests rise? By Mukul Devichand BBC Radio 4, Crossing Continents Riot police clashed with protesting workers in the city of Zengcheng, Guangzhou province, in June There has been a wave of strikes and riots among migrant workers manning production lines in southern China, but can the government keep the "factory of the world" running smoothly? Chinese officials are not renowned for giving straight answers. But in Guangzhou, China's manufacturing megacity, they are quite candid about the need to give equal rights to migrant workers. Is this one of the biggest challenges China is facing, I ask Chen Hou Tian, an official representing the government of China's third city. "Yes," he says simply. Migration from the countryside has provided the cheap labour that has fuelled China's boom . ...

Was Steve Jobs' genius also a fatal flaw?   Steve Jobs and Avie Tevanian, seen here at an Apple Worldwide Developer Conference in 1999, had worked together for many years One of Steve Jobs' closest friends and business allies has said the former Apple boss's own self-belief and mindset led him to put off having his cancer treated. Avie Tevanian said Mr Jobs had a "reality distortion field" - a force of will that helped him get people to achieve the impossible. That same belief system caused him to refuse conventional treatment for his cancer in the critical early stages after diagnosis. He decided instead to explore alternative therapies and go on a special diet. “ He was the kind of person that could convince himself of things that weren't necessarily true or necessarily easy”. Avie Tevanian Mr Tevanian said: "Steve was an unconventional person and when it came to treating his illness he was very happy to use non...

Picture of China's first refitted warship 'emerges'   The 300m (990ft) carrier began its sea trials in August A commercial US satellite company says it has managed to take a picture of China's first aircraft carrier during its sea trials in the Yellow Sea. If confirmed, it would be the first known photo of the former Soviet vessel recently refitted by Beijing. The warship began its sea trials in August, raising fresh concerns over Beijing's military build-up. China is currently involved in several maritime territorial disputes, particularly in the South China Sea. Stephen Wood, director of DigitalGlobe's analysis centre, said the vessel had been photographed on 8 December off the Chinese coast by one of the company's orbiting satellites, the Associated Press news agency reports. Mr Wood added that he was confident it was the Chinese carrier because of the location and date of the photo. China - which says the carrier is intended for r...

Eurozone faces winter recession, Ernst & Young says   European leaders have been met several times this year to solve the eurozone debt crisis The eurozone is facing a "bleak" winter, according to audit firm Ernst & Young. A "mild" recession is likely in the first half of next year, leading to economic growth of just 0.1% for the whole of 2012, it predicted. Ernst & Young also said unemployment in the eurozone was unlikely to fall below 10% until 2015. Meanwhile, Greece - Europe's most indebted country - said that it would have its worst recession ever in 2011. Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos warned on Wednesday that his country's contraction would be greater than the 5.5% currently forecast. Greece's economy shrank by 4.5% in 2010, when it received its first bailout from the EU and International Monetary Fund. 'Uncertainties' Last week, 26 of the 27 members of the European Union backed new fisc...

Nearly 20% of women in the US are raped, study reveals   The study revealed that sexual violence against men is also prevalent Nearly 20% of women in the US are raped or suffer attempted rape at some point in their lives, a US study says. Even more women, estimated at 25%, have been attacked by a partner or husband, the Centers for Disease Control said. The findings form part of the first set of results from a nationwide study surveying sexual violence by intimate partners against men and women. More than 24 people a minute reported rape, violence, or stalking, it says, with 12 million offences reported. Experts at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) described the results of the first year of the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey as "astounding". Among the key figures included in the survey's findings were: more than one million women reported being raped in the 12 months prior to the survey more than six million women a...

Samaritans eyes Facebook's latest anti-suicide efforts   A new reporting system means help can be offered more quickly than before Support charity Samaritans has said it wants to offer greater help to distressed people via Facebook. The website has improved its system in the US to put suicidal users directly in touch with support workers. Once flagged by worried friends, users can talk to a trained counsellor via the social network's chat feature. A Samaritans spokeswoman said the charity was interested in offering the same help in the UK, but greater resources would be needed. "This is the next stage," Nicola Peckett, head of communications, told the BBC. "We would love to be able to do live chat on Facebook." "It is a goal for us. It's just that we don't have the technology or the resources to do it yet." The charity worked with Facebook in March this year to set up a system under which concerned friends can not...

Music service Rara.com aims for digital non-adopters The site is designed to not look like a "spreadsheet", Rara.com said A new song-streaming service is targeting music lovers who do not currently pay for digital tracks. Rara.com, which has launched in 16 countries, said its research suggested that 60% of consumers had never used a digital music service. The organisation aims to simplify the process. For a monthly subscription, users can select and listen to tracks via their standard web browser. Its main competitor is Spotify, which has more than two million paying users. In addition to the UK, Rara.com is available across much of Europe and the US. It will expand to seven further countries, including Canada and Mexico, by the end of the week. After an initial trial price of 99p a month for the first three months, users can pay for either a £4.99 subscription allowing web-only listening, or £9.99 to enable mobile listening on a smart phone. Howe...

Apple founding papers sold at auction for nearly $1.6m   Apple's founding documents sold for more than 10 times their estimate Apple's founding papers have been sold at auction for $1,594,500 (£1.03m). Sotheby's had estimated the three typed partnership agreements would sell for between $100,000 and$150,000. The documents were signed by the firm's three co-founders, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne on 1 April 1976. The papers include an amendment added 11 days later when Mr Wayne quit. The buyer was Eduardo Cisneros, chief executive of Cisneros Corporation. His Miami-based firm owns stakes in a range of businesses covering real estate, TV production and telecommunications. Sotheby's said five other bidders took part in the sale. The sale price includes a 12% buyer's premium paid to the auction house Sotheby's for holding the auction. That values the documents themselves at $1.35m. The third man The seller was Wad...

Golden opportunity for old Indian mines By Shilpa Kannan BBC News, Karnataka, India With gold prices at a dizzying high, Indian miners are turning to innovative ways to extract valuable ore India is the world's biggest importer of gold, buying a record 960 tonnes last year alone. According to one estimate, Indian household vaults hold gold equivalent to 50% of the country's GDP. You would think with those kind of figures, the nation must produce a significant amount of the precious metal domestically. But domestic production is very low. The biggest problem is that India has consistently underinvested in gold exploration. It was not always like this. Historically, India was one of the great mining regions - and is home to one of the world's deepest gold mines. Kolar of gold In the southern Indian state of Karnataka, about two hours away fro...