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Article written by Phil Coomes Picture editor War or gaming fun? Spot the difference   Which one is the real thing? The blurring of reality and the virtual world has come full circle. Just over twenty years ago I can remember watching the first stirrings of the Gulf War, arguably the first television war, and one where the images of missile strikes were commonplace. The world watched pictures beamed from the missiles as they made their way to their intended target, or in some cases to a different spot entirely. War seemed remote, and the visuals did nothing to convey the reality for those on the wrong end of events. Today we are used to seeing real time reports from across the globe, technology has advanced and anyone with an internet connection can travel to far-off places, even imaginary worlds, from their armchair. The world of video games has progressed too. Some seem real, as highlighted by a recent Ofcom ruling that ...

Frenetic pace of Ethiopia's khat boomtown By Mary Harper BBC News, Ethiopia The global trade in khat is worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year and in one Ethiopian town daily life centres almost entirely around the drug. Drive along any road between Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia and you are likely to see pick-up trucks, piled high with bundles of fresh green leaves, hurtling past you at terrific speed, horns blaring, lights flashing. A bit like ambulances. Or fire engines. Land at any airport and you will see planes stuffed with the same green leaves, being unloaded at a frenzied pace. Whether there is war, drought or famine, the leaves get through. The khat industry booms. I used to wonder where all this khat was coming from. Now I know. The small town of Awaday is in between Ethiopia's most holy Muslim town of Harar and its big eastern city of Dire Dawa. I first arrived in Awaday late at night. Unlike the...

Raymond Aubrac: How I tricked the Gestapo By Hugh Schofield BBC News, Paris Raymond Aubrac, 97, on his encounters with Resistance leader Jean Moulin The capture of French Resistance hero Jean Moulin is one of the country's darkest chapters of the war. The last surviving Resistance leader, Raymond Aubrac, recalls that night and the audacious escape that followed. Of all the momentous events that helped build the legend of the wartime French Resistance, one episode outstrips the rest for its combination of tragedy, mystery and high-octane drama. In France they refer to it simply as the "raid on the house in Caluire". To the rest of the world, it is the story of how the Gestapo finally laid hands on Jean Moulin. Jean Moulin was the former prefect who in January 1942 was sent by General de Gaulle to organise the anti-German underground. For a year-and-a...

100 years of the war on drugs By Tom de Castella BBC News Magazine   The first international drug treaty was signed a century ago this week. So what was the war on drugs like in 1912? Today it is taken for granted that governments will co-operate in the fight against the heroin and cocaine trade. But 100 years ago, narcotics passed from country to country with minimal interference from the authorities. That all changed with the 1912 International Opium Convention, which committed countries to stopping the trade in opium, morphine and cocaine. Then, as now, the US stood in the vanguard against narcotics. While the UK's position is unequivocal today, a century ago it was an unenthusiastic signatory, says Mike Jay, author of Emperors of Dreams: Drugs in the Nineteenth Century. The real concern a century ago was over alcohol, he argues. "There was a big debate over intoxication as there was concern about the heavy, hea...

Google+ relaxes real name policy to allow pseudonyms   Google said the change in policy was a response to "community feedback"   Established pseudonyms can be used to register accounts on Google+ after the social network relaxed its name policy. The move follows criticism from human rights groups which had said there were circumstances under which individuals could have become unsafe if they revealed their identities. The search giant said it had already begun rolling out the amended policy. However, it is said users must prove their nickname has already attracted an audience elsewhere. The change of rules was confirmed on the account page of Google executive Bradley Horowitz. He noted that 0.1% of all applicants filed name appeals, and 20% of this number wanted to use a pseudonym or other unconventional name. Mr Horowitz said that users wanting to take advantage of the new policy might have to provide "references to an established identity of...

IMF: Global economy 'in danger zone' over euro crisis Jose Vinals, IMF: "A failure to address underlying tensions could precipitate a global crisis" The world's economy is "deeply into the danger zone" because of risks from the eurozone, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said. The IMF predicts the global economy will grow by 3.25% in 2012, down from an earlier forecast of 4%. The growth forecast for the UK economy has been cut to 0.6% from 1.6%. But the eurozone is set for a "mild recession" in 2012, with GDP expected to shrink by 0.5%, compared with a previous forecast of 1.1% growth. Growth estimates have been reduced for the main eurozone countries, including Germany, which is widely seen as the powerhouse of the region. Germany is forecast to grow 0.3% in 2012, down from the 1.3% originally predicted in September. France is expected to show 0.2% growth in 2012,...

EU Iran sanctions: Ministers adopt Iran oil imports ban EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton: "Tehran should come to the table" European Union foreign ministers have formally adopted an oil embargo against Iran over its nuclear programme. The sanctions involve an immediate ban on all new oil contracts with Iran, while existing contracts will be honoured until 1 July. Tehran denies that it is trying to develop nuclear weapons and says talks and not sanctions are the only way to resolve the dispute. The EU currently buys about 20% of Iran's oil exports. Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN's nuclear watchdog has confirmed it is sending a team to Iran between 29 and 31 January "to resolve all outstanding substantive issues". Last November the IAEA said in a report that it had information suggesting Iran had carried out tests "relevant to the development of ...