China, Italy | featured news

Microsoft Corp said on Tuesday it takes seriously any allegations of misconduct, after a report that the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating potential bribery by Microsoft employees in China, Romania and Italy.

Some countries are hard-hit, like Portugal, Greece, and Italy in the case of textiles, but most countries actually come out ahead. So is rising Chinese productivity good? To quote Sam Shakusky, who’s to say? Portuguese workers certainly don’t seem to win from an increase in textile productivity. But most European workers actually come out ahead. What’s more, productivity growth will also almost certainly lead to rising wages in China, lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and raising the standard of living considerably in the world’s largest country. That may be the most important factor here.

Across Eastern Europe, Russia, Kazakhstan and the Gobi Desert - it certainly was a long way to go without getting lost... The vehicles, equipped with four solar-powered laser scanners and seven video cameras that work together to detect and avoid obstacles, are part of an experiment aimed at improving road safety and advancing automotive technology.

China, Russia and Brazil will use this week's G8 summit in Italy to push their view that the world needs to start seeking a new global reserve currency as an alternative to the dollar, officials said on Tuesday.