New EU energy rules for TVs and other household gadgets

European Union rules will oblige new networked devices such as modems and internet-connected televisions to switch themselves off when not in use. Many gadgets are connected to the internet 24/7, using 25-100 watts while their owners sleep. via Pocket http://ift.tt/1EM0Eb8

Kashmir: Five troops killed in India, Pakistan clashes

Four Pakistani troops have been killed in firing by Indian forces in Kashmir on New Year's Eve, ending a year in which hostilities between the neighbours have escalated. The firing on the line of control in Kashmir followed the killing of an Indian soldier blamed on Pakistan. via Pocket http://ift.tt/1vI5Lj9

Display And Video Will Finally Push A Huge Rise In Mobile Ad Spending

Tech http://ift.tt/13KJ8D1

Egyptian court to hear appeal from al-Jazeera trio

Egypt's highest court is due to hear an appeal by three al-Jazeera journalists against their convictions for spreading false news. Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed were sentenced in June to between seven and 10 years in prson. via Pocket http://ift.tt/1B7Pwl0

Man and woman die in New Year's Eve house fire

The bodies of a man and a woman have been found inside a badly burned house in south-east London. Two people tried to enter the property in Ashmead Road, Deptford, in an attempt to rescue the pair but were unable to reach them. via Pocket http://ift.tt/1tDsgKU

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un proposes talks

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has offered to hold talks at the highest level with South Korea. President Kim was giving his new year message broadcast on state television. via Pocket http://ift.tt/1zyNAhf

AirAsia QZ8501: Better weather allows search to resume

Better weather has allowed the search for the wreckage of AirAsia Flight QZ8501 to resume, with officials hoping to locate the fuselage of the plane that crashed in the sea four days ago. Divers also hope to recover the plane's black box which may give information about the cause of the crash. via Pocket http://ift.tt/1zyKYjm

Archbishop of Canterbury: UK must continue looking outwards

Britons must not turn their backs on all the suffering in the world, the Archbishop of Canterbury will say in his new year message. Most Rev Justin Welby will talk about the many disasters and wars in 2014, and how the UK must continue to contribute to the world. via Pocket http://ift.tt/14dLfQM

Do People Actually Stick To Their New Year’s Resolutions?

It’s the time of the year where people start making promises to improve themselves through New Year’s Resolutions. Whether they promise to lose weight, get out of debt, or anything else, the idea is make a goal happen before the next year starts. via Pocket http://ift.tt/1rCvpcC

New year, new you... new fitness band

I'm determined that 2015 is going to be my year to finally get fit. But I am not the sort of person who can easily resist eating chocolate and/or sitting on the sofa, so I've invested in something to help me keep my eye on the ball. via Pocket http://ift.tt/1y91YBg

UK's first mobile phone user remembers his call 30 years on

Thirty years ago, just before midnight on New Year's Eve, Michael Harrison slipped away from his family's party at home in Surrey and was driven to Parliament Square. via Pocket http://ift.tt/1tCIV1o

London New Year fireworks: Crowds gather

Crowds have started to gather in central London for the first ticketed New Year's Eve fireworks display. Some 100,000 people are expected to watch along the River Thames. via Pocket http://ift.tt/1y7GIvQ

Snapchat Just Raised Another $486 Million

Tech http://ift.tt/1xhAVlD

United States 'deeply concerned' by Cuba dissident arrests

The United States has said it is deeply concerned about reports that several high-profile Cuban dissidents were detained on Tuesday. Activists say police made the arrests hours ahead of a planned protest in Havana's Revolution Square. via Pocket http://ift.tt/1tnR18i

The FBI May Have Made An Embarrassing Mistake While Investigating The Sony Hack

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Christine Cavanaugh, voice of Babe and Rugrats' Chuckie, dies at 51

Voice actress Christine Cavanaugh, who brought to life characters including Babe and Chuckie on Nickelodeon cartoon Rugrats, has died aged 51. Her sister, Deionn Masock, confirmed the actress had died on 22 December at her home in Utah. via Pocket http://ift.tt/1rzI8gg

Rocket 'kills 15' at Afghan wedding

At least 15 people have been killed in Afghanistan when a wedding party was hit by a stray rocket, officials say. More than 40 others were wounded, including women and children, when the rocket struck a house being used to host the wedding in the southern province of Helmand. via Pocket http://ift.tt/1xAs7q5

Google Paid $50,000 To Hackers Who Found Some Really Bad Holes On Google's Cloud

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Wall Street shares open higher

The Dow Jones rose 39.21 points in early trading to 18,022.28, rising once more above the symbolic 18,000 benchmark. The broader S&P 500 index added 3.27 points at 2,083.75 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 19.07 points to 4,796.62. via Pocket http://ift.tt/13SuDNG

How to Use Label to Rename Drives from the Windows Command Prompt

Label is a another handy tool that you can use though the command prompt application. As its name suggests, its main function is to edit disk labels which is useful if you use many external drives or mapped drives and want to label them for specific uses. via Pocket http://ift.tt/1wC6BNv

Shanghai New Year crush 'kills 35'

The crush broke out in Chenyi Square in Shanghai's Huangpu district, Xinhua news agency reported. The Shanghai City government said the crush broke out at 23:35 local time (15:35 GMT) and that a working group had been set up to handle the incident. via Pocket http://ift.tt/1tn9XE5

Why New EarPods Could Help Apple Become The King Of Wearable Devices (AAPL)

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20 Super-Successful People Share Their New Year's Resolution

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Messaging Apps Will Be Bigger Than Social Networks In 2015

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5 Apps That Will Help You Accomplish Popular New Years Resolutions

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Billionaire Investor Yuri Milner Believes Xiaomi Will Become A $100 Billion Company

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This App Will Help You Avoid Paying Uber Surge Prices Tonight

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New fanged frog 'gives birth to tadpoles'

For the first time, frogs have been seen giving birth to tadpoles. Most frogs lay eggs and although some species give birth to froglets, newborn tadpoles are new to science. via Pocket http://ift.tt/1rAHG1s

Traditionally The Irish Scare Away Spirits On New Year’s With?

It’s a common tradition across the world to scare away bad luck and evil spirits to bring in the New Year with a clean slate. via Pocket http://ift.tt/1EKlvf5

Ebola outbreak: Liberia lifts curfew for New Year's Eve

Liberia has lifted a curfew imposed to curb Ebola in an effort to let church-goers attend New Year's Eve services, a government official has said. Worshippers should avoid over-crowding and touching to prevent contagion, the deputy information minister said. via Pocket http://ift.tt/1tByj2O

The 20 Most Beautiful Apps Of The Year

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You'll Be Able To Rent 'The Interview' Starting Today Through Video-On-Demand

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There's A Massive Opportunity In Peer-To-Peer Payments — Here's Why They Could Be Such Big Business

Tech http://ift.tt/1kYaAjb

AirAsia QZ8501: Surabaya vigil held for victims

Hundreds of residents and relatives of those on board lit candles and observed a minute's silence for the victims. Flight QZ8501, carrying 162 people from Surabaya to Singapore, disappeared on Sunday. Debris from the flight was located in the sea on Tuesday. via Pocket http://ift.tt/1AbN23J

Heart emoji and hashtag are 'most popular words' of 2014

Miley Cyrus uses them all the time but Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber aren't such big fans. We're talking about the heart emoji on your phone, or emoticon, which is this year's most popular "word". via Pocket http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/30637623#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

AirAsia bodies returned to airport

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version. via Pocket http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-30641554#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

10 Things In Tech You Need To Know Today (AAPL, GOOG)

Tech http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider/~3/q35ESrqvZ44/10-things-in-tech-you-need-to-know-december-31-2014-12

New Year Honour for hedgehog carer Barbara Roberts

Many people on the New Year's Honours list are familiar faces, but the vast majority of those named are more used to living out of the spotlight. Barbara Roberts, founder of the Withington Hedgehog Trust, has been awarded a British Empire Medal in recognition of her work. via Pocket http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-30640807#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

Five Guantanamo Bay inmates 'resettled' in Kazakhstan

Five men held at the US prison in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba for more than a decade have been sent to Kazakhstan for resettlement, the Pentagon says. The three Yemenis and two Tunisians had been captured in Pakistan as suspected militants with ties to al-Qaeda. via Pocket http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-30640651#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

How the UK coped with the millennium bug 15 years ago

In the final months of 1999 concern grew into panic that the millennium bug was going to cause computers to malfunction and potentially endanger everything from tills to power stations. It didn't happen quite like that, but the public safety warnings from the time remain intriguing. via Pocket http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-30576670#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

The FBI Is Hiring Hackers

Tech http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider/~3/-yGm_Xeq04I/fbi-cyber-special-agents-2014-12

The 10 Most Important Things In The World Right Now

Tech http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider/~3/csrjEU7eXh8/10-most-important-things-in-the-world-dec-31-2014-12

Tunisia election: Beji Caid Essebsi to be sworn in as president

Tunisian President-elect Beji Caid Essebsi is to take his oath of office after winning the country's first free presidential poll. He secured victory last week over incumbent Moncef Marzouki. via Pocket http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-30639792#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

Court in China issues record pollution fine

The Xinhua news agency said the fine was the highest ever in China as a result of public interest litigation against polluters. The companies were found guilty in August of discharging 25,000 tonnes of chemical waste into two Taizhou rivers. via Pocket http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-30640385#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

Ebola: UK screening procedures to be reviewed

Procedures for screening health workers returning to the UK after treating Ebola patients will be reviewed after an infected nurse flew from London to Glasgow despite raising concerns. Pauline Cafferkey told officials at Heathrow she felt unwell but was allowed to continue her journey. via Pocket http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-30640262#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

Shares skyrocket on China train firms mega merger

Chinese listed shares of the world's largest train makers skyrocketed on Wednesday after the firms announced plans to merge. China CNR and CSR said they would merge to create a $26bn (£16.7bn) firm to compete with giants like Canada's Bombardier and Germany's Siemens. via Pocket http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30640174#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

China factory activity shrinks for first time in months

China's manufacturing activity shrank for the first time in seven months in December, a private survey showed on Wednesday. The final HSBC/Markit Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) was at 49.6, just below the 50 level that separates growth from contraction in the sector. via Pocket http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30640317#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

T-Mobile's CEO Thinks The Apple Watch Is Going To Be Massive (TMUS)

Tech http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider/~3/yp2qSaebZjo/t-mobile-ceo-thinks-apple-watch-will-be-huge-2014-12

Australia shares up in thin holiday trade

Australian shares traded higher on New Year's Eve in thin trade as Japanese and South Korean markets were closed for the holidays. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.1% at 5,422.7 despite losses on Wall Street overnight. via Pocket http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30640116#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

Venezuela enters recession as Maduro attacks US 'oil war'

The Venezuelan economy has entered recession, after contracting for the third consecutive quarter. The Central Bank announced that the economy had shrank by 2.3% in the third quarter of the year. via Pocket http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-30638770#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa