February 15, 2004

Students denounce Khatami cave in CNN - Iran's largest reformist student movement have denounced President Mohammad Khatami for giving in to hard-line demands to hold a legislative election he himself has called unfair. 9:55:07 PM

Microsoft hunts for Windows mole Independent - The computer giant Microsoft was searching yesterday for the person who released the secrets of its Windows operating systems on to the internet. 12:14:47 AM

Threat to fertile soil blamed on farming practices Financial Times - The loss of good quality soil because of poor agricultural practices is a serious problem around the world but it receives little attention compared with other big environmental threats  the American Association for the Advancement of Science has heard. Jared Diamond of the University of California, who is studying the issue from the perspective of evolutionary anthropology, said the over- exploitation of fertile soil had destroyed many civilisations through history, from those of the original Fertile Crescent in the Middle East to the Mayans of pre-Columbian Mexico and Guatemala. 12:13:38 AM