IPHONE, out 11th July in 22 countries

New Iphone. Thinner edges, full plastic back, flush headphone jack, and the Iphone 2.0 firmware -- Apple's taking a lot of the criticisms to heart from the first time around. Obviously 3G is at the forefront, but they're also making sure it's available all over internationally, works with enterprises, runs 3rd party apps... and does it all for cheaper. Apple claims its 3G speeds trounce the competition, with pageloads 36% faster than the N95 and Treo 750 -- and of course it completely trounces the old EDGE data speeds.Battery life isn't getting put out to pasture though, with 300 hours of standby, 8-10 hours of 2G talk, 5 hours of 3G talk, 7 hours of video and 24 hours of audio. GPS is also a go. Apple is using A-GPS, which supplements regular satellite GPS data with info from cellular towers for faster location. (WiFi data is also worked into the mix, which should give users a pretty solid lock on where the heck they are on this planet.) Unfortunately, as expected there's no front-facing cam, and while its edges are thinner than before it's still about a millimeter thicker at the center (12.3mm over 11.6mm before). Apple hopes to launch in 70 countries this year, with the black 8GB going for $199 and 16GB for $299 in black or white. (Both price points require a contract, of course.) Apple will launch it in 22 countries including the US, on July 11th. More info after the break.

Food PRICE RISE

ONE of the odder features of last weekend's vote in Venezuela was that staple foods were in short supply. Something similar happened in Russia before its parliamentary election. Governments in both oil-rich countries had imposed controls on food prices, with the usual consequences. Such controls have been surprisingly widespread—a knee-jerk response to one of the most remarkable changes that food markets, indeed any markets, have seen for years: the end of cheap food.
In early September the world price of wheat rose to over $400 a tonne, the highest ever recorded. In May it had been around $200. Though in real terms its price is far below the heights it scaled in 1974, it is still twice the average of the past 25 years. Earlier this year the price of maize (corn) exceeded $175 a tonne, again a world record. It has fallen from its peak, as has that of wheat, but at $150 a tonne is still 50% above the average for 2006.

Google founder pays $5m for space flight

Sergey Brin, the co-founder of Google has put down a $5m deposit for a flight aboard a Russian Soyuz space station.
Mr Brin has signed up with the space tourism company Space Adventures for priority seating on a mission that would orbit the earth

BANK TROUBLE IN EUROPE

NOT raising capital during the credit crisis has so far been a sign of strength. May it now be turning into a source of weakness? As regulators and shareholders demand a more cautious approach, the bar is being raised on what constitutes an acceptable level of protection. Banks that have resisted seeking new capital are under scrutiny, and none more so than Barclays and Deutsche Bank.
The problems and questions lie within the employees and workers in these branches, are the banks the ones to blame for the crisis? or is it also other people?

Bright lighs may hold off dementia

When it comes to Alzheimer's disease, no one yet knows the best way to halt the gradual slips in memory and other brain functions that are the hallmarks of the disease. But researchers in the Netherlands have found that a simple nonmedical intervention may be just as effective as drugs to keep elderly patients sharp.

Dementias the progressive decline is cognitive function due to damage or disease in the brain beyond what might be expected from normal aging. Although dementia is far more common in the geriatic population, it may occur in any stage of adulthood.

AIST

Fresh from its efforts to disguise solar cells as plant leaves; Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (or AIST is now boasting about some advances it's made in flexible displays, which it says will offer a whole host of benefits for e-paper-based devices.