| Strong demand helps steel giant
The world's largest steel company, Arcelor Mittal, has reported a net profit of $10.36bn (5.3bn) for 2007. The results - in line with analysts' expectations - are the first full-year figures since the merger of Arcelor and Mittal Steel in June 2006. The firm had predicted robust global steel markets would boost its results. Chief executive Lakshmi Mittal said the company was "focused on leading the transformation of our industry towards a sustainable future". Late last year Arcelor Mittal agreed a deal with controlling shareholders in China Oriental to allow it to eventually raise its stake in the Chinese firm to 73.13%. Arcelor Mittal is eager to increase its exposure to China, the world's biggest producer and consumer of steel. Mittal bought Arcelor in 2006, creating a firm with 10% of the world's steel market.
Hinn joins Dollar in refusing to answer questions in Senate ...
For more: Read the latest ORU stories, view the lawsuit and other documents and watch slide shows and video.
A second Christian ministry is refusing to meet a Thursday deadline for a Senate investigation into preachers' salaries, perks and travel, The Associated Press has learned. Benny Hinn of World Healing Center Church Inc. and Benny Hinn Ministries of Grapevine, Texas, said in a statement to the AP on Thursday that he will not respond to the inquiry until next year. A lawyer for preacher Creflo Dollar of World Changers Church International in suburban Atlanta had said Wednesday that the investigation should be referred to the IRS or the Senate panel should get a subpoena for the documents. Both Hinn and Dollar are regents for Oral Roberts University. Sen.
Grand green vision for S.F.'s Parkmerced
The owners of San Francisco's Parkmerced want to add nearly 5,700 homes to the World War II-era rental housing complex, an ambitious renovation that could rank as one of the greenest in the country. Over 20 years, the developer says, the minimum $1.2 billion project would take the 115-acre property off the power grid by employing wind turbines and other low-emission energy sources, slash water consumption through improved plumbing and recycling, and halve tenants' automobile use by, among other things, adding public transportation options. "I almost consider it a moral obligation in a project of this size to be responsible and do whatever we can do to help confront the problem of climate change," said Craig Hartman, lead architect on the project and partner with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP.
Search Politics for MPs and issues
Penny MacLean feels as if she has started learning how to read again. Helping her five-year-old son Ross with his homework, she wrestles with the new letter sounds and gestures he brings back from reading classes at his school in Old Kilpatrick on the Clyde. But his tuition - part of a mass experiment to eradicate illiteracy in one of the UK's most deprived areas - is already working, and MacLean is astonished. "We've noticed a huge difference in Ross. He's just turned five and has only been at school for a few months, but he's actually reading sentences," she said. Yesterday West Dunbartonshire council to the west of Glasgow announced that it had succeeded in virtually eradicating illiteracy among school-leavers - an achievement believed to be unique in the UK. The programme was introduced in 1997 after the council found that more than a fifth of its school-leavers were "functionally illiterate" when they left secondary school.
Self-healing rubber bounces back
Snap this stretchy piece of rubber in two, and it will heal itself back into a stretchy piece of rubber again. The material's eerie ability to 'heal' itself means that it can broken, stuck and stretched time and time again. To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right). Comments Reader comments are usually moderated after posting. If you find something offensive or inappropriate, you can speed this process by clicking 'Report this comment' (or, if that doesn't work for you, email redesign@nature.com). For more controversial topics, we reserve the right to moderate before comments are published. This article is somewhat misleading in that it implies that other self-healing materials require heat or pressure to achieve healing.
You call that a knife? This is a knife
A GIANT Swiss army knife weighing almost 1.5kg and with 87 tools has gained a place in Guiness World Record for having the most functions on a penknife. The Wenger giant Swiss army knife has at least 115 uses, according to the company. The tools include Phillips and flat head screwdrivers, saws, scissors, rulers, universal wrench, laser pointer, cigar cutter, compass, can opener, golf club face cleaner, tyre tread gauge and of course, the toothpick. If you are thinking of making it a Christmas gift for the person with everything, it'll set you back about $1000. Share this article What is this? .
Father given jail time for spanking 16-year-old daughter
Some of you can't get past the word spanking. This word is being used for a knee jerk reaction from the public! Think before you write such horrible things about my daughter.She is the innocent victim here and 2 days in jail is nowhere near enough time for this jerk off! .
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