National / International News

The latest episode of Diary of an Internet Phenom involves a Boston-based company, Kickstarter, and a new invention the whole family can enjoy.

WobbleWorks, a Boston-area toy company that needed funding, went onto Kickstarter at the beginning of this week with a total goal of raising $30,000. As of last evening, people had pledged $900,000 and counting. What could be that compelling? How about a two foot, plastic Eiffel Tower drawn with what's called "3Doodler," a new pen that's a 3D printer.

Video of 3Doodler Intro Video

 

Imagine a magic marker with an electric cord. Press the button and out comes, not ink, but a thin stream of melted plastic that solidifies. Ever see people build little models with toothpicks? It's like that, but no toothpicks, instead you doodle it free-hand in plastic.

"The same way that you use a pen, you can use a 3Doodler, except that when you lift the 3Doodler off the paper, the pen keeps spilling out ink, so you can write in the air," says Max Bogue, co-founder of the company that invented the 3Doodler.

The 3Doodler uses biodegradable plastic as ink, which instantly cools and hardens as you draw. That may sound neat, but Bogue thinks the real advantage of the 3Doodler is its simplicity.

"There is no software, there is nothing to learn, all you have to do is just draw with it," says Bogue.

Also: Bill O'Reilly has a new book; George Saunders g-chats The Paris Review; and Batwoman is getting married.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

Russia's central bank governor Sergei Ignatiev says that $49bn (£33bn), or 2.5% of GDP, left the country illegally last year.

More than 200 people attend the funeral of an ex-serviceman following a Facebook appeal, amid fears he would be buried without mourners.

A missing boy who sparked a police search involving a helicopter and sniffer dogs was found two hours later - sleeping under a bean bag at home.

Payday lenders are often blamed for taking advantage of the little guy. But that's something that Justin Davis, a payday lender in Kansas City, Missouri, takes issue with.

"For me and my business, I try to treat my customers right," says Davis. "As long as people do the math, then they are not doing something stupid."

A recent study from Pew reports that the average payday loan borrower ends up indebted for five months*, paying $520 in finance charges for loans averaging $375.

But Davis, who charges a 17 percent interest rate for a two-week loan, argues that his business can still be a good alternative for those who are trying to avoid even higher overdraft fees on late bills.

"My service is not only competitve with those fees, but in many instances, cheaper," Davis says. "Most banks will charge you a $4-a-day continuous overdraft fee."

 

*CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly referred to the length of time a payday loan borrower remains in debt, according to a Pew study. According to the study, the average borrower is in debt for five months. The text has been corrected.

British heavyweight champion David Price's next opponent Tony Thompson believes doping in sport should be legalised.

Next year's Giro d'Italia will begin in Belfast as part of three days of action on both sides of the Irish border.

A man accused of murdering two women from Northern Ireland tells a court in Turkey that he killed them but claims the women had attacked him first.

A widow hugs the driver who killed her husband and urges him to "get on with his young life".

Seven people have been shot dead in an attack on a mosque in north-eastern Kenya near the border with Somalia, officials say.

A man appears in court charged with the murders of a family of four at their home in Northampton.

Aberdeenshire-based singer-songwriter Emeli Sande lifts two awards at the Brit Awards ceremony at London's O2 Arena.

US sportswear giant Nike suspends its sponsorship contract with Oscar Pistorius, who is accused of murdering his girlfriend.

Patricia Machin told Radio 5 live Breakfast she has "never blamed" the driver who knocked down her husband and killed him.

Arsene Wenger's job as Arsenal manager will not be on the agenda at a board meeting on Thursday, BBC Sport learns.

Sales are suffering as defense budgets are slashed all over the world, but the U.S. is a special case where over $40 billion in defense cuts are set to go into effect next month.

Francis Tusa, editor of Defence Analysis, says that will heavily impact on European defense suppliers.

"If sequestration goes ahead in the way we’re talking about it, they will see a rather heavy hit on turnover," says Tusa.

According to Tusa, that's because U.S. contracts are far more profitable than those in Europe.

The British defense contractor BAE Systems announced a fall in profits today. The company earns 40 percent of its revenue in the U.S. It says it may have to lay off 3,500 workers in its shipbuilding industry if Washington doesn’t stop the cuts.

Other European defense contractors, such as EADS, say as the American military’s budget shrinks, U.S. defense suppliers will vie for new contracts in Europe and elsewhere. In that case, the global defense industry could get a lot more competitive.

Sales are suffering as defense budgets are slashed all over the world, but the U.S. is a special case where over $40 billion in defense cuts are set to go into effect next month.

Francis Tusa, editor of Defence Analysis, says that will heavily impact on European defense suppliers.

"If sequestration goes ahead in the way we’re talking about it, they will see a rather heavy hit on turnover," says Tusa.

According to Tusa, that's because U.S. contracts are far more profitable than those in Europe.

The British defense contractor BAE Systems announced a fall in profits today. The company earns 40 percent of its revenue in the U.S. It says it may have to lay off 3,500 workers in its shipbuilding industry if Washington doesn’t stop the cuts.

Other European defense contractors, such as EADS, say as the American military’s budget shrinks, U.S. defense suppliers will vie for new contracts in Europe and elsewhere. In that case, the global defense industry could get a lot more competitive.

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting signs a two-month deal to play for Surrey as cover for Graeme Smith.

An international football match-fixing suspect is arrested in Italy after arriving from Singapore and giving himself up, police in Milan say.