News Headlines - 12 October 2011

▽Bomb plots in Washington - Financial Times
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/194f790a-f4c4-11e0-a286-00144feab49a.html#axzz1abwAYQK5
Details of the plot come from the top of the Obama administration and the FBI. On Tuesday, senior officials announced that the US had arrested an Iranian-American who had been trying to persuade a member of los Zetas, a Mexican drug cartel, to kill Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi ambassador in Washington, if necessary by blowing him up in his favourite restaurant. These claims have been vehemently denied by Iran.

▽Unemployment rockets past 2.5m to reach 17-year high - Telegraph.co.uk
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/8821626/Unemployment-rockets-past-2.5m-to-reach-17-year-high.html
From October, it became unlawful to retire anyone on the grounds of age, with many employers rushing to retire those aged 65 or over during the summer months before the new rules took effect.

▽Black Death genome sequenced from DNA in 14th century skeletons - The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/oct/12/black-death-genome-sequenced-dna?newsfeed=true
Now, by examining remains from some London cemeteries, scientists have deciphered the genetic makeup of the bacterium that caused the pandemic and have discovered that its DNA is not very different from that of the modern bug that causes bubonic plague.

▽Blackberry problems spread to US - BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-15276481
Problems with the Blackberry smartphone system appear have to spread to the United States...
The latest development follows two days of sporadic blackouts across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

▽Sony suspends 93,000 online accounts after break-in attempt - The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/oct/12/sony-suspends-93000-accounts?newsfeed=true
Up to 93,000 accounts have been compromised in a fresh attack on Sony's online servers, following an attack earlier this year that saw the company's PlayStation Network taken offline.