Probe sweeps past 'space peanut'

By Jonathan Amos,Science correspondent, BBC News
The first pictures to show good detail of the nucleus were taken by the medium resolution camera
Nasa's Deep Impact probe has flown by Comet Hartley 2.
The first pictures revealed a roughly 1.5km-long, peanut-shaped object with jets of gas streaming from its surface.

Electric current to the brain 'boosts maths ability'

Applying a tiny electrical current to the brain could make you better at learning maths, according to Oxford University scientists.

They found that targeting a part of the brain called the parietal lobe improved the ability of volunteers to solve numerical problems.

FTSE hits two-year high on US Fed move

US markets closed higher after the Fed's announcement

The FTSE 100 has hit a two-year high as global stock markets react positively to the decision by the Federal Reserve to pump $600bn (£373bn) into the US economy to try to boost its recovery.

The FTSE gained 109 points, or 1.9%, to 5,858, while leading indexes in the US, France and Germany rose .

Fiddler on the Roof composer Jerry Bock dies

Jerry Bock (right), pictured with songwriting partner Sheldon Harnick in 2004, was 81
Jerry Bock, who composed the scores for some of Broadway's most successful musicals including Fiddler on the Roof and Fiorello!, has died.Composed with lyricist Sheldon Harnick, Fiorello! earned three Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize after opening in 1959.

  [TEVYE]
"Dear God, you made many, many poor people.
I realize, of course, that it's no shame to be poor.
But it's no great honor either!
So, what would have been so terrible if I had a small fortune?"

If I were a rich man,
Ya ha deedle deedle, bubba bubba deedle deedle dum.
All day long I'd biddy biddy bum.
If I were a wealthy man.
I wouldn't have to work hard.
Ya ha deedle deedle, bubba bubba deedle deedle dum.
If I were a biddy biddy rich,
Yidle-diddle-didle-didle man.

I'd build a big tall house with rooms by the dozen,
Right in the middle of the town.
A fine tin roof with real wooden floors below.
There would be one long staircase just going up,
And one even longer coming down,
And one more leading nowhere, just for show.

I'd fill my yard with chicks and turkeys and geese and ducks
For the town to see and hear.
(Insert)Squawking just as noisily as they can. (End Insert)
With each loud "cheep" "swaqwk" "honk" "quack"
Would land like a trumpet on the ear,
As if to say "Here lives a wealthy man."

If I were a rich man,
Ya ha deedle deedle, bubba bubba deedle deedle dum.
All day long I'd biddy biddy bum.
If I were a wealthy man.
I wouldn't have to work hard.
Ya ha deedle deedle, bubba bubba deedle deedle dum.
If I were a biddy biddy rich,
Yidle-diddle-didle-didle man.

I see my wife, my Golde, looking like a rich man's wife
With a proper double-chin.
Supervising meals to her heart's delight.
I see her putting on airs and strutting like a peacock.
Oy, what a happy mood she's in.
Screaming at the servants, day and night.

The most important men in town would come to fawn on me!
They would ask me to advise them,
Like a Solomon the Wise.
"If you please, Reb Tevye..."
"Pardon me, Reb Tevye..."
Posing problems that would cross a rabbi's eyes!

And it won't make one bit of difference if i answer right or wrong.
When you're rich, they think you really know!

If I were rich, I'd have the time that I lack
To sit in the synagogue and pray.
And maybe have a seat by the Eastern wall.
And I'd discuss the holy books with the learned men, several hours every day.
That would be the sweetest thing of all.

If I were a rich man,
Ya ha deedle deedle, bubba bubba deedle deedle dum.
All day long I'd biddy biddy bum.
If I were a wealthy man.
I wouldn't have to work hard.
Ya ha deedle deedle, bubba bubba deedle deedle dum.

Lord who mad the lion and the lamb,
You decreed I should be what I am.
Would it spoil some vast eternal plan?
If I were a wealthy man.

Burma hit by massive net attack ahead of election

Huge amounts of traffic easily overwhelmed Burma's links to the net

An ongoing computer attack has knocked Burma off the internet, just days ahead of its first election in 20 years. The attack started in late October but has grown in the last few days to overwhelm the nation's link to the net, said security firm Arbor Networks.

A perfect day in Toronto

Detail of sculptures outside the Hockey Hall of Fame (Corey Wise/LPI).

Facing off against New York State, far across the slate-grey waters of Lake Ontario, Toronto walks the line between American cultural osmosis and staunch Canadian independence. Masters of this balancing act, Torontonians shift between both worlds with verve,

Yemen parcel bomb 'was 17 minutes from exploding'

One of the two parcel bombs intercepted last week after being sent from Yemen was defused 17 minutes before it was due to explode, France's Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux has said.

Mr Hortefeux was speaking to France-2 television but did not reveal his source for the information.
The two bombs were being sent via air freight to the US but intercepted in Dubai ...

BBC News - In pictures: Qantas Airbus emergency

Irish bond yields hit record high

The Irish Republic faced one of the deepest recessions in the eurozone
Yields on Irish 10-year bonds have reached a new high of 7.69% ahead of a government announcement on plans to cut its huge deficit.The move reflects increasing scepticism about the Republic's ability to tackle its problems without outside help.
Finance Minister Brian Lenihan will reveal later the scale of spending cuts ..

Zimbabwean eaten by lions while having a shower

Conservationists say poaching and illegal hunting in the national parks is upsetting the animals
A Zimbabwean man has been killed by a pride of lions while having a shower in a safari camp near the Zambezi River, a conservationist group has said.It happened last Friday afternoon, but details of the attack in the Mana Pools National Park are still emerging....