Freak storm causes flooding, landslides in Australia

clipped from news.blogs.cnn.com Severe thunderstorms that struck Western Australia caused flooding, landslides and wind damage that will amount to tens of millions of dollars, Premier Colin Barnett said Tuesday. More than 30 schools in the Perth area suffered damage including flooding, collapsed ceilings and shattered windows and there was significant damage done to several hospitals, the state Fire and Emergency Services Authority said in a statement. More than 50,000 people were without power Tuesday, the authority said, with power to 100,000 customers restored since the storms hit. “This incident is going to cost the State, tens of millions of dollars to repair buildings, restore power lines,” Barnett said in a statement. The government would provide disaster assistance, he said. The Fire and Emergency Services Authority reported more than 2,000 calls for help since the storm hit.

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One in four Germans wants microchip under skin: poll

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clipped from news.theage.com.au It sounds like something from a sci-fi film, but one in four Germans would be happy to have a microchip implanted in their body if they derived concrete benefits from it, a poll Monday showed. In all, 23 percent of around 1,000 respondents in the survey said they would be prepared to have a chip inserted under their skin "for certain benefits". Around one in six (16 percent) said they would wear an implant to allow emergency services to rescue them more quickly in the event of a fire or accident. And five percent of people said they would be prepared to have an implant to make their shopping go more smoothly. But 72 percent said they would not "under any circumstances" allow electronics in their body. The results appeared to surprise even the high-tech sector. A total of 4,157 firms from 68 countries are to unveil their latest gadgets, a decline of three percent on last year as many high-tech firms stay away amid strong competition from other events.

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