US 'Spied On Japanese Government And Firms'

Major companies and senior politicians in Japan have been spied on by the US, according to Wikileaks.

In newly-released documents Wikileaks listed 35 telephone numbers that were targeted by the National Security Agency (NSA) for interception.

Wikileaks said the surveillance lasted for eight years, and demonstrates "the depth of US surveillance of the Japanese government".

The conversations of government ministers - including discussions on trade, climate change policy and nuclear talks - were allegedly scooped up by the US.

Bank of Japan officials were also targeted, Wikileaks said, as well as car firm Mitsubishi and white goods company Matsui.

The information gleaned was shared with the so-called Five Eyes group of Australia, Canada, the UK and New Zealand, Wikileaks added.

In a statement Wikileaks editor Julian Assange said: "In these documents we see the Japanese government worrying in private about how much or how little to tell the United States, in order to prevent undermining of its climate change proposal or its diplomatic relationship.

"And yet we now know that the United States heard everything and read everything, and was passing around the deliberations of Japanese leadership to Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK.

"The lesson for Japan is this: do not expect a global surveillance superpower to act with honour or respect. There is only one rule: there are no rules."

Japan and the US have not commented.

Hitchhiking Robot's US Tour Ended By Vandals

A hitchhiking robot which relied on the kindness of strangers has had its tour of the US cruelly cut short – after someone in Philadelphia damaged it beyond repair.

HitchBOT, who had successfully managed to travel across Canada and parts of Europe, began its latest epic journey in Massachusetts on 17 July.

With a sign taped to its head that read "San Francisco or bust", the immobile robot was designed to be a social experiment - with a smile on its face and its thumbs skyward.

Although it managed to enjoy a Red Sox game, and even take a trip out to sea - both accomplishments on the robot's bucket list - researchers who were tracking hitchBOT using GPS were emailed a photograph of the robot after it had been vandalised.

The robot is usually passed between travellers, or left in a visible place for passers-by to give the child-sized machine a lift.

It was fitted with a camera to take a photograph of its adventure every 20 minutes - and could even engage in limited conversation with its travel companions, offering random factoids to keep them entertained.

During a recent stint of Europe, hitchBOT attended a Comic Con event, a wedding, spent a week with a heavy metal band… and even had its portrait painted.

Frauke Zeller, hitchBOT's co-creator, said: "Sadly, sadly it's come to an end. I hope that people won't be too disappointed, too sad."

Like! Mark Zuckerberg Set To Become A Father

Mark Zuckerberg has opened up about the heartbreaking miscarriages suffered by his wife after revealing he is now going to be a dad.

The Facebook founder and CEO told his 33 million "friends" that wife Priscilla is expecting a baby girl.

He claims his little girl even gave a thumbs-up reminiscent of a Facebook 'like' during the latest scan.

The man who helped bring photo-sharing to the masses also posted a snap with Priscilla, whose bump is clearly visible.

"Priscilla and I have some exciting news: we're expecting a baby girl!" the 31-year-old wrote.

But the multi-billionaire also revealed the couple had endured three miscarriages.

Zuckerberg said they wanted to share their story to help others who do not feel they can talk to anyone.

"You feel so hopeful when you learn you're going to have a child," he wrote.

"You start imagining who they'll become and dreaming of hopes for their future. You start making plans, and then they're gone. It's a lonely experience.

"Most people don't discuss miscarriages because you worry your problems will distance you or reflect upon you - as if you're defective or did something to cause this. So you struggle on your own.

"When we started talking to our friends, we realised how frequently this happened - that many people we knew had similar issues and that nearly all had healthy children after all.

"We hope that sharing our experience will give more people the same hope we felt and will help more people feel comfortable sharing their stories as well.

"Our good news is that our pregnancy is now far enough along that the risk of loss is very low and we are very hopeful."

The couple married in 2010 after meeting at university seven years earlier.

Zuckerberg added: "Cilla and our child are both healthy, I'm extremely excited to meet her and our dog Beast has no idea what's coming.

"In our ultrasound, she even gave me a thumbs up 'like' with her hand, so I'm already convinced she takes after me.

"We're looking forward to welcoming her into the world and sharing more soon when she's ready to come out and meet everyone!"

Facebook Unveils Solar Drone With Internet Laser

Facebook has revealed details of a solar-powered plane it hopes will bring high-speed internet access to remote corners of the world using lasers.

The unmanned aircraft has a huge wingspan similar to a Boeing 737 but it weighs less than a car and the company claims it can remain airborne for months at a time.

Named 'Aquila' the drone is part of the company's ambitious internet.org project to deliver high speed internet connectivity to hundreds-of-millions of people in far flung parts of the world.

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg said: "We've successfully tested a new laser that can transmit data at 10 gigabits per second.

"That's ten times faster than any previous system, and it can accurately connect with a point the size of a dime from more than 10 miles away.

"This effort is important because 10% of the world's population lives in areas without existing internet infrastructure. To affordably connect everyone, we need to build completely new technologies.”

The company said they would work with UK engineers from a company with a historic legacy in long-distance solar-powered flight.

A statement issued by Facebook said: "Our team has many of the world's leading experts in aerospace and communications technology, including from NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab and Ames Research Center.

"Today we are also bringing on key members of the team from Ascenta, a small UK-based company whose founders created early versions of Zephyr, which became the world’s longest flying solar-powered unmanned aircraft."

It comes as Google pursues Project Loon, its own mission to bring Wi-Fi to remote countries using giant 'loon balloons' said to be able to stay aloft for 100 days at a time.

Friend App Creator Says Facebook Bullied Him

A man who developed an app to alert people when someone unfriended them on Facebook says he was bullied by the social network which wanted it shut down.

Anthony Kuske created Who Deleted Me which worked by comparing a user's Facebook friends list over time and looking for which friends no longer appeared.

However instead of using Facebook's API - an official pipeline to access the site's data - he automated the process using his own programme, which is against Facebook rules.

But he was shocked by Facebook's response to what appeared to be a minor rule break.

He said the site told him his app was "illegal and must be stopped immediately", adding that it breached federal and state laws in the US.

His personal Facebook account, as well as that of a friend who was not involved in Who Deleted Me, were both shut down.

When he did regain access to his account, he was barred from liking, commenting, tagging or receiving messages, he said.

Mr Kuske, from Kent, has now been banned from using Facebook's APIs forever, despite winding down and closing his app.

At its peak the iOS app topped Apple's online store.

In a blog post he wrote: "As time goes on, I'm getting more certain that I was actually doing nothing wrong and Facebook just bullied me into shutting Who Deleted Me down.

"It’s pretty scary when this huge company start threatening you with legal action."

Sky News has approached Facebook for comment.

Obama Wants Supercomputer That Can Mimic Brain

US President Barack Obama has signed an executive order to create the world's first exaflop supercomputer.

The machine would be more than 30 times faster than today's fastest supercomputer, reaching exascale speeds which are defined as a billion billion calculations per second.

The US energy, defence and science departments will team up on the project, to create super powerful computers for use by NASA, the FBI and the Department for Homeland Security.

An exascale computer would be so advanced that it would be capable of mimicking the human brain.

An exaflop is equivalent to around 1,000 petaflops.

The US currently has the second fastest supercomputer, located at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory which runs at 17.6 petaflops.

China's Tianhe-2 is the world leader, running at 33.86 petaflops.

Earlier this year Intel won a $200m contract from the US government to build a 180-petaflops computer by 2018.

Supercomputers are useful for everything from modelling drug effects to predicting the consequences of climate change.

The US currently has more supercomputers in the top 500 list, but lawmakers are concerned that the country could fall behind China.