Meet the real Siri and other iconic voices of technology
Siri, Apple's voice-powered personal assistant, made its debut in June 2010. Since then, millions of the devices with the feature have been sold worldwide.
In the UK, the voice you will hear responding to commands belongs to Jon Briggs, an illustrious voiceover artist whose portfolio includes the likes of the Weakest Link, Radio 2 and Channel 4.
Jon had offered up his voice to a firm that specialises in computer-generated speech - that is, taking Jon's voice but moulding it to say virtually any possible phrase. Apple, when creating Siri, picked out Jon - unbeknownst to him.
"I discovered that I was being used as the voice of Siri when Rory Cellan-Jones, the BBC technology correspondent, suddenly started demonstrating it on BBC Breakfast.
"I thought 'I recognise that voice!', and so it was true - and it's a slightly bizarre journey since then."
It means that while his voice is now being played out countless times a day all over the country, Apple has not paid him - he only received the fee earned he when recording the original material.
But, he says he's excited to be "in early" on what he believes is changing how we use technology.
"You can take a photograph of your desk - there is a screen a keyboard and a mouse.
EU says distrust of US on spying may harm terror fight
EU leaders meeting in Brussels say distrust of the US over spying could harm the fight against terrorism.
A statement agreed by the leaders says that "a lack of trust could prejudice" intelligence-gathering co-operation.
France and Germany are pushing for talks with the US to find a new "understanding" by the year's end.
A number of allegations against US intelligence agents have surfaced this week, including the bugging of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's phone.
In addition there have been claims that the US National Security Agency (NSA) monitored millions of French telephone calls.
On Thursday, the UK's
Guardian newspaper also reported that it had obtained a confidential memo from the NSA suggesting it had monitored the phones of 35 world leaders.
The latest revelations have been sourced to US whistleblower Edward Snowden, the former intelligence contractor who fled the country earlier this year and is now in Russia.
They have overshadowed other issues at the EU summit in Brussels, including the Mediterranean migration problem, which frames the agenda of Friday's talks.
'Vital element'
The statement of heads of state or government, released on Friday, reflects the EU leaders' conclusions following their talks on Thursday.
Two Americans Kidnapped By Armed Men In Brass, MEND Says
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has reported the capture by “a heavily armed auxiliary outfit operating off the Gulf of Guinea,” of two “high profile Americans” from an oil supply vessel off Brass, Nigeria.
A statement signed by Jomo Gbomo said the group made contact with MEND’s Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Delta to inform them of the seizure.
“The Americans will not be handed over for our direct custody but we will have the influence to visit them and ensure that they are well looked after until their subsequent release,” the statement said.
Gbomo said that the latest incident is to confirm to the world that accidents do not just happen “as the deceitful and corrupt government of President Goodluck Jonathan wants the world to believe.”
According to him, “Unresolved root issues compounded by the continued detention of Henry Okah, his brother Charles Okah and several others over false accusations as well as a monumental Niger Delta Amnesty fraud, can only make security and peace in the region an illusion.”
The statement did not make available any further information about the abductors or the Americans.
Obama resumes push for immigration reform
US President Barack Obama has called on congress to finish work on an immigration overhaul by the end of the year, a goal that could be difficult to meet given the staunch opposition of many House Republicans.
In a meeting at the White House on Thursday, Obama insisted that legislators have the necessary time to complete the immigration bill before 2014.
While immigration remains one of Obama's top second term priorities, the issue has been overshadowed for months, most recently by the 16-day partial government shutdown.
The president's shift to a greater focus on immigration came as the White House was seeking to shift the conversation away from the deeply problematic rollout of Obama's signature health care law.
The Democratic-led Senate passed sweeping legislation this summer that would provide an eventual path to citizenship for some 11 million immigrants living in the country illegally and would tighten border security.
But the measure has languished in the Republican-led House.
"It does not get easier to put it off,'' Obama said during an event at the White House.
The White House was buoyed by comments this week from Republican House Speaker John Boehner, who said he was optimistic his chamber could act on immigration by year's end.
But Boehner has long had trouble rallying support from the conservative wing of his party and it is unclear whether he can get their backing for the comprehensive bill Obama is seeking.
Most House Republicans have said they prefer a piecemeal approach to fixing the nation's fractured immigration system.
Trouble in US-Saudi relations? Trouble in US-Saudi relations?
Saudi Arabia is a crucial ally of the United States within the Middle East, but the long-time friendship between the two countries may now be under pressure.
Diplomatic sources say that Prince Bandar bin Sultan, Saudi's intelligence chief, has been talking about his country making a "major shift" in its relationship with the US.
He has been quoted as sharply criticising US policies on Syria and Iran, as well as condemning its apparent lack of urgency on the Palestinian-Israeli track.
The deepening rift was acknowledged by US Secretary of State John Kerry. Speaking to reporters in London on Wednesday he said:
Sumatra's endangered elephants
On October 26 at 1300 and 2000 GMT watch "Expedition: Sumatra," a half-hour feature program with CNN Special Correspondent Philippe CousteauSumatra, Indonesia (CNN) -- The conflict between humans and critically endangered Sumatran elephants in Indonesia has been going on for decades, with the elephants on the losing end of the battle. The villagers and farmers don't kill them for food. They do it to keep their homes and crops safe. The grim result is the killing combined with shrinking elephant habitat contributes to an 80% population loss since the 1930s, according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.In Riau Province alone, where the highest number of elephants on the island was recorded in the 1980s, the population decreased from 1,342 in 1984 to 201 in 2007.The major contributor to this conflict is the fight over land. Elephant habitat is lowland, non-mountainous, relatively flat landscape below an altitude of 300 meters. That kind of land also makes great farmland, which is why humans have cut down the rainforest and planted crops.Individual small farms may not seem like a big encroachment onto elephant habitat, but when that's combined with the forest loss from large companies cutting down hundreds of hectares of forest for palm oil and pulp and paper plantations, it results in the elephants running out of land.
Cuba to open tax free Special Economic Zone
Communist Cuba is the latest country to plan a "Special Economic Zone", part of an economic model blasted by critics for creating a "race to the bottom" on wages and corporate taxes.
Raul Castro, Cuba's president, signed law 313 in September creating a special development zone in the port of Mariel, 45km west of the capital, Havana, where foreign companies will be able to transfer their profits abroad without paying the usual taxes or tariffs.
Laws governing the project come into effect in November although it's unclear exactly when the facility will be operational.
"I understand in Maribel bay there is going to be a tax holiday for 10 years," Clive Vokes, director of Market Scoping International, a niche advisory firm specialising in foreign direct investment, told Al Jazeera. "I think the announcement is consistent with a trend that has been gathering momentum for the last 20 years."
One-hundred percent foreign ownership will be allowed for firms operating in the zone, and contracts will be extended to 50 years, up from the current 25. The body will be governed by a special officeCuba to open tax free Special Economic Zone in the Cuban government and foreign operators will also be exempt from "tax on the use of the labour force", property tax and local sales tax, according to a
legal brief for prospective investors prepared by Jesus Bu Marcheco at the University of Havana.
Australia fires flare as military blamed for blaze, pilot killed
Springwood (Australia) (AFP)
A water-bombing aircraft tackling newly flaring wildfires in Australia crashed on Thursday, killing the pilot, as the military apologised for starting a huge blaze that has left residents living in fear.
Thousands of largely volunteer firefighters have been battling infernos for eight days across the state of New South Wales that have destroyed more than 200 homes, with the Blue Mountains region west of Sydney the focal point.
Cooler weather initially helped Thursday, but gusty winds saw two major blazes upgraded to the highest “emergency” level again, with authorities urging communities not to be complacent.
A pilot become the second person to die in the bushfire emergency when his fixed-wing aircraft went down in a remote area south of Sydney as it responded to a blaze near the town of Ulladulla.
Reports said a wing snapped off before the crash.
Dozens killed in Syria suicide bombing
At least 43 people have been killed after a suicide bomber blew up a truck laden with explosives at an army checkpoint in Syria's central city of Hama, according to the pro-opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The man blew himself up inside the vehicle on Sunday on a busy road on the outskirts of the government-held city, the Syrian state news agency SANA said.
It blamed the attack on "terrorists", the term it uses to describe rebel forces trying to topple President Bashar al-Assad.
The Syrian Observatory said the attack targeted an army checkpoint.
"At least 31 people, including regime troops, were killed when a man detonated a truck laden with explosives at a checkpoint near an agricultural vehicles company on the road linking Hama to Salamiyeh," the Observatory said.
The Britain-based group said the death toll was likely to rise, as "there are dozens of wounded, some of them in critical condition".
Huge fires
SANA said the explosion appeared to have set ablaze a petrol truck nearby, increasing the damage and casualties.
Pictures on Syria TV showed firefighters trying to put out huge fires and black clouds of smoke rising from charred trucks and cars.
Clashes were reportedly ongoing in the area and gunfire could be heard.
On Saturday, activists said a suicide bomber from the self-proclaimed jihadist group Jabhat al-Nusra
blew himself up at an army checkpoint in a Damascus suburb.
More than 30 combatants from both sides were said to have been killed in the blast and ensuing clashes.
In the first months after the uprising against Assad's government erupted in March 2011, Hama saw some of the largest demonstrations against his rule.
But in late summer of that year, security forces stormed the city, killing scores of people. They have held a tight grip on the city ever since.
While several other Syrian cities have been engulfed by fighting, Hama has seen only sporadic violence in recent months.
However, the surrounding province has seen some major clashes between troops and rebels.
On the diplomatic front, it was announced on Sunday that a long-delayed Geneva peace conference aimed at bringing together Syria's government and opposition
will be held on November 23.
Australia wildfires raze homes
Australian fire fighters are battling a series of major wildfires in New South Wales, with fears that hundreds of homes have been destroyed.
The blazes are continuing to burn on the outskirts of Sydney, despite the easing of temperatures and winds.
One man has died while trying to protect his home.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott visited Winmalee in the Blue Mountains, one of the areas worst-hit by the fires, around 70km (45 miles) west of Sydney.
Correspondents say bushfires are common in Australia but they have come earlier than normal this year, sparking concerns of further problems to come.
Deputy New South Wales (NSW) Rural Fire Service Commissioner Rob Rogers said the fire situation was the worst he had seen in more than a decade and the threat was unlikely to ease for some time.
"We've got thousands of kilometres of fire front that we are faced with trying to deal with," he told local media.
