Aircraft takes to the skies in green fuel test

As the need to reduce carbon emissions becomes ever more urgent Virgin Atlantic flew a Boeing 747 from Heathrow to Schipol in Amsterdam with one of its four engines run partially on bio-fuel. The engine was powered by a fuel made up of 20% percent bio-fuel-a mix of coconut and babassu oil-mixed with 80% normal fuel. However, environmentalists claim that bio-fuels are a poor alternative, they point out that clearing the land to produce them will contribute to global warming.

Greenpeace called the flight "high altitude greenwash."

Computer games become tools for psychologists

Shoot 'em up games, role play games and adventure games are being used by certain psychologists to evaluate and help their patients, especially those in their teenage years. Games allow us to do things that we would never do in real life, and the role play aspect offers analysts a chance to decode the choices their patient makes.

Japanese origami plane to launch from space

It will be a supersonic paper aeroplane from space. Japanese Professor Shinji Suzuki is taking origami to the final frontier, by designing a paper plane that can be thrown out of the International Space Station and stand at least a slim chance of drifting right down to Earth.

Stickman two euros for currency's tenth birthday

Voting for a new two-euro coin design by Internet, European citizens have chosen a primitive stickman to celebrate their single currency's tenth anniversary next year. Forty-one percent of the 140,000 who cast votes online went for the symbol of the history of trade, from prehistoric barter to Europe's monetary union. There were five designs to choose from. Greek Central Bank sculptor George Stamatopoulos's submission will appear from January 2009 on some 90 million coins issued by all 15 nations that use the euro.

Parenthood-friendly EU vital for future old people

In the next few decades, the number of 80-year-olds in the EU is projected to more than double, but their descendants are having fewer and fewer children. Since this inverted baby boom risks putting pressure on Europe's economic competivity and growth, the European Parliament is studying possible ways forward. As more and more Europeans reach retirement age and life expectancy increases, the number of employed people paying tax to support the pension and healthcare systems will become comparatively smaller.

Prime Minister Brown's visit to Brussels

Gordon Brown has made his symbolic first visit to Brussels as Britain's prime minister, eight months after his entry into Downing Street. Brown sought to burnish Britain's standing with the bloc. He said: "I have no doubt that at this time of global uncertainty, we should not be ever throwing into question, as some would, the stability of Britain's relationships with the EU, nor our future membership, and we should not put at risk the trade, the businesses and jobs that flow from the very success of being part of Europe." Brown's late arrival at a ceremony to sign the new European Union treaty last year reinforced a belief among many EU partners that he was lukewarm towards Europe.

Parliament fraud report kept under wraps

An internal report on fraud in the European Parliament is still confidential. The budget control committee has been debating whether to make the report public. It allegedly points to abuse of the staff allowance system. A key whistleblower has said there is "grossly unethical behaviour" going on. But MEP Costas Botopoulos says there are few culprits - if any: “ There are some cases which might be case of fraud. But from that to say that there is extended fraud in the parliament, that's not true."

All Aboard the Mars Express

European space scientists are looking at data from their Mars Express probe, trying to unravel the secrets of our solar-system neighbour, the red planet. Among the mission's work, is finding similarities and differences between Mars and Earth. Is there life on Mars. There are up to half a million pieces of debris floating on orbital paths around the earth - the remains of old rockets and defunct satellites. Thousands have already been spotted, but others, which could prove dangerous for manned missions, are yet to be spotted.

Spain: great boom, but how about a house?

Spain's construction boom places it among Europe's most dynamic economies, but has created social tensions, notably among the young, who are unable to meet the surging prices. When so many earn less than a thousand euros per month, the 'Milleurista' phenomenon has become a main theme in campaigning for Spain's approaching elections

Terror suspects arrested in Scandinavia

A total of six people have been taken into police custody in Norway and Sweden on terrorism- related charges. Norwegian security services arrested three men at different addresses in Oslo on suspicion of planning acts of terror and financing terrorism. A Norwegian Police Security Service spokesperson said a terror-paragraph in the law makes it a crime to finance acts of terror, either foreign or domestic. In this case it's foreign, she said. The three men, all of Somali origin, are suspected of collecting and transferring money to a terrorist group in Somalia. In a coordinated move with authorities in Oslo, Swedish police arrested another three men in Stockholm. They have Swedish citizenship but come originally from Somalia. They are suspected of financing acts of terror by the Somali opposition group Al- Shabab, the Somalian Islamists' military wing.

New tanker for US air force

EADS, the owner of European Airbus and the US company Northrup Grumman have won a 28 Billion euro contract with the US Air Force to build a new refuelling plane. The US Air Force plans to buy 179 tanker aircraft over the next 15 years replacing its older fleet that average 47 years in service. Michael Wynne, is US Air Force Secretary said "This initial contract for the newly-named KC-45A will provide significantly greater air refuelling capabilities than our currentfleet of Eisenhower-era KC-135. The tanker will be able to refuel US and allied aircraft in every area of responsibility worldwide, 24 hours a day in adverse weather and be equipped with defensive systems." Up till now the sole supplier of aerial tankers was the US company Boeing, until the Pentagon's biggest procurement scandal in decades put Boeing's chief financial officer in jail.