Brazilian Scientists Develop Blade Runner-Style Tests that Could Cure Psychopaths

In Blade Runner, the Voight-Kampff machine was used to distinguish humans from androids by testing empathyWarner Bros

Remember the empathy detection devices in the 1982 Harrison Ford film Blade Runner? Well Brazilian scientists have now succeeded in helping people to develop and increase feelings of empathy, which could pave the way for reprogramming people suffering from neuropsychiatric conditions like postnatal depression or psychopathy.

The researchers from three Brazilian universities – the D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Universidade Federal do ABC and Gaffrée e Guinle University Hospital – and King's College in London achieved this using brain scanners and computer software to identify patterns in brain activity from different emotions such as empathy, pride and neutral thoughts.

Their research, entitled "Voluntary Enhancement of Neural Signatures of Affiliative Emotion Using fMRI Neurofeedback" is published in open access journal PLOS One.

Similar to the Voight-Kampff machine used in Blade Runner to distinguish humans from androids, the researchers scanned the brains of 25 participants while asking them emotionally charged questions.

Comparison of tenderness/affection vs. pride during neurofeedback trainingPLOS One/D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR)

Once the software program learned to pick up on the brain activity patterns associated with different emotions, the volunteers were then instructed to control and hold particular thoughts and feelings in their minds.

Each participant was shown a blurry image as part of the experiment.

By giving the volunteers feedback on how strong their emotions were, the scientists were able to train each person to hold and develop feelings of empathy, which then made the image become clearer.

"Our results demonstrate that neurofeedback can be used to enhance one's ability to achieve distributed neural signatures of tenderness/affection," the authors wrote in the paper.

"These findings represent an important step in the quest for the development of brain-machine interfaces allowing for voluntary modulation of the neural correlates of affiliative emotions.

"Allowing individuals conscious access to these neural processes could pave novel ways of fostering pro-social behaviours, by enhancing social attachment, trust, helping and care for others."

The researchers plan to carry out a follow-up experiment to see how the brains of psychopaths respond to these tests and whether prosocial emotions and behaviour can be enhanced.

Libya Floats New Law to Attract International Investors

Libyan Security forces secure an area around the Crown Prince's Palace, where Libya's parliament members meet in TripoliReuters

The chairman of Libya's National Oil Corporation said a new law being drafted by the government will make the country more attractive to foreign investors.

The NOC's new chairman Mustafa Sanallah told reporters at an oil conference in London that a new round of bidding for oil licences will begin once the law is completed and passes through government.

"Once the draft is ready and we have a permanent government, we will do a new round of bidding," he said.

Foreign firms left Libya in droves after its leader Muammar Gaddafi was toppled and killed in 2011. The Libyan government has struggled to contain the rebel groups that fought in the war to oust Gaddafi, many of whom still remain heavily armed.

Violence has escalated in the OPEC-member country in recent weeks, after new prime minister Ahmed Maiteeq came to power.

Forces loyal to the retired general, Khalifa Haftar, have launched air strikes on Islamist positions in the eastern city of Benghazi on two occasions in May. Rebels allied with the general also stormed the Libyan parliament in Tripoli.

The Libyan government has accused the former general of launching a coup.

Libya Disorder Dealing Harmful Blow to Oil and Gas Exploration

Heavily armed gunmen stormed Libya's parliament over the weekendReuters

Libya's tentative hydrocarbon exploration recovery is being threatened by insecurity across the country.

Libyan oil exploration showed signs of recovery after the 2011 revolution. But the increasing inevitability of prolonged civil strife is likely to harm efforts to develop oil production further.

Speaking at the New Libyan Oil and Gas Forum in London, the chairman of Mabrouk Oil Operations told reporters that Libya still has plenty of potential for new discoveries.

"We estimate that there are 100 billion barrels out there to be found, and that's probably an underestimation," Elfeturi Belhaj said.

Exploration was gaining traction as of 2013, reaching half the level of exploratory wells drilled in 2010, he added.

"Things started to pick up in 2012 and in 2013 it got much better, we built 29 exploration wells with a success rate of 69%," he said.

Fifty-eight wells were drilled in 2010, the year before Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was ousted and killed.

Federalist rebels in the country's east are occupying two of the country's key oil ports, which they have controlled since July 2013.

Since the capture and killing of former president Gaddafi, Libyan authorities have struggled to control the armed groups that ousted him. The ensuing disorder has pushed up the price of crude oil on international markets.

The rebels, seeking greater autonomy from the central government, have relinquished control of two ports, but they continue to occupy the major eastern ports of Ras Lanuf and Es Sider.

The groups have backed the actions of retired general Khalifa Haftar, who the government has accused of launching a coup.

Forces loyal to the former general have launched airstrikes in the eastern city of Benghazi twice in May, while a group allied with the general stormed the Libyan parliament in the same month.

Speaking on the side lines of the London conference, National Oil Corporation spokesman Mohamed El-Hariri said that providing a secure environment was key to boosting Libya's oil and gas production.

"Security is important. We know that if there's not a secure environment then you can't work in the right way and you can't develop oil and gas. This is the first issue and the first point. We need to work very hard to solve the security situation," he said.

Police Watched as Woman was Stoned to Death in Pakistan Honour Killing

Farzana Parveen, who was stoned to death in Pakistan's latest so-called 'honour killing'BBC

Police stood by and did nothing as a pregnant woman was stoned to death by her own family in Pakistan, it is claimed.

Officers watched as the attack happened outside a court house in Lahore, according to the woman's bereaved husband.

Farzana Parveen became the latest victim of so-called 'honour killing' in Pakistan, after relatives rejected her for marrying Muhammad Iqbal.

The case has caused an outcry among commentators in Pakistan, but has been greeted with indifference by the country's popular press.

The killing happened after Iqbal and his wife attended court to fight a claim of abduction lodged against him by her family.

Recalling the incident, Iqbal branded the lack of response by the authorities as "shameful."

Muhammad Iqbal, husband of honour killing victimBBC

He said: "it was very bad, what happened, very bad. Police were silently watching. We shouted for help, but nobody listened.

"One of my relatives took off his gloves to capture police attention, but they didn't intervene. They watched Farzana being killed and they didn't do anything.

"A naked man was crying for help in front of the high court, but nobody bothered. It's shameful. It's inhumane. We even called the police helpline, but they said it was a wrong number."

Parveen's father handed himself into police after the attack, but other attackers remain at large.

Local police chief Mujahid Hussain said: "We arrested a few of them and others are currently being investigated."

Iqbal claimed his in-laws were continuing to threaten him and to snatch Parveen's body.

Last year in Pakistan, an estimated 869 women died in so-called 'honour killings.'

Gold Prices Drop to 16-Week Low Amid Upbeat US Dollar and Firm Global Equities

Gold prices drop to fresh 16-week low as US dollar and global equities log gains.Reuters

Gold prices have dropped to a new 16-week low against the backdrop of a stronger US dollar, upbeat global equities and weak demand in leading consumer China.

Spot gold was trading $4.69, or 0.37%, lower to $1,253.45 per ounce at 12:21 GMT after dropping to $1,251.50 an ounce earlier in the day, its lowest since 4 February.

Prices have fallen some 3% over the past two sessions.

US gold futures for delivery in June were trading $6.60, or 0.52%, lower to $1,252.70 an ounce.

The greenback hovered at a two-month high against a basket of major currencies, while global shares traded near record highs on speculation that the European Central Bank (ECB) will roll out new stimulus measures when its Governing Council meets on 5 June.

A stronger US dollar makes it more expensive for holders of other currencies to trade in dollar-denominated commodities such as gold. Upbeat equities dent bullion's safe-haven investment appeal.

UniCredit Research said in a note to clients: "We expect the ECB to announce a package of policy measures next week. At a minimum, this is likely to include a 10-15bp cut in both the refi and the deposit rates, as well as the extension of the full allotment well into 2016.

"However, we suspect the ECB will go beyond this. [ECB President Mario] Draghi's words at the beginning of May have meaningfully raised market expectations for action, and the ECB will want to appear bold. The risk is that monetary conditions may quickly start tightening anew if ECB moves are perceived as too timid."

"Therefore, [on 5 May] we also expect targeted measures to improve the transmission mechanism of monetary policy. A long-term liquidity provision to banks conditional on lending activity appears likely, while any purchase programme would: 1. Involve only private assets and 2. Be of limited size if it is to be up and running from day one.

"Given that the ECB's new macroeconomic projections are unlikely to flag any material risk of outright deflation, full-blown QE is going to remain off the central bank's radar screen," UniCredit added.

Chinese Imports Drop

Commerzbank said in a note: "...The gold price slumped by approx. 2% [on 27 May] and fell overnight to a 3½-month low of $1,261 per troy ounce – its biggest percentage daily loss in nearly half a year. Selling pressure evidently stemmed from the futures market; we will obtain a clearer picture on [30 May] when the [US] CFTC's market positioning data are published, covering the week of trading up to and including [27 May]."

"The price slump was triggered by reports from Asia: the Census and Statistics Department of the Hong Kong government announced that China's net gold imports from the former British crown colony totaled 67 tons in April, the lowest figure in 14 months. Following record-high gold imports last year and cooling demand in the current year, many Chinese banks are now clearly sitting on considerable gold stocks which they are keen to reduce before they import any new gold from Hong Kong..."

Indian Court to Rule if Hindu Spiritual Leader Samadhi is Dead or Simply Meditating

A hoarding featuring an image of Indian spiritual leader Ashutosh Maharaj stands outside the Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan in Nurmahal on the outskirts of Jalandhar(Getty)

An Indian court has been asked to rule whether a Hindu spiritual leader is dead, or actually in a deep state of meditation.

His Holiness Shri Ashutosh Maharaj, founder of the Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan (DJJS) religious order, died in January, according to his family.

However, his followers insist the guru is still alive and are refusing to hand over his body for cremation.

They say their leader, known as Samadhi, who is reported to hold property worth an estimated £100 million ($181 million), is merely in a deep state of meditation. They are preserving his body in a freezer until he awakes, according to the Daily Telegraph.

One of his followers claimed Maharaj had previously spent many years meditating in sub-zero temperatures in the Himalayas.

Doctors declared the Hindu leader dead from a suspected heart attack on 28 January. Despite this, the religious group's website states that Samdhi "has been in deep meditative state since 29th January 2014".

Samadhi's family believe his followers are refusing to release the guru's body as a means to control his £100m fortune.

Punjab Police initially confirmed his death in January, but the Punjab High Court later threw out its status report. Local governmental officials have ruled the situation is a spiritual matter and said the guru's followers cannot be forced to believe he is dead.

The religious leader's wife and son have filed a court application calling for an investigation into the circumstances of his death and for his body to be released for cremation.

According to the website, DJJS was founded in 1983 and is a "socio-spiritual-cultural, not-for profit organisation".

The group say their mission is to "usher into a world wherein every individual becomes an embodiment of truth, fraternity, and justice through the eternal science of self-realization – 'Brahm Gyan', uprooting in its wake all social evils and threat."

India: Teenage Girls Gang-raped and Hanged from Tree

India: Teenage girls gang-raped and hanged from treeReuters

Two teenage girls were reportedly gang-raped and hanged from a tree in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

The girls, cousins aged 14 and 15, went missing a few days ago. According to their parents, the girls never returned after leaving their house to answer nature's call during the night.

Throughout the night they searched for them but in vain. In the morning the girls' bodies were found hanging from a mango tree in the village.

While the post-mortem results are awaited, preliminary findings indicated that sexual assault had taken place.

One of the suspects, identified as Pappu Yadav, has been arrested while four other alleged perpetrators of the atrocity are absconding. Two of the missing men have been identified by their first names as Brijesh and Awadhesh.

Police authorities who failed to register a complaint when the girls went missing have also been suspended from their duties.

The incident has sparked protests in Katra village of Badaun district where the alleged gang-rape took place. The victims belonged to the under-privileged Dalit community.

The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav, has vowed to punish the guilty.

Mamata Sharma, chairperson for the National Commission for Women said: "We have taken suo motu cognizance of the gang rape. An inquiry committee has been set up and will be sent there for further investigations into the case."

"We are waiting the Action Taken report and only after that we can see what needs to be done. Right now we have no information about any arrests made in the case."

Narendra Modi Mania: India Most Loved Equity Market in Asia

Narendra Modi Mania: India the most loved equity market in Asia.Reuters

India has, so far this year, received the lion's share of foreign investor interest in Asian equities outside Japan, according to a report.

Foreign institutional investors pumped $18.8bn (£11.2bn, €13.8bn) in Asian equities between 1 January and 26 May, of which $7.8bn found its way into the Indian markets, according to a HSBC report.

By comparison, investors poured $6.3bn into Taiwanese markets and $3.6bn into the Indonesian markets.

The Philippines and Korea received $1bn and $0.9bn respectively.

However, foreign investors sold Thai equities amid political turbulence in the Southeast Asian nation.

FII flows into emerging market economies in 2014 are likely to be much better than what they were in 2013. These economies have this year already received 78% of the inflows in 2013, HSBC added.

In India, overseas investors are betting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pro-business regime can revive growth, which is hovering near a decade-low of 4.5% clocked in the financial year 2012-13.

Standard Chartered said in a note to clients: "Near-term economic releases and policy events [in India] may not bring major surprises for the market, but they might underline the problems of the here-and-now rather than the promise of what may be a better future."

"[30 May] brings the final GDP report of FY14; y/y growth for the final quarter of the year, and for F Y14 as a whole, will likely come in at 4.7%.

"India's GDP growth trajectory has formed a long, flat trough, staying in a low and narrow range of 4.4-4.8% for seven consecutive quarters. The GDP report is unlikely to signal an early exit."

Standard Chartered said in a separate note: "USD-INR range-trading has been mirrored in the domestic debt market, with the benchmark 10Y IGB yield consolidating between 8.60% and 8.70%. With policy rates likely to remain unchanged, and given two-way risks around the new FY15 fiscal deficit target, we think duration gains will be limited near-term.

"However, we expect FII interest to be extended over time, and maintain a Positive outlook on IGBs. RBI intervention in the FX market may have increased the danger of corrective INR weakening, but we still think benchmark 10Y IGB yields can drop to 8.50% once positive domestic triggers emerge."

Ebola: International Medics Travel to Sierra Leone to Tackle Outbreak

A doctor displays collected samples of the Ebola virus at the Centre for Disease Control in Entebbe, southwest of Uganda's capital KampalaReuters

International medical teams are set to arrive in Sierra Leone after an outbreak of the deadly virus Ebola east of the country.

The medical experts - from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Doctors Without Borders charity - are on an emergency mission to West Africa after six suspected Ebola patients were removed from hospitals by their families in defiance of doctors' orders.

The teams are on their way to the remote town of Koindu in eastern Sierra Leone.

The families became "aggressive" with staff who had tried to stop the patients leaving the hospital for fear of contagion, according to Dr Amara Jambai, the director of disease prevention and control at Sierra Leone's health ministry.

It is reported that the families feared that the patients would die a lonely death from Ebola so removed them from hospital without understanding how contagious the virus was.

They have therefore put themselves and people in their surrounding communities in danger of infection.

Two people have died in Sierra Leone from the Ebola virus this year while neighbouring Guinea and Liberia have seen 174 and nine deaths respectively.

The most virulent strains of the virus have a fatality rate of 90%, while this outbreak has claimed over two-thirds of the infected patients.

The virus is spread by contact with symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting and external bleeding.

There is no vaccine or cure for the virus which means that the West African outbreak could last for months. The only prevention methods are isolating those with the virus and anyone who comes into contact with them.

Outbreaks are believed to originate from jungle hunters who ate the flesh of apes that died of Ebola. The disease chain continues after such animals have fed on fruit marked with bat faeces or saliva, according to the New York Times.

Japanese Oil Tanker Captain Masaichi Ando Missing after Explosion

1 of 2

Smoke rises from the fuel tanker Shoko Maru after it exploded off the coast of Himeji, western Japan,Reuters

The fuel tanker captain is missing and four crew members have sustained severe injuries following the explosion aboard the vessel off HimejiReuters

The captain of a Japanese oil tanker is missing after the vessel exploded off the country's southwest coast.

Masaichi Ando, 64, was still unaccounted for hours after the Shoko Maru, a 998-ton tanker, burst into flames near the port city of Himeji, where it had unloaded its cargo of crude oil, the coast guard said.

The other seven members of the crew - all Japanese nationals - were rescued. Four reportedly suffered severe burns and were rushed to a hospital.

A search was underway for the missing captain while coast guard vessels were at work to douse the raging flames.

Akihiro Komura, an official from Shoho Shipping, a Hiroshima-based shipping firm that owns the Shoko Maru, said the vessel was "virtually empty" when the fire started.

"The ship unloaded crude oil at a port in Hyogo Prefecture," Komura told AFP.

The cause of the explosion was unclear but Komura suggested the fire might have been sparked by works to remove paint on the ship's deck.

"I heard that a crew member was using a grinder to remove paint and that seems to have triggered the blast, which we believe could have occurred when the remnants of the oil caught fire," he said.

Argentina to Repay $9.7bn Paris Club Overdue Loans Over Five Years

Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez de KirchnerReuters

Argentina agreed with the Paris Club group of creditor nations to repay its overdue loans taken during the country's 2001-02 default crisis, in a move to boost its credit rating to attract further international finance to the troubled economy.

As per the agreement reached in a meeting of the parties, the Latin American country is required to repay arrears of $9.7bn as of 30 April over the next five years. It has to pay a minimum of $1.15bn by May 2015 with the next payment due in May 2016.

"Realization of initial payment under a formal commitment of Argentina to fully clear its arrears is a necessary and important step for the normalization of financial relationships between Paris Club creditors and Argentina," Paris Club said in a statement.

"During the meeting, the delegation of the Argentine Republic provided a description of the economic and financial situation of its country and presented the measures implemented by the Argentine Government aimed at enhancing inclusive growth and strengthening resilience to external shocks."

The delegation from Argentina was headed by Axel Kicillof, Minister of Economy and Public Finance.

Paris Club said it is happy with Argentina's progress towards the normalisation of its relations with creditors, the international financial community and institutions.

The Paris Club was formed in 1956 as an informal group of creditor governments from major industrialised countries including France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the US.

The government under President Cristina Kirchner has been undertaking reforms to move out of the crisis. The country undertook its first debt restructuring after the crisis in 2005 and repaid most of its debt with the International Monetary Fund. A second debt restructuring took place in 2010.

There were reports that foreign financial institutions approached Argentina for providing loans at favourable rates. The country was finding it difficult to attract international loans at market rates after its economic collapse and currency devaluation.

Hot Shots Photos of the Day: Rocket Blast-Off, Boris Turban, Motorised Suitcase

He Liang rides his home-made suitcase vehicle along a street in Changsha, Hunan province, China. He spent 10 years modifying the suitcase into a motor-driven vehicle. The suitcase has a top speed of up to 20km/h and the power capacity to travel up to 50-60km on one charge, according to local mediaReuters

Underclassmen listen as US President Barack Obama [Out of picture] speaks at a commencement ceremony at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New YorkReuters

Cadets throw their hats in the air at the conclusion of their graduation ceremony at the US Military Academy in West Point, New YorkGetty

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson wears a traditional headdress during a visit to the Shree Swaminarayan Mandir, a major new Hindu temple being built in Kingsbury, LondonGetty

An indigenous Brazilian man heads a football during a protest against the policies of President Dilma Rousseff's government and the costs of the 2014 World Cup in front of the Brazilian congress in BrasiliaReuters

An Orthodox priest baptises a baby at a church inside the Doctor Voino-Yasenetsky Saint Luka train, which serves as a free medical centre, at a railway station in Divnogorsk, outside Russia's Siberian city of KrasnoyarskReuters

Russian border guard service veterans cheer in a fountain while celebrating Border Guards' Day at Gorky Park in MoscowAFP

A couple sit in front of a fountain at Lincoln Centre on a chilly evening in Manhattan, New YorkReuters

Reid Wiseman of the US, a member of the International Space Station crew, waves to his daughters from a bus before departure for a final pre-launch preparation at the Baikonur cosmodrome

Russia's Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft carrying the International Space Station crew of German astronaut Alexander Gerst, Russian cosmonaut Maxim Suraev and US astronaut Gregory Wiseman blasts off from the launch pad at the Baikonur cosmodrome in KazakhstanAFP

Visitors walk along an elevated walkway connecting giant concrete tree-like structures called Supertrees at Gardens by the Bay in SingaporeReuters

A circle shows the location of where Samuel Frappier was found on the east face of Longs Peak in the Rocky Mountain National Park. Frappier, 19, was rescued after becoming stranded on Broadway Ledge, at roughly 13,000 feet in elevation, while descending from the summit of Long PeaksReuters

People take part in a candle light rally in Kathmandu, organised by the Nepal Mountain Association to pay tribute to those killed in a deadly avalanche on Mount Everest. The April 18 avalanche killed 16 Nepali guides, who were fixing ropes and ferrying supplies for their foreign clients to scale the 8,850-metre (29,035-foot) peakReuters

A man photographs people protesting against the eviction of squatters from the Can Vies building in the Sants area of BarcelonaReuters

A protester against military rule throws a rubbish bin at soldiers during a scuffle at the Victory Monument in BangkokReuters

Soldiers protect themselves with shields as objects are thrown at them during a confrontation with anti-coup protesters at the Victory Monument in BangkokReuters

A girl examines the site of a car bomb attack in the Sadr City district of Baghdad. Violence rocked Iraq when at least 54 people died in car bombings, suicide attacks and assassinations around the countryReuters

Iranian Hackers Use Fake Facebook Profiles to Spy on High Profile UK and US Targets

Iranian hackers have carried out a sophisticated three-year cyber-espionage campaign using fake Facebook accounts to target high-profile victims in US, UK, Israel and Syria.Reuters

A US security company has uncovered a sophisticated three-year cyber espionage campaign carried out by Iranian hackers using social engineering techniques to monitor military and political leaders in the US, UK, Israel, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

The cyber-espionage campaign saw a group of cyber-spies based in Iran create 14 fake Facebook accounts and use those to infiltrate high-profile targets around the world.

The security company, iSight Partners, said the hackers' targets include a four-star US Navy admiral, US lawmakers and ambassadors, members of the US-Israeli lobby, and personnel from Britain, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

The campaign is being called the most sophisticated cyber-espionage campaign ever mounted and while no concrete link to the Tehran government has been established, the complexity and length of the campaign would suggest it was carried out with the support of a nation state.

Six of the fake Facebook profiles claimed to work for a news organisation called NewsOnAir.org, which itself was a fake website using content from Associated Press, BBC, Reuters and other media outlet.

At the time of publication, the website is still online.

The other 8 fake profiles claimed to work for defence contractors and other organisations, iSight said.

As well as creating fake Facebook profiles, the hackers created similar profiles on LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+. While Twitter and LinkedIn have not commented, LinkedIn said none of the 14 accounts associated with the iSight investigation were currently active.

Making friends

Using the fake profiles the hacker first befriended acquaintances of their targets, such as college friends and co-workers, in a bid to establish trust.

Once they felt they had built up enough of a profile, the hackers would then befriend their target and send links to the NewsOnAir.org website in order to build up a sense of trust.

Finally the hackers would send links which would infect PC with malware if clicked on, or direct their targets to websites which required them to enter network credentials, which the hackers could capture.

In total the hackers' fake profiles befriended over 2,000 people on Facebook with iSight estimating that the campaign targeted several hundred high-profile people.

Facebook said it had not removed the fake profiles after it discovered the hacking group while investigating suspicious friend requests and other activity on its website.

The details of the campaign ahve been published just 24 hours after Facebook's CEO was ordered to appear before a court in southern Iran to answer complaints over users privacy.

It was also reported this week that eight Facebook users have been sentenced to a total of 123 years in jail for various charges including insulting the country's supreme leader on the social network.

Bill Gates Whittles Down G4S Investment Amid Israel Prisons Criticism

Bill Gates is a billionaire computer software magnate who runs a charitable foundation with his wife MelindaReuters

Bill Gates has sold off some of his shares in controversial British security giant G4S after the billionaire computer software magnate was criticised for his investment.

The G4S shares were bought in June 2013 through the philanthropic organisation he runs with his wife, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The investment was in more than 3% of company. But a filing at the London Stock Exchange on 28 May, 2014, shows that this has now been brought down to below 3%.

Gates is under fire from campaigners over G4S's work in the Israeli prison system.

It provides security systems to some of Israel's prisons under a contract signed with the Middle East state's government in 2007.

Campaign group War on Want argues that G4S is complicit in Israel's taking of political prisoners.

They claim that the transfer of prisoners from occupied Palestinian territories to prisons elsewhere in Israel is in breach of Article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

And Israel is accused of holding children in its prisons as well as torturing incarcerated Palestinians, both of which would also breach international law.

For these reasons Gates was attacked for his charitable foundation's investments in G4S.

But G4S boss Ashley Almanza denied his firm is in breach of international law at an annual shareholder meeting.

"We believe this contract has not breached international law and we will continue to keep these matters under review," he said.

"If we were making five times as much money in Israel, our judgment wouldn't be any different."

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370: Australia Rules Out Indian Ocean 'Ping Zone' as Plane's Final Resting Place

Crew aboard the Australian Defence Vessel Ocean Shield move the U.S. Navy's Bluefin-21 into position for deployment for another search attempt in the southern Indian OceanReuters

Australian authorities have formally ruled out the Indian Ocean search zone, where acoustic pings were picked up, as the final resting place of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

The mystery over the jetliner's disappearance remains unsolved as the "ping zone" was thought to be the most likely region where the elusive flight could have ended up.

"The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has advised that the search in the vicinity of the acoustic detections can now be considered complete and in its professional judgement, the area can now be discounted as the final resting place of MH370," said a statement from the Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC), the Australian-led agency which is leading the search operations.

The unmanned underwater vehicle Bluefin-21 has been combing the area and it has not found anything credible related to the missing plane, said the agency.

The latest finding will throw more challenges at the authorities and they will now be forced to review the satellite data reviving the hunt. The Beijing-bound flight originating from Kuala Lumpur was carrying 239 people when it vanished on 8 March.

Following weeks of multi-national search efforts, four acoustic pings were detected from the Indian Ocean and they were earlier believed to have emanated from the MH370's black box.

"Bluefin-21 completed its last mission searching the remaining areas in the vicinity of the acoustic signals detected in early April by the towed pinger locator," the JACC said.

"The data collected on yesterday's mission has been analysed. As a result, the JACC can advise that no signs of aircraft debris have been found by the autonomous underwater vehicle since it joined the search effort."

The latest statement has come a day after the US navy's civilian deputy director of ocean engineering, Michael Dean, said he believed the detected "pings" were not that of the MH370.

China-US Row Over Cyber Spying Boosts Mainland Tech Stocks

The five Chinese military personnel charged with cyber-espionage and stealing sensitive trade secrets from US companies.FBI

The row over cyber spying between the US and China has helped the latter's technology sector, which had been an unprofitable area for investors.

Chinese technology shares have become the stock market's biggest winners, with their benchmark index rallying 5.5% since 19 May, when the US indicted five military officials from China for spying on American companies, according to Bloomberg.

Denying the allegations, China accused the US government of being "deceitful" and employing double standards.

In retaliation, China ordered state-owned companies to cut ties with US consultants and warned it will scrutinise US technology companies operating in the country.

The country excluded Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system from a state purchasing order and pushed local banks to shun servers made by US-based IBM and replace them with a local brand.

As a result, there was speculation that the dispute would give a competitive edge to China's technology companies over their US rivals, and the CSI 300 Information Technology Index became the best performer among 10 industry groups in China.

Technology giant Lenovo Group gained 9.9% in a seven-day rally through 28 May, its longest duration of gains since 2003.

"The government is encouraging the usage of hardware and software products made by domestic producers, which provides a long-term boost to the industry," Bloomberg quoted as saying Wang Weijun, a strategist at Zheshang Securities Co in Shanghai.

"National information security is a big thematic play for investors."