Robot Fish Will Help Battle Pollution

With unemployment at record lows, Berlin needs workers

(NEWSER) - Greece may be threatening to destroy the euro and the European Union, but mighty Germany still could really use a hand from the beleaguered country, reports the AP . With just a 6.6% unemployment rate—Germany's lowest in 20 years—and an aging population, Germany needs at least 12,000 additional doctors, 80,000 engineers, 66,000 IT specialists. To bridge that chasm, Berlin must turn to high-unemployment neighbors, such as Greece, Spain, and Portugal. More»

New concerns (and rumors) center on Portugal, Spain

(NEWSER) - Authorities across Europe rejected a report that a Portuguese bailout would cut the risk of Spain needing similar action, the Wall Street Journal reports. A German paper had cited German finance ministers in the matter, but the ministry, Portugal, Spain, and the European Commission all said Portugal wasn’t being pushed to ask for such assistance. Still, worries centered on Spain and Portugal prompted European markets to plunge. More»

Prankster hijacks Spain's EU site

(NEWSER) - A hacker yesterday redirected visitors to Spain's EU presidency website to a page replacing Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's image with that of Mr. Bean. The goofy, benign comedy character appeared with the words: "Hi there." Zapatero's resemblance to Rowan Atkinson's bumbling character is a long-running joke in Spain, the BBC reports. A leading newspaper recently portrayed Zapatero as Mr. Bean in an editorial critical of the prime minister's handling of the economy. More»

(NEWSER) - The unemployment rate in the US is set to eclipse that of Western Europe for the first time on record, the New York Times reports. When April numbers for the first 15 EU members come in, the US’ 8.9% will probably be higher than Europe’s, 8.5% in March. Some economists argued that the relative lack of government involvement in the US economy made it more responsive and kept unemployment down. More»

(NEWSER) - Honda today demonstrated new technology it hopes will make the Jetsons look old-fashioned. The company unveiled a special helmet that allows its wearer to control a robot by thought alone, the Guardian reports. The helmet scans brain activity and relays it to a computer, which then instructs the robot what to do. The device remains in the primitive stages and is years away from any practical use. More»