The remake of traffic systems, rebuilding cities on smarter grid systems, synchronizing parking, possibly reinventing entire markets to reward drivers for sustainable activity, and actually re-imagining vehicles themselves will lead us not only to better cars, but possibly better cities and an easier way of living.

FORBES: Reinventing The Automobile

Ms Crowther said drivers were being briefed to report "suspicious activity" on the network amid evidence that thieves were pretending to be engineering staff in order to gain access to the railway.

BBC: Rail cable theft: Up to eight cases a day, MPs are told

Manufacturing activity in China, the region's biggest economy and one of the key drivers of global growth in recent years, expanded for the third straight month in December.

BBC: Asian shares rise as US House passes fiscal-cliff deal