Though the temperature at which this effect occurs is too low for it to have any obvious practical consequences for the operation of computer chips, it is hot stuff for the theorists.

ECONOMIST: Superconductors

The maritime alternative is to sail around the Arabian Peninsula, braving the pirate-infested waters off the coast of Yemen then up through the Suez Canal past the Egyptian hot spot of Sinai where a military operation remains under way.

CNN: Pirates, wars: Hurdles for flight phobia boy

Last month Mattel replaced the American expatriate who headed its Japan operation with Sam Sugiyama, a native who is a marketing hot shot from Unilever.

ECONOMIST: Japanese toys