STMicroelectronics NV plans to merge its wireless semiconductor business with rival NXP to create the world’s third largest wireless chip company.…

Analysis Fairly soon now, most observers are agreed, the UK Ministry of Defence will have to announce budgetary plans for the coming years. Typically, this is a matter of dull routine. But this year business as usual won't do. The MoD budget rowboat is so overloaded, so near to capsizing, that something big has to be thrown overboard.…

A 43-year-old man from San Rafael, Califonia, was charged on Tuesday with "driving while intoxicated and causing injuries, reckless driving, and hit-and-run with injuries" after ramming three other vehicles and slightly injuring two people, while under the influence of a veritable pharmacy of narcotics, the Marin Independent Journal reports.…

The BBC's launch of a version of its iPlayer for the Wii left one question on gamers’ lips: why isn’t the streaming service also available for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3? This week, the broadcaster claimed it’s because Microsoft and Sony were too demanding.…

Three French websites have been found guilty of invading an actor's privacy for publishing links to articles containing the offending material. The Paris Tribunal has fined the operators of all three sites.…

Ground-crawling US war robots armed with machine guns, deployed to fight in Iraq last year, reportedly turned on their fleshy masters almost at once. The rebellious machine warriors have been retired from combat pending upgrades.…

Updated An independent review of the science underpinning DNA forensics done on tiny samples has today declared the controversial technique sound for use in investigations.…

Interview Why should songwriters starve so that the Web 2.0 kids and tech VCs get rich? Billy Bragg asked the question recently, and the downloaders and VCs quickly shot back - it's because you should be grateful that we're here!…

Need a Jesus Laptop to go with your Jesus Phone? Next month you'll be able to get one: a new Eee PC rival dubbed the Jisus [sic]. Dutch supplier Van Der Led is spreading the word.…

Poole Borough Council has admitted using the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA), designed to regulate snooping by police and other bodies, to check the usual address of a three-year-old child applying for a primary school place.…