News Bytes

New York Times archives online free of charge
The sinking of the "Titanic," the life and death of "Billy the Kid," the "Battle of Little Big Horn," - the New York Times covered all of these. Now the newspaper, that is one of the most highly respected in the newspaper industry, has made a great part of its archives available online free of charge. The New York Times has decided to make the contents that so far had been available only to paying subscribers and premium users available to the public without charge. Two years ago the paper had introduced the TimesSelect program - for $50 a year readers could access the articles of the 23 columnists and the archive online. From now on, all articles published between 1851 and 1923, as well as articles published after 1987, will be available online for free. Readers will only have to pay for articles from the years between 1923 and 1986. The publishing company's management seems convinced that free access will increase their number of online readers and advertising revenue. "Our projections for growth on that paid subscriber base were low, compared to the growth of online advertising," ssaid Vivian L. Schiller, general manager of www.nytimes.com. (Source: Spiegel Online)

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Rising sea level threatens USA
The southern tip of Manhattan has been flooded, Florida's beaches have disappeared into the ocean and giant flood barriers have been set up to try and keep the worst away - according to scientists, this is what the United States' problems will look like in 100 years. Until then, sea levels are expected to rise approximately one meter (3.3 feet). "We're going to get a meter and there's nothing we can do about it," says University of Victoria climatologist Andrew Weaver one of the leading authors of the recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The predicted consequences are based on coastal maps by the University of Arizona and data of the US Geological Survey, a science agency of the US Department of the Interior. According to them, stock exchange on New York's Wall Street will be conducted under water and the city's subways will be constantly flooded. (Source: AP)

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Journalist Dan Rather sues CBS for $70 million
Dan Rather, a star journalist of American television, has sued his former employer CBS $70 million (€50 million) compensation. In 2004 Rather had to admit that he had fallen for false information. He had accused President Bush of having received special treatment during his time with the National Guard. The documents Rather provided as evidence, however, were fake. Rather retracted the story after this was revealed. In 2005, however, he was fired by CBS - after his air time had been methodically cut before. Rather sees this as a breach of contract and demands compensation. (Source: Der Spiegel)

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Michael Jackson plans comeback
Michael Jackson (49) wants to try once more. The King of Pop (750 million sold albums) is planning a comeback. According to pop experts, he is already industriously working on a new album and a new tour. Lawsuits and big court trials due to alleged child abuse - Jacko's career seemed to be over several years ago. His last album "Invincible" came out in 2001. Ever since then there have been no concerts, no record company willing to spend in the millions. Now, the King of Pop wants to be back on stage. US pop experts report that he's been working on his comeback with great diligence. They say Jacko was writing new songs like crazy and even planning a tour with his sister Janet (41), who is also working on a new album. One insider reports that according to what he heard, the album will give Michael's career a new direction. The songs are supposed to be directed at a younger audience, and according to the insider, it is going to be a great album like "Thriller." With that album, Jackson broke all pop records back in 1982. 57 million copies were sold, 27x multi-platinum in the US, 6x platinum in Germany, and several other awards. (Source: Berliner Kurier)