Animal rights group condemns 'rampant' eBay ivory trade

The elephant, the world's largest land mammal, is being threatened with global extinction by a 'rampant trade' in ivory on the eBay online auction site, animal welfare campaigners said on Tuesday. The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) said it had conducted a survey in the UK, Australia, China, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Canada and the US and tracked more than 2,200 elephant ivory items listed on eBay websites. It found more than 90 per cent of the listings breached even eBay's own wildlife policies. ...more

Cisco teleports into virtual meetings

Network comms giant Cisco Systems has unveiled a high-definition, video conferencing system that it says can grow into a billion dollar business in five to seven years. Dubbed TelePresence, it is the latest move by Cisco to expand from its traditional business of network routers and switches into video - a strategy it launched with the February acquisition of cable set-top box maker Scientific Atlanta. A few analysts who were given a demonstration said TelePresence will likely compete with HP's Halo Collaboration Studio and other high-end video conferencing products by specialist technology firms like Teliris and Polycom. ...more

Amazon shows efficiency, but not a profit

Reporting lower than expected losses, Amazon has again forecast a move into profitability, citing a 22 per cent increase in sales as evidence. The online store, which now sells books, CDs, videos, software, gifts and games in the UK, published encouraging first quarter results. Losses decreased from $308m to $234m from this time last year and Amazon is hoping to make a profit for the first time in the fourth quarter. ...more

Amazonians fight for the right to their site

It just goes to show that it isn't just the likes of Madonna and the BBC that have to contend with cybersquatters - now an Amazonian tribe wants its domain name back! The Yanomami Indians is threatening to take a cybersquatter to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) after it claimed a speculator offered the domain name yanomami.com to them for ?17,000. But the domain name could be worth a lot more because a Hollywood studio is making a film about the 26,000-strong tribe - who are one of the world's last Stone Age people and live between on the border between Brazil and Venezuela. ...more

iPhone on target for June delivery

Apple's wireless partner, AT&T, has confirmed that the iPhone is on schedule to ship in June, as projected. AT&T's wireless unit has an exclusive US deal to sell the highly anticipated new handset. 'Our expectations are good. ...more