The invisible beauty of flowers - in pictures

Artist Susumu Nishinaga has used a scanning electron microscope to delve deep into the fabric of petal, leaves and pollen

Tax avoidance: how to change corporate behaviour

It is up to consumers and voters to change the lousy behaviour of big banks, energy giants and internet multinationals. They will not change by themselvesLast week, I was waiting in the queue at the butcher while an elderly lady was being served. Clearly, she was not that well-off and chose the cheapest cuts of meat. When she was done, the butcher asked the assistant serving her how much the

Toyota Auris Hybrid: car review

Motoring can be a dirty business, but Toyota's new Auris Hybrid is doing all it can to keep it cleanPrice from £21,745MPG up to 74.3Top speed up to 112mphIt's almost a year since the mother of all traffic jams entered the record books – Beijing's 60-mile, 12-day monster. It spawned its own micro economy with food sellers and laundry workers plying the lines of trapped drivers, while the

Driverless cars, pilotless planes … will there be jobs left for a human being?

Throughout history, economic upheaval has destroyed whole industries – and created new ones. But now, some fear automation may mean the death of mass employmentSuddenly a robotised, automated economic reality is moving off the science fiction pages and into daily life. The growing use of unmanned battlefield drones is encouraging the growth of pilotless commercial aircraft – the first ever fl

PayPal was no friend in need

We thought we were protected by paying through PayPal – but it won't return money taken by bogus MMA car insurance brokersMy son took out a £1,300 car insurance policy – or so he thought – with the insurer MMA. I encouraged him to play safe and use my PayPal account for the transaction. After a couple of months, he discovered that the car was not insured. MMA claimed he had been a victim of f

One tax law for us and another for Amazon | Nick Cohen

Britain's reluctance to pursue multinationals risks turning us into another ItalyOn the edge of Rugeley stands Amazon's largest distribution centre in Britain. Life for the workers who trudge around the 800,000 sq ft warehouse is not as bad as it was for the men who once worked in the pits of the Staffordshire coalfield, but that is not saying much. They must carry satnavs, which direct their

Amazon's tax arrangements are nothing short of a work of art. Bravo!

Amazon has come in for plenty of stick for paying so little tax in the UK. But its actions display such impish wit that it's hard not to revel in the majesty of a terrible thing well doneThere's something fishy about Google's motto, "Don't be evil." I'm not saying it's controversial but it makes you think, "Why bring that up? Why have you suddenly put the subject of being evil on the agenda?"

Metro: Last Light – review

A post-apocalyptic Moscow metro system is a great setting for some serious gunplayThe original Metro 2033 was a sleeper hit, earning praise for its sharp blend of tense, post-apocalyptic terror and superb action long after its release. No surprise though, as the Metro games are far deeper than even hardened players might expect from a first-person shooter.Based on the novels of Russian aut

Persona 4 Arena – review

This Japanese 2D fighting game sequel is very different from its predecessor but just as impressive_Persona 4 Arena's_ brand of 2D fighting is, at first glance, a far cry from its brilliant RPG forebear. Once players spend time with this intricately balanced and beautifully animated beat-'em-up though, they will discover it is every bit as deep and involving as its predecessor._Arena_ sees

Web-connected libraries for Africa: the dream of digital knowledge for all

New venture Librii is seeking to set up self-sustaining libraries with internet access in poor and isolated communitiesA decade ago, Brewster Kahle, philanthropist and founder of the Internet Archive, created the first digital bookmobile: a complete printing press in the back of a car. With a power source, satellite internet connection, printer and binder, the vehicle and its descendants subs

Fast and Furious 6 – review

Reading on mobile? See the trailer hereIn the sixth film in this profitable sex, speed and demolition franchise, Dwayne Johnson (formerly known as "the Rock") as an Interpol officer uses moral blackmail and promises of amnesties to lure a crowd of freewheeling, fast-driving international criminals from their romantic lairs in sunny climes to defeat a renegade SAS man who has accumulated top-s

Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move – review

The fifth instalment of the series brings path-building puzzles galore, if you can stand the fiddly bitsNintendo has created something of a stealth franchise with the _Mario vs Donkey Kong_ series – this is, almost unbelievably, the fifth entry. _Minis on the Move_ shifts attention away from puzzle-platforming to the path-building brainteaser.Essentially an inverted tower-defence game, cle

Fury at corporate tax avoidance leads to call for a global response

Anger over the financial affairs of multinationals such as Google, Amazon and Starbucks is gathering momentum in Westminster. Now the UK is poised to lead the debate about international tax reform at next month's G8 summitHuge orange and green cranes hover over a vast building site at King's Cross, London. Over the next three years, 2.4 acres of this site will be transformed into a million sq

Schmidt defends Google in 'immoral' tax row

Google executive chairman says company accounts comply with international lawGoogle executive chairman Eric Schmidt has defended his company's financial affairs after a Commons committee branded the internet giant devious and unethical for sheltering its multibillion-pound profits from UK taxes.Writing in the Observer, Schmidt said his company's accounts were complicated but complied with

Will computing speed make a quantum leap?

Quantum mechanics research could hold the key to a new generation of super-fast computersOur imagination is stretched to the utmost," wrote Richard Feynman, the greatest physicist of his day, "not, as in fiction, to imagine things which are not really there, but just to comprehend those things that _are_ there." Which is another way of saying that physics is weird. And particle physics – or q

At Google we aspire to do the right thing. So we welcome a debate on international tax reform | Eric Schmidt

The chairman of Google responds to criticism that companies such as his are not paying their fair share of taxesAt a time when families are having to tighten their belts and funding for vital public services is under pressure, corporate taxation is rightly a hot topic. And as a company that has always aspired to do the right thing, we understand why Google is at the centre of that debate. In

Moshi Monsters founder: the shift to mobile caught us by surprise

With a dip in desktop users, Moshi is racing to keep kids entertained on tablets and mobiles. By Jemima KissLondon-based Mind Candy was stalling five years ago, but took a punt on an idea for a social networking game site for children.By 2013, the children's game network had become ubiquitous at every supermarket checkout and at every toy store - a runaway brand extension success.Founde

The Atterley Road founder offers her tips for your summer wardrobe

Katie Starmer-Smith, founder of Atterley Road, tells us what you should be buying online this summer"Every woman needs an item jacket," Katie Starmer-Smith says: a posh-looking bouclé jacket that looks great with jeans or a dress. "It does that desk to dinner thing."At 34, and a working mother of one, Starmer-Smith is the embodiment of the Atterley Road customer. Albeit one with bouncier h

The founder of my-wardrobe.com offers her tips for your summer wardrobe

Sarah Curren, founder of my-wardobe.com, picks her favourite pieces for summerLaunched in 2006, my-wardobe.com has always been about offering a choice of aspirational, but not intimidating, clothes. "Everyday luxury" is the brand's mantra. According to Curran, a "blended wardrobe" is how we dress now. "It's not about a split between working and weekend," she says. "It's either dressed up or d

The womenswear buyer of Asos offers her tips for your summer wardrobe

Emma Fox, womenswear buying director of Asos, selects her must-have buys for summerTake a good look at the jeans Emma Fox is wearing. What you see before you is the shape of things to come: the boyfriend jean. "The skinny jean is still the best performer, but our Asos boyfriend style, the Brady, is doing really well. Especially the ripped version," says Fox.Much as she loves fashion, it is

The founders of Plümo offer their tips for your summer wardrobe

Esther and Verena Roth, founders of Plümo, tell us what's making stylish online shoppers click this summerFor the Roth sisters, an open-minded approach to is key. Esther is the business brain behind Plümo, the brand she set up 15 years ago and where she was joined seven years later by her younger sister, Verena, who focuses on the creative side. Both have what Esther calls "a magpie eye – we

The Outnet's MD offers her tips for your summer wardrobe

Stephanie Phair, MD of The Outnet, the discounted little sister of Net-A-Porter, tells us what savvy online shoppers should add to their basket this summerYou might expect the party line from The Outnet, the discounted previous-season little sister of Net‑A-Porter, to be that women want classic, timeless pieces. Quite the contrary: what Stephanie Phair has learned from the site's success is t

On the road: Mazda6 2.2D Saloon Sport Nav Auto

'It's hard to find fault with (though equally hard to fall in love with)'We're off to see my mum. "Navigate to Dorchester-on-Thames," I command, to test out the state-of-the-art, voice-activated satnav. "Navigate to the nearest mountain pass – is that correct?" the car says. What? No! Dorchester-on-Thames. I try again. "Navigate to the nearest government office?" Maybe Mum's village is too sm

The pros and cons of 'sharenting'

Are sharents – parents who blog, tweet and post pictures about all aspects of their children's lives – doing their children harm by crossing the boundaries between public and private life?They have been dubbed "sharents" – the mums and dads who blog, tweet and post pictures from their children's lives – often simultaneously. If you're not one yourself, you've probably come across one, perhaps

Twitter fiction: Sabine Durrant

The writer and journalist takes up our Twitter-based challenge to come up with a story in 140 characters or fewerShe told him she was sick of it. He never listened. If he'd looked up from the TV, he'd have seen the gun. He sighed. "Shoot," he said.• Sabine Durrant's Under Your Skin is published by Hodder.*Original writing*Fiction*Twitter*Internet*BloggingSabine Durrantguardi

£140 buys private firms data on NHS patients

Bupa approved to access sensitive medical records as campaigners question patient consent for releasePrivate health firms, including Bupa, can pay £140 to identify potentially millions of patients and then access their health records, detailing intimate medical histories, under a new national arrangement in the NHS, the Guardian can reveal.The records, which include sensitive information a

Tim Cook's pitch for a corporate tax holiday suits Washington just fine | Heidi Moore

Politicians will be happy to hear the Apple CEO talk about a corporate tax holiday, so long as some money goes to government, tooOne of the strangely charming aspects of the CEO class in America (and one they share with most of Congress) is their ability to tune out the actually pressing issues of the day – the weakening American labor force, the troublesome cycle of consumer debt, the flaggi

Letters: Tax avoidance distorts the market

The elaborate and artificial structures used by Starbucks and other multinational groups do not only save them tax (You do evil, MPs tell Google, 17 May) – they also give them a built-in competitive advantage, because the same dodges are not available to domestic competitors in the markets in which they make their money (such as the UK). So why not hit them using not tax law but the Competition

Don't be fooled by Google's Prius-driving babyfacery | Marina Hyde

Young tech firms would have us believe they represent a new model of business. Too often, their tax affairs tell a different storyWhenever I think of those iconoclasts at Google, changing the very essence of business one totally awesome logo doodle at a time, I remember a New York Times article about a Waldorf schoolthat featured a girl called Andie. Based on the teachings of Rudolf Steiner,

Is Google Glass an affront to privacy? Rest easy: Congress has got your back | Tom McCarthy

The bipartisan privacy caucus has asked the tech giant for answers about its potentially invasive innovationWhat's the most dystopic future you can imagine resulting from Google Glass? That facial recognition technology will allow a Glass-wearer to walk past you and instantly know who you are and what you do? That Glass-holes might walk into a train station and instantaneously see Google push