What the other papers say this morning – 13 September 2013
FINANCIAL TIMES
Cameron crackdown on music piracy
David Cameron has appointed a former music industry executive as his adviser on intellectual property, setting the stage for a government crackdown on copyright infringement.
Mike Weatherley, MP for Hove and Portslade and former finance director for Pete Waterman’s entertainment businesses, will take on the newly created role to work with the industry on stamping out piracy.
Renault and Bollore in electric car deal
Renault, the French carmaker, and billionaire entrepreneur Vincent Bollore are to join forces for the production of electric vehicles for use in urban car-sharing programmes and the development of a new three-seater electric car. The deal brings together two actors that have sunk billions of euros into developing electric vehicles which have yet to gain a mass market as manufacturers struggle to contain costs.
Clegg challenged by Lib Dem left
Nick Clegg is facing a challenge from the Liberal Democrat left as it tries to wrest control of several policy areas before the annual party conference starts in Glasgow on Saturday. Both Tim Farron, the party president, and Vince Cable, the business secretary, have challenged key areas of coalition policy in what Mr Clegg’s allies see as an attempt to ingratiate themselves with the party’s grassroots.
THE TIMES
Family staff push MPs’ expenses up
The bill for MPs’ expenses is higher than it was before the 2009 scandal and includes an increased number putting relatives on the taxpayer-funded payroll. More generous staffing budgets pushed costs to £98m last year.
Apple defends fingerprint system
Apple has sought to allay privacy fears about the new fingerprint sensor on its latest smartphone. Apple has now responded to the criticism, saying that the scanner, which is built into the “home” button, did not gather images of fingerprints. Instead, it stores “fingerprint data” to form a digital signature.
The Daily Telegraph
Voyager leaves solar system
Nasa’s Voyager-1 spacecraft has become the first man-made object to leave the solar system, scientists confirm. Measurements recorded by the probe suggest that it has left the sun’s sphere of influence and entered interstellar space, the vast cold and dark region between stars.
Tablets forecast to overtake PCs
Sales of tablet computers are due to overtake personal computers for the first time at the end of this year, as consumers increasingly favour products such as Apple’s iPad to desktops and laptops. IDC, the technology researcher, is forecasting a Christmas rush.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Google founders lose Pentagon perk
Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin may have to dig deeper to operate their fleet of private jets, after the US Department of Defense ended a little-known arrangement that for years allowed the tech billionaires to travel on sharply discounted jet fuel bought from the Pentagon.
US budget deficit set to shrink
The US government is on track to lock in its lowest budget deficit since 2008, new Treasury Department data said, as the gap between spending and revenue continues to contract. The federal budget collected $185bn in revenue last month, an August record.