A demonstration in Hong Kong calling for not extraditing Snowden attracted hundreds despite heavy rain.

Researchers have found particular kinds of nerve damage in veterans who report Gulf War illness.

This does not tell us anything about what caused the illness, or by what mechanism. All human thoughts, knowledge, and tendencies have a biological basis in the brain, so it is not inconceivable that this damage results from certain thoughts or experiences. However, brain damage usually results from trauma or exposure to certain chemicals.

Either way, we now see that the veterans have a real illness; the Pentagon should stop accusing them of malingering or imagining things.

Spanish scientists marched to protest spending cuts on research.

Spain should spend more on research, on medical treatment, on helping people stay in their homes, on food for the poor, and lots of other things. Deficit spending is the way to get people back to work, and science is a fine way to spend part of that.

Environmentalists say the proposed Nicaragua Canal would endanger nature reserves and damage water supplies.

Bad population news: Africa's birth rate is higher than was expected.

This could lead to a human population of 11 billion, instead of the expected 10 billion.

It's not just Africans' fault, it's our fault too. The US and Europe ought to give poor women (in Africa, and at home) effective birth control, which poor women can't afford.