Britain launched a new spy recruitment drive on Thursday aimed at "Xbox generation" youngsters without a university education but with social media and computer game skills to counter the threat of cyber attack.

Foreign Secretary William Hague launched the apprenticeship scheme in a speech at Bletchley Park in southern England, where Nazi Germany's Enigma codes were broken in World War II.

The BBC said Thursday its services in the Middle East and Europe were being deliberately jammed, along with those of other broadcasters -- with the interference coming from Syria.

The jamming of Eutelsat satellites affected BBC television and radio services in English and Arabic, the British Broadcasting Corporation said.

Nokia Corp. is expected to unveil more bad news when it reports its third-quarter results as the struggling cellphone maker faces increasing competition from rivals during its transition to using Microsoft's software in its devices.

Analysts say sales and profits will plunge, with a further drop in market share for the former industry leader that lost its top position to Samsung earlier this year. Strategy Analytics expects Nokia to sell 8 million smartphones in the quarter compared with Samsung's 55 million and Apple Inc.'s 27 million iPhones.

Twitter says it has for the first time blocked an account with its "country withheld content" function, shutting out a banned German neo-Nazi group at the behest of local authorities.

Twitter spokesman Dirk Hensen said Thursday the account (at)hannoverticker has been blocked in Germany only, where its content is considered illegal.

An Australian race crew hoping to beat their British rivals to a new supersonic land-speed record launched their bid Thursday, unveiling the first parts of their rocket-powered bullet car.

Daredevil drag-racer Rosco McGlashan has dreamed of being the fastest man on wheels since, aged 12, he saw Britain's Donald Campbell hit 403 miles (645 kilometers) per hour on Australia's Lake Eyre saltpan in 1964.

Brain wave-controlled robot suits that allow wearers to don heavy radiation protection without feeling the weight were unveiled in Japan on Thursday.

Researchers showed off the latest incarnation of HAL, the Hybrid Assistive Limb, a full body suit that could eventually be used by workers dismantling the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.

Electronically managed steering that completely bypasses the mechanical link of a clutch is among the new safety technology from Japanese automaker Nissan. Other vehicles are smart enough to park themselves. And some swerve automatically to avoid pedestrians.

Nissan Motor Co. Executive Vice President Mitsuhiko Yamashita said the latest safety advancements are proactive, unlike air-bags and other "passive" features that are triggered by a crash.

Microsoft said on Tuesday its new Surface tablet computer -- designed to challenge Apple's iPad -- will be sold at roughly the same price as the market leader.

Microsoft began taking pre-orders for the Surface, which will start at $499 (382 euros) for U.S. customers for a tablet with 32 gigabytes of memory. A 64GB version bundled with a black touch cover is priced at $699.

Apple sent out invitations Tuesday for an event in exactly one week's time where the company is widely expected to unveil a new "iPad Mini," a smaller version of its market-leading tablet computer.

"We've got a little more to show you," said the invitations for the October 23 event in San Jose, California.

European data protection agencies on Tuesday said Google's new privacy policy does not comply with EU laws and told the U.S. Internet giant to fix it within months or face legal action.

"Google has a few months, three or four months, to comply. If it takes no action, we will enter a phase of litigation," said the head of France's CNIL data agency, which took a lead role in a European probe into the company.