WASHINGTON - PRESIDENT Barack Obama on Monday promised a major investment in research and development for scientific innovation, saying the United States has fallen behind others.

'I believe it is not in our character, American character, to follow - but to lead. And it is time for us to lead once again. I am here today to set this goal: we will devote more than 3 per cent of our GDP to research and development,' Obama said in a speech at the annual meeting of the National Academy of Sciences.

LONDON - DEEP in the heart of England's seemingly peaceful countryside, a fierce battle for survival is being waged between the domestic red squirrel, its tougher grey cousin - and a new mutant arrival.

Where there were once 3.5 million red squirrels in Britain, only about 150,000 remain. About 75 per cent of these live in the wild in Scotland, while most of the rest are protected in nature reserves in northern England.

SAN FRANCISCO - INTERNET social media company Facebook plans to allow outside developers access to core parts of the website so they can build new services, a person familiar with the situation said.

The person said the company is expected to announce the plans on Monday. The new capabilities would let third-party developers build services that access content uploaded by Facebook users such as pictures and videos with the users' permission.