Cheap smartphones global market grows

Asha, the budget smartphone line from Nokia, is outselling its premium handset offering, the Windows-run Lumia, by over two to one.

The firm's quarterly results, published on Thursday, revealed the total number of both Asha and Lumia devices sold in the last three months of 2012 was 14 million. Only 4.4 million were Lumias.

There have also been rumours that Apple may offer a lower-priced iPhone model.

Reports that a senior Apple executive denied this have been withdrawn.

Spit test 'improves' asthma care

A simple spit test could identify thousands of children with severe asthma who are taking medication which will never help them, scientists say.

One in seven people will not respond to salmeterol, found in purple or green inhalers, which is given to tens of thousands of children in the UK.

A study of 62 children showed those patients could be identified and given effective treatment.

The results were published in the journal Clinical Science.

Salmeterol, which is found in Seretide and Servent inhalers, is used to relax the airways in the lungs. It is taken by children who cannot control their asthma just with a blue inhaler, which is given to all children when they are diagnosed with asthma.

Diet drinks' 'link to depression' questioned

Experts are questioning whether diet drinks could raise depression risk, after a large study has found a link.

The US research in more than 250,000 people found depression was more common among frequent consumers of artificially sweetened beverages.

The work, which will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's annual meeting, did not look at the cause for this link.

Drinking coffee was linked with a lower risk of depression.

AIG will not join lawsuit against US

The board of US insurance giant AIG has said that it will not join a $25bn (£16bn) shareholder lawsuit against the US government, which alleges that the terms of its rescue deal were unfair.

AIG came close to collapse at the height of the financial crisis and was bailed out by the government in 2008.

The lawsuit argues the bailout did not properly compensate shareholders.

It was filed by Starr International, headed by former AIG chief executive Maurice "Hank" Greenberg.

Starr had asked the board to join in or take the lead in the lawsuit, and the company had said that it would consider the demand at a board meeting on Wednesday.

US comes in 10th on index of world's freest economies

The Asia-Pacific region is home to the world's freest economies, according to an index published on Thursday as Western economies grapple with too much government involvement.

Of the world's 10 freest economies, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, took the first four places, respectively, on the 2013 Index of Economic Freedom, published by think tank the Heritage Foundation, and the Wall Street Journal. These countries retained their top four positions from 2012.

The world's largest economy, the U.S., came in at number 10. While no euro one country made it to the top 10 in economic freedom, Switzerland and Denmark were placed 5th and 9th respectively.