Obama: Half of my letters brand me an idiot
US President Barack Obama has joked that half of the 40,000 letters that pour into the White House each day brand him an “idiot.”
Tongue-in-cheek, the president remarked that his staff did not spare him the wrath of his correspondents – selecting a representative portion of 10 letters for him to read when he returns [...]
UN launches independent review of climate panel
The United Nations has launched an independent review of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which has come under much criticism in recent months.
The decision was announced by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and IPCC chair Rajendra Pachauri in the wake of a report by the body which wrongly claimed that Himalayan glaciers would [...]
Decaf coffee: New respect and new offerings
At coffee drinkers’ high school, the decaf crowd always sits at the losers’ table.
They know coffee geeks call their double-shot decaffeinated cappuccinos “why bothers.” They lie awake deep into the night, pondering whether the waiter was spiteful or just lazy when he poured what was evidently a cup of regular.
But things are looking up [...]
Life ban for Younus Khan, Mohammad Yousuf
Pakistan cricket was thrown into turmoil on Wednesday with the country’s Board putting an end to the international careers of former captains Mohd Yousuf and Younus Khan besides imposing a one-year ban on Shoaib Malik in the wake of the team’s disastrous tour of Australia.
Pakistan were whitewashed in all three formats of the game [...]
US blasts Israeli settlement plans in East Jerusalem
The Obama Administration strongly condemned the Israeli decision on new settlements in East Jerusalem on Tuesday, saying that this would sharply undermine confidence building measures between Israel and Palestine on finding a lasting solution to conflict in the region.
US Vice President Joe Biden, who is travelling in the region, issued a statement to condemn [...]
Twitter: The new White House bulletin board
If you’re PressSec – White House press secretary Robert Gibbs’ username on Twitter – you join the powerful social media platform and push your message across the Internet, 140 characters at a time.
Blending behind-the-scenes nuggets with a defence of US President Barack Obama’s record, White House and administration officials increasingly are communicating through Twitter.
The [...]
Oz: Man accused of killing toddler faces court
The 23-year-old Indian accused in the death of toddler Gurshan Singh Channa faced court in Melbourne on Tuesday. The hearing lasted less than a minute.
Gursewak Dhillon did not apply for bail however, he was told by the magistrate that he can apply for bail at anytime. He is charged with manslaughter by criminal negligence.
Dhillon [...]
Oscar-winners do sushi sting to save whales
It is sport among black belt sushi eaters here to see just how daring one’s palate can be. But even among the squid-chomping, roe-eating and uni-nibbling fans, whale is almost unheard of on the plate. It also happens to be illegal.
Yet with video cameras and tiny microphones, the team behind Sunday’s Oscar-winning documentary film [...]
