Need to know: After yesterday's live grilling of the Murdochs, the focus in the phone-hacking scandal has shifted today to the prime minister himself. In an emergency statement, David Cameron defended his decision to hire Andy Coulson after he left New of the World, but said he will apologize profusely if it is turns out that Coulson lied to him. Here are live updates, and in case you missed it: the pie in the face moment. The U.N. has declared famine in two regions of southern Somalia amid drought and conflict that have left 3.7 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. Tens of thousands of Somalis have been trying to flee to neighboring Kenya or Ethiopia. The food- security crisis in the Horn of Africa nation is the worst since a famine in 1992, when 300,000 people died, according to activists. |
| Want to know: Serbia's last remaining war criminal has been arrested, and the country takes one step closer to EU membership. Likening the pursuit of Goran Hadzic, 52, to that of Osama bin Laden, Serbian President Boris Tadic confirmed Hadzic's arrest on Wednesday. The arrest follows that of Gen. Ratko Mladic, another Serbian war criminal, in May. Hadzic is charged with ordering the killing of hundreds and the deportation of thousands of Croats and other non-Serbs from the region of Croatia he took over during the 1991-1995 Croatian War. Japan Prime Minister Naoto Kan said that the Fukushima plant has finally been stabilized. The plant is on track for a cold shutdown within six months and, if officials are to be believed this time, there is no more threat of meltdown. Just who are the nearly 3,000 laborers who have helped make this happen? Meet Japan's modern-day "nuclear gypsies." And was he or wasn't he? An Israeli backpacker who died in the February earthquake in Christchurch was said it have five passports on him - a possible sign that he was an Israeli apy on an identity theft mission for Mossad. New Zealand Prime Minister insists that there was no foul play. |
| Dull but important: OK, OK, we know Greece's economy is on the brink. But what about everyone else? Who actually loses money should Greece - or Portugal or Italy - declare tomorrow that it's gone bust. The answer, not surprisingly, is complicated. Though one thing is simple: America should be worried. |
| Just because: The man who reinvented computers is poised for a bigger challenge. Bill Gates takes on the toilet. The aim is to give the 2.6 billion people in the developing world who don't have access to a toilet a hygienic, safe place to go to the bathroom. A waterless toilet? Microwaving fecal matter to turn it into fuel? The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is pouring millions into the effort, but Gates says the reinvented toilet must cost no more than five cents a day per person. A pan-African conference on sanitation is currently underway in Kigali, Rwanda. The majority of Thais say corruption is OK as long as the country prospers, according to a new poll. |
| Wacky: The list of banned baby names in New Zealand has expanded to include Lucifer, Duke, Messiah and 89. The letters, C, D, I and T were also rejected, and they are refusing to allow names involving asterisks, commas, periods and other punctuation marks. In Sweden, name choices are subject to a naming law. Lego and Google have been approved, but Superman, Metallica and Elvis, and the name Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116, pronounced Albin, were nixed. |
No comments:
Post a Comment