China's Internet backdown lauded by firms, activists
China's ambitions to strengthen control of the Internet with filtering software became a show of the limits of its power on Wednesday, as activists and industry groups welcomed an abrupt delay of the contentious plan. The surprise climbdown was reported late on Tuesday by Xinhua news agency, which said the Ministry of Industry and Information [...]
California misses budget deadline, readies "IOUs"
California's lawmakers failed to agree on a balanced budget by the start of its new fiscal year on Wednesday morning, clearing the way to suspend payments owed to the state's vendors and local agencies, who instead will get "IOU" notes promising payment. The notes will mark the first time in 17 years the most populous [...]
Iraqis Celebrate as U.S. Troops Leave Cities
A well-known to Iraqis local singer rhapsodized the U.S. troops' exit from his beloved Baghdad city as he sang a song that made thousands of cheered Iraqis cried with tears during a massive celebration in Baghdad on Monday. Salah Hassan, an Iraqi singer in his thirties, vocalized his happiness to return to Baghdad he loved [...]
Why do the netizens feel unease at the youngest “29-year-old mayor” of China?
A succession of titles “80s generation, 29 years old, Qinghua University, post graduate, the youngest mayor”, enabled the appointment announcement top the homepage of the key websites. However, the 29 year-old Zhou Senfeng didn’t win applause from the netizens. In contrary, the following posters expressed their doubt and ridicule. Quoting the remarked from the “Focus”, [...]
Magnitude 5.6 - EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA
Magnitude: 5.6 (USGS say 5.1) Monday, June 29, 2009 at 18:03:54 UTC Tuesday, June 30, 2009 at 02:03:54 AM at epicenter Region: EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA Location: 31.422°N, 104.060°E Depth: 35 km (21.7 miles) set by location program Distances: 65 km (40 miles) W of Mianyang, Sichuan, China 85 km (50 miles) N of Chengdu, Sichuan, [...]
One Killed in Toppled Apartment Building in Shanghai
The worker trapped in the toppled apartment building in Shanghai was pulled out dead, said rescuers on Saturday. The man, surnamed Xiao, was 28 years old from the eastern Anhui province. He had gone into the building to fetch his tools before trying to jump out of the window when the accident happened, according to [...]
Google Thinks Michael Jackson Died At Age 65 In 2007
Oops. Bad, Google. Occasionally the service inserts direct answers to searches at the top of its results. It makes guesses at this, and in the case of michael jackson died, it’s making the wrong guess. Henry Elliss tipped us that Google’s showing that Michael Jackson died in 2007, at age 65. The problem? Google’s drawing [...]
Taliban Losses Are No Sure Gain for Pakistanis
For the past month and a half, the Pakistani military has claimed success in retaking the Swat Valley from the Taliban, clawing back its own territory from insurgents who only a short time ago were extending their reach toward the heartland of the country. Yet from a helicopter flying low over the valley last week, [...]
Young, jobless, broke: today's lost generation
Back in the carefree days of the Noughties boom, Britain's youngsters were swept along by the buy-now-pay-later culture embraced by consumers up and down the country. During a decade of near-full employment, many skipped nimbly from one job - and one credit card - to another, and rainy days were such a distant memory that [...]
