International

Obama says Homeland Security partial shutdown will hurt U.S. economy, security

(Reuters) — U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday (February 23) that a partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would mean more than 100,000 border patrol, port inspection and airport security agents would be left without a paycheck. “It will have a direct impact on your economy, and it will have a direct impact on America’s national security because their hard work helps to keep us safe,” Obama said in a speech to a meeting of […]

Lebanese government approves law protecting animals

Lebanon’s government has recently approved the draft of an animal welfare and protection law which when passed would be the country’s first law of its kind. The law was drafted by animal rights group Animals Lebanon with a committee from the Agriculture Ministry, the head of the group Jason Miers told Reuters TV in an interview. ”Animals Lebanon started this campaign to enact a national law about animal welfare specifically at the end of 2009. […]

Robot attends school in place of injured student

A Pennsylvania student injured in a car crash was still able to attend classes on Friday with the help of a robot. Cole Fritz is a junior at Commodore Perry High School in Mercer County, Pennsylvania. He hasn’t been able to attend classes in person since the crash last month. But now, he’s able to see everything that goes on with the help of a robot. The district leases the device from a company that […]

Most expensive food in the world

Worth 40, 000 dollars per teaspoon, the White Gold Caviar is hailed as the most expensive food in the world. It is made from the eggs of the rare albino sturgeon from the Caspian Sea mixed with 22 carat gold.

JK Simmons wins Oscar for best supporting actor

J.K. Simmons won the best supporting actor on 87th Academy Awards for playing a brutally demanding jazz teacher who pushes a drummer to the edge in “Whiplash.” It was the first Academy Award for the 60-year-old actor, who had never been nominated before for an Oscar. He had been a favorite to win for the film, after sweeping the supporting actor category in all the major awards shows today. Simmons thanked his wife and his […]

Early Oscars arrivals shine on the red carpet

The red carpet for the 87th Academy Awards is now happening under gray skies where the early arrivals were dominated by international filmmakers happy to talk about their Oscar experience. Polish filmmaker Pawel Pawlkikowski, director of “Ida,” a nominee for best foreign-language film, said he hoped people would respond positively to his film. “If people enjoyed the film then that is a big thumb up,” said Pawlkikowski. “If you were not a fan of the […]

More than 1,000 Muslims form human shield around Oslo synagogue

More than 1,000 Muslims formed a human shield around Oslo’s synagogue on Saturday (February 21), offering symbolic protection for the city’s Jewish community and condemning an attack on a synagogue in nearbyDenmark last weekend. The event was organised by Norwegian youth and 17-year-old organiser Hajrah Arshad said the impetus behind it was the prejudice faced by Jews andMuslims on a daily basis. “It was the terror attack in Denmark that triggered us young people, and […]

VW gets government approval for Thai plant

(Reuters) – Germany’s Volkswagen has won approval from Thai authorities to build a manufacturing plant for fuel efficient cars near Bangkok after months of delays. A VW spokesman said on Saturday that it had received the go-ahead but the carmaker would now assess the situation and that no decision has been made yet whether to build the factory, confirming a report in German weekly magazine WirtschaftsWoche. According to previous media reports, the 1 billion euro […]

Bangkok police detain at least three over street demonstration

Thai police plucked at least three people off the streets of the capital on Sunday (February 22) after they held a small gathering to “exchange views” with the country’s military junta. Thailand’s military has severely restricted public gatherings since seizing power in a coup last May. Taking a hard line on dissent, it has detained more than 300 people, including activists, journalists and politicians. The leader of a group of four people, Akkarakit Noonchan, was […]