France was in mourning today for one of its oldest and best-loved lotharios, a giant tortoise named Kiki, who died at the age of 146.Staff at the Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes in Paris announced that its veteran resident had succumbed last week to an infection.They paid tribute to the zoo's "doyen", whose distinctive personality and "demonstrative lovemaking" had made him a favourite with the French public."We are rather upset to have lost Kiki. He had been here for such a long time ...that we had kind of thought of him as eternal," said Michel Saint Jalme, the deputy director of the Ménagerie. "He had a kind of charisma ... a certain personality."Kiki, who arrived in the French capital as an exotic newcomer from the Seychelles in 1923, when his species was on the brink of extinction, was never slow to use that charisma to full effect.
France was in mourning today for one of its oldest and best-loved lotharios, a giant tortoise named Kiki, who died at the age of 146.
Staff at the Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes in Paris announced that its veteran resident had succumbed last week to an infection.
They paid tribute to the zoo's "doyen", whose distinctive personality and "demonstrative lovemaking" had made him a favourite with the French public.
"We are rather upset to have lost Kiki. He had been here for such a long time ...that we had kind of thought of him as eternal," said Michel Saint Jalme, the deputy director of the Ménagerie. "He had a kind of charisma ... a certain personality."
Kiki, who arrived in the French capital as an exotic newcomer from the Seychelles in 1923, when his species was on the brink of extinction, was never slow to use that charisma to full effect.
The photo of Rupert Murdoch and his wife Wendi Deng is headlined "Rupert Murdoch and Wendi Deng said to have separated -- Deng and 100-year-old mother-in-law do not get along". The story inside is a compilation of biographical facts about Murodch and Deng, with the meat of the marital discord allegation coming from Australian politics and media website Crikey, which recently published this bit of juice:
The photo of Rupert Murdoch and his wife Wendi Deng is headlined "Rupert Murdoch and Wendi Deng said to have separated -- Deng and 100-year-old mother-in-law do not get along".
The story inside is a compilation of biographical facts about Murodch and Deng, with the meat of the marital discord allegation coming from Australian politics and media website Crikey, which recently published this bit of juice:
A Dorset town's much ridiculed fake Christmas tree has been replaced with a traditional conifer.Some residents likened the £14,000 fake tree in Poole to a "huge traffic cone" or "a witch's hat". It was damaged by people climbing on it. The 33ft (10m) structure had been chosen because of fears that a real one could topple over in strong winds. The Dolphin Shopping Centre donated the real tree which was put up on Tuesday morning.
A Dorset town's much ridiculed fake Christmas tree has been replaced with a traditional conifer.
Some residents likened the £14,000 fake tree in Poole to a "huge traffic cone" or "a witch's hat". It was damaged by people climbing on it.
The 33ft (10m) structure had been chosen because of fears that a real one could topple over in strong winds.
The Dolphin Shopping Centre donated the real tree which was put up on Tuesday morning.
A remote-controlled dinosaur robot worth about £60,000 has been stolen from Australia's "Walking with Dinosaurs" show in Guadalajara, event organisers said on Monday.
Serbian President Boris Tadic has been fined 400 euros (£360) for toasting Serbia's qualification for the football World Cup with champagne at a stadium. He had pleaded guilty to a misdemeanour after uncorking the bottle at Red Star Belgrade's stadium as Serbia defeated Romania 5-0 on 10 October. Serbia's sports minister and football association chief were also fined. The consumption or possession of alcohol is forbidden at Serbia's sports venues, in order to prevent violence.
He had pleaded guilty to a misdemeanour after uncorking the bottle at Red Star Belgrade's stadium as Serbia defeated Romania 5-0 on 10 October.
Serbia's sports minister and football association chief were also fined.
The consumption or possession of alcohol is forbidden at Serbia's sports venues, in order to prevent violence.
Working for the Library of Congress in the late 1930's and 1940's, Alan Lomax archived massive collections of folk music from around the world, most famously through his work recording early American folk and blues musicians like Woody Guthrie and Lead Belly, and through his recordings of Caribbean folk music. Alan Lomax in Haiti is a 10-disc and two book boxed set of the recordings made and collected by Lomax during his 1936-37 trek through Haiti. The recordings were made for the Library of Congress, and the set's text includes Lomax's actual writing while in the field. Check out some of said writing here.
"Threat Image Projection (TIP) - Computer software that allows fictional images of threats to be digitally displayed in the image of passengers' bags onto the x-ray monitor."
