Tequila - an alcoholic gem
Scientists in Mexico have successfully turned their national beverage Tequila into diamonds.
Researchers from the National Autonomous University of Mexico found that when the heated vapour of ‘tequila blanco’ was deposited on a stainless steel base, it formed diamond films.
Dead ugly
A one-eyed, three-legged, hairless pooch that won the title of World’s Ugliest Dog this summer has recently died.
Gus, a nine-year-old Chinese crested dog, lost his battle with cancer last week, after winning the annual contest in June at the Sonoma-Marin Fair, California.
Cyberspace Junkies
China could become the first country to classify internet addiction as a clinical disorder and plans to register the condition with the World Health Organisation.
With the world’s largest online population of 253 million people, both China’s urban and rural internet cafés are crowded with people participating in gaming sessions. Research shows nearly half of China’s online population are aged between 18 and 30, with 42 per cent of those claiming to feel addicted to the internet.
Sleeping Judge throws out case
Australia’s High Court has overturned the convictions of two alleged drug traffickers, because the judge in their original trial repeatedly fell asleep.
The court heard that the judge slept for up to 20 minutes at a time and sometimes snored, distracting the jury.
'Obama - the musical' a big hit in Kenya
Days before he was voted President in the US elections, Barack Obama, along with John McCain, took centre stage on the opening night of ‘Obama – the Musical’ in Kenya.
It was a biography of Barack Obama told in dance, song and narrative with music from different genres including traditional Kenyan music.
Pizza company criticised over use of dead celebrities in ad campaign
A New Zealand Pizza chain called Hell Pizza has come under fire for its “grotesque” adverts, which depict three dead celebrities dancing on graves for its Halloween promotion.
Distinctly provocative, Hell Pizza had to withdraw its advert, which featured skeletal animations of Sir Edmund Hillary and Heath Ledger, who both died in January, and the Queen Mother dancing to Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
Boar-dering on ridiculous
A major cull of wild boars has been launched in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, after they broke into a high security zone around the presidential palace.
So far, dozens of the animals have been shot or poisoned in the culling campaign around the palace.
Uproar at anti-porn law
An anti-pornography law passed in Indonesia has met with serious opposition.
The law, which would ban images, gestures or talk deemed to be pornographic, has sparked protests across Indonesia, but especially on the predominantly Hindu island of Bali.
Woman arrested for virtual murder
A Japanese woman playing on the Korean game Maplestory has been arrested offline for the online murder of her ‘husband’.
The 43-year-old piano teacher faces a fine of £3,000 or five years in prison if charged. Maplestory is set in a fictional world where players, represented by digital images called avatars, fight monsters but also develop personal relationships, sometimes leading to an online marriage.
3,2, Chandrayaan-1
India recently launched its first unmanned mission to the Moon in a bid to close the gap with rival China.
The spacecraft, called Chandrayaan-1 was built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and blasted off without fault from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on Sriharikota island in the south-eastern state of Andhra Pradesh.
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