Egyptian Man

Via IOL: "An Egyptian cut off his own penis on Sunday in protest at his parents' choice of bride, a police official said."

Oakland, California

Los Angeles Times: "Three no-frills charter schools in Oakland mock liberal orthodoxy, teach strictly to the test — and produce some of the state's top scores."

Lower Manhattan

Lucky the cat has eight lives left after a 26-story fall.

Party Pictures

BBC News: "Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi has succeeded in blocking the publication of potentially embarrassing photos of young women at his New Year's party."

Previous: Prime Minister

Angry Men

Rod Nordland of the New York Times: "After six years of war, Iraq is a society with a serious anger-management problem."

Holy Bible

In Argentina a Bible stopped a bullet, saving a pastor's life.

Trinidad

CNN: "With its white sand and clear, blue water, Trinidad's Matura Beach looks like a postcard. It's a far cry from its recent past, when leatherback sea turtle carcasses littered the ground and kept tourists away."

Passport

Kea

A kea stole a tourist's passport in New Zealand.

(Photo credit: Markus Koljonen)

Everglades

Guesstimate: 150,000 Burmese pythons live in Florida's Everglades.

Russian Farm

A Russian naval vessel accidentally shot at a farm.

Madrid

ABC Online, Australia: "Thousands of spectators watched in horror as a matador was gored during a bullfight in Madrid."

Prime Minister

BBC News: "Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has denied having an affair with an underage girl and said he would resign if he was caught lying about it."

Sex Trade

"From Bangkok to Berlin, Hard Times Hit the Sex Trade" - William Lee Adams, Time

African Face

Theater mask, Sicily, circa 350 BC

Spaceship

Via IOL: "A Russian scientist has claimed that an alien spaceship sacrificed itself to prevent a gigantic meteor from destroying Earth a century ago."

Jet

Uli Suckert at Spiegel Online:

At the very end of World War II, Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler still hoped that state-of-the-art technology could turn the tide in his favor. One of those projects, the Messerschmitt jet fighter, found a home in a remote corner of eastern Germany. But it was too late.

Death of Benno Ohnesorg

Der Spiegel:
"The Truth about the Gunshot that Changed Germany"

Yesterday:
"Western Germany Wants Stasi's Influence to Remain Hidden"

Previous:
Benno Ohnesorg

Space Monkeys

Nell Greenfieldboyce: "In Huntsville, Ala., there is an unusual grave site where, instead of flowers, people sometimes leave bananas."

Inside Iraq

Arwa Damon of CNN: "I first met Abu Wissam at the foot of his son's shallow grave. Never will he be able to erase the last image he has of his son's body."

Kashgar

"To Protect an Ancient City, China Moves to Raze It" - Michael Wines, New York Times

Munich

"A man grabbed a live swan by the neck and used it as a weapon to attack his opponent during an altercation by the bank of a river in Munich," Spiegel Online reports.

Jitem

Daniel Steinvorth at Spiegel Online: "When members of the special Turkish police unit Jitem arrived at night, Kurdish inhabitants of southeast Turkey knew there would be another disappearance."

Blondes Have More Fun

RIA Novosti:

Some 2,000 blonde women are to hold a parade in the Latvian capital of Riga as a cheer-up event during the ongoing economic crisis, the head of the Latvian Blondes association said on Wednesday.

"People need positive emotions, and I hope this event will cheer them up," Marika Gederte said.

Sunday's blonde parade, to be held under the motto "Make the world a brighter place," will involve an orchestra composed of fair-haired women, the organizer said.

The parade will be followed by a ball and contests to find the best "blonde lawyer," "blonde journalist," and others.

Latvia has been hit the hardest off all EU states by the global financial crisis.

CEO

"Linen Mogul Held in Assault on Maid" - New York Daily News

It's a Dog's Life

RIA Novosti: "Police in the East Siberian city of Chita have reported a chilling case of child abuse, in which a five-year-old girl was kept locked in a room with dogs and cats for several years, causing her to behave like an animal."

Leprosy

Nicholas Wade of the New York Times: "The oldest known skeleton showing signs of leprosy has been found in India and may help solve the puzzle of where the disease originated."

New Zealand

"White Tiger Mauls Zookeeper to Death" - ABC Online, Australia

Babysitter

RIA Novosti:

A four-year old girl died after the 12-year-old boy, who was babysitting, killed her for crying too loud in Russia's Volga republic of Chuvashia, the IA Regnum news agency said on Tuesday.

The agency said the tragic incident took place on May 19, but the teenager was only detained on Tuesday.

Oleg Dmitriyev, a spokesman for the regional prosecutor's office, said that a woman and her three children — aged three, four and five — moved in with a female friend, who had a 12-year-old nephew, in April.

On the day of the killing both women went to work, leaving the 12-year-old boy to look after the three children. The four-year-old started crying after her mother left for work.

"The boy became angry and punched her in the head several times, then threw her on the floor and jumped up and down on her a couple of times," Dmitriyev said.

He added that when the boy realized that the girl was not breathing he called for help, but although the four-year-old was rushed to hospital, she was pronounced dead eight hours later.

Children

"The Lost Children of East Timor" - Lucy Williamson, BBC News

Vicious Lizards

According to frightened villagers in Indonesia, Komodo dragons have become more aggressive toward humans in recent years.

Last Tuesday: Komodo Dragons

Piracy

News from the BBC: "Around 200 Somali pirates are reported to have renounced piracy at a meeting in northern Somalia."

Lebanon

Erich Follath of Der Spiegel:

The United Nations special tribunal investigating the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri has reached surprising new conclusions — and it is keeping them secret.

Where Will You Hide?

NPR: "Toppled by the economic crisis and, often, their own greed, fugitive executives make a run for it. But these days, life on the lam isn't that easy, even with a suitcase full of cash."

Agatha Christie

BBC News: "Iranian authorities say a woman accused of being a serial killer took her ideas from the novels of crime writer Agatha Christie."

JFK

Motoko Rich of the New York Times: "Mimi Beardsley Alford, who had an affair with John F. Kennedy while she was an intern in the White House, will tell her story in a memoir to be published by Random House."

California Condors

Malia Wollen of the New York Times: "With a lead bullet ban in place in California condor territory, two of the endangered birds found riddled with shotgun pellets set off a hunt for the shooter."

Small Cattle

The Los Angeles Times has an article about miniature cows.

Craftsman

Furniture designer and woodworker Sam Maloof died.

Previous: Sam Maloof

American Civil War

National Public Radio: "Disguised as a man, Jennie Hodgers marched thousands of miles and fought dozens of battles as a Union soldier."

Deadly Pachyderm

In the Indian state of West Bengal, a wild elephant killed two people yesterday morning.

Beyond Tomorrow

"Soldier of the Future" - Sharon Weinberger, New York Post

Helping Hand

BBC News: "A man threatening to commit suicide by jumping from a Chinese bridge was approached by a passerby who shoved him over the edge, local media say."

Uganda

Jeffrey Gettleman of the New York Times put together a travel piece about Uganda: "This country is Africa (jungle, elephants, lions and all) without the tourist bells and whistles, and one way to discover it is on the Nile, bouncing along on a raft."

Road to Harare

Robyn Dixon, Los Angeles Times: "Zimbabweans say angry ancestors are behind road accidents."

City of Life and Death

Lu Chuan received death threats after the release of his new film.

Previous: Nanjing

Private Affair

"The Tycoon, His Mistress, and Their Baby" - George Rush, New York Daily News

French Cuisine

ABC Online, Australia: "Sometime between 28,000 and 30,000 years ago, an anatomically modern human in what is now France may have eaten a Neanderthal child, according to a new study."

Benno Ohnesorg

Spiegel Online:

The name of Benno Ohnesorg became a rallying cry for the West German left after he was shot dead by police in 1967. Newly discovered documents indicate that the cop who shot him may have been a spy for the East German secret police.

United Kingdom

Via IOL: "An alleged drunk driver drove his Rolls-Royce through the windows of a Tesco supermarket after staff refused to serve him alcohol."

Red Bees

"The CIA's Silent War in Pakistan" - Mark Thompson, Time

Ghurka Soldiers

Tom Rivers at Voice of America:

Bowing to public and political pressure, Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government has announced a major policy U-turn that will allow nearly 40,000 veteran Gurkha soldiers the right to settle in Britain. The tough Nepalese fighters have been a part of the British army for nearly 200 years and 43,000 lost their lives in the two World Wars.

Previous: Nepal

Smithsonian Magazine

The June issue of Smithsonian magazine is up!

Macau

"Fortunes Fade for Macau's Casino Kings" - Michael Schuman, Time

Air & Space Magazine

The July issue of Air & Space magazine is up!

Taiwan

From BBC News: "A large number of goats in Taiwan may have died of exhaustion because of noise from a wind farm."

Baby Food

Matt Walker: "Two female orangutans have been seen cannibalizing the bodies of their recently deceased babies."

Famous Bust of Nefertiti

Christoph Seidler at Spiegel Online:

For decades, people have marveled at the bust of Nefertiti. Now, some scholars say it's a fake — made to hold a necklace. Museum scientists are eager to prove these theories wrong, but the mysterious statue might not be ready to reveal her secrets yet.

Brazil

RIA Novosti:

A farmer in Brazil's northwestern state of Amazonas killed a 5-meter (16-foot) anaconda he discovered in his chicken pen, national media reported on Thursday.

Marcu Santus said he discovered the anaconda preparing to swallow the chickens, and feared that the snake could pose a threat to small children in the area.

"The snake remained still for quite a while and I was able run and get my rifle and kill it. When snakes like this can't find food, they become dangerous," Santus said.

Due to severe flooding in northern Brazil over the past two months, cases of wild animals entering villagers' homes have become frequent. Although killing an anaconda is illegal under Brazilian law, in some cases it can be justified if the snake poses a risk to a person's life or property.

The anaconda is one of the largest snakes in the world, and the largest in South America, reaching up to 11 meters in length, and weighing some 150 kilograms (330 pounds). Several cases have been documented of anacondas eating people living near tropical forests in Brazil.

Egypt

In Cairo a court sentenced an Egyptian tycoon and a security guard to death for the murder of Lebanese singer Suzanne Tamin.

Previous: Tycoon

Early Life

CU-Boulder:

The bombardment of Earth nearly 4 billion years ago by asteroids as large as Kansas would not have had the firepower to extinguish potential early life on the planet and may even have given it a boost, says a new University of Colorado at Boulder study.

Leopards in India

A 3-year-old girl miraculously escaped from the clutches of a leopard at a village in India's state of Gujarat. The child suffered neck and chest wounds. Her doctors expect a full recovery.

Last night a leopard attacked a 40-year-old man in the Indian state of Goa. The cat clawed the man on the head and hands.

Zimbabwe

At the Runde River in Zimbabwe, a 45-year-old fisherman battled a crocodile for six hours.

"The fisherman escaped with his life," a trader said. "The crocodile fled with a piece of the man's arm."

Orissa

A crocodile killed a 32-year-old woman in the Indian state of Orissa.

Philippines

Customs inspectors seized more than USD 2 million worth of elephant tusks at the Port of Manila.

Hitler's Foreign Helpers

Der Spiegel:

The Germans are responsible for the industrial-scale mass murder of 6 million Jews. But the collusion of other European countries in the Holocaust has received surprisingly little attention until recently.

Mass Executions

"1940 massacre of Poles remains potent issue" - Megan K. Stack, Los Angeles Times

Knights Templar Castle

Kevin Brass of the New York Times: "Fans of Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code will undoubtedly find mysterious coincidences and eerie symbols in a castle for sale in France."

Landmark Scientific Find

Atlantic Productions: "How the discovery of Ida, a 47-million-year-old fossil, is rewriting our history."

Lucky Larry

CNN: "Larry King recalls a much-needed win at the track during one of the lowest points of his life."

Komodo Dragon

Carl Zimmer of the New York Times:

The Komodo dragon is already a terrifying beast. Measuring up to 10 feet long, it is the world’s largest lizard. It delivers a devastating bite with its long, serrated teeth, attacking prey as big as water buffaloes.

But in a provocative paper to be published this week, an international team of scientists argues that the Komodo dragon is even more impressive. They claim that the lizards use a potent venom to bring down their victims.

Bakersfield, California

IOL: "A four-year-old California boy may be permanently blinded after police say his father bit out one of his eyes and mutilated the other."

Desert People

"The Tohono O'odham Nation is a smuggler's paradise," Ted Robbins of NPR reports.

Web site: Tohono O'odham Nation

Mockingbirds

Mockingbirds can recognize a face in a crowd.

Koko

Spiegel Online: "A parrot who sings opera songs and once famously called the mayor of Munich an asshole has been stolen."

Franco

Spanish dictator Francisco Franco reportedly lost one of his testicles in combat.

No Sex

BBC News: "China's first sex theme park, aimed at improving both the sex education and the sex life of its visitors, has been torn down before it even opened."

Previous: Love Land

Good Taste Is Timeless

Maybach 62 S
Photo credit: © Daimler AG

Burt's Bees

Los Angeles Times: "At Burt's Bees, business is humming."

Tamil Tigers

Somini Sengupta and Seth Mydans of the New York Times:

The ethnic Tamil separatist rebels of Sri Lanka, one of the world’s most feared and enduring guerrilla movements, acknowledged Sunday that their war of more than a quarter-century for a homeland had “reached its bitter end.”

America's Secretary of War

Bob Gates talked about Afghanistan and other topics.

Brian Hyland

In the 1960s I encountered a number of popular singers. I met Bobby Rydell in the military. I talked to George Hamilton IV on a sidewalk.

Brian Hyland and I spent several hours together in April 1964. He was 20 years old. I was a year younger.

Hyland's hit "Gypsy Woman" is one of my favorite recordings. Curtis Mayfield wrote the song.

Previous: Beatles

Boiled Alive

Via ABC Online, Australia: "A German worker has been boiled alive in an empty industrial-sized soup vat while trying to clean it, newspaper Bild reports."

Executive Lifestyle

Cessna Citation X

Photo credit: © Cessna Aircraft Co.

Ambassador to China

Kent Klein at Voice of America:

President Barack Obama has chosen a potential Republican presidential contender as the U.S. Ambassador to China. Governor Jon Huntsman of the Western state of Utah has extensive foreign policy experience in East Asia.

My reaction: Good choice.

Flying Horses

"For thoroughbred racehorses, Tex Sutton is one of the best ways to fly," NPR says.

Web site: H.E. Sutton Forwarding Co.

Book Review

Horse Soldiers

Jewel Thieves

Doreen Carvajal of the New York Times has the latest news about the Pink Panthers.

Oman

Omanis have helped Iranian smugglers circumvent international trade sanctions for years.

Background: Inside Oman

Pattaya

Independent Online: "A Thai woman bit her Belgian boyfriend's penis out of jealousy during sex, but doctors managed to save the nearly severed organ, police and reports said on Friday."

Family Fun

Nancy M. Better of the New York Times: "Teenagers thrive on action and intrigue, and Israel fits the bill."

Safety First

In Pennsylvania my dear sister saw five deer today.

"Two does crossed a road after they had looked both ways," she said.

Pirates of the Potomac

Photo credit: Pete Souza/White House

Love Land

Tan Yingzi at China Daily:

Naked human sculptures, giant replica genitals, a photo exhibition about sex history and sex-technique workshops.

China's first sex-themed park has not even opened yet, but the controversial project has already got some people hot under the collar.

Lensman

Keith Bradsher of the New York Times:

Hubert Van Es, a Dutch photojournalist who covered the Vietnam War and took one of the best-known images of the American evacuation of Saigon in 1975 — of people scaling a ladder to a helicopter on a rooftop — died on Friday.

Where's the Beef?

Roland Buerk of BBC News: "The Japanese are eating more meat than seafood, according to a new report from the government."

Desert Rhubarb

Matt Walker of the BBC: "In the deserts of Israel, there is a plant that waters itself."

Jamlitz

"The Village and the Nazi Labor Camp"

Torture

"Torture Practices of the Ancient World"

Electric Shade of Red

Roadster Sport from Tesla Motors
Photo credit: © Tesla Motors, Inc.

Crazy Old Woman

Jay Newton-Small of Time magazine:

Not many people get away with calling the Central Intelligence Agency a bald-faced liar, at least not when they're speaking to a room packed with dozens of national media outlets. And yet that is exactly what House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did on Thursday.

Continue reading "How Waterboarding Is Drowning Pelosi."

UCLA

Jack Leonard, Los Angeles Times:

A businessman accused of selling body parts from corpses donated to UCLA medical school in a scandal that tarnished the reputation of the university's willed body program was found guilty today in Los Angeles Superior Court of conspiring to commit grand theft, embezzlement and tax evasion.

Shooter

Thomas Cholmondeley has to spend eight more months in prison for killing a poacher three years ago.

Previous: Kenya

Night Governor

Michael Schwirtz, New York Times, reporting from Russia: "A leader of one of the country’s most powerful criminal syndicates, Vladimir S. Barsukov once rivaled St. Petersburg’s elected leaders for control over Russia’s imperial capital."

Afghanistan

C.J. Chivers of the New York Times:

The helicopters landed in blackness before the moon rose. The infantry company rushed out and through waist-high vegetation and into forests on an Afghan ridge.

Over the next 40 hours, more than 100 soldiers from the First Battalion, 26th Infantry, swept Sautalu Sar, the mountain where Navy Seals were surrounded in battle in 2005. They were looking for weapons caches and insurgents.

Read more.

Sexually Explicit Carving

"Ancient Figurine of Voluptuous Woman Is Found"

Espionage Case

U.S. Justice Department: "A Defense Department official has been charged with conspiracy to communicate classified information to an agent of a foreign government."

Berlusconi

Alexander Smoltczyk, Der Spiegel: "The divorce battle in the House of Berlusconi and the gossip over an underage confidante has put the Italian prime minister on the defensive — a feat the opposition has never managed to achieve."

Michelangelo

Announcement: "Michelangelo’s painting of The Torment of Saint Anthony, described by his earliest biographers, has been acquired by the Kimbell Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas."

Pen

According to the Robb Report, the unique Jacques de Molay pen by David Oscarson sells for roughly USD 400,000.

I usually lose one or two Montblanc Meisterstück pens a year.

(Photo credit: © David Oscarson)

Nazi War Crimes

Spiegel Online: "Dozens of suspected Nazi war criminals are enjoying the twilight of their lives."

Stogie and Smashley

Read the Los Angeles Times article about Stogie and Smashley.

Waiting for Cargo

Keith Bradsher, New York Times: "One of the largest fleets of ships ever gathered idles just off Singapore, marooned by the receding tide of global trade."

Fishing Gear

IOL: "An Egyptian archaeological team has found prehistoric fishing gear, sewing equipment and jewelry all made from animal bones, as well as pottery and coins, near an oasis south of Cairo, officials said on Tuesday.

Greece

University of Nottingham: "The oldest submerged town in the world is about to give up its secrets — with the help of equipment that could revolutionize underwater archaeology."

Manni

Spiegel Online: "A family in Germany has adopted a baby wild boar who was found abandoned and starving. Manni the piglet has now made friends with the family's Jack Russell terrier — and is even learning to bark."

Thunder Road

Aston Martin DBS

Photo credit: © Aston Martin

U.S. Border Patrol

L.A. Times: "New fencing and high-tech devices make it difficult for drug traffickers to cross the border. So smugglers hoist packs and take to the desert on foot. Agents use century-old tracking skills to follow."

Scott Kraft wrote the article.

Strategy Shift

Elisabeth Bumiller and Thom Shanker of the New York Times:

The top American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David D. McKiernan, was forced out Monday in an abrupt shake-up intended to bring a more aggressive and innovative approach to a worsening seven-year war.

Holocaust

Luis Ramirez at Voice of America:

One of the most difficult issues between the Vatican and Israel is the allegation by many Jews that Pope Pius XII did not do enough to prevent the Nazis from killing millions of Jews during World War II. Vatican officials say the matter is not on the agenda of Pope Benedict XVI's trip to Israel. But it is on the minds of many during the pontiff's visit.

Related: John Demjanjuk

Diamond Deposits

"Russia Stockpiles Diamonds"

Amphibians

Smithsonian: "Eight institutions announced today their joint venture to save amphibians from the brink of extinction in the eastern region of Panama — an area rich with diverse amphibian species."

The Angel

60 Minutes: "Was Ashraf Marwan Israel's Greatest Spy or Was He a Double Agent?"

More: "Meeting the Mossad"

Somali Swashbucklers

Somali pirates freed a Greek-owned vessel.

Related: Pirates of London

Arrow

BBC: "An Australian kangaroo shot through the head with an arrow is expected to make a full recovery, wildlife officers say."

Czech Republic

Correspondent Dan Bilefsky of the New York Times sends a dispatch from Prague: "They say the Golem, a Jewish giant with glowing eyes and supernatural powers, is lurking once again in the attic of the Old-New Synagogue here."

Ancient History

Stone female head, Roman Britain, 1st-4th centuries AD

BBC:

From the death cults of Egypt to the fearsome yet sophisticated society of the Vikings, the ancient world was a surprising and challenging place.

(Photo credit: © Trustees of the British Museum)

Chief Russian Shaman

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty:

A small minority of Russians from Kamchatka to Moscow believe in the practices of shamans, men and women who perform healing rituals and speak to the spirit world. Their faith is rarely recognized by the mainstream, but two believers are seeking to change that by organizing the first-ever election for a chief Russian shaman.

Pirates

Sea raiders attacked a tanker in the Gulf of Aden.

Adelaide Zoo

BBC News: "An orangutan used a branch to short-circuit a security fence and escape from an Australian zoo, only to change her mind and return to her enclosure."

Suriname

"Finding Suriname’s Past in Its Present"

Leopard on the Veranda

A leopard killed a 75-year-old woman on the veranda of a residence in the Indian state of Gujarat.

Somalia

Somali pirates released a British-owned cargo ship.

Malawi

Joshua Kurlantzick of the New York Times:

Beyond the shores of Lake Malawi, known for boutique eco-resorts and well-heeled international tourists, there’s another Malawi — a whole country, if a tiny one, of chaotic and lively urban centers, green hills, tea plantations, high mountains and game parks blessedly free of safari jeep traffic jams.

HondaJet

Honda Aircraft Co. will start delivering HondaJets to customers in the fourth quarter of 2011.

The plane sells for about USD 3.9 million.

Rat-Tat-Tat

"Army to Kill 6,000 Kangaroos"

Sea Bandits

"Facing antipirate militias, excommunication orders from sheiks and other hostility in the Puntland region, some pirates are ready to cut a deal," says Jeffrey Gettleman of the New York Times.

Captured

Seth Mydans of the New York Times:

A suspected terrorist leader who embarrassed Singapore last year by disappearing through a bathroom window in a high-security prison has been caught in Malaysia, according to Malaysian officials.

Business Heritage

Southern California's Hotel del Coronado:

Kate Morgan checked into the resort on November 25, 1892, and never checked out. Reports of ghostly happenings, all thought to be connected to the death of this beautiful young woman, have been circulating at The Del ever since.

Turbans

UK Sikh cops reportedly want bulletproof turbans.

American Woman

"Woman hunter kills elephant with bow and arrow"

Michoacán

Colorado State University:

A Colorado State University archeologist has uncovered an ancient imperial ritual complex from Mexico's Purépecha (Tarascan) Empire dating to the last century before European Conquest.

The discovery made by archeology Professor Christopher Fisher, was on an ancient island in the Lake Patzcuaro Basin in the Central Mexican state of Michoacán. The site included a small pyramid, several platforms, a large central structure that is likely an imperial treasury mentioned in historic documents, and an early 16th-century colonial chapel.

Pirates

VOA News: "The U.S. Navy said one of its cargo ships has evaded a pirate attack off the eastern coast of Somalia."

Lonely Pig

BBC: "Afghanistan's only known pig has been quarantined because of fears over swine flu, officials from Kabul Zoo say."

Malaysian Dogs

BBC: "More than 300 stray dogs in Malaysia that were dumped on uninhabited islands turned to cannibalism after weeks of starvation, welfare activists said."

Kenya

Jeffrey Gettleman of the New York Times:

Thomas Patrick Gilbert Cholmondeley, the scion of one of Kenya’s richest and most fabled white families, was convicted of manslaughter on Thursday for shooting to death a black Kenyan poacher who had trespassed on his land.

Sacco di Roma

Matthias Schulz of Der Spiegel writes about the bloody sack of Rome in 1527.

Augsburg

"An urban excursion ended in tragedy for a group of wild boar in the Bavarian city of Augsburg," Spiegel Online reports.

Lenin's Corpse

RIA Novosti:

The body of Vladimir Lenin may go on public display in Belarus if Russia decides to remove the father of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution from his Red Square resting place, highly placed sources have said.

Lenin's embalmed body has been displayed in a glass case in a mausoleum in Red Square since his death following a series of strokes in 1924. His continuing presence in the heart of Moscow has been an ongoing source of controversy since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. It has been suggested that Lenin's body could be buried in a new national military cemetery to be opened in 2011.

Although there has been no official announcement on this, recent opinion polls suggest such a move would have the support of two-thirds of Russians.

Sources close to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko say he is ready to order the construction of a tomb similar to the iconic Red Square mausoleum for the Soviet leader's body in the capital, Minsk. They also claim that the topic has been discussed a number of times at the highest level.

Former collective farm director Lukashenko has led the former Soviet republic of Belarus since 1994, coming to power on a wave of nostalgia for the Soviet Union.

The news comes shortly after Russian Culture Minister Alexander Avdeyev said that Lenin's body was not "a culturally valuable object" for Russia.

A hole was recently blasted in the buttocks of a 10-meter bronze Lenin statue in St. Petersburg. The incident led to protests by Communist Party supporters.

Number of the Beast

RIA Novosti:

A driver had to be cut out of his BMW after a tram rammed into his vehicle, which was displaying the number 666 on the registration plate, a police source said on Thursday.

The accident occurred near a church in east Moscow and the significance of the number 666 on the vehicle's registration plate made some emergency workers nervous.

"The driver of BMW was trapped in his car with rescuers trying to get him out," the source said, adding that no one was injured on the tram.

Rescuers said the driver was in a serious condition.

An accident investigation is underway.

Number 666 is widely known as the number of the beast, which was described in the book of Revelations in the New Testament.

Expand Your Horizons

Falcon 900LX

Photo credit: © Dassault Aviation and Dassault Falcon Jet Corp.

Business Heritage

In Washington, D.C., the Willard hosted almost every U.S. President since Franklin Pierce in 1853.

Life Savings

Choe Sang-Hun of the New York Times: "A homeless South Korean man died of cancer without being able to use a single penny of his life savings of $100,000 because he could not prove his identity to his bank, officials said Wednesday."

Beverly Hills Hotel

The Polo Lounge is the best spot to close deals in Beverly Hills.

Where's McCloud?

Nick Hirshon, Lisa L. Colangelo and Bill Hutchinson at the New York Daily News: "A wily cow turned the streets of Queens into a Wild West scene Wednesday when it broke out of a Halal slaughterhouse and had to be lassoed by cops."

Document

According to the BBC, Israeli police and intelligence officers foiled an attempt by two Palestinian men to sell an ancient papyrus document on the black market.

Old Shells

"A team of archaeologists has uncovered some of the world’s earliest shell ornaments in a limestone cave in eastern Morocco," says Oxford University.

Giant Spiders

Times of London: "Giant spiders invade Australian Outback town."

Hobbit Feet

American Museum of Natural History:

A detailed analysis of the feet of Homo floresiensis — the miniature hominins who lived on a remote island in eastern Indonesia until 18,000 years ago — may help settle a question hotly debated among paleontologists: how similar was this population to modern humans? A new research paper, featured on the cover of the current issue of Nature, may answer this question. While the so-called "hobbits" walked on two legs, several features of their feet were so primitive that their gait was not efficient.

Memories

David Crossland at Spiegel Online: "Mario Röllig is still struggling to get over his time in a Stasi prison while his jailers enjoy a peaceful retirement."

Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo

Photo credit: © JNTO

Bangkok

Last September the Oriental, Bangkok changed its name to Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok. The hotel is my favorite place to stay in Thailand.

From a press kit:

The hotel is one of the oldest in Asia (1876) and was the first hotel in Thailand.

Literary legends such as Somerset Maugham, Joseph Conrad, James Michener and Noel Coward have all visited the hotel.

Louis Thomas Leonowens, son of Anna Leonowens (Anna and the King of Siam), was once the hotel’s proprietor.

Maritime News

Voice of America: "U.S. officials said they are pressing commercial shipping companies to adopt their own measures to defend their ships from pirate attacks."

ABC Online, Australia: "An Antigua and Barbuda-flagged cargo ship has been hijacked by a band of eight pirates in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia, the government of the Caribbean state says."

Ricardo Martinelli

"Panama's New President: A Boost for Business"

Cigarettes

"A Chinese county has rescinded a rule urging its government workers to smoke more in order to boost tax income," BBC News reports.

Yesterday: Smoke!

Undersea Volcano

National Science Foundation:

Scientists who have just returned from an expedition to an erupting undersea volcano near the Island of Guam report that the volcano appears to be continuously active, has grown considerably in size during the past three years, and its activity supports a unique biological community thriving despite the eruptions.

Van Gogh's Ear

Christel Kucharz of ABC News: "He's known as the tortured genius who cut off his own ear, but two German historians now claim that painter Vincent van Gogh lost his ear in a fight with his friend, the French artist Paul Gauguin."

Taliban

Jane Perlez and Pir Zubair Shah of the New York Times:

As President Obama pours more than 20,000 new troops into Afghanistan, Taliban militants have one distinct advantage: free movement across the border with Pakistan.

South Africa

An elephant trampled a man to death at Kruger National Park.

Big Appetites

Eight hungry South Africans allegedly stole a giraffe.

Indonesia

From VOA News: "Antasari Azhar, head of Indonesia's Anti-Corruption Commission, has been named a suspect in the killing of a high-profile Indonesian businessman."

Tied and Buried

RIA Novosti:

A 20-year-old man in southwest Russia's Stavropol Territory has been charged with murdering his girlfriend's allegedly abusive brother by burying him alive in a local cemetery.

A senior investigator told RIA Novosti that the suspect, from the territory's Kirov Region, had found out that the man had been beating his sister and their mother.

The sister's boyfriend is then believed to have driven his alleged victim to a local cemetery, tied him up and buried him alive in a one-meter deep pit.

Medical experts have determined that the deceased suffocated.

Smoke!

IOL: "Officials in a county in central China have been told to smoke nearly a quarter million packs of locally made cigarettes annually or risk being fined, state media reported on Monday."

Panama

The wealthy owner of a supermarket chain won Panama's presidential election.

West Bengal

In India's state of West Bengal, a rogue elephant killed a villager.

Raccoon Ringworm

Staff writer Veronika Belenkaya at the New York Daily News: "A rare, deadly disease that has left an infant brain damaged and a teenager blind in one eye has been detected in Brooklyn, the Daily News has learned."

Wake-Up Call

Fred W. Baker III, American Forces Press Service:

The recent push by Taliban forces to take more ground in Pakistan has served as a wake-up call for the government there, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today.

In a broad-ranging interview with CNN that aired today, Gates said he feels the Pakistani leaders now realize that the Taliban is an existential threat there.

“We and others have been talking with them about how what is happening there in the western frontier area is truly an existential threat to democratic government in Pakistan,” Gates said. “And I think the movement of the Taliban into Buner really got their attention.”

Last month, the Taliban seized control of Buner, in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan, causing alarm as it moved within only about 60 miles of the capital city of Islamabad.

It is feared that al-Qaida could also use the border areas of Pakistan to launch attacks against coalition forces in Afghanistan.

Pakistan has long focused on India to its east as its main threat, Gates said, with little regard for the largely ungoverned western front.

“I think that … they’ve always felt that if it really got serious, it was a problem they could take care of,” Gates said. “That’s why I think the movement of the Taliban so close to Islamabad was a real wake-up call for them.”

Gates said he believes Pakistan is now starting to develop its military capacity to fight a counterinsurgency, and the United States is willing to share equipment and training. But, he said, there has been reluctance on the part of the Pakistani government up to this point to accept much help.

“They don’t like the idea of a significant American military footprint inside Pakistan. I understand that,” Gates said. “But we are willing to do pretty much whatever we can to help the Pakistanis in this situation.”

Gates said there are a small number of U.S. military advisors in Pakistan helping to train the Pakistani military on counterinsurgency operations.

Speaking on Afghanistan, Gates said there could be a spike in violence as the U.S. military moves thousands more troops into the southern region. But, he said, the Taliban may not be prepared to take on a larger military force toe-to-toe and instead may choose to leave and return later.

The key will be to hold areas that have been cleared of the Taliban, he said.

“The people are going to be ambivalent as long as they can’t tell who’s going to win,” Gates said. “They’re going to try and not take sides, because they’re afraid that once we leave, the Taliban will come in and kill them.”

Gates said the U.S. must work to grow and train the Afghan security forces so they can establish an enduring presence in the small villages and districts that dot the country.

And, Gates said, the Afghan government has to increase its capabilities down to the district level. “This is where I think development programs and assistance are more likely to actually happen, and for school rooms to be built, for roads to be built, for wells to be dug, … where the people can actually see government, … it may not be the national government, but the provincial government or the district government actually delivering a service and improving the quality of life,” Gates said.

Strengthening the civilian capabilities at the provincial level, part of the administration’s new strategy, will also play a key role in delivering those much-needed services, he said.

“We have to make the provincial reconstruction teams much more robust, with civilian experts, so we can begin to help the Afghans deliver these kinds of services,” the secretary said. “I think, at the end of the day, that, plus the increased effectiveness and strength of the army and the police, are really the pathway forward.”

Gates said that he likely would not recommend sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan. Once the troops that President Obama ordered there earlier this year are on the ground, there will be nearly 100,000 U.S. and partner nation troops there. Gates said it would be better to focus on building the capacity of Afghan forces so the U.S. military is not viewed as an occupying force.

“It is absolutely critical that the Afghans believe that this is their war. It is their war against people who are trying to overthrow their government that they democratically elected,” he said. “We must be their partner and their ally. If we get to the point where the Afghan people see us as occupiers, then we will have lost.”

Gates spoke highly of the political progress made in Iraq, despite the recent spikes in violence. He said that, for the most part, the violence is seen as al-Qaida working to undermine the gains there.

“There’s no question that the roots of democracy are still very shallow in Iraq. But there’s been a lot of progress,” Gates said. “And I don’t think there are very many Iraqis who want to return to the kind of violence that they saw in 2006. So I think this is mainly al-Qaida.”

Propaganda

"Why the Taliban is Winning the Propaganda War" - Jason Motlagh at Time magazine

Tsunami

Molly Bentley of the BBC:

A huge wave crashed into the New York City region 2,300 years ago, dumping sediment and shells across Long Island and New Jersey and casting wood debris far up the Hudson River.

The scenario, proposed by scientists, is undergoing further examination to verify radiocarbon dates and to rule out other causes of the upheaval.

Italy

Rachel Donadio of the New York Times:

Less than a week after writing an open letter that criticized her husband for cavorting with much younger women, the second wife of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi says she wants to file for divorce, Italian newspapers reported Sunday.

Goma

Stephen Sackur of the BBC: "Truth is, wherever you look in Goma the resourceful and the ruthless are thriving amid endemic poverty and violence."

Japan

Geisha, Tokyo

Photo credit: © Japan Convention Services, Inc./© JNTO

Maiko (apprentice geisha) in Matsuo Taisha Shrine, Kyoto

Photo credit: © Q.Sawami/© JNTO

Swine Flu

Dr. Elisabeth Rosenthal of the New York Times: "Hand-washing is the first lesson from SARS to apply to swine flu."

Defense

"Australia has announced plans to buy 100 state-of-the-art U.S. jet fighters and double the size of its small submarine fleet to keep pace with an Asian military buildup," Voice of America says.

Pirates

Voice of America has pirate news.

Psychics

Catherine Mayer of Time magazine reports from London:

As markets tumble and great institutions falter, the idea that the future can be predicted — and potentially improved by that foresight — seems irresistible.

Previous: Mysticism

Oak Trees

U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station:

U.S. Forest Service scientists have completed a study on a beetle that was first detected in California in 2004, but has now attacked 67 percent of the oak trees in an area 30 miles east of San Diego.

Their report appears in the current issue of The Pan-Pacific Entomologist and focuses on Agrilus coxalis, a wood-boring beetle so rare it does not even have an accepted common name.

Mosquito Coast

Tim Rogers at Time:

A separatist attempt to form a breakaway nation of indigenous people on Nicaragua's jungle shores has the legendary Mosquito Coast buzzing once again — and posing a dilemma for leftist President Daniel Ortega.

Lioness in Iraq

American Forces Press Service:

Cpl. Susy H. Aguilar was a city girl from coastal California when she shocked her family and friends in 2005 to become the first in her family to join the Marine Corps.

But joining the Marines was only the first step in many that would surprise and impress those around her.

Aguilar started her military career as a supply clerk at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif. Shortly thereafter, she deployed to Iraq in 2006.

During her deployment, Aguilar stepped out of the warehouse and into the ranks of an infantry unit to serve as a “lioness,” the name given to female servicemembers who search Iraqi women. The program was created to ease cultural sensitivities over interaction between coalition forces and Iraqi women.

Aguilar said she jumped at the chance to serve with the otherwise all-male infantry unit, and that her experiences with the “grunts” have had a profound impact on her.

“There was a time when we were out in what seemed like the middle of nowhere,” she said, recalling her first combat experience. “I was already scared as it was, and then we started to get mortared.

“There was a little [Iraqi] boy who I had been interacting with,” she continued. “He was really scared, and wouldn’t leave my side. One of the grunts came back, gave me his flak jacket and told me to put it on the boy. He had no problem giving up his flak and risking his own safety. That is when I decided I wanted to do a more combat-related [job]. I wanted to be more like them.”

Singapore

Goodwood Park Hotel