Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has obtained a divorce from his second wife, Veronica Lario, and will have to pay her 3 million euros ($A3.86 million) a month in alimony, media report. The Corriere della Sera newspaper reported on Friday the ruling by a court in Milan, which came days after Berlusconi, 76, announced […]
Tsunami bike exhibited by Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson Motor Co. opened an exhibit Wednesday in its Milwaukee museum featuring a motorcycle found washed up in Canada in April and belonging to tsunami survivor Ikuo Yokoyama. Calling the bike a “personal object” that “people can relate to,” the museum’s senior curator, Kristen Jones, said the special display is intended to honor the lives […]
Chinese writer wins Nobel Prize for literature
Chinese author Mo Yan has won the Nobel Literature Prize for writing that mixes folk tales, history and the contemporary, the Swedish academy has announced. ”Through a mixture of fantasy and reality, historical and social perspectives, Mo Yan has created a world reminiscent in its complexity of those in the writings of William Faulkner and […]
Where to find the world’s best coffee
I like coffee. I like drinking coffee, I like talking coffee, and I occasionally like writing about coffee. Call it an addiction, but it’s one plenty of Australians seem to share. But where do you get the best coffee fix when you’re on the road? I compiled a list a few years ago, but I’ve […]
Boris Johnson seeks to lure French from ‘tyranny’
London’s mayor, Boris Johnson, has sought to woo talented French immigrants to the British capital and away from the “tyranny” they are suffering under Socialist President Francois Hollande, who has raised taxes on the rich. Speaking to a rally of Conservative Party members at the Tories’ annual conference in Birmingham today, Mr Johnson invoked the […]
Mini-satellite to flash code from space
A palm-sized Japanese satellite in orbit around Earth will flash a Morse code message that will be visible around the world from next month, the mission commander said on Friday. Researchers hope the satellite, measuring 10 centimeters cubed and launched from the International Space Station on Friday, will become the first orbiter to transmit an […]
Gaddafi ‘betrayed to French by Assad’
The Assad regime in Syria brought about Muammar Gaddafi’s death by providing France with the key intelligence which led to the operation that killed him, sources in Libya have claimed. French spies operating in Sirte, Gaddafi’s last refuge, were able to set a trap for the Libyan dictator after obtaining his satellite telephone number from […]
Nissan wants to sell Datsuns for as low as $3,000
Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn wants to relaunch retro-brand Datsun with a price tag as low as $3,000 when it hits the road in 2014, a report said. The company will target drivers in developing nations—India, Indonesia and Russia—offering the barebones model at prices that put it well below current Nissan offerings, according to the […]
Philippine president announces agreement to end Muslim rebellion
Philippine President Benigno Aquino announced Sunday that a deal had been reached with Muslim separatist rebels to end a decades-long insurgency that has left more than 150,000 people dead. “This framework agreement paves the way for a final and enduring peace in Mindanao,” Aquino said, referring to the southern third of the Philippines that the […]
Inside ‘the worst building in the history of mankind’
North Korea hopes to complete within three years an ambitious but long-delayed hotel under construction in Pyongyang for 25 years, a travel firm said Friday after it was given rare access to the site. The hotel has come in for much criticism over the years, with Esquire magazine once dubbing it “the worst building in […]