Australians download music illegally more frequently, by head of population, than any other country. At the same time we also happily pay for downloads and still buy physical albums at a rate which surprises the industry worldwide. According to a survey of downloads from bit torrent sites conducted by Musicmetric, a self-described data and analytics […]
Prague’s homeless take tourists off the beaten path
Prague’s homeless have found a way to profit from the city’s flourishing tourism industry: By offering an alternative to mainstream tour guides. The unorthodox chaperones show visitors another side to the city, from the people who know it best. The forays into Prague’s gritty underbelly offer visitors a glimpse at places inhabited by the city’s […]
IMF’s Lagarde urges Europe, U.S. to boost growth
The head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, called Monday for urgent action from policy makers in Europe and the United States to turn around a slowing global economy. “My main message today” is “the urgent need to implement the policy actions required to secure the global recovery,” Lagarde said in a speech at […]
Philippines predicts $15 bil from call centers by 2016
The Philippines expects to boost its revenues from call centers to nearly $15 billion by 2016, sustaining its three-year lead over rival India, industry leaders said Tuesday. The archipelago, which already hosts global giants Accenture, Convergys, IBM, NTT Docomo and Hinduja, is attracting more and more likeminded companies, Contact Center Association of the Philippines head […]
Street dance sweeps young Japan
The cool, wild and powerful movements of rhythm-heavy hip-hop dance are gripping the body and soul of ever more Japanese children and young people. For several years there have been commercial lessons offered and hip-hop competitions held around the country. Since April, though, this pastime that has swept the world since emerging from African-American culture […]
Glascock County High School Lady Panthers Softball Team Defines Sportsmanship
The Glascock County High School Lady Panthers Varsity Softball Team is sitting down together for the first time to talk about a game from earlier this month. It was game, according to the scoreboard, they did not win. However, one could argue that what they did on the field meant much more than the final […]
Forbes Photographs ‘Titans of Philanthropy’
Would you want to be remembered most for the money you made or the money you gave away? These 12 “Titans of Philanthropy,” who grace the cover of Forbes magazine for its 30th annual Forbes 400 issue, which ranks the richest people in the world, have clearly chosen the latter path. The portrait, taken by […]
Mars rover discovers mysterious ‘blueberries’
NASA’s Opportunity rover, older brother to the Curiosity rover that landed on Mars last month, has made a discovery that geologists find both puzzling and exciting, the US space agency says. Opportunity, which has been on the Red Planet since 2004, has come across an outcrop of tiny spheres – up to around three millimetres […]
Japanese man shows off Guinness’ tallest mohawk in New York park
Guinness World Records is calling it the tallest mohawk in the world. A fashion designer from Tokyo showed off his 1.13-meter hairdo in a New York City park on Wednesday. Kazuhiro Watanabe, 44, says he’s been growing the hair for 15 years. He says to make it stand upright, it takes stylists two hours, one […]
Obama defends American values in U.N. General Assembly address
U.S. President Barack Obama Tuesday delivered an unapologetic defense of American values and his under-fire Arab Spring policy, speaking to U.S. voters from a world stage at the U.N. His Republican foe Mitt Romney also muscled in on the hoopla surrounding the annual U.N. General Assembly, striking a statesmanlike pose at the nearby New York […]