Praise be to the Duke & Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry
Students of literature will be well aware that the historical novel as a genre was reportedly ‘invented’ by Sir Walter Scott with his best selling Waverley which told much of the Battle of Prestonpans. And of course Scott was a visitor here in the Pans as a child and later as a family friend of the Cadells.
Thousands of Iranians gathered at dusk against a snowy mountain backdrop to light giant bonfires in an ancient mid-winter festival dating back to Iran’s pre-Islamic past that is drawing new interest from Muslims.
Saturday’s celebration was the first in which the dwindling remnants of Iran’s once plentiful Zoroastrian religious minority were joined by thousands of Muslims, reflecting a growing interest in the strict Islamic society for the country’s ancient traditions.
An atheist organization is blasting the U.S. Postal Service for its plan to honor Mother Teresa with a commemorative stamp, saying it violates postal regulations against honoring “individuals whose principal achievements are associated with religious undertakings.”
The Freedom from Religion Foundation is urging its supporters to boycott the stamp — and also to engage in a letter-writing campaign to spread the word about what it calls the “darker side” of Mother Teresa.
Somali-born hip-hop artist K’naan, who fled the war-torn country for a new life in Canada and turned to rap to learn English, will be one of the stars of this summer’s 2010 FIFA World Cup.
About 13.7 percent of Ohioans are living in poverty, approaching a 20-year high, according to a new report.
The poverty rate began climbing two years ago because of stagnant and low wages, then it worsened as the state began hemorrhaging jobs amid the recession, according to researchers at the nonprofit Community Research Partners, which released the report Friday.
Authorities in the Chinese province of Sichuan say two Chinese pop singers face fines amounting to around $12,000 for lip-syncing during a concert.
The two women are alleged to have mimed through a concert last September.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown confirmed on Friday he would appear at a public inquiry into the Iraq War before this year’s election, a move which could damage the ruling Labor party at the ballot box.
The inquiry, led by former civil servant John Chilcot, had said it would not call Brown ahead of the vote, due by June, to avoid its hearings becoming caught up in party politics.
After the American Idols Live tour ended last year, Anoop Desai moved to Los Angeles and waited.
He waited for the record companies to approach him. He waited for the managers to come calling.
After a few weeks, he realized he needed to stop waiting.
In an effort to draw new converts, a group of Japanese monks has turned to an oddly un-Buddhist method: alcohol and rap. Calling the strategy “Buddhism 2010,” monk Kansho Tagai, who is content to be known by his new street name, Mr. Happiness, says that Japanese Buddhism is in crisis, and delivering sutras to a hip hop beat is the answer. “Getting the young people back to religion is the key to Buddhism’s survival,” Tagai tells CNN.
The recession has forced jobs being cut in all aspects of life, however you will all be glad to know their is going to be a shortage of Spacemen. Becoming the pilot of a spaceship may seem the stuff of science fiction, but it could be a regular job in just 10 years time, a report has concluded.
Richard Branson is offering big bucks to all young fit future spacemen and spacewomen a chance to have the glamour pilots had in the 1960s. ‘Imagine all the birds, dont read the small print about dangerous tests, just think about the glamour’ said Richard.
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