On this day 16 years ago, a computer beat a human chess champion in an official tournament for the first time in history. On February 16, 1996, World Chess Champion Gary Kasparov lost the first game to Deep Blue, an IBM supercomputer. It was a shocking 3-hour victory, but Kasparov eventually...
Vetoed to death
posted by Houston
The death toll continues to rise as the Syrian army begins another round of bombardment of the city of Homs in its efforts to stop the uprising against the government. This comes just days after a UN Security Council resolution calling Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down was vetoed by...
The right to say “I ...
posted by Houston
A US court overturned a ban on same-sex marriage in California. The judges ruled that the ban known as Proposition 8 “works a meaningful harm to gays and lesbians” by denying their rights to civil marriage in violation of the 14th Amendment. But supporters of Proposition 8 say...
Sea you in court
posted by Houston
Here’s a whale of a tale for you. In a US court, 5 killer whales have been named as plaintiffs in a lawsuit that argues they deserve the same constitutional protection from slavery as humans. A US judge must now consider this complaint made by People for the Ethical Treatment of...
Diamond Jubilee
posted by Houston
Today, Queen Elizabeth II marked the 60th anniversary of her ascension to the British throne. Such an occasion is rare indeed; Queen Victoria in 1897 is the only other British monarch to have celebrated a Diamond Jubilee and the only one to have reigned longer. In her Diamond Jubilee message,...
A season of sorrow
posted by Houston
Extremely cold weather continues to claim lives across Europe, with the death toll now in the hundreds. Over the past couple of weeks, tens of thousands have been cut off by snow or have lost power. Major transportation hubs have had to shut down or reduce services. And many countries have...
A Prince to the sear...
posted by Houston
Prince William has arrived in the Falklands to begin a 6-week tour of duty as a Royal Air Force search and rescue pilot. ‘The Prince’s tour comes at a time of rising tensions between the UK and Argentina over the disputed territory. The Argentinean government described it as a provocative...
Mad dogs and angry s...
posted by Houston
A group of Hong Kongers launched a newspaper ad that refers to Mainland Chinese as locusts. The ad protests the influx of Mainland mothers who come to the city to give birth so their children may live in Hong Kong. The issue at hand is resources. Many Hong Kongers feel that Mainlanders are...
Facebook shares
posted by Houston
Facebook announced that it has filed for an IPO to raise US$5 billion. This would put the valuation of the company between US$75-100 billion, making it the biggest IPO in Internet history and among the top 25 among all IPOs. Founder Mark Zuckerberg holds about 28% of the shares, which is...
Queen of the road
posted by Houston
A new study puts the brakes on the stereotype that men are better drivers than women – at least when it comes to parking. NCP, a car park operator, analysed 2,500 drivers across England and gave women a score of 13.4 out of 20 compared to 12.3 for men. Technique, accuracy and time were...
JFK – reel intrigue...
posted by Houston
A recording of the conversations that took place on Air Force One on the day Kennedy was assassinated was finally released today. This recording contains 42 minutes missing from the version made public in 1971. New bits include sinister codenames, obscure figures and obscure phone calls. All...
An epic victory
posted by Houston
When we read about Novak Djokovic’s victory over Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open, we were reminded of this quote: I always turn to the sports section first. The sports section records people’s accomplishments; the front page nothing but man’s failures. – Earl Warren...
The colours of Afric...
posted by Houston
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged leaders at the African Union Summit to respect gay rights. Homosexuality is illegal in many African states and discrimination based on sexual orientation is often sanctioned by some governments. No matter how homosexuality sits with you...
Care is in the air
posted by Houston
Activists in South Korea released 5 huge gas-filled balloons filled with 1,000 pairs of warm socks over the North Korean border as air-borne care packages. The socks can be worn during the harsh winter or sold for food. Reportedly, warm socks are so rare in the impoverished country that a...
Cinderella… ki...
posted by Houston
Talk about a political misstep. After a comedic series of events, protestors returned a shoe that was lost by Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard the day before. The incident began when protestors from the Aboriginal Tent Embassy surrounded a restaurant where Gillard was attending a...
Gates donates. Do yo...
posted by Houston
Microsoft founder Bill Gates pledged US$750 million today to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, a fund that has recently lost donors due to financial losses allegedly stemming from corruption. Gates made the announcement at the World Economic Forum in Davos, hoping his...
Let’s get it o...
posted by Houston
A new law has been passed in Los Angeles that requires all actors in adult movies to use condoms. While the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which pushed long and hard for this law, are still basking in the afterglow, porn producers are feeling a little shafted. They say films with condoms aren’t...
Did you say ‘E...
posted by Houston
If you thought E is for elephant, you wouldn’t be alone. This majestic creature has so captured our collective imagination that it would be hard to imagine someone who doesn’t know what it is. Sadly, for one species of elephant, the E could soon stand for extinction. The World Wildlife Fund...
Happy Chinese New Ye...
posted by Houston
May the Year of the Dragon bring you all the happiness you wish for, all the health you deserve and more good fortune than you could dream...
The long road home
posted by Houston
Stylised calligraphy of Chinese characters for “Returning Home” Think your holiday rush is bad? Tomorrow is the Chinese New Year. And with it comes the world’s largest human migration. More than 230 million migrant workers will journey from the cities to their homes in rural...
A moment of silence
posted by Houston
Legendary American singer Etta James passed away yesterday, just 5 days before her 74th birthday. A Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner, James’s musical style defied style, crossing genres that include blues, R&B, rock and roll, soul, gospel and jazz....
Denial of Justice
posted by Houston
The collective of hackers known as Anonymous has claimed responsibility for cyber attacks that had taken down the websites of the US Department of Justice as well as those of several entertainment companies. Personal information about one company’s chairman was also posted online. The attacks...
Kodak’s last s...
posted by Houston
Today, the legendary Eastman Kodak Company filed for bankruptcy protection in the US after years of failing to keep up with the digital age. For over a century, Kodak was a pioneer in imaging. The company helped 3 generations immortalise their most precious ‘Kodak Moments’. The first photos...
A dark day for free ...
posted by Houston
Wikipedia went dark today in protest of SOPA and PIPA – two proposed anti-piracy bills that, if passed by the US Congress, could amount to censorship. Joining in the protest in various ways are popular sites such as Reddit, Flickr, Mozilla and Google. The movement has also been joined by...
The Anti-Social Netw...
posted by Houston
In a recent survey of 24 countries, Australia ranked number one in the world for bullying on social networks like Facebook. The Ipsos Social Research Institute noted that among all cyber-harassment cases in Australia, 9 out of 10 parents reported that the bullying occurred on these websites....
Reach for the stars
posted by Houston
After a failed launch and 2 months stuck in orbit, the Russian Mars probe Fobos-Grunt finally fell and burned up in the atmosphere last night. However, this article isn’t about Fobos-Grunt’s failure. Sure, the Russians spent 12 years and US$165 mission on the mission (a drop in the ocean...
OH LA LA-
posted by Houston
Just before the weekend began, France saw its Standard and Poor’s rating downgraded from AAA to AA+ for the first time since 1975. Downgrades were also given to 8 other European countries as the economic crisis continues. French PM François Fillon was quick to say the downgrade was not a...
Upsetting the apple ...
posted by Houston
Apple is suspending sales of its new iPhone 4S at its China stores after fans desperate to get their hands on it fought with a security and threw eggs at an official outlet. The decision was made following an incident at its Beijing store in the upmarket Sanlitun district. Fans who had lined...
Black Friday. White ...
posted by Houston
It’s Friday the 13th and police in Hiroshima, Japan are telling people to lock their doors. A prisoner escaped from a penitentiary wearing nothing but white underwear. Li Guolin, a Chinese national serving 23 years for attempted murder, apparently stripped off his prison garbs yesterday and...
Gitmo – a deca...
posted by Houston
Ten years ago, the first prisoners arrived at the US Naval Base in Guantánamo Bay. Since then, almost 800 men have been imprisoned there without trial or charge – despite criticism and challenges by the UN and human rights groups. Sadly, many of the detainees were innocent, caught while...
Five minutes to Doom...
posted by Houston
The symbolic ‘Doomsday Clock’ that scientists use to measure the risk of a nuclear holocaust has moved 1 minute closer to midnight. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has moved the clock to just 5 minutes till midnight. Their reasons include the lack of political action to address nuclear...