More than half a million Bangladeshi troops have been ordered to eat potatoes in an attempt to ease the impact of surging rice and wheat prices.
Potatoes are not traditionally on the menu for Bangladesh's 140 million people but army chief General Moeen U. Ahmed and the country's army-backed interim government have ordered a change in diet because the tubers are now cheaper and more abundant.
World prices of rice, wheat, edible oil and pulses have almost doubled over the last year, increases that poorer Asian countries can ill afford. Bangladesh was hit last year by two severe floods and a cyclone that destroyed around three million tonnes of food grains, raising fears of a possible famine. Potatoes will also be eaten daily by air force and navy personnel along with other regimental services including police, which together have more than 500,000 members.
Octogenarian forming new party
An 82-year-old lawyer who became the first opposition parliamentarian in Singapore 27 years ago has signalled his intention to again challenge the city-state's leaders by forming a new party.
J.B. Jeyaretnam, who told Reuters yesterday he had officially applied to register The Reform Party, has been sued several times for defamation by top officials of the ruling People's Action Party (PAP).
Dr Jeyaretnam was declared bankrupt in 2001 after failing to pay S$265,000 (€123,200) in defamation damages to plaintiffs that included then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong. He was discharged from bankruptcy in May last year. Dr Jeyaretnam was barred from contesting elections while he was bankrupt.
Suit to help the disabled move
A Japanese company is developing a robotic suit that could help people with diseases such as muscular dystrophy move their limbs again, local media reported.
Cyberdyne Inc's new lab in Tsukuba, Ibaraki prefecture, plans to produce 400-500 such suits each year starting from October, targeting consumers as well as clinics, Kyodo news agency reported.
Sensors in the suit pick up weak brain signals that ripple through the surface of the wearer's skin to their muscles. The sensors then activate the suit's arms and legs, which are attached to the wearer's limbs, Kyodo said.
Known as HAL, or hybrid assistive limb, the suit can also be used to assist workers performing heavy manual work and comes with a rechargeable 100-volt battery pack that powers the suit for about two hours and 40 minutes, the agency added.
Happier with age
Happiness increases along with age, according to findings from a three-decade-long US survey released this week. Between 15 per cent and 33 per cent of 18-year-old Americans were likely to say they were very happy, with women happier than men and whites happier than blacks, based on findings from the survey conducted between 1972 and 2004.
The older people got, the more likely they were to report being happy, with slightly more than half of respondents in their 80s saying they were very happy.
"With age comes happiness. That is, overall levels of happiness increase with age, net of other factors," wrote Yang Yang, a University of Chicago sociologist, in a report on the survey published in the American Sociological Review.
Jogging pilgrim stuns motorists
Police in Germany were shocked to find a man running down a major highway pulling a three-wheeled trailer - but even more surprised to learn he was a Polish pilgrim on a 3,000-kilometre trek.
Motorists near Coburg in Bavaria saw the man towing a load with a rod attached to his back and called police.
"Officers' initial astonishment quickly turned into admiration," a police statement said on Tuesday. After questioning the man, police discovered he was a devout Roman Catholic Pole on his way home from a European pilgrimage that had taken him as far as Portugal.
Inside a converted roof luggage box, which also served as a bivouac, the 35-year-old was carrying all he needed for the journey, police said. After inspecting the vehicle, officers declared it roadworthy and sent him on his way.
Chinese turn web chatrooms red
Chinese web users, stung by international criticism of China ahead of the Beijing Olympics, have splashed red across the internet by adding hearts and "China" to their names when chatting online in a show of support. Several Reuters reporters' contact lists for online chat programmes, such as Microsoft Corp's MSN, steadily filled up with red hearts during the day, though opinions differed as to what, exactly, the symbol signified.
"This is aimed at all those forces which want to bring chaos to China," said one user who had posted a photo of herself dressed in People's Liberation Army fatigues. "That of course includes those pro-Tibet activists," she said, adding that she was boycotting French supermarket chain Carrefour "since France supports Tibet independence".
Others said the heart was simply a symbol of pride and affection for their country. "Heart + China only means 'I love China', no other meaning to me. If I wanted to express 'I am against Tibet independence', I would say I am against Tibet independence," said another user.