A Buddhist monk from Bhutan has burnt himself to death at Buddhism's holiest shrine in India, police said yesterday.
Hundreds watched the octogenarian monk sit in meditation at the Mahabodhi temple in India on Thursday and then set himself alight after daubing his body with a flammable substance. He died at a hospital in Bodh Gaya, the place where the Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment. It is considered Buddhism's holiest shrine.
Flexible concrete can beat quakes
Flexible concrete that becomes stronger after it cracks is being used in Japanese buildings to protect against earthquakes.
Developed by construction firm Kajima Corp, it contains polymer fibres the thickness of a human hair, commonly used in tyres, that hold it together and prevent cracks from spreading. Instead, the concrete bends and can bear an even stronger load after it cracks, making buildings stronger if they are jolted by one of Japan's many quakes.
Tetsushi Kanda, a senior engineer at Kajima said it stretches 100 times more than regular concrete. The product, which took over 10 years to develop, was introduced around 2003 but holds only 0.1 per cent of Japan's concrete market, partly because it costs 10 times more than regular concrete.
Bushes' home burnt by arsonist
A home where President George W. Bush lived as a young boy with his parents in Odessa, Texas, and that is now part of a presidential museum was damaged on Thursday by a fire blamed on arson. Museum administrator Lettie England said no motive for the blaze had been determined and there was no reason at this point to believe it was a political act.
The then two-year-old George W. Bush lived in the two-bedroom home from September 1948 to April 1949 with his father, former President George Bush, a trainee for an oil company, and his mother, Barbara Bush.
Presidential hopeful buttered up
While presidential hopefuls were trying to butter up supporters ahead of the January 3 Iowa caucus, one would-be voter was literally buttering up her favourite candidate, Democratic Senator Barack Obama of Illinois.
Norma Lyon, 78, a dairy farmer from Toledo, Iowa, used 23 pounds of butter to sculpt a life-sized bust of Mr Obama, who is seeking to become the first black US President.
Amy Winehouse in court
British soul singer Amy Winehouse has been summoned to a court in Norway to explain why she was caught in possession of marijuana in October. Ms Winehouse, her husband and her hairdresser were detained in a hotel in western Norway after setting off a smoke alarm and found in possession of the drug.
Ms Winehouse denied having anything to do with the marijuana and said it belonged to her hairdresser but she nevertheless signed a document accepting a fine of 4,000 Norwegian crowns (Lm225).
Britons fear post-Christmas bills
Consumers in the UK are too scared to open post-Christmas bills. Around a quarter of 16 to 44-year-olds are worried about bills arriving on their doormats in the New Year, according to the Financial Services Authority. Its poll of 2,454 adults also found that 48 per cent of them are more likely to go on a diet or book a holiday than try to sort out their finances in January (13 per cent).
Almost 60 per cent of people admitted they either did not know what Christmas was going to cost them or spent more than they had budgeted, and 23 per cent used loans or credit cards to finance the festivities.
Miss France keeps crown
Miss France 2008 has kept her crown after a row over suggestive photographs that saw members of Parliament, a bishop and the Minister for Overseas Territories spring to her defence. However she will not be able to compete in the Miss World or Miss Universe contests, where she will be replaced by Miss New Caledonia.
Valerie Begue, 22, from Reunion, won the beauty pageant, which is taken more seriously in France than in many other countries on December 8. But her reign threatened to be short-lived after a magazine published a series of photographs in which she was seen lying in a crucifixion-like pose while wearing a bikini or licking condensed milk in a suggestive manner.