The government of Kazakhstan, an ex-Soviet country the size of western Europe with an average weekly wage of $114 (€78), has urged its citizens to make more use of small planes to replace the "anachronism" of long car journeys.
Deputy Prime Minister Umirzak Shukeyev yesterday announced new laws to cut the paperwork required for flights on private planes, some of which are "no more expensive than a jeep".
"Come to any African country and they have a small runway, they take a small plane when they need to, start it like a car and go shopping to a neighbouring village," Mr Shukeyev told a government meeting.
"Driving a car to travel 1,000 kilometres is a total anachronism," he said. (Reuters)
Press button if scared of flying
People scared of flying can now press a button on their iPhone to help them deal with their panic.
Long-haul airline Virgin Atlantic Airways has launched an application, or app, for its Flying Without Fear course which boasts a success rate of over 98 per cent. Apps are a source of information, games and other novelty ideas for users of Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch devices. The airline said in a statement that this app was designed to help people overcome fear, be it of the unfamiliar aircraft, the strange noises a plane makes, or of losing control.
"Our first iPhone app will bring the benefits of our successful Flying Without Fear course to millions of people around the world who are now using mobile technology to make their lives better," Richard Branson, president of Virgin Atlantic, said in a statement. (Reuters)
Newspaper apologises for premature ad
A Philadelphia newspaper has apologised for running a department store ad congratulating the Philadelphia Phillies, who stand on the brink of World Series elimination, on winning the title.
"A Macy's advertisement in today's Philadelphia Inquirer incorrectly offered Phillies 2009 World Championship merchandise," Howard Griffin, vice president for national advertising, said in a message to readers.
"The Inquirer deeply regrets this error," Mr Griffin said. "We apologise for this error and any inconvenience this caused." (AFP)
Hippo market
The latest export from the land of milk and honey is a grass-chomping mammal that hangs out in rivers and lakes and is apparently hard to sedate.
Israel's top safari says it has become the world's top exporter of hippopotamuses, having successfully sent more than a dozen of the artiodactyls to zoos worldwide in the past few months.
Fourteen hippos have so far been shipped by air or sea to Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and Vietnam. (AFP)
Somali rebels ban musical ringtones
Sacdiyo Sheeq used to love listening to Bollywood movie songs on her mobile telephone.
But since hardline al Shabaab insurgents seized the southern Somali port of Kismayu, the 25-year-old's life has changed.
"Al Shabaab wants our ringtones to be only a Muslim cleric reading the Hadith or Koranic verse," she told Reuters.
"I used to listen to my favourite Indian songs on my cell phone, but now I have just thrown that memory away." Al Shabaab, which Washington says is al Qaeda's proxy in the failed Horn of Africa state, wants to topple the UN-backed government and impose its own strict version of Sharia law.
The heavily armed group controls much of the south and parts of the capital Mogadishu, and courts run by its clerics have ordered executions, floggings and amputations in recent months.
It has also banned movies, dancing at wedding ceremonies and playing or watching soccer in the areas under its control. (Reuters)
Clinton wishes he left White House 'in a coffin'
Former US President Bill Clinton said on Monday he would have preferred to leave the White House in a coffin because he loved being commander in chief, but signalled his political life is over.
"It's good that we have a (term) limit. Otherwise I would have stayed until I was carried away in a coffin. Or defeated in an election," Mr Clinton said at a conference in Istanbul. "I loved doing the job."
Mr Clinton won two terms in office, the maximum under the Constitution, and served from 1992 to 2000. His wife Hillary Clinton is now US Secretary of State under President Barack Obama after losing the Democratic primary to him in 2008.
Mr Clinton said he enjoyed his current position as chairman of the Clinton Global Initiative, which raises funds to address issues ranging from healthcare to poverty to climate change.
But the former president's surprise visit to North Korea in August to secure the release of two jailed American journalists showed he still wields considerable diplomatic clout - and stole some of the spotlight from his wife.
"I loved being President, but I like my current life too... I'll leave the politics to my wife and to President Obama," he said. (Reuters)