A Cambridge University project to safeguard the world’s 6,000 spoken languages has been launched after it emerged half could die out within a generation, the Daily Telegraph reports.
The World Oral Literature Project aims to help cultures under threat from globalisation create lasting records of their native languages. The project led by Cambridge University’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology has already handed out around 10 grants to tribes from Mongolia to Nigeria – and the researchers admitted …

US Senator Edward Kennedy, who is almost certainly dying of brain tumour, wants again to change his state’s succession law so that in case of his passing, the state would get a senator from the Democratic Party.
Kennedy already successfully lobbied for the change of the succession law in 2004, when Democrat John Kerry was running for White House. Back then, Republican Mitt Romney was a Governor and Kennedy was terrified that the Governor, who had …

Hollywood conservative Jon Voight says that US President Barack Obama is making the country socialist, and he’s concerned whether the President is creating a civil war.
“There’s a real question at stake now. Is President Obama creating a civil war in our own country?” Voight asked, according to the Washington Times.
“We are witnessing a slow, steady takeover of our true freedoms,” Voight said. “We are becoming a socialist nation, and whoever can’t see this is probably …

According to Liberal Democrats, households face a £50 rise in their council tax bills as the recession has left councils with a £900 million black hole, the Daily Telegraph reports.
Historically low interest rates mean councils investments of £25 billion will earn just £400 million this year compared with an expected £1.26 billion. The shortfalls could be passed onto households with a £50 rise in average Council Tax bills, according to the Liberal Democrats, which discovered the …

A senior Scotland Yard officer, Detective Chief Inspector Mick Neville, warned police must do more to head off a crisis in public confidence over the use of surveillance cameras, and that only one crime is being solved for every 1,000 CCTV cameras, the Daily Telegraph reports.
DCI Neville said officers need to improve their results to make captured images count against criminals. He said there are more than a million CCTV cameras in London and the Government …

Apple today announced that Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard will go on sale Friday, 28th August at Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers, and that Apple’s online store is now accepting pre-orders, PRNewswire reports.
Snow Leopard will be available as an upgrade for Mac OS X Leopard users for $29.
Mac OS X Server Snow Leopard will also go on sale Friday at $499.

Downing Street said today that Prime Minister Gordon Brown believes the early release of the the Lockerbie bomber is too sensitive to comment on, The Times reports.
Brown is under growing pressure to say whether he agreed with the release of Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi, amid accusations that he is ducking a subject of national importance while offering his views on the Ashes.
Defending the Prime Minister’s silence, Brown’s spokesman said: “Clearly, the Prime Minister recognises this …

A motorcycle gang grabbed £2 million of jewels from an exclusive London store in just 39 seconds, The Times reports.
Six robbers on three motorcycles roared up the pavement to Mozafarian jewellers opposite Harrods in Knightsbridge. One of the robbers smashed open the glass door with a sledgehammer before the gang, all wearing crash helmets, stormed in and smashed open display cabinets, the newspaper says.
The haul of gems included a £500,000 diamond necklace. However, the robbers were …

Last weekend I had the pleasure of watching State of Play. Both versions of it – the American two-hour film from 2009, starring Russell Crowe, Dame Helen Mirren and Ben Affleck, and BBC’s six-episode mini-series from 2003, starring David Morrissey, Bill Nighy and John Simm. And I’m glad to say that the eight hours I spent on watching the both versions were not a waste in any regard.
The plot of both the series and the …

Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will make it clear in his discussions with US and European officials abroad that Israel will not accept any limitations on its sovereignty in Jerusalem, Jerusalem Post reports.
The sources in the Prime Minister’s Office told the newspaper that Netanyahu also stressed that the normal life in the settlements will need to be assured.
Netanyahu was leaving Israel for a visit in London and Berlin, where he is scheduled to meet with …

Actress Gillian Anderson has revealed a third X Files movie is in the pipeline and could be released in 2012, the Daily Telegraph reports.
The 44-year-old, who plays Dana Scully in the show, told media at the Sarajevo Film Festival there had been discussions for a possible release in 2012.
Anderson starred in the X Files movies with David Duchovny, 49, as Fox Mulder, in 1998 and 2008.
The first X Files film, The X Files Fight the …

Day 7 was our last day in Scotland and in the evening we started heading back home. But in the morning we decided to head towards Stirling and Edinburgh, the latter being the capital of Scotland.
The weather on Friday was probably the worst since our trip began, it had been pouring rain since early morning and it continued on and off the whole day. There wasn’t even any hope for a better weather as the …

Because of the release of the Lockerbie terrorist Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, the American consumers are already being urged to boycott British and Scottish exports and holiday in Ireland instead of the UK, the Daily Mail reports.
Any boycott by the US could cost the UK economy billions. American travellers spend more money in this country than any other nation – about £2.2billion a year.
Scottish whisky could also suffer because America is the biggest market for exports …

The editor of the Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet, which caused a media stir in recent days with an article claiming IDF soldiers were harvesting organs from Palestinians, published an editorial today, saying that the newspaper had no evidence that such horrific practices were being carried out, Jerusalem Post reports.
“I’m not a Nazi,” Aftonbladet editor Jan Helin wrote. “I’m not anti-Semitic.” Instead, he described himself as “a responsible editor who gave the green light to an article because …

The popular Tel Aviv club “Rogatka” that refused to serve Israeli Defence Forces’ soldiers in uniforms, is to be closed down, according to a commentator on The Empire Chronicles.
“Sometimes there is justice! This morning, according to Army Radio, Rogatka is to be closed down due to lack of license,” commentator “Linichka” wrote.
I haven’t got a confirmation yet as Israeli English-language websites don’t write about it yet, but if any of you see anything on the subject …

The rival Koreas have held their first top level talks in nearly two years, Reuters reports.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, whose 18 months in office have seen a sharp deterioration in relations with Pyongyang, met a North Korean delegation bearing a message from Kim Jong-il. The 30-minute meeting was a new beginning but “it’s too early to expect a thaw in inter-Korean relations”, a senior presidential official told the Yonhap news agency.
The meeting is the …