No More Spying

7 May 2011 - China has ordered TV stations across the country not to air any detective shows, spy thrillers or dramas about time-travel for the next three months. All have been ordered off-air with immediate effect. An official at China's state TV regulator confirmed to the BBC that the verbal order had been made. China's Communist Party is preparing to mark 90 years since its founding and the authorities want TV stations to air programmes praising the party instead. The government wants China's one billion television viewers to tune in to a wholesome diet of patriotic propaganda that will glorify the party ahead of the anniversary on 1 July.

Stradivarius for Charity

5 May 2011 - An exceptionally well-preserved Stradivarius violin, the Lady Blunt, which fetched $10m at its last sale in 2008, is to be auctioned for charity. The 1721 violin is being sold by the Nippon Music Foundation, with the entire proceeds going to their Northeastern Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund. The Lady Blunt set a record price every time it was sold last century. Auctioneers Tarisio said they will sell the instrument online on 20 June. Christopher Reuning, of Reuning & Son Violins in Boston, which sells and certifies instruments, said: "Rarely does a Stradivarius of this quality in such pristine condition and with such significant historical provenance come up for sale. "It still shows the tool-marks and brushstrokes of Stradivari. The Lady Blunt is perhaps the best-preserved Stradivarius to be offered for sale in the past century." Tarisio described the foundation's decision to sell "what is considered the finest violin of their collection" as "a gesture of profound generosity". Japan's latest police figures stated that 14,704 people are known to have died and another 10,969 remain missing following the earthquake and tsunami in March.

Taxi Please!

4 May 2011 - Japan's Nissan Motor has won a contract to provide the next generation of New York's famous yellow taxis. The deal, which is estimated to be worth $1bn (£607m) was announced by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The design will be based on Nissan's NV200 minivan model. The van, which beat US carmaker Ford Motor and Turkish manufacturer Karsan Otomotiv for the 10-year contract, will be phased in starting in 2013. Mayor Michael Bloomberg acknowledged the Nissan NV200's boxy form evokes suburbia, but he said the yellow paint would give it the iconic New York touch. The vehicle features an overhead window to offer views of city skyscrapers, and charging stations for mobile phones.

OBL

3 May 2011 - It is impossible not to write about the death of Osama Bin laden on a day like this. Among all the news about the event I learned that the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden was first revealed on Twitter. Three points for the Social network media! An IT consultant, living in Abbottabad, unknowingly tweeted details of the US-led operation as it happened. Sohaib Athar wrote that a helicopter was hovering overhead shortly before the assault began and said that it might not be a Pakistani aircraft. He only became aware of the significance of his tweets after President Obama announced details of Bin Laden's death. Mr Athar's first posting on the subject came at around 1am local time (9pm BST). He wrote: "Helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1AM (is a rare event)." Soon after, he reported the sound of an explosion, now known to have been US forces blowing-up their damaged helicopter.

Termites Attack

2 May 2011 - A forestry expert investigating a fatal rail accident in Taiwan said termites gnawed a large hole in a 100-year old tree, causing it to fall and crush an oncoming narrow-gauge train. All of the five fatalities in Wednesday's accident near the mountain resort of Alishan were tourists from China. Dozens of people were injured in the mishap. During an inspection late on Thursday, forestry expert Wang Yanan said the hole in the tree was hidden from sight, and that it toppled over at an unfortunate moment. Officials said the conductor halted the train after the tree hit one of the coaches, but that ,large branches caused several others to overturn in seconds later. 

Pigs in Mud

1 May 2011 - It is a true picture of contentment, and now a scientist is suggesting that a pig's love of mud is more than just a way to keep cool. A researcher in the Netherlands has looked at wallowing behaviour in pigs' wild relatives to find out more about what motivates the animals to luxuriate in sludge.His conclusions suggest that wallowing is vital for the animals' well-being. The study is published in the journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science. It is already well accepted that pigs use wallows to keep cool. The animals do not have normal sweat glands, so they are unable, otherwise, to regulate their body temperature. The scientist who carried out the study, Marc Bracke from Wageningen University and Research Centre, trawled the scientific literature for evidence of what motivates other animals to carry out similar behaviours. He examined closely related "wallowers", including hippos, which spend their time in water to keep cool.