Don’t let flying champagne cork ruin your Valentine’s Day

October 10th, 2009 Obama says will end 'don't ask, don't tell' policyWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama pledged to end the ban on homosexuals serving openly in the military in a speech Saturday, but acknowledged to a cheering crowd that the policy changes he promised on the campaign trail are not coming as quickly as they expected. "I will end 'don't ask-don't tell,'" Obama said at the annual dinner of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay civil rights advocacy group.

July 16th, 2009 Remy Cointreau Q1 sales down 4.5 percentPARIS — Wine and spirits group Remy Cointreau reported Thursday a 4.5 percent drop in sales in the April-June quarter as the economic crisis hurt Champagne sales and customers continued destocking. The Paris-based distiller, which traces its origins to the founding of Remy Martin Cognac in 1724, said revenue in its fiscal first quarter fell to euro138.6 million ($195.27 million) from euro149.9 million a year earlier.

June 1st, 2009 Cleveland police say bus shot, flying glass hits 2CLEVELAND — Police in Cleveland say a gunshot shattered a window on a Greyhound bus, slightly injuring two passengers who were hit by flying glass. The bus bound for New York was hit about 3 a.m.

April 25th, 2009 LONDON - Hollywood actor Brad Pitt is taking flying lessons while girlfriend Angelina Jolie shoots her new movie in New York. The couple and their six children have set up home in the outskirts of the city while Jolie shoots for 'Salt', reports contactmusic.com.

April 24th, 2009 JOHANNESBURG - Champagne flowed on the streets of Johannesburg Thursday evening as South Africa's ruling African National Congress celebrated its expected victory in Wednesday's general elections with a mass street party, even as votes were still being counted. ANC leader Jacob Zuma, clad in a black and yellow ANC leather jacket, was in festive mood as he took to a makeshift stage outside the party's headquarters in central Johannesburg to address supporters and entertain them with some dancing and a rendition of his trademark revolutionary song, 'Awulethu Umshini Wami (Bring me my machine gun)'.

March 29th, 2009 HONG KONG - A bottle of rare champagne fetched 164,560 Hong Kong dollars ($21,097) at a wine auction here, setting a new world record for the price of any bottle of champagne sold at an auction. The auction collected an impressive 35 million Hong Kong dollars ($4.5 million), with 96 percent of the stocks sold to buyers from Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Indonesia, among others.

March 6th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Vehemently denying that security lapses had led to the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore, Punjab provincial Governor Salman Taseer said Thursday the report of the probe into the incident would be released Friday. 'It is wrong to say there was no security.

March 6th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The Pakistani authorities Thursday went on the back foot in the face of charges that lax security had led to the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore - and TV footage showed motorcycle-riding gunmen fleeing past an approaching police vehicle. Sri Lankan spinner Muthiah Muralitharan, Australian umpire Simon Taufel, English match referee Chris Broad and former England player Dominic Cork went public with their charges of security lapses - a chorus that former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf also joined in.

March 4th, 2009 LONDON - Former England Test player Dominic Cork said Tuesday's terrorist assault on Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore was 'one of the most frightening experiences' imaginable. 'It's just been one of the most frightening experiences you could ever witness,' said Cork, whose bus was just ahead of the ones carrying the Sri Lankan players and umpires.

February 14th, 2009 AMMAN - A Jordanian dressed a donkey in red and placed it at the entrance of the city of Ramtha, 80 km north of Amman, to express his rejection of celebrations marking Valentine's Day, the daily al-Dustour reported Sunday. 'The move is intended to send a clear message to all that celebrating Valentine's Day is strange to our religion, traditions and culture,' Ayman Quaider told the paper, which published a picture of the donkey wrapped with a red piece of cloth and with red roses fixed to its ears.

February 13th, 2009 LONDON - British Grammy winners Adele and Duffy have discovered music awards don't count when it comes to celebrating Valentine's Day. They were both single and sad on the romantic day.

February 13th, 2009 KUALA LUMPUR - Each day of the last three years has been Valentine's Day for a Malaysian couple -- she is aged 106 years while her husband is just 37. When Muhammad Noor Che Musa and Wok Kundor tied the knot over three years ago, nobody gave their marriage much of a chance.

February 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Is Valentine's Day only meant for cooing couples ? Nah, say singles who don't mind their solitary status and plan to enjoy the day as much. Gone are the days when people without a date used to experience pangs of depression on Feb 14 every year and at the sight of couples exchanging sweet nothings, cards, chocolates et al.

January 24th, 2009 LONDON - Oscar winning actor Morgan Freeman's hand is still paralysed and he will not be able to fly his aircraft until he recovers. He is taking a long time to heal, reports contactmusic.com.

December 22nd, 2008 LONDON - Champagne sales have been falling in keeping with the tone of global doom and gloom, according to new figures, but manufacturers say people should be drinking up the bubbly to keep up spirits. Champagne sales fell by 16.5 percent in October compared with the same month last year, according to the latest figures from France’s champagne board, the CIVC.