Obama's green jobs czar resigns over 9/11, Bush statementsSeptember 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Van Jones, President Barack Obama's green jobs czar, has resigned amid a furor over his past statements regarding the Bush administration and the September 11 terrorist attacks. In a resignation letter released by the White House just after midnight on Sunday, Jones said he was the victim of a smear campaign.
'Jealous' female birds change singing pattern to prevent males from flirtingJuly 19th, 2009 LONDON - Researchers from Oxford University have found that female birds change the way they sing to prevent males from flirting with other females. They found that warbling antbirds, which form lifelong partnerships in the tropical forests of South America where they are found, normally sing duets to mark their territory.
Oxford, McGill universities tie up on brain researchJuly 4th, 2009 TORONTO - Two prestigious universities - Oxford in Britain and McGill in Canada - have joined hands for research on the human brain. The two universities are among world leaders in neuroscience research.
Oxford named top university for eighth consecutive yearJune 3rd, 2009 LONDON - The latest Times Good University Guide has named Oxford as Britain's leading university for the eighth successive year, but there are big changes in individual subjects. According to The Times, Oxford maintained its lead over other British universities because of factors like better staffing levels, degree classifications and higher spending on student facilities.
Give poets their privacy: Arvind MehrotraMay 27th, 2009 LONDON - Noted Indian poet Arvind Krishna Mehrotra has pleaded the poet's right to privacy after an election for the Oxford University's high-profile poetry professorship sank into chaos amid allegations of mud-slinging and conspiracy. Mehrotra secured 129 votes for the coveted position, but Ruth Padel, the British poet who won with 297 votes, resigned from the post Monday after revelations she had alerted journalists about allegations concerning the frontrunner, Caribbean Nobel laureate Derek Walcott.
Indian poet faces defeat in top Oxford job raceMay 17th, 2009 LONDON - Indian poet Arvind Mehrotra has lost the chair of Professor of Poetry at the University of Oxford to British classical scholar Ruth Padel. Mehrotra lost the battle to Padel, who became the first female to hold the post since its inception in 1708, by 297 votes to 129 with 51 ballot papers spoilt.
Obama to host poetry party at White HouseMay 13th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama has invited writers and musicians to perform in what is being billed as the first White House poetry party. Consolidating his reputation for cool after his performance as a stand-up comic on Saturday night, Obama has invited poets and writers, backed by jazz musicians, to perform in the East Room tonight.
Gorilla mums clap hands to keep their families togetherMay 9th, 2009 LONDON - Female gorillas deliberately clap their hands to attract the attention of male silverbacks and infants over long distances, which helps them keep their family together, according to a study. This is the second time that such behaviour has been recorded in wild western lowland gorillas in the forests of central Africa.
Ursula Askham Fanthorpe, English poet inspired by hospital work, dies at 79May 1st, 2009 English poet UA Fanthorpe dies at 79LONDON — U.A. Fanthorpe, a highly regarded English poet who was first inspired by the human tragedy she saw in a neurological hospital, has died at age 79.
India's A.K. Mehrotra in race for Oxford poetry positionApril 23rd, 2009 LONDON - It is a 300-year-old post at the venerable Oxford University and previous occupants include W.H. Auden, Matthew Arnold and Seamus Heaney.
British scientist Stephen Hawking 'very ill' in hospitalApril 20th, 2009 LONDON - British physicist Stephen Hawking, the world-renowned author of 'A Brief History of Time', was admitted to hospital in the university city of Cambridge Monday where he was described as being 'very ill'. The 67-year-old scientist, who is wheelchair-bound and speaks with the help of a voice synthesiser as a result of motor neurone disease, was taken to hospital for tests.
Proof surfaces to show dirty tricks website did involve senior UK Labour party leadersApril 19th, 2009 LONDON - A new e-mail shows that Labour's General Secretary Ray Collins chaired a secret meeting to create the Red Rag website now ensnared in the Smear Gate scandal. The e-mail's existence links the dirty tricks site to the very top of the Labour Party, and it exposes the lie put out by Downing Street, and repeated by government ministers this week, that the smears were just a minor aberration cooked up by a couple of renegades acting alone-and which would never have seen light of day.
Oxford defeat Cambridge in 155th Boat RaceMarch 30th, 2009 LONDON - Oxford defeated Cambridge in the 155th annual boat race. Fortunes change quickly in the Boat Race, and Saturday's was no exception.
Amy Winehouse finds solace in poetryMarch 12th, 2009 LONDON - Troubled singer Amy Winehouse, who has just returned from a Caribbean holiday, has revealed that she finds solace in poetry. "I like poetry.
Log on to www.alpha60.de/research/muc/ to read love poetry from world's first computerMarch 12th, 2009 LONDON - The first task for the world's earliest computer - the Manchester-built Mark One - was to compose romantic verse. And now, an expert has recreated the "love poetry generator" on the Internet.
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