‘Frenemy’, ’staycations’ and ‘vlog’ enter Merriam-Webster’s dictionary

October 6th, 2009 KUALA LUMPUR - The Malay Criminal Investigations Department has revealed that women from other countries are making big bucks in the prostitution trade in the country, with Uzbekistan women earning RM100,000 monthly. Criminal Investigations Department Director Comm Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Zinin said police considered the fight against prostitution a serious matter and would never let up in their effort to eradicate it.

September 24th, 2009 LONDON - A plumber has built the world's longest motorbike measuring 46ft to enter the Guinness Book of Records. Colin Furze's 14.03 metres long vehicle beat the previous record of 9.06 metres.

September 16th, 2009 LONDON - Baffled parents trying to make sense of words coming out of their teenage children's mouth have help at hand, for a guide demystifying the slang used by youngsters has been published. Lucy Tobin, the author of 'Pimp Your Vocab', revealed she was hit with the idea of a new dictionary of "teenglish" terminology while at university, when a tutor was left puzzled by the term "IM-ing".

September 12th, 2009 TEHRAN - Tehran Saturday said it was ready to resume diplomatic talks with the West on the basis of its latest proposals regarding global issues, but vowed to make no concessions in the nuclear dispute. "Iran is seriously willing to enter talks with the world powers on the basis of the items mentioned in the latest package," Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said in a press briefing in Tehran.

September 12th, 2009 BRUSSELS - Arguing that India is still inspired by Bhakti or devotional songs, a renowned Belgian professor has appealed for more work in the field. "We cannot overestimate the impact of Bhakti songs on modern India," Winand Callewaert said while speaking at a ceremony at the Indian embassy here Friday evening.

August 17th, 2009 KABUL - Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, one of the world's and Afghanistan's most wanted warlords, has said that he will not enter into any peace talks while foreign troops remain in Afghanistan. Hekmatyar, who was once Afghanistan's prime minister and now leads the Hezb-e-Islami political party and a paramilitary group in Afghanistan, told Sky News in an interview that: "The important issue for us is to end the occupation and re-establish the country's sovereignty.

July 18th, 2009 NEW DELHI - A Chinese man is set to enter the Guinness Book of World Records after making a wedding dress as long as a 1,579-m train for his lady love. Zhao Peng, from Jilin, a city in Jilin province, met his soon-to-be bride on the Internet.

July 7th, 2009 TEHRAN - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Tuesday vowed to enter a "new era" and offered his country's cooperation in tackling global challenges. "We are entering a new era in both internal and external policies," Ahmadinejad said in a speech on state television, his first since the official approval of his re-election.

June 25th, 2009 DUBAI - The English version of the Qatar-based television news channel Al Jazeera is set to make its first major foray into the US market July 1 through a cable TV company in the Washington DC area. "I can tell you that on July 1 we are going to launch an agreement with a Washington DC-based company that has around 2.3 million subscribers," said Al Jazeera's director general Wadah Khanfar.

June 15th, 2009 LONDON - A new study has shown that a majority of Brits find it difficult to properly spell the word 'definitely'. The 10-letter word of English language topped the list of commonly misspelt words as most of them mix up the second 'I' with an 'A'.

June 7th, 2009 MELBOURNE - Bunning, the slang word for group sex, will remain known forever, as it has been added to the latest edition of the Macquarie Dictionary. The term was made infamous by Matthew Johns and the Cronulla Sharks.

June 6th, 2009 LONDON - A busty English cop has made her way into the final of a national competition for large boobs. Twenty-seven-year-old Francesca Selley's 32FF chest saw her reach the last 30 of the 'Bra Star 2009' contest.

June 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US Special Operations Forces have standing orders to enter Pakistan if they find any 'conclusive' evidence about the presence of the 'big three', which includes, Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri and Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar. According to a Washington Post report, the US Special Operation Forces have already established ground teams on the Pak-Afghanistan border, and would move into Pakistan if they receive any substantial information about the presence of any of the 'big three' in a particular area.

May 23rd, 2009 RAWALPINDI - Slack visa policies and lack of watchfulness by the concerned Pakistan authorities may be utilized by the pro-Taliban elements to enter the country, Pakistan High Commissioner to Britain, Wajid Shamsul Hasan has warned. According to the Dawn, Hasan has already informed the concerned authorities in Islamabad that the on-going military offensive in the Swat Valley may see the foreign based Taliban operatives sneak into Pakistan to offer help to their counterparts.

April 26th, 2009 RAWALPINDI - Security has been beefed-up here following intelligence reports about two suicide bombers trying to enter the city. According to a senior police official, two out of six suicide bombers could enter Rawalpindi, and the remaining four could trigger suicide blasts in Karachi.