The Daily Star, Lebanon
August 21, 2012 01:04 AM By John Delury

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is accompanied by his wife Ri Sol Ju during a visit to the Rungna People's Pleasure Ground in Pyongyang Photo: AFP/Getty Images

The ghost of Deng Xiaoping may lurk in Pyongyang, with signs that the world’s youngest head of state is trying to shake up his isolated and impoverished nation. From the sudden dismissal of his top military leader, on grounds of “illness,” to a pop music show featuring American icons Mickey Mouse and Rocky Balboa, to a novel guest-worker program allowing North Koreans to earn hard currency in China, Kim Jong Un is taking a firm grip on power even as he loosens strictures and tells officials to try new things.

With a million-man army and nuclear weapons program, North Korea remains a source of uncertainty and instability. Can Kim Jong Un bring North Korea peaceably into the 21st century? But the example of Deng Xiaoping’s early efforts to modernize and moderate a deeply ideological China suggests promising parallels.

Google
By Ella Ide (AFP)–6 days ago

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican has hailed its report on the decision to put the pope's butler on trial as proof of its transparency, but critics suspect the secretive state of diverting attention from its scandals.

The Church has been plagued by controversy in recent years, from allegations of money laundering and criminal associations to child sex abuse, and has been repeatedly accused by critics of covering up its sins to protect insiders.

To read the rest of this story, visit Google.com.

The New York Times
By KIM SEVERSON
Published: August 17, 2012

Jessie Misskelley, left, Damien Echols, center, and Jason Baldwin in October in New York.

ATLANTA — The list of things you learn about yourself when you get out of prison after 17 years is long: You’re allergic to shrimp, or you’re paralyzed by the choices in a grocery store or moved to tears by the softness of the night sky.

Psychology Today
Published on August 10, 2012 by Marc Bekoff, Ph.D. in Animal Emotions

Didn't we already know this? Yes we did.

Every now and again I receive an email message I ignore after reading the subject line. I know I'm not alone in following this rule of thumb, but today I broke down and opened a message the subject line of which read "Scientists Declare: Nonhuman Animals Are Conscious". I honestly thought it was a joke, likely from one of my favorite newspapers, The Onion. However, it wasn't.

The Telegraph
6:03AM BST 16 Aug 2012

As Britain loses faith in its banks and feels shockwaves from the euro crisis, one city is trying to keep local wealth in local pockets with the launch of its own currency.