Chatter: What we're hearing
News DeskDecember 4, 2009 07:07To receive the morning chatter by email, let us know at editors@globalpost.com.
Need to know: Suicide attackers stormed a mosque close to Pakistan's army headquarters, killing 35 people during Friday prayers as they sprayed gunfire at worshippers and threw grenades before blowing themselves up. And NATO's top official says countries will send at least 7,000 extra troops to support the U.S. surge in Afghanistan.
Want to know: Perhaps the most famous piece of subterranean Paris real estate is the wine cellar at La Tour, stretching for 27 rooms and holding 450,000 bottles. Of that immense collection, 4 percent — or 18,000 bottles — will be sold Monday and Tuesday in a public auction, the first known sale of its kind since the restaurant began in 1582.
And the chronic shortage of psychiatrists in India has become a glaring issue.
Dull but important: Worries grew that Venezuela is on the verge of a banking crisis, causing a run on smaller lenders, sinking the country's currency and bond prices, and stoking fears that president Hugo Chavez could nationalize the banking system.
Just because: Scientists in Britain have created the world’s smallest "snowman," measuring about a fifth of the width of a human hair. A focused ion beam was used to carve the snowman's eyes and smile, and to deposit a tiny blob of platinum for the nose.
Wacky: Beavers get tired too. For that reason, Berlin has fashioned a mini rest stop for the furry animals to take a break as they swim through the city in the Spree River. It marks a significant change since the times when Berliners saw beavers as a tasty treat during Lent.
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