France signals 'breakthrough' in climate talks
France signalled a "breakthrough" on Tuesday at 46-nation talks in Paris tasked with paving the way for a highly-anticipated climate rescue pact to be inked in December.
Ministers and top officials at an informal gathering reached consensus on several issues that have stymied the official negotiations for years, France's top climate negotiator Laurence Tubiana told journalists.
Crucially, they concurred there should be a regular, five-yearly review, once the agreement kicks in, of the collective effort to curb planet-warming greenhouse gases.
US teen's gun-firing 'drone' under investigation
The Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday it was investigating an online video that shows an alleged home-made "drone" firing a handgun in the Connecticut countryside.
The 14-second video called "Flying Gun" shows a homemade multi-rotor hovering off the ground, buzzing furiously and firing a semiautomatic handgun four times at an unseen target.
It was posted on YouTube on July 10 and has been watched nearly two million times.
French-language Scrabble champ doesn't speak a word of French
Think you need to speak the language to win a top Scrabble match?
Think again.
Nigel Richards, a 48-year-old New Zealander who was crowned the champion of francophone Scrabble on Monday, doesn't speak a word of French.
Football: Blatter prankster charged by police after Fifa complaint
The British comedian who showered Fifa president Sepp Blatter with fake dollar bills has been charged by Swiss police after being arrested and interrogated, a police spokesman said on Tuesday.
Lee Nelson, real name Simon Brodkin, had been taken away by police from Fifa headquarters after Blatter's security had escorted him out of the press conference room where he carried out the stunt on Monday.
"He was arrested and interrogated by the police," a spokesman for the Zurich police said, without identifying Brodkin, who has been involved in previous stunts, by name.
Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran lead MTV Video Music Award nominations
Pop singer Taylor Swift, British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, R&B singer Beyonce, and DJ-producer Mark Ronson lead the nominations for the MTV Video Music Awards, the cable network said on Tuesday.
Swift, whose 1989 was the best-selling album of 2014, earned nine nominations for the awards to be handed out on Aug 30.
Sheeran garnered six nominations, while Beyonce and Ronson each scored five nods.
