Japan hopes for a lift from "Abenomics" bra

The Japanese division of lingerie maker Triumph International unveiled on Wednesday an "Abenomics" bra, a special edition it says offers a "growth strategy" and a potential lift toward Japan's elusive inflation target. The latest "Branomics Bra" follows earlier solar-powered, recycled and "husband-hunting" models but, like its predecessors, will not go on sale. The "Branomics Bra" is a playful take on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's "three-arrow" economic revival plan that combines monetary strategy aiming to reach 2 percent inflation in two years and pro-growth reforms.

Director hopes sci-fi favorite Star Trek will appeal to wider audience

Director J.J. Abrams is hoping to persuade mainstream film audiences to boldly go where they have never gone before and embrace the next installment of Star Trek, a franchise usually reserved for sci-fi geeks. The man behind the cult TV series Alias and Lost told Reuters he initially hesitated when Viacom's Paramount Pictures asked him to take on the film series, whose installments in 1998 and 2002 failed to draw crowds.

Weak UK economy forces Prince Charles to close posh greengrocer

Britain's weak economy has taken its toll on the nation's poshest greengrocer with Prince Charles forced to close his organic vegetable store, citing falling trade and rising prices. Prince Charles, the heir to the throne and a champion of the environment, opened a store near to his country home Highgrove in Gloucestershire, southwestern England, about eight years ago after converting his estate to organic farming in 1986.

A 70-million-year-old dinosaur skeleton from the Gobi Desert that was smuggled to the United States in pieces and auctioned for more than $1 million was returned on Monday by the US government to Mongolia. The huge Tyrannosaurus bataar's skull was on display at a repatriation ceremony near the United Nations in New York, where officials of the US Attorney's Office in Manhattan and the US Immigration and Customers Enforcement formally turned over the nearly complete skeleton to Mongolian officials.

Madonna sells valuable painting to raise funds for girls' education

Madonna sold an abstract painting by French artist Fernand Leger for $7.16 million on Tuesday to raise funds for girls' education projects in Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere. The 1921 painting, Trois Femmes a la Table Rouge, which carried a pre-sale estimate of up to $7 million, was purchased by an unidentified buyer at Sotheby's Impressionist and Modern Art sale in New York, according to the auction house's website. The pop singer said in April that she bought the painting in 1990 and that selling it would combine her passions for art and education by raising funds for the Ray of Light Foundation, a nonprofit organization offering vocational training for street children and poor farmers. Madonna has adopted two children from Malawi in southern Africa and plans to build 10 schools there.

Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour has won a share of Sweden's $150,000 Polar music prize - awarded in the past to Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan and violinist Yo-yo Ma - for promoting understanding between faiths as well as for his music. The award committee said the Grammy Award-winner was "not just a singer, but a storyteller, poet, singer of praise, entertainer and verbal historian ... (who) has worked to reduce animosities between his own religion, Islam, and other religions".

Berlin ballet woos new crowd with a dark show in a techno club

Berlin's state ballet has teamed up with a leading techno night club to produce a dark, avant-garde show with bondage masks and a bus wreck set in a former power plant that showcases the city's vibrant alternative cultural scene. Masse features three performances by choreographers scored by DJs who regularly play at the Berghain in a wasteland in the city's ex-communist east that is known for its booming sound and hedonistic parties.

Reuters

(China Daily 05/12/2013 page4)