Mid Day International News

Indian selected as first int'l teacher for US space programme
The man who walked away from Facebook
Michelle Yeoh plans to visit Suu Kyi in Myanmar again
US First Lady boosts lingerie firm's sales
Royal baby on hold till 2013
19 tonnes of gloves for Russian agency stolen

Indian selected as first int'l teacher for US space programme

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A middle school teacher from Maharashtra has been selected as the first international teacher for a prestigious space programme in the United States.

Vandana Suryawanshi, an educator who with the Vidya Valley School who has been teaching biology, earth science and general science for 20 years, would join the 19 other new Teacher Liaisons who were selected for their active promotion of space and science education by the Space Foundation.

This is for the first time that an international teacher has been selected for this prestigious fellowship of the Space Foundation, which is now 10 years old.

The new flight of Teacher Liaisons will serve as advocates for space-themed education across the curriculum and will use Space Foundation-provided training and resources to further integrate space principles into the classroom, a media release said.

The highly regarded Space Foundation Teacher Liaison programme has more than 270 active participants, including the 2012 flight. The teachers are selected by a panel comprising representatives from the space industry and military, it said.

The 2012 Teacher Liaisons will be publicly recognised at the Space Foundation's 28th National Space Symposium, scheduled for April 16 to 19 in Colorado. In addition to the recognition activities, the 2012 Teacher Liaisons will participate in workshops and education programmes at the 28th National Space Symposium.

Following the Symposium, Teacher Liaisons can take advantage of specialised training and instruction at Space Foundation and NASA workshops with optional graduate-level credit; exclusive science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) professional development experiences with optional continuing education credit; and special space-oriented student programs created just for Teacher Liaisons, the press statement said.

The man who walked away from Facebook

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Joe Green is most likely the Facebook roommate you've never heard of, but the Harvard graduate is trying to make a difference in the world, with friends.

Green lacks the name recognition of company co-creator Mark Zuckerberg , or even Eduardo Saverin, who famously helped launch Facebook, although he was there with the Internet entrepreneurs in that dorm where the social media powerhouse was born. And he walked away from it.

No regrets: Joe Green

Green was one of Zuckerberg's roommates at Harvard University in 2004, and was asked by the young man to join him in building the social media website, which is expected to file for an initial public offering this week.

After the two had gotten into some hot water with Harvard for a previous project -- the hot-or-not website Facemash, -- Green ultimately told Zuckerberg "no" because the school had threatened him with expulsion.

His decision not to join Zuckerberg could now be considered a $400 million (Rs 1.991 crore) mistake. "We'd gotten into a little bit trouble with the previous project... and my father, who's a professor, was not too happy with the prospect of me getting kicked out of school," said Green.

Now, despite his initial decision, he's back in the Facebook fold, running a for-profit business called Causes, a Facebook application and website that lets friends suggest to friends a charity, social cause and even political candidate.

Green, the roommate who said "no" to what became a Web behemoth, has no regrets, although he does have plenty of Facebook stock, and he's found his own cause.

Michelle Yeoh plans to visit Suu Kyi in Myanmar again

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Michelle Yeoh, who plays Burmese democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi in the movie The Lady, said she intends to return to Rangoon to visit her "hero" now that travel restrictions have eased.

The Hollywood actress, who spent a year preparing for the part, was detained at immigration at Burma's main city airport without explanation last June and immediately deported on the first available flight.

Meet and greet: Michelle Yeoh, who portrays Aung San Suu Kyi in the
movie The Lady, wants to visit her hero after visa restrictions have been
eased up. File pics

But now that visa restrictions appear to have been relaxed in the past few months, with even journalists allowed to travel and work freely in Myanmar, Yeoh says she has every intention of going back to see the Nobel peace laureate again.

"The country is truly beautiful and I want to go back," said Yeoh. "Last time we had time to visit only a few places. I want to see the rest and hopefully to see Daw Suu [Suu Kyi]."

Despite giving her blessing to the film-makers Suu Kyi has yet to see the film. It dwells on her love story with husband, British academic Michael Aris who died of cancer while they were apart kept by the regime, and French director Luc Besson said it is too emotionally raw.

"I think it would be very difficult for her to watch it," he said.

The director and the Hong Kong-based actress independently met Suu Kyi in Rangoon shortly after her release in November 2010 when the film shot mostly in Thailand was almost complete. But when the film was wrapped up they had both secured visas and intended to meet Suu Kyi once again and "have a big party".

"I just didn't expect them to turn me away," said Yeoh.

"I got to the immigration desk and some girls wanted to take photos. I agreed because I thought there wouldn't be any problem. Then some officers came along. They were very nice. I wasn't threatened or intimidated. But they said I had to leave the country."

US First Lady boosts lingerie firm's sales

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Agent Provocateur, well-known underwear company, enjoyed a 12 per cent sales jump after Michelle Obama spent Rs 25 lakh in one shopping spree

First Lady Michelle Obama has apparently given British lingerie label Agent Provocateur a boost after a lavish spending spree last year.

First lady of fashion: Michelle Obama, US First Lady, is said to have
closed down part of Madison Avenue in Manhattan to shop at the lingerie
boutique where she spent lakhs for saucy lingerie. File Pic/Getty Images

Obama, it is claimed, closed down part of Madison Avenue in the ladies-who-lunch section of Manhattan during a shopping trip that saw her spend $50,000 (Rs 25 lakh) in the boutique.

New reports suggest the excursion has helped sales at the company jump by more than 12 per cent.

US First Lady, along with the Queen of Qatar, Sheikha Mozah, contributed to pushing trading 'across eight weeks from November 27 up 8.1 per cent on a like-for-like basis and 15.2 per cent overall'.

Agent Provocateur CEO Gary Hogarth would not confirm if Obama is among the company's high-profile clientele.
However, he told the newspaper the label has garnered several 'unexpected famous names' in the US as of late.

Beyonce Knowles and Christina Aguilera have been seen at their stores in recent months, presumably purchasing unmentionables which can run ladies as much as $1,990 (Rs 95,000) for a single French lace nightie.
Obama's trip to the pricey boutique will no doubt shock critics who have taken issue in the past with her taste for luxury fashion.

Agent Provocateur, founded by the son of fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, Joseph Corr �, and his
then-wife, Serena Rees, in 1994.

With Sarah Shotton as creative director, the designs certainly are not for the faint-of-heart.

The company recently announced an expansion in the US (where sales have outpaced the UK) is underway.
By summer the label plans to have 11 retailers in the US and is aiming to expand from 54 to 100 total stores worldwide in the next three years.

Obama likened to disgraced ship captain
Republican official Reince Priebus sparked a political uproar by comparing US President Barack Obama to disgraced Italian ship captain Francesco Schettino. "In a few months, this is all going to be ancient history, and we're going to talk about our own little Captain Schettino, which is President Obama, who is abandoning ship here in the United States," said Priebus while on a television show.

Royal baby on hold till 2013

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Prince William and Kate are putting off plans for a baby to concentrate on Diamond Jubilee and London Olympics

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Kate, have, for the moment, put aside any plans to produce an heir. They will think about it again in 2013.

Despite hopes of a Jubilee baby, sources close to the couple say they are in 'no hurry' to start a family and want to make sure that 2012 is a success for the sake of the Queen's 60th anniversary celebrations.

"Realistically there is not going to be time for a baby and they have said they are in no hurry. There is no urgent need for an heir -- we already have two," said a source. "William and Kate want to take things in their own good time."

The news comes as Clarence House confirmed that Kate will start solo official engagements next month, once William leaves for his first tour of duty in the Falkland Islands.

"It will be a good distraction for her and take her mind off worrying about William," added the source. "At the moment, starting a family is definitely on the backburner."

The Duchess of Cambridge - who married William last April - is the Royal patron of The Art School, National Portrait Gallery, Action On Addiction, and East Anglia's Children's Hospices. She has also said she will volunteer with the Scout Association.

"The Duchess will have a handful of engagements while the Duke is away," a spokesman says. "She will visit all her patronages publicly at least once and continue to visit them privately. It will be a busy period. The reason she chose so few charities is that she wants to get to know them intimately."

William and Kate will be apart for six weeks in February and March, then they will gear up for the Jubilee weekend in June.

Wills-Harry fall out of style
The royals did not meet with too much approval this year when it came to fashion. William, who made his debut last year at 27 in GQ magazine's 50 Best-Dressed Men list, was overlooked while his brother Prince Harry is 25th, down from fifth in 2011, with their father, the Prince of Wales, at 50. The magazine said: "Harry has been crowned the prince of style for looking good in uniforms, well-cut suits and the dishevelled tumbling-out-of-a-nightclub jeans."

19 tonnes of gloves for Russian agency stolen

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A truck loaded with 19 tonnes of latex gloves meant for Russia's federal security service has been stolen.

The truck went missing from a street in St. Petersburg's Nevsky area during the weekend, the Konkretno.ru news website reported.

The vehicle belonged to an unidentified transport firm, but the gloves were property of a concrete maker owned by the security service -- or the Federal'naya Sluzhba Bezopasnosti.

The truck had an alarm system, but was parked in a spot not covered by street surveillance cameras.

The vehicle was also not insured against theft, and it remained unclear what the gloves were intended for.