Celebrity chef Oliver reveals menu for G-20 leaders

Celebrity Chef Jamie Oliver will serve a dinner of Scottish organic salmon, Welsh lamb and a traditional Bakewell Tart for G-20 leaders at the prime minister’s residence Wednesday. Oliver will use traditional ingredients and recipes inspired from England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Channel Islands for the dinner at 10 Downing Street, a statement on his Web site said

Share

Rescue launched after helicopter ditches with 16 onboard

A helicopter believed to have 16 people aboard ditched Wednesday in the North Sea, 35 miles off the northeastern coast of Scotland, the Maritime & Coastguard Agency said. The announcement came after Obama and Medvedev met in London ahead of Thursday’s G-20 summit. The statement said the two leaders agreed that the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms — which expires in December — “has completely fulfilled its intended purpose and that the maximum levels for strategic offensive arms recorded in the treaty were reached long ago.” “They have therefore decided to move further along the path of reducing and limiting strategic offensive arms in accordance with U.S.

Share

City bankers bow to pressure dress down

Suits were swapped for jeans and sneakers throughout London’s financial district today, as bankers heeded warnings to dress down to avoid the potential wrath of G-20 protestors. “Only about 20 percent of people probably just refused to dress down.

Share

A Lion Called Christian: Two Men and Their Very Large Cat

A Lion Called Christian: The True Story of the Remarkable Bond Between Two Friends and a Lion By Anthony Bourke and John Rendall 221 pages; Broadway Books The Gist: In 1969, two flamboyantly dressed, long-haired hippies named Anthony Bourke and John Rendall purchased a lion cub from London’s upscale department store Harrods — which, at the time, traded in exotic animals — and brought him to live in their Chelsea furniture store in the heart of Swinging London. Christian lived in the store, aptly named Sophisticat, for five months. He played well with children, was litter-trained, and only ruined the store’s furniture by accident.

Share

Despite Naval Patrols, Somalia’s Pirates Are Busier Than Ever

Just when shipping companies thought it was safe to go back in the water — off the Horn of Africa in particular — Somali pirates last week nabbed two large chemical tankers within 24 hours, despite the presence of a bevy of Western and other navies prowling in search of the buccaneers. The Greek-owned MV Nipayia was snagged last Wednesday, followed within a day by the capture of the Norwegian-owned MV Bow-Asir. The attacks, which occurred at 380 and 490 nautical miles offshore, showed a willingness by the pirates to operate at great distances from their lairs along the Somali coastline

Share

Brown: G-20 will rise to challenge

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Monday he believed world leaders would "rise to the challenge" at this week’s G-20 summit by agreeing firm measures to set about tackling the global financial crisis. Brown, who hosts Thursday’s meeting in London, has spent the past few weeks courting a succession of world leaders in a bid to persuade them to sign up to a package of proposals he has described as a “global new deal,” including tighter financial regulations and further government stimulus measures. But other leaders have distanced themselves from Brown’s agenda, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel apparently speaking for other European leaders when she expressed skepticism this weekend about the wisdom of pouring further public money into economies already in recession

Share