Kitchen uprising

When an Egyptian news channel reflecting the aims of the Tahrir Square revolutionaries introduced some light relief to the schedules, it inadvertently created a new star more popular than the news coverage, reports the BBC.

Cardboard camera

Swedish furniture retailer Ikea has unveiled an eco-friendly digital camera, made almost entirely from cardboard, as part of the company’s advertisement campaign for new eco-friendly home furniture collection. The project aims to get buyers to click images of their furniture using the camera and post it on Ikea’s website.

Message in a bottle

News snippets

>> Leaders of New Zealand's indigenous Maori community have called for compulsory Maori lessons in school after Trade Minister Tim Groser said learning the complicated lingo would help children master other languages and open doors for travel and work. >> Iran has claimed that the cyber attack on its science ministry and the oil industry in the last week of April has failed to cause any significant damage. Iranian officials claim to have identified the source of the virus, dubbed Viper, but decline to make it public.

Return of the headdress

A headdress said to have been worn by the last Aztec emperor of Mexico in the 16th century could temporarily go back home. It is currently displayed at a museum in Vienna, Austria.

Mein Kampf, with disclaimer

The German state of Bavaria is set to reprint Adolf Hitler’s book Mein Kampf (My Struggle) for the first time since the death of the Nazi dictator in 1945. The state said it would reprint the anti-Semitic memoir before its copyright expires in 2015, to deter other publishers. The new version would include commentaries from historians debunking Hitler’s arguments and warning against the errors he committed.

Literature in bondage

A phone called coriander

Aadhaar card and rural mobile telephony are often seen as harbingers of change in rural India. Though the card is at an incipient stage, change is palpable. For plants at least. A coriander plant in rural Andhra Pradesh received its unique identification number and of course a card for itself with the photo of a mobile phone.

Communist stocks

The mouthpiece of China’s ruling Communist Party is taking to capitalist ways. On April 7, the online version of People’s Daily launched an initial public offering of its shares in Shanghai. It aims to raise 527 million yuan (US $84 million) to upgrade its technology and strengthen its operations. The paper faces competition from private online rivals such as Sina Corp and Sohu.

A smile on menu

Kalakkal Cafe has modest offerings. It runs only twice a month and the most expensive item on its menu is a sandwich that costs Rs 25. The menu card listing the cafe’s dozen items is written in three ways—Braille, large block letters and pictures.