World Vignettes

Talking beer cansCARACAS: Lonely barflies can now find solace in a beer can that talks. Two thousand talking beer cans are already available...

Talking beer cans

CARACAS: Lonely barflies can now find solace in a beer can that talks. Two thousand talking beer cans are already available in Venezuela, South America’s thirstiest beer market, promising monetary prizes under a promotion by Brazilian brewer Brahma. “But I don’t think any have been opened yet,” company spokeswoman Virginia Ramirez said on Tuesday.Emblazoned with a grinning mouth, the red and gold cans contain a light-activated recording that announces in a tinny voice prizes ranging from 50 to 2,000 US dollars when opened. South America’s largest brewer launched the 800,000 dollar Venezuelan campaign at the beginning of February to boost its 10 per cent share of a 1.3 million hectolitre market expected to grow five per cent annually. Such growth prospects have attracted increasing attention from international brewers keen to erode local giant Polar’s traditional near-monopoly.

Dam panel

WASHINGTON: Social activist and leader of the Narmada Bachao AndolanMedha Patkar has been made a member of the World Commission on Dams. The International Rivers Network, a non-governmental organisation in a release on Tuesday said the Commission had conceded the demands of the NGOs after months of intensive negotiations to include a representative from a dam-affected people’s organisation on the panel.

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The network, which is against the building of large dams also called for a moratorium on such constructions until the Commission considered the issue. The 12-member Commission, sponsored by the World Bank and the World Conservation Union, comprises representatives from governments, the private sector, NGO’s, indigenous people and academia. South African Water Minister Kader Asmal is the chairman and Indian High Commissioner to South Africa Lakshmi Jain is the vice-chairman of the Commission.

Hendrix lyric

LONDON: The lyric of an unpublished song by the late rock singer and guitarist Jimi Hendrix has sold for 17,250 pounds in a sale of rock memorabilia inLondon. The three-page song was written on United Airlines during a flight to Los Angeles in June, 1969 — a year before Hendrix died of a drugs overdose. It was bought on Tuesday by a private buyer at the two-day rock sale at auctioneer Bonhams in West London.

Titanic surge

LOS ANGELES: Holiday weekend ticket sales pushed Titanic past Jurassic Park and towards ET, the second highest grossing movie ever, according to figures. The blockbuster about a doomed love affair in the world’s most famous maritime disaster snared 32.9 million dollars over the four-day weekend, boosting its total domestic take to 376.3 million dollars.

Only Star Wars (460 million dollars) and ET — The Extra Terrestrial (400 million dollars) have earned more domestically than Titanic, which beat out Jurassic Park (327 million dollars) over the weekend. Titanic has held the top spot at the box office since its release nine weeks ago. It got a boost on Monday, aUS holiday to celebrate the birthdays of Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.