Top News Stories –

Australians puzzled as Queen reclaims ‘head of state’ title –
Buckingham Palace has raised eyebrows in Australia by referring to the Queen as the country’s “head of state” in an apparent break in convention. The title is usually given to the Australian Governor-General, Quentin Bryce, while the Queen is considered the country’s sovereign.
The difference is significant as the emerging role of the Governor-General has often been cited by pro-monarchists as evidence Australia does not need to become a republic. The trigger for the confusion was an announcement by Buckingham Palace that the Queen would be addressing the UN General Assembly in July. It arrived in a cable written by Gary Quinlan, Australia’s ambassador and permanent representative to the UN, headed: “United Nations: General Assembly – Address by Australian Head of State.” [Daily Telegraph]
Her Majesty the Queen

Camera dropped in the ocean is returned by fisherman 18 months later –
A woman is to be reunited with a camera her husband dropped off the edge of the QM2 cruise ship after a fisherman caught it in his net and put the photographs online. Barbara and Dennis Gregory, 65, from Johannesburg, South Africa, thought they would never see the Nikon P90 again after it fell into the ocean en-route from New York to Southampton in 2008. But 16 months later Benito Estevez, a fisherman from Spain, found the camera in his nets with the photos still intact on the memory card. He decided to trace the owners and posted five pictures online which showed Mrs Gregory posing on the deck of the ship and her husband wearing a woolly tourist hat from Oxford. The story was picked up by the British media and Laura De Klein, a friend of the couple who lives in Chalgrove, Oxfordshire, recognised them and got in touch. [Daily Telegraph]

Chilean mint spells country’s name wrong on coins –
The general manager of the Chilean mint has been fired after thousands of coins were issued bearing a howling error. On the 2008 batch of 50 peso coins, which are worth about 6p, the country’s name was misspelt. Instead of C-H-I-L-E, the coins had C-H-I-I-E stamped on them, the BBC reports.
If that wasn’t bad enough, no one noticed the spelling mistake until late 2009. The coins have since become collectors’ items and the mint says it has no plans to take them out of circulation. Locals have even been hoarding the coins in the hope they will rise in value. However, the mistake has cost the mint’s general manager, Gregorio Iniguez, and several other employees, their jobs. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Colorama – Makeover from UPPER FIRST on Vimeo.

List of the day –

Queen Elizabeth II current titles

Americas

 Antigua and Barbuda

• 1982 – : Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of Antigua and Barbuda and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth

 The Bahamas

• 1973 – : Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth

 Barbados

• 1966 – : Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of Barbados and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth

 Belize

• 1981 – : Her Majesty Elizabeth The Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of Belize and of Her Other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth

 Canada

• 6 February 1952 – 29 May 1953: Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas Queen, Defender of the Faith
• 29 May 1953 – :

In English: Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom, Canada and Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith^{[11][N 1]}

In French: Sa Majesté Elizabeth Deux, par la grâce de Dieu Reine du Royaume-Uni, du Canada et de ses autres royaumes et territoires, Chef du Commonwealth, Défenseur de la Foi^{[13][N 2]}

 Grenada

• 1974 – : Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Grenada and Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth

 Jamaica

• 1962 – : Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of Jamaica and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth

 Saint Kitts and Nevis

• 1983 – : Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of Saint Christopher and Nevis and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth

 Saint Lucia

• 1979 – : Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of Saint Lucia and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth

 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

• 1979 – : Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth

Europe

 United Kingdom

• 6 February 1952 – 26 March 1953

In English: Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas Queen, Defender of the Faith

In Latin: Elizabeth II, Dei Gratia Magnae Britanniae, Hiberniae et terrarum transmarinarum quae in ditione sunt Britannica Regina, Fidei Defensor

• 26 March 1953 – :

In English: Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith^[14][2]

In Latin: Elizabeth II, Dei Gratia Britanniarum Regnorumque Suorum Ceterorum Regina, Consortionis Populorum Princeps, Fidei Defensor^[15]

Oceania

 Australia

• 6 February 1952 – 1953: Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas Queen, Defender of the Faith
• 1953 – 1973: Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom, Australia and Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith^{[N 3][17]}
• 1973 – : Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of Australia and Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth

New Zealand

• 6 February 1952 – 1953: Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas Queen, Defender of the Faith
• 1953 – 1974: Her Majesty Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Her Other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith
• 1974 – : Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God Queen of New Zealand and Her Other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith

 Papua New Guinea

• 1975 – : Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Papua New Guinea and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth

 Solomon Islands

• 1978 – : Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of Solomon Islands and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth

 Tuvalu

• 1978 – : Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of Tuvalu and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth

Other News Stories –

• Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has repeatedly called on the DPRK to re-engage in the Six-Party Talks that also involve the Republic of Korea,Japan, China, Russia and the United States. (UN)
• Police in Mtwapa arrest five men accused of being homosexuals, two of whom had wedding rings and were attempting to marry in a first forKenya. (BBC) (Daily Nation)
• Thousands of people flee Mogadishu after 24 people are killed and 40 people are wounded in two days. (BBC) (CBC)
• Russian security forces kill at least 20 people in Ingushetia. (BBC) (The Star) (The Scotsman)
• Togo appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport over their ban from the next two Africa Cup of Nations in the aftermath of the Togo national football team attack. (BBC) (CNN) (The Guardian)
• Mexican President Felipe Calderón‘s visit to a community centre in Ciudad Juárez where 13 teenagers and two adults were shot dead at a school party on 31 January is disrupted by murders, riot police and dozens of protesters. (BBC) (Latin American Herald Tribune) (Radio Netherlands Worldwide)
• A shooting at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, United States, leaves at least three persons dead. (CNN)
• 2010 Winter Olympics:
  • The XXI Olympic Winter Games competitions begin in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (NBC Sports)
  • Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili is killed after a crash at the Whistler Sliding Centre, during a training run for the 2010 Winter Olympics.(BBC) (The Times) (The Los Angeles Times)
  • Nodar Kumaritashvili is remembered by the participants in the opening ceremony. (The Sydney Morning Herald)
• The United States successfully shoots down a launching ballistic missile using the Boeing YAL-1, a military Boeing 747-400F aircraft mounted with a chemical oxygen iodine laser weapon. (Reuters)
• Thailand deports the five-man crew detained in the country since December after transporting weapons from North Korea. (AFP) (Thai News Agency)
• Campaigning for Iraq‘s parliamentary election begins. (Xinhua) (AFP) (Press TV)
• Indonesia‘s former anti-corruption chief Antasari Azhar is sentenced to 18 years for the murder of a businessman. (Jakarta Post) (CNN)
• A ceasefire is declared between Houthi fighters and the Yemeni government in northern Yemen. (The Guardian) (Al Jazeera) (Press TV)
• Burma‘s leader General Than Shwe says the general elections will be held “soon”. (Al Jazeera) (Press Trust of India)
• Chinese human rights activist Feng Zhenghu, stranded at Japan‘s Narita International Airport after being refused entry to China for three months, returns home. (Bangkok Post) (BBC)

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