Extreme heat in Australia

Per Sky News, health authorities in New South Wales, Australia are gearing up for temperatures to reach as high as 46 degrees Celsius (114.8 Fahrenheit) in some parts of the country this weekend. The heat will put the "elderly, the ill and the very young at risk," per the article.

One man said the wave has led to a change in his nightly routine.

@TheSeanWilson (Mount Druitt, New South Wales): The heat is forcing me to turn off my Mac mini every night.


A number of twitterers said it is disrupting their sleep.

@moudanie (Sydney): It's sooooo hot tonite! Helen & I can't sleep in this 30deg heat... twittering at 4am... I'm gonna be so sleepy later today


@shique (Canberra): It is impossible to sleep in this heat.



Others refuse to let the weather bring them down.

@purrsikat (Canberra): Wolfing down peanut buttered toast & orange juice before 0830 meetup at Sparrow Hill. Heat won't keep us down. Multicultural Festival later


@joshglid (Canberra): getting ready to head to the cafe for breakfast with the kids. refusing to comment on the heat. listening to Jane's Addiction

Extreme heat in Australia

U.S. Base in Kyrgyzstan will close

Per BBC News, "The Kyrgyzstan government has said its decision to close a US base that serves as a vital supply route for US and Nato operations in Afghanistan is 'final.'"

It was bad news for @nhangen, an American currently in Afghanistan.

@nhangen (Kabul, Afghanistan) In case you didn't know, Kyrgyzstan closing the base in Manas is a big deal. That's how I got to A-stan and how I was hoping to get out.

@You2Gov suggested the U.S. doesn't need Kyrgyzstan.

@You2Gov (Malibu, Calif.): @LoLoLee Kyrgyzstan is playing realpolitik, so should we. Do we really need that base? Or is it vitally important as inroad to Russia?


Several twitterers, both in the U.S. and abroad, linked to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's comments on the Central Asian base closing.

@syafiza (Malaysia): Clinton: Kyrgyzstan base-closure 'regrettable': Kyrgyzstan's decision to close a strategic U.S. military base is.. http://tinyurl.com/amhfqq

U.S. Base in Kyrgyzstan will close

Parts of China in state of emergency

Per China Daily, the Chinese government "raised the drought emergency alert level Thursday from orange to red, the highest level, in response to the worst drought to hit some parts of the country in half a century, according to a State Council meeting." The move allows for additional funding for those affected by the crisis.

The emergency declaration caught @SophiaZ by surprise.

@SophiaZ (Tianjin, China): I didn't think drought was overnight so why suddenly an emergency? Not a meteorologist! http://tinyurl.com/cbaj2u


@sonnypearl proposed one theory for the odd weather.

@sonnypearl (Beijing, China): It is mostly drought in the northern part of china. Could it possible be interfered by the prevention of rain during the Olympics?


Another Beijing man noted some troubling statistics.

@rjepson (Beijing, China): Beijing 100 consecutive days without rain. Drought gripping the nations' winter grain stock, yields down 20%.

Parts of China in state of emergency

Americans feel for Phelps

Per the Associated Press, food company Kellogg has decided it will not renew its contract with Olympic swimming star Michael Phelps as a result of his acknowledgment of smoking marijuana last fall.

The vast majority of American twitterers to give their initial reaction sympathized with Phelps, who won eight gold medals at the Beijing Games.

@thelonebeader (Quincy, Mass.): According to ExtraTV, smoking pot is 'a drug scandal'. The media should leave Phelps alone. :/

@spanktar (San Francisco, Calif.): Oh give me a break Kellogg's (re: dropping Phelps). Your Puritanical/holier than thou attitude sucks. People smoke pot. Often. Lots of them.

@JenniferAZPR (Phoenix, Ariz.): @beverlykidd I think Phelps should be able to compete. Look at the rest of our "professional" athletes. They are worse

@haileybadger (Seattle, Wash.): So I still like Michael Phelps, sue me.

Americans feel for Phelps

Depression or not?

Per the International Herald Tribune, the office of Prime Minister Gordon Brown now says his suggestion that the global economy was in a depression on Wednesday was just "a slip of the tongue." Brown had told members of Parliament, "We should agree, as a world, on a monetary and fiscal stimulus that will take the world out of depression."

The word choice left many twittering Brits puzzled, trying to interpret the incident.


@banksuk (London): So is it a recession or a depression, Gordon? First he 'saved the world', now Brown fluffs his lines again http://ff.im/UwAc

@codfather (London): Did Gordon Brown have a slip of the tongue or deed he really mean that we are in a depression? Worrying if it wasn't a slip


@StephenWinfield (Reading, U.K.): So, are we in "Depression"? If Gordon Brown's brain can't trust his mouth to deliver how can we trust him on anything else. lol


@martinejmartin (Leeds, Hull, & London): Was Gordon Brown describing the economy or his own state of mind a la Freud by using the word "depression" today? Jury's still out

Depression or not?