“Online Attack Silences Twitter for Much of Day,” reports the New York Times. So why was Twitter down for much of Thursday? Unlikely as it seems, this is linked to the Russia-Georgia conflict. According to the paper, “one side put up propaganda, the other side figured it out and is attacking them.” It is not clear who initiated the attack. What’s interesting is how the attack occurred. It wasn’t a virus; it was through sending emails to millions of people world wide redirecting them to Twitter’s website and other websites such as Google and Facebook. Due to an overloading of the service, Twitter had to shut down for two hours. Concerns over the sites disruption underscores the role Twitter has come to play in everyday communications, the paper notes. Businesses and individuals are using the service to communicate using 140 character messages known as Tweets. For marketing and consumer outreach, the site is becoming increasingly popular.

Ronny Biggs is getting a birthday present. He’s turning 80 this Saturday and he is to be freed from prison on compassionate grounds, reports The Independent in the UK. This is a decision that was taken by the Justice Secretary, Jack Straw. He is severely ill in hospital with pneumonia and is likely to not recover. Biggs became infamous as the Great Train Robber. He was part of a gang that robbed a Glasgow to London train in 1963 making off with 2.6 million pounds. He was given a 30 year sentence but escaped after 15 months and spent more than 30 years on the run.

To the South African press and the Mail and Guardian which is covering Mugabe’s “preparations for war”, this according to a South African opposition party the Democratic Alliance (DA). The party said that having spoken to credible sources within Zimbabwe, Mugabe is in arms deal talks with Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea to fund a war chest ahead of the next election. Citing a Belgian research group, International Peace Information Group, the party said some arms shipments had already arrived in Zimbabwe. Some of those shipments came via the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola while another is due to come from South Africa, DA MP Wilmot James says. The South African parliament is considering exporting more than a million rounds of ammunition to the country. Most western countries have imposed an arms embargo on Zimbabwe.

The Daily Mail covers attempts by trade unions in Britain to ban high heels in the office, calling them ‘dangerous and demeaning’. One defiantly tottering female boss insists, “hands off our heels”. Maureen Rice is the editor of Psychologies Magazine and she says one of the best pieces of advice she ever got was whenever she had a challenging meeting, especially if it’s mainly with men, wear high heels. Women have reclaimed them as “symbols of female power, not subjugation,” she says. The very word stiletto comes from the Italian for ‘little dagger’, a reference to their sharp spikes but also evocative, perhaps of their inherent power.

Let’s finish with a photo also on the Daily Mail’s website. Both of these Chihuahuas have perfect heart-shaped patches on their sides. They were born in northern Japan.