11:14 AM
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Greece remains in the front line of the turmoil in the world economy. US treasury secretary Timothy Geithner spoke to Martin Wolf for a forthcoming Radio 4 series, sharing his opinion on the crisis in the eurozone.
And the Greek minister in charge international economic relations, Constantine Papadopolos, assesses the situation in his country.
Get in touch with Today via email , Twitter or Facebook or text us on 84844.
10:11 PM
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Greece remains in the front line of the turmoil in the world economy. US treasury secretary Timothy Geithner spoke to Martin Wolf for a forthcoming Radio 4 series, sharing his opinion on the crisis in the eurozone.
And the Greek minister in charge international economic relations, Constantine Papadopolos, assesses the situation in his country.
Get in touch with Today via email , Twitter or Facebook or text us on 84844.
10:33 AM
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Jon McGregor, who was the runner-up last year, will be hoping to win the prize this time around for his life-or-death moment story, Wires.
He will compete against works by fellow authors Alison MacLeod, M J Hyland, K J Orr and D W Wilson.
The winning author, to be announced on BBC Radio 4's Front Row on 26 September, will receive £15,000.
The runner-up will be awarded £3,000, while the remaining authors will each receive £500 each.
Hyland, who was previously nominated for the Man Booker Prize in 2006, is shortlisted for her story Rag Love.
Wilson earned his nod for road trip story The Dead Roads, while MacLeod and Orr are nominated for their science-based stories The Heart of Denis Noble and The Human Circadian Pacemaker respectively.
'Small canvas'
Radio 4 broadcaster Sue MacGregor will chair the judging panel which includes authors Joe Dunthorne, Geoff Dyer, Tessa Hadley and Di Speirs, editor of readings at BBC Radio.
MacGregor said of the shortlisted stories: "Two of them are gripping tales of suspense.
"One may change your mind about luxury ocean-liners and two ponder great scientific breakthroughs of the twentieth century - proving that on a relatively small canvas a true artist can paint a perfect little picture."
Five actors and actresses - including The Hour star Tim Pigott-Smith and Rome's Indira Varma - will each read one of the shortlisted stories on BBC Radio 4 daily at 15:30 from 12 September.
The prize, launched in 2005, was created to celebrate the best of contemporary British short fiction.
Last year's winner was David Constantine for Tea at the Midland.
11:48 PM
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For almost three months, the Biggest Loser Pinoy Edition contestants Raffy Tan and Hazel Chua had consoled and encouraged each other as they faced the physical and emotional challenges inside the Biggest Loser camp.
But after Hazel was eliminated from the competition last Tuesday (August 9), they have to continue transforming their lives, separately and by themselves.
The 22 year-old was voted out by majority of the remaining Bigating Pinoy including Angela, Art, Ryan, and Larry. They said Hazel is more ready to go out of the camp than Winwin, who joined her in the elimination ceremony.
As Angela put it, Hazel is already a butterfly while the 18 year-old Winwin is still sleeping in her cocoon. The two fell below the yellow line during the weigh-in after gaining a pound each despite their strenuous marine camp training.
Larry, whose “six-pack” is starting to show, was declared the Biggest Loser of the week for shedding three lbs. or 1.59% of his previous weight.
Before the tearful elimination ceremony, Raffy kissed Hazel, who served as his inspiration inside the camp. Their parting was painful but it did solidify the trust they have for each other.
Hazel even said she is confident that Raffy will prevail as the program’s first Biggest Loser. “I believe so much in Raffy and I know he’ll do everything to be the first winner of the Biggest Loser Pinoy Edition,” she said.
She also vowed to go through an extreme transformation to wow the campers and the program’s loyal followers in the grand finale. However, Hazel said that as early as now she can say she’s already a changed person.
“The BL camp really changed how I view life. I can now walk with my head up and not try to hide my face in shame. I’m a more disciplined and a much happier person now because I feel good inside and out,” she revealed.
While life goes on for Hazel, same goes for Raffy and the remaining Bigating Pinoys Andy, Art, Angela, Larry, Leigh, Ryan, and Winwin. On this round, they are faced with a tough challenge from game master Derek Ramsay that tests not just their discipline in training and eating, but also in strategizing.
For this week’s immunity, the contenders will race each other in dropping 2% of their current weight. They will be given a one-time-only weigh-in access card, so they will have to gauge themselves to be sure they’ve already lost enough weight before they stand on the weighing scale.
Making this week even tougher for them is a new rule during the weigh-in. Instead of two, four Bigating Pinoys will fall under the yellow line and undergo the elimination ceremony.
Find out the different tactics the Bigating Pinoys will employ to acquire immunity and avoid being booted from the camp. Watch how they will handle another unanticipated twist that will intensify the competition even more.
6:52 AM
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The outcome was a big setback for Democrats, organized labor, and progressive groups who'd sought retribution against six GOPallies of Gov. Scott Walker, who earlier this year enacted a labor law overhaul that ended collective bargaining rights for many public sector workers.
The recall elections attracted millions of dollars of investment from both liberals and conservatives across the nation.
Most at risk as voting started Tuesday appeared to be three Republicans, Alberta Darling, Randy Hopper and Dan Kapanke, all of whom had barely won their races in 2008.
Kapanke and Hopper lost, but Darling won with 54 percent with most of the precincts counted, partly due to her outperforming her 2008 majority in heavily Republican Waukesha County.
In 2008, Darling had won her district by a mere 1,007 out of more than 99,000 votes cast. Her district went narrowly for Barack Obama in 2008.
Three other Republican lawmakers also survived the Democratic recall effort: Sen. Robert Cowles, Sen. Sheila Harsdorf and Sen. Luther Olsen.
With the split in Wisconsin’s Senate at 19 Republicans and 14 Democrats as the day began, a turnover of three would have changed party control.
Next Tuesday there will be recall elections for two Democratic senators, one of whom barely won in 2008.
Interactive: Wisconsin recall elections (on this page)While there's a risk of extrapolating too much from the relatively small number of people who voted in Wisconsin Tuesday, the outcome may give an inkling about party motivation and organizing ability as strategists ponder the 2012 election in what could be a pivotal state.
Obama won the state in 2008 with 56 percent, but George W. Bush nearly won Wisconsin in 2004, falling short by only 11,000 votes out of nearly three million votes cast.
Obama's campaign manager Jim Messina has identified the state as one of the targets for 2012.
With the retirement of Democratic Sen. Herb Kohl, there's also an open U.S. Senate seat in Wisconsin next year.
The Cook Political Report rates that race as one of seven toss-ups in what are now Democratic-held Senate seats. Republicans need a net gain of four to win control of the U.S. Senate.
The Democrats had high hopes in June when the recall effort began heating up.
"We only need to elect three new state senators to stop Scott Walker's radical agenda permanently," said former Sen. Russ Feingold in a message to his supporters. "The next six weeks will prove to be not just a turning point here in Wisconsin, but across the entire country."
On Tuesday, before the results were known, Carolyn Fiddler, the communications director for the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, said, "The recalls may result in the electorate feeling more empowered and excited, which may carry through to efforts to recall Gov. Walker, and even through the 2012 general elections."
"Success today and next Tuesday could also go a long way towards promoting fresh energy in state labor organizations," she said.
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