Pint of bitter and a juicy murder story, please, librarian By Matt Chorley 29 May

 As libraries close, their books may be moved into pubs, shops, and even doctors' surgeries.

 Libraries axed under coalition spending cuts could be resurrected in pubs, shops and GPs' surgeries if radical proposals being studied by ministers are put into action.

 Councils have already invited Starbucks to open coffee bars between the book shelves to generate funds, while people in rural areas are being told that they can keep up their reading by borrowing e-books.

Ninety gaffes in ninety years 28 May

 From Papua New Guinea to Stoke-on-Trent, Prince Philip has left his mark around the world. As his 90th birthday looms, Hannah Ewan recalls the soundbites that could only have come from one man.

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 "Tolerance is the one essential ingredient ... You can take it from me that the Queen has the quality of tolerance in abundance." Advice for a successful marriage in 1997.

1. "Ghastly." Prince Philip's opinion of Beijing, during a 1986 tour of China.

Pakistan again turns toward China By Shahid Javed Burki 30 May

 Islamabad — Large events sometimes have unintended strategic consequences, as the killing of Osama bin Laden in a compound in Abbottabad, a military-dominated town near Islamabad, Pakistan's capital.

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Shahid Javed Burki

 The fact that the world's most wanted man lived for a half-dozen years in a large house within spitting distance of Pakistan Military Academy, where the country trains its officers, has provoked a reaction that Pakistanis should have expected, but did not. The country's civilian and military establishment has been surprised and troubled by the level of suspicion aroused by the events leading to bin Laden's death — many Pakistanis call it "martyrdom" — and there is growing popular demand for a major reorientation of Pakistan's relations with the world. Unless the West acts quickly, bin Laden's death is likely to result in a major realignment of world politics, driven in part by Pakistan's shift from America's strategic orbit to that of China.

Kyodo news: JR Tokai to list sites for maglev stations in June

 Nagoya — Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) is expected to present its choices for stations on the magnetically levitated train line between Tokyo and Nagoya as early as month's end, sources said Wednesday.

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Central Japan Railway Co.'s N700 series Shinkansen bullet train travels past Mount Fuji.

 In its report, to be submitted to local governments along the line, JR Tokai will also detail the route for the maglev train, which is expected to debut in 2027.

Kyodo news: Man arrested, another wanted in nation's biggest cash robbery case

 Police arrested a 31-year-old man and put another man on the wanted list Wednesday in connection with the biggest cash robbery in the nation's history.

Yutaka Watanabe

 Hideaki Ueki was arrested on suspicion of burglary and inflicting bodily harm in the record-setting heist in Tachikawa, western Tokyo, on May 12, the police said.