And he demonstrated by appointing the Vice President to lead these talks that he is very serious about leading this process to a conclusion that produces serious deficit reduction.

WHITEHOUSE: Press Briefing

He is voicing a very serious concern "that Malays are not competitive enough both in the local and global market place, " says economist Charles Santiago.

CNN: The New Malay Dilemma

"It really is very serious, " he says.

FORBES: Open-Source Drug Safety?

"I realise this is a very serious mistake, " he wrote.

BBC: Bitcoin

"This is very serious, Joe, " he told retired US Air Force Col Joe Kittinger, whose records he was attempting to break, and who was acting as his radio link in mission control at Roswell airport.

BBC: Skydiver Felix Baumgartner breaks sound barrier

It still looks very unlikely that Mr Rove is in such serious legal jeopardy that he will have to resign.

ECONOMIST: George Bush and his main adviser are in a pickle

He said hepatitis A was a "short-term infection that has very unpleasant symptoms but is rarely serious".

BBC: Four schoolchildren have hepatitis A in Swansea

"This is a very serious winter storm, and we want Oklahomans to stay safe, " he said.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

"There is a lot of evidence that Richard III had a very serious personal faith, " he said, though added it was impossible to know what Richard III would have made of plans for burial at a non-Catholic site at York or Leicester.

BBC: John Ashdown-Hill