The taciturn and inscrutable Mr Singh - an "antidote to the comedic stereotype of the brash and irate Sikh", as historian Patrick French once described him - hardly gives interviews.

BBC: Manmohan Singh and the politics of decency

In design news, French designer Patrick Jouin unveiled his Bloom Table Lamp, a 3D-printed lamp that opens and closes like petals of a flower.

ENGADGET: Inhabitat's Week in Green: go-kart made of Lego bricks, TOTO toilet bike and the launch of 'Willow Glass'

"I like it, " said Patrick Vieira, the former French international whose side lost the 2006 World Cup final to Italy on penalty kicks.

WSJ: Euro 2012: An Apologia for the Penalty Kick Shootout