World Watch
Dusseldorf, Germany
Police say a woman who disappeared in 1984, sparking a murder hunt, has been found alive and well in Dusseldorf. Petra Pazsitka, then 24, was declared dead five years after she went missing from her student accommodation. When police investigating a robbery came across a 55-year-old woman, who had no ID, she told the officers that she had been living under a false identity and gave them her real name.
Anglesey, Wales
A 1.1kg chunk of whale vomit, known as ambergris and used mainly in perfume, has sold for £11,000 at auction. The ambergris was found by a dog walker on an Anglesey beach and was brought to auctioneer Adam Partridge, who was “elated” at the sale. Apparently many things are often mistaken for ambergris, including fat, rubber and palm oil.
Finland
Finland’s national ice hockey team has asked people to stop wearing its shirt during anti-immigrant demonstrations. The blue and white kit of the national side — known as the Lions — has been visible during several recent protests against asylum seekers arriving in Finland. The team’s request was welcomed by many Finns on social media, with people saying the team’s kit “shouldn’t be hijacked” by the protestors.
Mexico
A nun has captured television viewers in Mexico, where she is in the final six in the country’s version of MasterChef. Sister Florinda Ruiz is taking part in the hope of paying off a bank debt owed by her congregation. The top prize of one million pesos is only a fraction of the seven million pesos that the Sisters of the Passion of Christ and Our Lady of Sorrows owes.
United States
The company collecting royalties for “Happy Birthday to You” does not hold a valid copyright to the song, a US federal judge has ruled. Warner/Chappell acquired the copyright in 1988. But Judge George King ruled that the original copyright was only granted for specific arrangements of the music, not the song itself. The company is thought to have made US$2 million a year by charging every time the song is used.
Bulgaria
A diving group have set up an underwater art exhibition on the Black Sea coast. The Poseidon group has submerged two waterproof copies of Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous works, “The Last Supper” and the “Mona Lisa”. While the masterpieces are the first to be displayed, the group is planning another exhibition later this year.
Swindon, England
Police who set off sirens to settle a debate over whether they go “nee-nah or woo-woo” have apologised to residents. The sirens were sounded during a visit by police community support officers to a primary school. Becky Muckleston, from the school, said staff consensus was “it’s a woo-woo” but pupils thought it was a “nee-nah”.
Scotland
Scotland has more than 400 words for snow — more than even the Inuit, according to researchers. Academics have been collecting the words used by Scots in place of “snow” and have officially recorded 421 terms, including “flindrikin” and “snaw-pouter”. The University of Glasgow study will see the words included in a new Scots thesaurus.
Grapevine
“Everyone loves cute puppies, and everyone loves Pope Francis. In America, we like combining the things we love. Giles [his dog] wanted to show his support for a more progressive pontiff. Also, I suspect the Holy Father himself would find it funny.”
John Scorr
Pope Francis’s visit to the United States has been marked in an unexpected way by some Americans. Across the country, dog owners have been dressing their pets in canine papal outfits with the hashtag #popedog on Instagram. Asked if the pope was aware of the trend, a Vatican spokesperson said: “I don’t know if he’s conscious of that. I imagine he has more important things to think about.”
“Conversations about how we bring about transition are important and that’s what we need to see progress on. I’m not going to speculate. But he [Assad] can’t be a part of Syria’s long-term future. That’s very clear … I think people who break international law should be subject to international law. That certainly hasn’t changed.”
Britain’s prime minister has indicated that Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, should face international criminal prosecution, despite having dropped his opposition to the dictator staying in power temporarily as part of a transitional government. Cameron will have face-to-face talks with the Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, to discuss the strategy for peace in Syria; Iran is a key ally of Assad.
“We won. Today was a double victory — the yes side won, as did democracy. We ask that the world recognise the victory of Catalonia and the victory of the yes. We have won and that gives us an enormous strength to push this project forward.”
Catalan leader — Artur Mas I Gavarró
Separatists took control of Catalonia’s regional government in an election result that could plunge Spain into one of its deepest political crises of recent years, by forcing Madrid to confront an openly secessionist government at the helm of one of its wealthiest regions. A record number of Catalans cast their vote in the election.
“Today’s [deal] represents a significant step forward in US-China leadership and cooperation on climate change. It is imperative that leaders of all nations come together to take on this challenge in a spirit of common purpose to protect the home that we all share.”
The world’s biggest polluter has taken its most significant step to date toward fighting climate change. Speaking from the White House lawn during his first state visit to Washington, Chinese President Xi Jinping committed his country to a national cap-and-trade programme for the first time, and he pledged $3.1 billion to help developing countries adapt to a warming planet.
Facts & Figures
Las Vegas casinos have no clocks in them.
70% - Cats sleep for 70% of their lives.
Kentucky law states that a person must take a bath once a year.
More than 10 million bricks in the Empire State Building.
Ants stretch when they wake up in the morning.
14 times - The number of times dogs are mentioned in the Bible. Cats are not mentioned once.
The catfish has over 27,000 tastebuds, more than any other animal.
Some lions mate more than 50 times a day.