JAPAN
Sega launches urinal games
An entertainment company has combined men’s obsession with video games with their perennial inability to aim straight to create a range of distractions in selected Tokyo urinals. Sega has installed the “Toylets” in male lavatories at four bars and games arcades in the capital. The games use pressure sensors attached to eye-level LCD screens that test users’ accuracy as they answer the call of nature. The four games include one in which the object is to spray the screen clean of graffiti. Another, Manneken Pis, named after the famous statue in Brussels, measures the volume of the urine stream. Splashing Battle, meanwhile, pits one user against another — though thankfully not directly — by challenging him to produce a more powerful stream than the previous visitor. In the fourth game, The North Wind and the Sun and Me, sensors control a digital wind blowing up a young woman’s skirt. The greater the stream’s intensity, the higher the skirt travels. The games sit (or stand) well with the country’s open attitude to all matters micturition. Children are raised on tales of ghosts who inhabit toilets, perhaps to encourage cleanliness, while girls are encouraged to keep on the good side of the female deity who supposedly resides in domestic WCs.
NEW ZEALAND
Police give up Segways
Police in Taupo have been forced to resume foot patrols after their futuristic Segway scooters were deemed illegal, reports said yesterday. Police had enthusiastically embraced the electric-powered devices, but had to abandon them after finding it was against the law to use them in public areas, national news agency NZPA reported. The local Rotary Club purchased two of the Segways, which were then loaned to police to make it easier for officers to conduct patrols. The two-wheeled scooters, which use gyroscopes and computers to remain upright and can reach speeds of up to 20kph, had proven popular with the community, Inspector Steve Bullock said. “They are a novel vehicle, I would liken them to a modern-day horse because they engender curiosity and people want to talk to you about them, which is what we want as a police organization,” he told NZPA. “We want to be more engaged with our community and be approachable and be a person rather than just a blue shirt.” Bullock said that because there was no separate vehicle classification for Segways, they fell into the same category as cars and had to be registered as roadworthy for use in public areas.
NEW ZEALAND
Villagers aid chopper rescue
A line scrawled by a villager in beach sand helped point airborne searchers to a downed helicopter pilot after his aircraft crashed yesterday into a bay on the northern coast, rescue officials said. The pilot, very cold and suffering “semi-shock,” but otherwise mostly unhurt, was winched from the water by a rescue helicopter two hours after witnesses heard his machine crash in a bay about 30km south of Whangarei Heads, Rescue Coordination Center spokesman Neville Blackmore said.
PHILIPPINES
Sixteen break out of jail
Sixteen inmates broke out of an overcrowded jail by sawing off their cell’s iron bars and climbing down a wall using blankets, authorities said yesterday. The authorities captured one of the fugitives within an hour of the escape on Wednesday night, but 15 others who have been charged with murder, robbery and drug trafficking remain at large, Cotabato Mayor Japal Guiano said.
SPAIN
Hotel is full of garbage
A new hotel has opened in the heart of Madrid proudly declaring that it’s complete rubbish. The walls of the Beach Garbage Hotel are strewn with detritus dragged up by the tide, recovered from landfills or snapped up at flea markets. Among the wall decorations are plastic drums, wooden frames, musical instruments, striped socks, tires, and children’s books. In the five rooms there are streetlights, wobbly sideboards, and torn Persian rugs, ready to welcome the lucky winners of a Facebook competition whose prize was a free stay. Out front, there is a small patch of sand and palm trees. The hotel is the work of German artist Ha Schult. “I created the Beach Garbage Hotel because the oceans of our planet are the biggest garbage dump,” Schult said. Rosa Piqueras, spokeswoman for the project, said the idea was to show something a little different from the ideal destinations touted by the tourism industry. “We wanted to show what our holidays could become if we don’t clean our beaches,” she said.
RUSSIA
Archpriest outrages women
Feminists expressed outrage on Wednesday after the country’s Orthodox Church proposed women dress more modestly and refrain from walking down the street “painted like a clown.” In a letter published by Interfax news agency on Tuesday, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin said: “We should create an all-Russian dress code … Either scantily clad or painted like a clown, a woman who counts on meeting men on the street, in the metro or a bar not only risks running into a drunken idiot but will meet men with no self-respect.” Last month Chaplin said women in mini-skirts were to blame if raped as they “provoke men.” His comments were widely condemned by the media on Wednesday.
BELGIUM
Politician quits TV show
An influential politician who was criticized for clowning on a racy TV quiz show while negotiations to form a permanent government for the country foundered said on Wednesday he was quitting the show. Bart De Wever, leader of the Dutch-speaking Flemish nationalist N-VA, said that taping the final of the show of The Very Smartest Human in the World no longer fit into his agenda. Negotiations for a new government are in their record seventh month and critics compared De Wever to the emperor Nero, who fiddled while Rome burned. In one episode of the show De Wever identified famous actresses from photos in which they accidentally had their nipples showing.
BRITAIN
No tweets please, we’re MPs
Members of parliament (MPs) have been banned from using Twitter while sitting in the chamber. Deputy Speaker Lindsay Hoyle gave the ruling on Wednesday after Labour MP Kevin Brennan complained during a debate that Julian Huppert of the Liberal Democrat party, was tweeting. Brennan protested that it was unfair of Huppert to make points about the debate via Twitter instead of giving his arguments inside the House of Commons chamber where other legislators could have the chance to rebut his points. “I am glad you have brought it to my attention. I am sure no honorable member will be tweeting from the chamber to let the outside world know what is going on,” Hoyle said. Guidelines issued in June last year only say that mobile phones should not be used in the chamber, but that hand-held devices to use e-mails are acceptable.
UNITED STATES
Burglars snort ashes
Burglars snorted the cremated remains of a man and two dogs in the mistaken belief that they had stolen illegal drugs, Florida sheriff’s deputies said on Wednesday. The ashes were taken from a woman’s home in the central Florida town of Silver Springs Shores on Dec. 15. The thieves took an urn containing the ashes of her father and another container with the ashes of her two Great Danes, along with electronic equipment and jewelry, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said. Investigators learned what happened to the ashes after they arrested five teens in connection with another burglary attempt at a nearby home last week. “The suspects mistook the ashes for either cocaine or heroin. It was soon discovered that the suspects snorted some of the ashes believing they were snorting cocaine,” the sheriff’s report said. Once they realized their error, the suspects discussed returning the remaining ashes, but threw them in a lake instead because they thought their fingerprints were on the containers, sheriff’s spokesman Judge Cochran said. Police divers were trying to recover the ashes. The suspects were jailed on numerous burglary and other charges.
UNITED STATES
Spider mailer pleads guilty
A German national who shipped hundreds of live tarantulas into the US through the mail has pleaded guilty to a federal smuggling charge, prosecutors said. In pleading guilty on Tuesday, Sven Koppler, 37, admitted mailing about 247 live tarantulas to federal agents in Los Angeles, who were posing as buyers as part of an investigation dubbed “Operation Spiderman.” Koppler further admitted sending the agents 22 Mexican Red-kneed tarantulas, a species of spider formally known as Brachypelma smithi that is protected under an international treaty. Koppler, who lives in Wachtberg, Germany, faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on April 11, US Attorney’s spokesman Thom Mrozek said.
UNITED STATES
Eatery serves lion tacos
A Tucson taco restaurant has already served up python, alligator, elk, kangaroo, rattlesnake and turtle. What’s next? Lion meat. Boca Tacos y Tequila said it’s accepting orders for African lion tacos, to be served starting on Feb. 16. Bryan Mazon said there are already a few reservations from curious customers. Mazon said his restaurant started offering exotic tacos on its menu every Wednesday about six months ago and has tried “just about anything we can get our hands on.” According to the Food and Drug Administration, lion and other game meat can be sold as long as the species isn’t endangered. The Arizona Daily Star said most of Boca’s exotic tacos range between US$3 and US$4. The lion tacos will cost US$8.75 apiece.
UNITED STATES
City rejects DUI postings
Police in Huntington Beach, California, will not be posting the mug shots of habitual drunken drivers on Facebook after all. The City Council late on Tuesday shot down a proposal by Huntington Beach Councilman Devin Dwyer that would have directed police to post photos of repeat driving under the influence (DUI) suspects online. He had wanted to “shame” people into changing their behavior. The police department opposed the move, saying it would alienate residents. Huntington Beach has a downtown packed with bars and is ranked top in the state for alcohol-related traffic fatalities.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
NO EXCUSES: Marcos said his administration was acting on voters’ demands, but an academic said the move was emotionally motivated after a poor midterm showing Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday sought the resignation of all his Cabinet secretaries, in a move seen as an attempt to reset the political agenda and assert his authority over the second half of his single six-year term. The order came after the president’s allies failed to win a majority of Senate seats contested in the 12 polls on Monday last week, leaving Marcos facing a divided political and legislative landscape that could thwart his attempts to have an ally succeed him in 2028. “He’s talking to the people, trying to salvage whatever political capital he has left. I think it’s
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
UNSCHEDULED VISIT: ‘It’s a very bulky new neighbor, but it will soon go away,’ said Johan Helberg of the 135m container ship that run aground near his house A man in Norway awoke early on Thursday to discover a huge container ship had run aground a stone’s throw from his fjord-side house — and he had slept through the commotion. For an as-yet unknown reason, the 135m NCL Salten sailed up onto shore just meters from Johan Helberg’s house in a fjord near Trondheim in central Norway. Helberg only discovered the unexpected visitor when a panicked neighbor who had rung his doorbell repeatedly to no avail gave up and called him on the phone. “The doorbell rang at a time of day when I don’t like to open,” Helberg told television
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