Germany: Germany’s 14 weirdest town slogans
Bad puns, questionable word play and baffling allusions. This week’s Local list takes a look at weird and wonderful German town slogans.
From Munich’s vaguely plagiaristic “Munich loves you” to the capital’s much-derided “Be Berlin,” marketing slogans for German towns and cities aren’t always completely on the money. ... (Read more)
The Local
Australia: Underwater Google ‘Street View’ to reveal what lies beneath Sydney Harbour
It is the ultimate underwater Google Street View.
Divers propelled by underwater scooters have begun filming test footage from the bottom of Sydney Harbour and beyond into the deep waters off Bondi and Manly beaches for an eventual audience of at least one billion people.
Sea horses, kelp forests, the odd bathtub but no concrete boots to date have been captured for an eventual unveiling on Google Maps. ... (Read more)
Sydney Morning Herald
Russia: Russian Intellectuals Slam Crimean Occupation
Leo Tolstoy wrote famously about his experiences in the Crimean War in the mid-1850s. His book, “The Sevastopol Stories,” has been a source of great cultural pride for some Russians over the last century and a half. ...
The specter of a new war in Crimea has shaken the greater Russian arts community to its core. It has brought about humor, pathos, anger and despair from artists who, similar to Tolstoy, find themselves in a position of having to make sense of a conflict run rampant. ... (Read more)
The Moscow Times
Japan: World’s oldest person ‘kind of’ happy to turn 116
Misao Okawa, a Japanese woman believed to be the world’s oldest person, turned 116 on March 5 and celebrated by tucking into a white cake decorated with strawberries and candles. She credits a healthy appetite and getting plenty of rest for her longevity. ... Asked if she was happy to have lived so long, she replied, according to The Asahi Shimbun daily: “Kind of.” ... (Read more)
The Asahi Shimbun
Denmark: Concerns over pesticide residue in drinking water
Chemicals used to protect crops from pests and diseases are ending up in our homes.
A recent report from the Danish Society for the Conservation of Nature website reveals that most Danes are concerned with pesticide residue in their drinking water, despite levels currently being below those deemed safe by the authorities. ... (Read more)
The Copenhagen Post
Canada: Daycare suspends 2-year-old girl over cheese sandwich
An Ottawa father is looking to move his children out of their daycare over its strict “no outside food” policy, after his daughter was suspended for three days for bringing a cheese sandwich to class.
Randy Murray’s two-year-old daughter Faith walked into the Centre de l'enfant aux 4 Vents in Ottawa’s Barrhaven neighbourhood on Monday with a Ziploc bag with a cheese sandwich inside. ... (Read more)
CBC News
Africa: Facebook to Connect Africa Through Drones
Facebook is said to be in talks with a manufacturer of unmanned aerial vehicles that can lead to the manufacture of 11,000 drones to connect Africa with the internet. ...
According to TechCrunch Facebook is in talks with Titan Aerospace for the manufacture of its Solara drones that are powered through Solar Energy and can remain in flight for up to 60 months and thus provide internet to Africa’s rural and isolated population.
Unlike satellites in space at the end of the five years stay the Solara models can return to the ground where all its cargo can be recovered and parts collected. ... (Read more)
All Africa
* Underwater image via Shutterstock.
Friends Read Free