Wednesday, February 12

Day: April 29, 2016

Couple’s Las Vegas trip ruined after booking wrong Birmingham airport
ENGLISH, United Kingdom

Couple’s Las Vegas trip ruined after booking wrong Birmingham airport

    A couple's dream trip to Las Vegas came to an abrupt end before it had even started - when the pair realised they had booked to fly from the wrong Birmingham airport. Richella Heekin and Ben Marlow spent £1,200 on their break, but only realised the mistake when they were actually at the airport. They were told their flights were booked for Birmingham, Alabama, instead of the West Midlands. To make matters worse, they were told that a refund wasn't possible. Richella, from Sutton Coldfield, had booked the trip on lastminute.com for her boyfriend's 30th as a surprise, and had kept it secret for a whole year before revealing the present at a party in front of their friend and family. But she had unwittingly booked the airport code BHM, which is Birmingham Alabama, instead of ...
Smacking children makes them more likely to have mental health problems when they grow up, research finds
ENGLISH, Life Style

Smacking children makes them more likely to have mental health problems when they grow up, research finds

    Children who are smacked by their parents are more likely to have mental health issues as well anti-social behaviour problems once they grow up, new research has suggested. Cognitive difficulties and increased aggression are other side effects recorded in a meta-analysis of 50 years worth of research conducted on more than 160,000 children. The study, which has been published in the Journal of Family Psychology was jointly undertaken by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Michigan, assesses the long lasting impact into adulthood which smacking has on children’s mental health, life skills and development. The researchers use the term spanking to denote hitting a child on their buttocks or extremities using an open hand. They found 13 negat...
Saudi billionaire gets £80 parking ticket on gold-plated £370,000 Mercedes – and carries on eating lunch
Arab world, ENGLISH

Saudi billionaire gets £80 parking ticket on gold-plated £370,000 Mercedes – and carries on eating lunch

    A middle eastern billionaire was spotted driving his fleet of ultra-expensive gold supercars around London with a parking ticket on the windscreen. Turki Bin Abdullah, a member of the house of Saud, appeared unconcerned by the fine as he dined in a west London restaurant nearby. As he ate with friends his £370,000 Mercedes G63 and £350,000 Lamborghini Aventador SV were parked immediately outside. The wealthy Saudi Arabian is known for his opulent lifestyle and his fleet of flashy vehicles. His cars drip in gold, with cheetahs in the front seat as he enjoys fine dining and multiple luxury watches. He flew four of his fleet of supercars wrapped in gold to London. And he has been busy on social media too, posting jaw-dropping examples of his huge wealth. Bin Abdullah, who div...
Facebook provides users info to Bangladesh govt
ENGLISH, Technology

Facebook provides users info to Bangladesh govt

    Popular social networking site Facebook has provided users’ information to the Bangladesh authorities for the first time. The Facebook authorities gave the information to the Bangladesh government after it made 12 requests about 31 users’ accounts between July and December last year, according to Government Requests Report released by the site yesterday. “We respond to valid requests relating to criminal cases. Each and every request we receive is checked for legal sufficiency and we reject or require greater specificity on requests that are overly broad or vague,” the report stated. It also restricted four contents upon the Bangladesh government’s appeal. “We restricted access to pieces of content alleged to violate local law regarding blasphemy, pursuant to a request fro...
North Korea gives US citizen 10 years hard labour for spying
Asia, ENGLISH

North Korea gives US citizen 10 years hard labour for spying

    Kim Dong-Chul was handed the sentence for “subversion” and “espionage”, Xinhua news agency said in a short dispatch. The 62-year-old issued a video confession in March where he admitted stealing North Korean secrets, though this was speculated to have been made under duress. Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) had previously said he was arrested while carrying a USB stick with stolen “nuclear and military secrets.” "You could say that my anti-North Korean behaviour was also instigated by the United States," Mr Kim was quoted as saying in his confession. Pyongyang last month sentenced American student Otto Warmbier to 15 years' hard labour for crimes against the state after he tearfully admitted that he tried to steal a propaganda banner from a hotel. North Korea insists Mr K...