360º News: International & National briefs
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Mmmmuah! A Thai couple set the world record for longest kiss on February 15, after locking lips for nearly 46.5 hours. Fourteen couples entered the smooching contest in the tourist town of Pattaya, Thailand. The contest rules stated that the couples must not part lips at any time; they had to drink coffee, milk or juice through straws and go to the bathroom while kissing. The winning couple, Ekkachai and Laksana Tiranarat, took home a diamond ring worth 50,000 Thai Baht ($1,606 U.S.), and a 100,000 Baht ($3,213 U.S.) cash prize. The previous record, a 32-hour kissing marathon, was set in 2009 by a couple in Germany.
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The Egyptian Museum is missing some of its most prized artifacts after the days of unrest last month. According to Zahi Hawass, an Egyptologist recently appointed minister of state for antiquities affairs, looters broke in and stole a statue of King Tutankhamun, objects from the time of the rebel Pharaoh Akhenaten, including a sandstone head of a princess and a limestone statue of Akhenaten holding an offering table, reported Reuters. Experts speculate that some of the pieces may have been specifically targeted.
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A German-engineered wind-powered car made a 5,000 km journey across a large part of Australia - the very first car of its kind to do so. The "Wind Explorer" was propelled mainly by kites and wind, and weighed just 80 kg. The vehicle's German inventors, Dirk Gion and Stefan Simmerer, hoped it would show that it is possible to use existing technology to power cars using renewable energy.
NATIONAL NEWS
Remember those super fun but super inconvenient snow days last year? Well, it seems like they weren't just inconvenient to the citizens of London. The city shelled out $1.7 million to deal with the snow. This means an average of about $300,000 a day for the storms between December 5 to the 13. Snowmaggedon is considered to be London's biggest blizzard in the last half-century.
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On February 13, a bus carrying the University of Western Ontario men's and women's volleyballs teams caught fire. No serious injuries have been reported. The team were on their way back to London from Toronto when the driver noticed smoke coming from the back of the vehicle. Jesse Mighton, assistant coach of the men's volleyball team said that a lot of personal items were lost like laptops, shoes, school notes and more. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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Poll results can be a favourite piece of evidence for media everywhere, but pollsters are saying, frankly, that the results don't matter. Andre Turcotte, a pollster and communications professor at Carelton University said that media personnel who report even the slightest change in numbers should seek help. "You should really consider what is the basis for your addiction and maybe enter a ten-step program," he said to the Toronto Star. But he also chastises pollsters who feed media addictions. Choose your polls wisely.
— compiled by Erika Faust and Jessica Ireland
Mmmmuah! A Thai couple set the world record for longest kiss on February 15, after locking lips for nearly 46.5 hours. Fourteen couples entered the smooching contest in the tourist town of Pattaya, Thailand. The contest rules stated that the couples must not part lips at any time; they had to drink coffee, milk or juice through straws and go to the bathroom while kissing. The winning couple, Ekkachai and Laksana Tiranarat, took home a diamond ring worth 50,000 Thai Baht ($1,606 U.S.), and a 100,000 Baht ($3,213 U.S.) cash prize. The previous record, a 32-hour kissing marathon, was set in 2009 by a couple in Germany.
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The Egyptian Museum is missing some of its most prized artifacts after the days of unrest last month. According to Zahi Hawass, an Egyptologist recently appointed minister of state for antiquities affairs, looters broke in and stole a statue of King Tutankhamun, objects from the time of the rebel Pharaoh Akhenaten, including a sandstone head of a princess and a limestone statue of Akhenaten holding an offering table, reported Reuters. Experts speculate that some of the pieces may have been specifically targeted.
-----
A German-engineered wind-powered car made a 5,000 km journey across a large part of Australia - the very first car of its kind to do so. The "Wind Explorer" was propelled mainly by kites and wind, and weighed just 80 kg. The vehicle's German inventors, Dirk Gion and Stefan Simmerer, hoped it would show that it is possible to use existing technology to power cars using renewable energy.
NATIONAL NEWS
Remember those super fun but super inconvenient snow days last year? Well, it seems like they weren't just inconvenient to the citizens of London. The city shelled out $1.7 million to deal with the snow. This means an average of about $300,000 a day for the storms between December 5 to the 13. Snowmaggedon is considered to be London's biggest blizzard in the last half-century.
-----
On February 13, a bus carrying the University of Western Ontario men's and women's volleyballs teams caught fire. No serious injuries have been reported. The team were on their way back to London from Toronto when the driver noticed smoke coming from the back of the vehicle. Jesse Mighton, assistant coach of the men's volleyball team said that a lot of personal items were lost like laptops, shoes, school notes and more. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
-----
Poll results can be a favourite piece of evidence for media everywhere, but pollsters are saying, frankly, that the results don't matter. Andre Turcotte, a pollster and communications professor at Carelton University said that media personnel who report even the slightest change in numbers should seek help. "You should really consider what is the basis for your addiction and maybe enter a ten-step program," he said to the Toronto Star. But he also chastises pollsters who feed media addictions. Choose your polls wisely.
— compiled by Erika Faust and Jessica Ireland
