Chuck Cello needs a visa to travel
A musician has said she was prevented from travelling with her cello on a British Airways flight because the instrument apparently needed a visa to travel in the extra seat she had booked for it. Jane Bevan, 35, was attempting to board a flight from Zurich to Baltimore, when she was told at check-in that her cello needed a US Esta travel visa. Bevan, who booked her cello under the name "Chuck Cello", said she called BA a month before her flight and was told that the second seat followed airline policy. "At the airport I was told by a BA steward there was a problem with the booking," she said. "I waited while she spoke to her supervisor and was then told the check-in for the extra seat could not be completed because the system needed an Esta visa."
China swims against the tampon tide
When China's Olympic swimmer Fu Yuanhui said her period held her back during the final of the women's 4x100m medley relay race on live TV, it was an education for many viewers in China. "I feel I didn't swim well today. I let my teammates down," Fu said. "Because my period came yesterday, I'm feeling a bit weak, but this is not an excuse." Some Weibo users, oblivious to the benefits of tampons, asked why there was 'no blood in the pool?' According to the LA Times, Chinese manufacturers made 85 billion sanitary pads last year, but no tampons. A lack of sex education has produced a cultural bias against the tampon and Chinese girls are often told, "use tampons after you get married". But safety concerns about Chinese-made pads - reports surfaced they might contain a cancer-causing agent, and attitudes like Yuanhui's has seen a shift and China's first domestic tampon brand is launching this month.
