KEY POINTS:
Cultural insensitivity: Ian Coburn noticed in the Auckland Domain that the statue of Robbie Burns had been removed for cleaning until March. "Which is excellent, considering it's been there for over 80 years," he says, "but doesn't the Auckland City Council realise January 25 is Burns' birthday? A day which is celebrated throughout the world with bagpipes, haggis and whisky?"
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Never mind academic prowess - unless students in Japan can demonstrate dexterity with a pair of chopsticks they won't be granted entrance to an exclusive girls' school. Successful applicants to the Hisatagakuen Sasebo Girls' High School must be able to transfer marbles, beads and beans from one plate to another using just a pair of chopsticks. The test aims to judge applicants' habits through their handling of chopsticks and must be taken by all candidates aged 15 or 16. The move comes amid concerns that Japanese youth are losing touch with their traditional culinary culture and table manners, with youngsters increasingly wolfing down burgers and fried chicken instead of fish, rice and miso soup.
(Source: Kyodo news agency)
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South Island beekeeper launches sting: A Timaru beekeeper is fitting his hives with tiny microdots to stop smugglers pinching them to fill a shortage in the North Island. Davidson Apiaries say it has lost honey worth up to $50,000 in the last year alone. Each dot is only 0.5mm to 1mm in diameter but carries a unique identification number, which can be accessed from any police computer nationwide over a secure link. This microdot technology is already used successfully on vehicles, motorbikes, in the marine industry and on personal products, but this is the first time it has been tried with beehives.
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Overkill: Texas police shot and killed Margot Allen's golden labrador and caused US$5000 ($7230) in damage to her home during a drug raid. That raid netted just two joints and resulted in misdemeanour charges against her son and boyfriend. (Source: Reason.com)
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A British woman who took nearly a quarter of a century to pass her driving test has written a book aimed at helping others succeed. Over a period of 23 years, creative writing teacher Maria McCarthy, 42, took about 250 lessons and spent £3000 (nearly $9000) before she finally passed her test. Ms McCarthy, from Sidmouth, Devon, settled down to write The Girls' Guide to Losing Your L-Plates - her first book - because of an "evangelical desire to spread the word".
