KEY POINTS:
A reader writes: "I know security on aeroplanes has been stepped up, but stopping an 8-year-old who is flying alone from boarding a plane with his new, still-in-the-box, brightly coloured plastic gun is surely an error of judgment? Flying back home to Rotorua after a long weekend in Christchurch, he was told by security that he could not take it on board and it would have to be checked in. Try explaining that his toy was not allowed on to the plane because someone might think it is real. Thankfully the check-in lady (who could not believe it either) was wonderful and assured him he could have it back once the plane had landed in Rotorua.
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Leighton Noakes was pleased to get a thank-you note after sending friends an engagement present. "I couldn't attend so I sent the gift along with another friend. It was a stunning photo of a sunset that I had taken on a sea kayaking trip and mounted in a lovely black frame (just recently I had found my love for landscape photography, and thought it would be a thoughtful gift). Their note reads ... "Thank you so much for the lovely photo frame, especially since you were unable to attend on Saturday. We will have good fun selecting a photo - maybe one from the party".
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Police forced their way into Donnell Williams' home in Wichita as he was just getting out of his tub, with a towel around his waist. They say they told him to show them his hands and he didn't. Williams says he wasn't wearing his hearing aid and couldn't hear. "I kept going to my ear yelling that I was scared. I can't hear! I can't hear," he said. Apparently, the officers didn't hear him because when he didn't comply, they Tasered him. The police were responding to a call about a shooting, a call that turned out to be a false alarm. (Source: Reason.com)
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Holidays in China: The official Xinhua News Agency says the Government has announced that employees of Government agencies, as well as state-run and private companies, will now be able to take paid holidays after one year of service. Employees who have worked for less than 10 years will get five paid days off a year, while those who have worked between 10 and 19 years will get 10 days. Those who have worked for at least 20 years will get 15 days.
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The Wall Street Journal reports that the chief operating and development officer of Yum brands, which includes Taco Bell, KFC, Long John Silver's and Pizza Hut, is named Mr Hearl. Mr Hearl is retiring and will be replaced by Mr Eaton. Seriously. (Source: TheConsumerist.com)
