The Americas
FIDEL CASTRO ISN'T DEAD YET
El Caballo's still breathing
(via)
Some people on Twitter tried to persuade the world that Fidel Castro was dead last night, but it didn't work because he is still alive. The former president of Cuba has been "killed off" by Twitter a number of times before, and this latest phantom death was caused by the photograph you can see above doing the rounds on the internet. Africa
THE COCA-COLA PEOPLE ARE STILL FRIENDS WITH BAD MEN
When you drank that can of coke this morning you helped prop up a dictatorship in Swaziland
(via)
Coca-Cola has been asked to get out of Swaziland as the taxes they pay for their manufacturing plant there are funding the reign of Africa's last remaining absolute monarch. King Mswati III is an interesting guy, but on the face of it, not a very nice one. The country he rules is one of the poorest in the world, but his own personal wealth exceeds £64million. Poverty, AIDS and TB among the population are rife. Meanwhile, Mswati III has 13 wives and hosts a big party every year where he gets to choose a new one from tens of thousands of bare-breasted virgins. Activists say that Coca-Cola contributes somewhere around 40 percent of the nation's wealth, and are asking that the US-based drinks firm stops doing this in order to depose Mswati III. UK
THE WEATHER'S BAD
None of the trains are running and a man has died in Kent(via)
If you have windows or have left the house today, you'll know all about this already. The Internet
RUPERT MURDOCH JOINED TWITTER
And someone pretended to be his wife so they could flirt with Ricky Gervais
(via/via)
Rupert Murdoch got bored over the Christmas break and joined Twitter. So far, he has described Fox News host Bob Beckel as a "fun" "liberal", praised Barack Obama, and given his backing to Rick Santorum in the Republican GOP race. Someone pretended to be his wife Wendi Deng for a while, and the media believed that it was, but earlier today News International confirmed that the account is fake. Africa
YOUSSOU N'DOUR WANTS TO BE PRESIDENT OF SENEGAL
He sang a song with Neneh Cherry and now he wants to lead his country (via)
Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour has announced that he wants to be president of his home nation. Presidential elections take place next month, and Youssou wants to replace scary-looking old guy Abdoulaye Wade as the big man of Senegalese politics. "For a long time, men and women have demonstrated their optimism, dreaming of a new Senegal," said N'Dour on Monday, in an interview broadcast on his own TV and radio station Television Futurs Medias. "They have, in various ways, called for my candidacy… I listened. I heard." Senegal isn't one of the countries in Africa where people die every time there's an election, but life there isn't that great. The average daily wage is $3 and when Wade tried to change the electoral rules in June, many thought he was trying to make it easier for his son to succeed him. Another opponent of Wade's was held by police last week because they think he might have been involved in a fatal shooting. To put it concisely, things are getting pretty tense. If there's anyone who can chill people out, it's probably the guy who wrote "7 Seconds". UK
JESUS CHRIST, THE NHS ARE REALLY IN THE SHIT
They've basically been accused of killing 74 disabled people(via)
The National Health Service has been accused of causing or contributing to the deaths of at least 74 disabled patients. The charity Mencap carried out the study, and has pointed the finger at the NHS for employing staff who either don't care about disabled people or don't know enough about them to look after them properly. The inquiry comes on the back of other recent examinations that have found the NHS lacking when it comes to providing care for elderly patients. The cases highlighted by Mencap include that of nine-year-old Daisy Healy in 2005, and Lisa Sharpe, 21, and Kyle Flack, 20 (pictured), who are two of four among the 74 names to have died at Basildon hospital in Essex. "Sadly, we believe that the cases in this report represent the tip of the iceberg," said Mencap's bigwig David Congdon. Happy 2012.
FIDEL CASTRO ISN'T DEAD YET
El Caballo's still breathing
Some people on Twitter tried to persuade the world that Fidel Castro was dead last night, but it didn't work because he is still alive. The former president of Cuba has been "killed off" by Twitter a number of times before, and this latest phantom death was caused by the photograph you can see above doing the rounds on the internet. Africa
THE COCA-COLA PEOPLE ARE STILL FRIENDS WITH BAD MEN
When you drank that can of coke this morning you helped prop up a dictatorship in Swaziland
Advertisement
Coca-Cola has been asked to get out of Swaziland as the taxes they pay for their manufacturing plant there are funding the reign of Africa's last remaining absolute monarch. King Mswati III is an interesting guy, but on the face of it, not a very nice one. The country he rules is one of the poorest in the world, but his own personal wealth exceeds £64million. Poverty, AIDS and TB among the population are rife. Meanwhile, Mswati III has 13 wives and hosts a big party every year where he gets to choose a new one from tens of thousands of bare-breasted virgins. Activists say that Coca-Cola contributes somewhere around 40 percent of the nation's wealth, and are asking that the US-based drinks firm stops doing this in order to depose Mswati III. UK
THE WEATHER'S BAD
None of the trains are running and a man has died in Kent(via)
If you have windows or have left the house today, you'll know all about this already. The Internet
RUPERT MURDOCH JOINED TWITTER
And someone pretended to be his wife so they could flirt with Ricky Gervais
Rupert Murdoch got bored over the Christmas break and joined Twitter. So far, he has described Fox News host Bob Beckel as a "fun" "liberal", praised Barack Obama, and given his backing to Rick Santorum in the Republican GOP race. Someone pretended to be his wife Wendi Deng for a while, and the media believed that it was, but earlier today News International confirmed that the account is fake. Africa
YOUSSOU N'DOUR WANTS TO BE PRESIDENT OF SENEGAL
He sang a song with Neneh Cherry and now he wants to lead his country (via)
Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour has announced that he wants to be president of his home nation. Presidential elections take place next month, and Youssou wants to replace scary-looking old guy Abdoulaye Wade as the big man of Senegalese politics. "For a long time, men and women have demonstrated their optimism, dreaming of a new Senegal," said N'Dour on Monday, in an interview broadcast on his own TV and radio station Television Futurs Medias. "They have, in various ways, called for my candidacy… I listened. I heard." Senegal isn't one of the countries in Africa where people die every time there's an election, but life there isn't that great. The average daily wage is $3 and when Wade tried to change the electoral rules in June, many thought he was trying to make it easier for his son to succeed him. Another opponent of Wade's was held by police last week because they think he might have been involved in a fatal shooting. To put it concisely, things are getting pretty tense. If there's anyone who can chill people out, it's probably the guy who wrote "7 Seconds". UK
JESUS CHRIST, THE NHS ARE REALLY IN THE SHIT
They've basically been accused of killing 74 disabled people(via)
The National Health Service has been accused of causing or contributing to the deaths of at least 74 disabled patients. The charity Mencap carried out the study, and has pointed the finger at the NHS for employing staff who either don't care about disabled people or don't know enough about them to look after them properly. The inquiry comes on the back of other recent examinations that have found the NHS lacking when it comes to providing care for elderly patients. The cases highlighted by Mencap include that of nine-year-old Daisy Healy in 2005, and Lisa Sharpe, 21, and Kyle Flack, 20 (pictured), who are two of four among the 74 names to have died at Basildon hospital in Essex. "Sadly, we believe that the cases in this report represent the tip of the iceberg," said Mencap's bigwig David Congdon. Happy 2012.