Mystery-North Korea confirms mystery woman is leader's wife
Why-Vienna pitches urban chic bee colonies
Seduction- Sex scandal judge's husband calls actions 'bizarre'
Why-Beach volley-ballers might cover up for Olympics
Wow-Inflatable doll sparks 18-man police rescue
Why-Vienna pitches urban chic bee colonies
VIENNA - Felix Munk gets stung up to 20 times a day but that doesn't stop him from regularly clambering up to the roof of the Vienna Opera and other city landmarks to check on the bees living above the heads of unsuspecting music lovers and government ministers. Munk is a member of Vienna's Stadtimker, one of a growing number of urban beekeepers' associations who are trying to encourage bees to make their homes in cities, as pesticides and crop monocultures make the countryside increasingly hostile. Bee populations are in sharp decline around the world, under attack from a poorly understood phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder, whose main causes are believed to include a virus spread by mites that feed on haemolymph - bees' "blood". As well as making honey, bees are important pollinators of flowering plants, including many fruits and vegetables. A 2011 United Nations report estimated that the work of bees and other pollinators was worth 153 billion euros ($186 billion) a year. "Bees do very well in cities," says Stephen Martin of the University of Sheffield, an expert on the deadly Varroa mite that has wrought destruction on honey bee colonies around the world since being exported from its native Asia in the 1960s. There are lots of plants and flowers in cities for bees to live on. Keeping them on rooftops is a great idea because it keeps them out of the way of people. I think these initiatives are really good, as long as they maintain them properly," he said. "Once the mite gets into a colony, which it will do, in a period of two to four years the colony will be killed.
Mystery-North Korea confirms mystery woman is leader's wife
SEOUL - North Korea’s new young leader, Kim Jong-un, is married, state media said on Wednesday, putting an end to speculation over the relationship with a woman seen at his side during recent events. The announcement, which fits a trend the upbeat Kim has followed to break out of the dour management style of his late father, Kim Jong-il, came
just two weeks after he was seen at a gala performance accompanied by the woman, with rumours swirling as to whether she was his wife, lover or sister. “Kim Jong-un’s move appears to give the youth hoping for change, especially young women, a favourable impression of him although it can make conservative old North Koreans uncomfortable,” said Cheong Seong-chang, a senior fellow at the Sejong Institute think tank. “Although Kim Jong-un continues a one-man dictatorship, he is expected to have a more open attitude in culture than in the Kim Jong-il era.” Some observers in South Korea speculated she was a singer, Hyon Song-wol, he dated years ago before his father put a stop to it, but who was now back on the scene. But the North Korean state broadcaster named his wife as Ri Sol-ju, without giving details. It is not clear when the two tied the knot.
Seduction- Sex scandal judge's husband calls actions 'bizarre'
WINNIPEG - Alex Chapman showed no discomfort when his divorce lawyer Jack King proposed that he seduce King’s wife, Lori Douglas, an inquiry heard Tuesday. “At no time... did he suggest any discomfort,” King testified. “Had he done so, I would not have for one second persisted.” King said he met Chapman for coffee on April 15, 2003, the same day a settlement had been reached in Chapman’s divorce, when King asked Chapman if he could find a black man to seduce Douglas for a threesome.
His response, in essence, was ‘Look no further, I’m your man,’” King testified. King said he later directed Chapman to the DarkCavern website where he had posted sexually graphic pictures of Douglas. King said Douglas was unaware of his plan or that he had posted her pictures on the Internet. King described his actions as “bizarre, ridiculous, stupid, self-indulgent and grotesque.” “My judgment in this regard had left me,” he said. King said he posted the pictures on the website because he “had a fantasy of a threesome of an interracial nature.” “My understanding of fantasy is it originates in one’s mind but it doesn’t necessarily stay there,” King said. Douglas was appointed to Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench in 2005. The Canadian Judicial Council inquiry will decide if she stays there. The inquiry will address the central questions of whether Douglas sexually harassed Chapman and whether she failed to disclose the affair when she became a judge. King admitted taking up to 160 naked or sexually explicit pictures of Douglas between 1996 and 2003. Douglas, he said, “never put her mind” to whether he was developing or processing the pictures
Why-Beach volley-ballers might cover up for Olympics
They call soccer the "beautiful game," but an argument could be made that beach volleyball is the most beautiful game. Wives might object to their husbands sitting in front of the TV and watching tall bikini-clad women jumping and diving in the sand if it weren't for the fact that volleyball is a legitimate Olympic sport. But on the horizon there is a storm (or, simply put, English weather), and it could cause volleyball players to bundle up in the equivalent of long underwear instead of bathing suits. The forecast calls for highs in the 60s early next week, with up to a 30 percent chance of rain. When you factor in night matches that not exactly bikini weather. Some beach volleyball players are ready to take precaution. "We need it to keep our muscles warm," said Australian Tamsin Hinchley.
Nevertheless, beach volleyball is expected to draw crowds -- some half a million are predicted to come out for about 100 matches -- despite a relatively brief stint at the Olympics. It was introduced at the 1996 Games in Atlanta. It's not like it's "Baywatch-with-a-ball," but if the weather doesn't cooperate, NBC may want to trot out some reruns of Sydney circa 2000 to avoid a ratings hit.
Wow-Inflatable doll sparks 18-man police rescue
A team of police officers in Shandong province, China, rushed to the scene after receiving a call from a concerned witness about a lady in distress in one of the province's lakes. According to RocketNews24, the team of 18 officers spent over 40 minutes battling to retrieve the life-like doll and bring it to shore. The dramatic scenes attracted over 1,000
spectators according to local reports, with the large crowd blocking traffic and preventing rescue crews from reaching the scene. Officers were horrified to find when they finally managed to recover the body that they had in fact rescued an inflatable sex doll from the lake. A shocked crowd quickly dispersed from the scene following the astonishing scenes, with some spectators covering the eyes of younger children who had waited to watch the events unfold. Following the embarrassing rescue operation, officers said they were forced to act due to the toy's similar size and appearance to an adult female. It follows a live report on Chinese TV last month, when one novice reporter mistook a sex toy for what she believed was a 'rare medicinal Taisui mushroom'.
