Breaking news: Pravda buys a dud photocopier

“PRAVDA.Ru doesn’t recommend to use Xerox products”, reads an intriguing footer on the site of Russia’s version of National Enquirer. What seems to have happened is that Pravda took a major investment decision to purchase a USD300 Xerox photocopier. After x000 bumshots the damn thing broke and the USD150 repair fee has destroyed their previously…

Bug money

Dirty smelly infant entomologists are the new elite in South Korea, reports Chosun. Apparently prices range from USD8.5-85 for ones with shells pretty as jewels. “There are an estimated 100,000 insect owners in the country and industry sources say the market is rapidly growing,” we are told, although there is a substantial Farmer Brown contingent:…

Isn’t it too hot to go walking in Spain in the summer?

If you’re coming to Barcelona in the summer you probably won’t want to do huge amounts of walking around town because the heat is exacerbated by air pollution and humidity. However, if you get out of town and climb a bit, the picture changes dramatically. There’s a difference of 10°C in mean July temperatures between…

Wales signs agreement with Latvia

This has hardly attracted any attention, but it is extremely interesting since it is the first time I can recall an EU member state being persuaded (I assume we’re talking Welsh investment and the odd leek) to jump into bed with a similar-sized region of another EU member state. Nice one, Rhodri, but I’ll bet…