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These days, anybody can be a politician
Rob Ford remains steadfast in his refusal to give up his job as mayor of Toronto — and perhaps that’s providing motivation to some of Canada’s other drug users. Edward Snowden’s revelations have sparked hearings before the British Parliament and Twitter had finally gone public. Those stories and others in today’s Global Scan.
Toronto mayor Rob Ford has become something of a role model for some Canadians as this cartoon by Canada’s (very funny) Gary Clement shows.
(c) Gary Clement, National Post, Canada
Officials in Thailand made an odd discovery in abandoned bags at Bangkok's main airport.
A pair of suitcases were left going round and round on the baggage claim belt, drawing the attention of airport officials. They x-rayed the bags and discovered more than 400 endangered tortoises stuffed in the bags. The creatures were brought in on a flight from Bangladesh, Channel News Asia reports. No arrests have been made.
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Out in the open — sort of
The fallout over the revelations by Edward Snowden continues. This time, Britain’s security services — MI5, MI6 and GCHQ — have been called before Parliament to explain their actions. The Guardian has been following the story.
Twitter's gone public
Twitter’s IPO priced at $26 this morning and already the stock has climbed to about $46. Trading was running smoothly under the new symbol TWTR.
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And the guns fell silent
The civilian population just poured out of the houses where they had been hiding — and the celebratory atmosphere was extraordinary
News emerged this week that one of Africa’s most notorious rebel groups, the M23 movement of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has been defeated. PRI's The World spoke to freelance photographer Peter Muller, who marched with the troops during the conflict and took stunning photographs.
Congolese soldiers advance up the mountainous road toward Bunagana, the last remaining stronghold of the M-23 rebels on Wednesday. (Photo: Pete Muller for the New York Times)Pete Muller for the New York Times
What you never knew about your knee
We’re used to hearing of exotic discoveries from deep in the Amazon, or from the depths of the oceans. This week, however, scientists announced the discovery of a hitherto unnoticed part of the human body, located deep within the knee joint. The BBC has the story of the previously unknown anterolateral ligament.
"What's so awesome about nihilism? Nothing."
PRI's The World takes a look at the twitter account Nein Quarterly — which makes a sport of puns and word play. Its popularity is soaring in Germany and its creator, Eric Jarosinski, a German professor at the University of Pennsylvania, is looking at ways to branch it. He's raising money to turn it into a blog — and he's in discussions to go even further.
What we're seeing on social
Weather around the world
Australia's long battle with wildfires should calm in the next few days as rains move in and weather cools. The Sydney Morning Herald says rainfall over the next few days is supposed to be the most in four months — with Monday likely to be the wettest day.