WUFOOB … (Apr – Jun 2015)

Obama stands up for wildlife

Telegraph, Friday 26th June 2015
President Barack Obama has met Sir David Attenborough in a rare encounter for a one-off television programme in which they discuss climate change. “Sadly we haven’t made as much progress as we need to on climate change,” said Mr Obama. “We’re not moving as fast as we need to.” Sir David agreed that adults lose the fascination with nature that is common among children. “A 5-year-old, turning over a stone and seeing a slug, and says, ‘What a treasure!’ Kids understand the natural world,” he said.

The Taylor Swift effect

Yahoo! News, Thursday 18th June 2015
With Athens owing a 1.6-billion-euro payment to the IMF at the end of June and Greece’s international bailout due to expire the same day, Eurozone finance ministers are pessimistic about the chances of a deal. “There will be no period of grace” for the loan payment, IMF chief Christine Lagarde told reporters. “I have a term of June 30. If it’s not paid by July 1, it’s not paid.”

BBC News, Monday 22nd June 2015
Apple Music has reversed its payment policy, a day after the singer Taylor Swift said she was refusing to allow the company to stream her album 1989. In an open letter to Apple, Swift said she was withholding the record as she was unhappy with the three-month free trial offered to subscribers. Now Apple says it will pay artists for music streamed during trial periods.

Blatter pledges to restore lost integrity

MARCA, Thursday 28th May 2015
“There can be no place for corruption of any kind,” Sepp Blatter said in his welcoming speech to open the 65th FIFA Congress in Zurich ahead of the presidential elections on Friday. “Actions of individuals demand change. We cannot allow the reputation of FIFA to be dragged through the mud any longer”, he explained. Blatter admitted being “ultimately responsible” and that it fell on him “to find a way forward to fix things”. But he denied being responsible for the actions of a minority.

Gay marriage ‘Bert and Ernie’ cake bakery found guilty of discrimination

The Independent, Tuesday 19th May 2015
A Christian bakery which refused to bake a pro-gay marriage “Bert and Ernie” cake has been found guilty of discrimination in a landmark case. Ashers Baking Company, which delivers across the UK and Northern Ireland, had argued that the cake and its slogan “Support Gay Marriage” went against their “sincerely held” Christian beliefs. The bakery is run by the McArthur family in Belfast and they claimed the issue was with the cake, not the person who ordered it.

Europe ready for swift EU reform proposals from Cameron

Rueters, Friday 15th May 2015
European leaders see plenty of scope for Britain to meet its demands for EU reform without changing its treaties, and they are ready to discuss the question sooner rather than later, the French European affairs minister told Reuters. Prime Minister David Cameron, bolstered by a surprise election victory last week, has said he will press for profound changes in the way the European Union works and promises a referendum by 2017 on whether Britain will remain an EU member.

HRH petitioned government on behalf of the Patagonian Toothfish

Mirror, Wednesday 13th May 2015
Prince Charles begged a Labour minister to make saving the Patagonian toothfish a ‘high priority’ for the government. The revelation has emerged as the Prince’s “Black Spider” memos to ministers are published today following a 10-year fight.

Michael Gove appointed Justice Secretary

Telegraph, Sunday 10th May 2015
In the latest moves in the Cabinet reshuffle, the Prime Minister appointed Mr Gove to the post of Justice Secretary with responsibility for prisons, sentencing and justice. His replacement in the Education Department will continue with the radical programme of education reform, expanding the number of academies and opening hundreds more free schools.

Mirror, Tuesday 28th April 2015
Panicking Nick Clegg today reached out to Labour as a potential coalition partner. The Lib Dem leader made his move as bookies confirmed Ed Miliband as favourite to be Prime Minister following next week’s general election. Mr Clegg launched another blistering attack on David Cameron, saying he was opposed to planned Tory welfare cuts of £12billion. And he softened his position on the Budget deficit to fit Labour’s plan, saying he only wanted “a clear timetable” to eliminate it. It was seen as an attempt to fall into line with Mr Miliband, who has refused to set a deadline for when he would balance the books.