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A week in which a kangaroo smashes a window and a homeless man is tattooed by partying tourists
DISTRACTING A
kangaroo crashing through a window of a home, which apparently is startling even in Australia. Residents trapped it in the bathroom, the BBC reports, after it “ran amok” in Melbourne. The residents weren’t harmed, but the kangaroo suffered cuts and distress.
BANNED
Smartphones at French schools. Legislation passed this week bans students from taking smartphones and tablets to school, or at least forces them to turn them off, according to Agence FrancePresse. The law does make exceptions for educational use, extracurricular actives and students with disabilities.
CRUSHED:
About $7 million worth of “contraband” luxury cars in the Philippines. President Rodrigo Duterte led the destruction of 68 luxury vehicles in his latest bid to deter smuggling, his office said. “You have to show to the world that you have a viable place of investment and business,” he said.
HUMILIATED:
A homeless man, by British tourists having a stag party at a Spanish resort. The tourists paid a man in Benidorm 100 euros to have the name of the groom tattooed on the forehead of a 34-year-old man, the Guardian reports. The incident provoked outrage, including anger toward the tattoo parlour.
DISRUPTING:
A 7-year-old in New Zealand. Zoe Carew was bothered by a sign indicating work on power lines. It said LINEMEN. She and her family discussed it and emailed the country’s transport agency: “Can you please change the sign to say “LINE-WORKERS” it asked. The agency chief agreed and will phase in new signs.
SELF-EXILED:
An Illinois state representative accused of trying to “catfish” other men with pictures of his ex-girlfriend. Nick Sauer, a Republican, resigned after allegedly using pictures on a fake Instragram account to trick men into “graphic conversations of a sexual nature,” CNN reports.
CAVED IN:
Australia’s secondlargest supermarket, to “bag rage.” After Coles charged shoppers 15 cents for reusable bags (and removed single-use ones), customers were furious. The grocer backed down. Major retailers in most Australian states face fines if they supply single-use plastic bags, the Daily Telegraph reports.
DEFENDED:
The fashion choices of Paul Manafort, on trial in Virginia for fraud. A $15,000 (U.S.) ostrich jacket was among his expenses. Some leather experts said it was reasonable for the genre. One connoisseur told the Guardian: “An ostrich jacket, if it’s custom-made? Fifteen thousand dollars is pretty cheap.”