Moldovan dog bites a president
MOLDOVAN President Maia Sandu's dog overturned protocol recently by biting visiting Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen on the hand, although Austria's leader was forgiving and later gave the excitable pup a toy.
e incident, Moldovan media reported, occurred when the two leaders were strolling in the courtyard of the Moldovan presidential residence and Van der Bellen tried to pet the dog, a rescue named Codrut, or small forest.
Sandu apologised in English and explained that the dog had become frightened by large numbers of people nearby. Van Der Bellen appeared with his hand bandaged at his next meeting, with the speaker of Moldova's parliament.
In a video posted to Instagram on November 17, 2023, Van der Bellen sympathised with the first pup.
"Everyone who knows me knows that I'm a big dog lover and can understand his excitement," he wrote, adding his meeting with Sandu and other top officials had been "very good".
Van der Bellen added that he had gifted the dog a small toy on the last day of his visit. e talks in Chisinau, attended by Van Der Bellen and the president of Slovenia, focused on the bid by Moldova, which lies between Ukraine and Romania, to join the European Union.
Sandu, who took in the dog after it was hit by a car, posted pictures on social media with her pet and the two presidents.
— Reuters.
Island offers Us$14,5/hour
THE owners of an "off-grid" Welsh island are looking for two wardens to live and work there. e accommodation wardens on Bardsey Island (Ynys Enlli) off the coast of the Llyn Peninsula in North Wales will enjoy benefits, including one boat trip to the mainland per month, according to the job advert.
Other benefits will include a shared food growing space and internet connection.
e island measuring 0,69 square miles has a population of 11 and is claimed to be the burial site of mythical wizard Merlin.
e Bardsey Island Trust is looking for joint applications from two individuals who are expected to live and work together.
Successful applicants will be paid £11,44(US$14,50) per hour, with their contract lasting from March 1 until October 30 this year. e island, which has a "limited electricity" provided by solar panels, can run a light, fridge freezer and internet router.
e job description says there is "no indoor running hot water" and a "composting toilet" is located outside.
e UK'S tallest square-towered lighthouse can be found on the island at 30m (98ft) tall and over 200 years old.
In 1979, the island was bought by the trust and is still under the charity's ownership.
Last year, the island became the first location in Europe to be given Dark Sky Sanctuary status. e job description says the ability to speak both English and Welsh is compulsory, with a driving qualification also desirable. — Sky News.
Pilots to help PL officials
BRITISH Airways pilots have been enlisted to help improve the communication of Premier League officials during VAR reviews, e Times reported, after Liverpool wrongly had a goal disallowed earlier this season due to a blunder.
In a presentation to top-flight officials, pilots Chris Heaven and Pete Nataraj stressed the need for clarity and accuracy in communication, with minimal syllables and no informal language, e Times said recently.
Liverpool's Luis Diaz had a goal wrongly disallowed for offside in a 2-1 loss to Tottenham in September last year after chaotic miscommunication between the VAR and assistant VAR Darren England and Dan Cook and the on-field referee Simon Hooper.
e audio of the incident was met with severe criticism of the decision making process and the language used, with the officials using phrases such as "well done boys" and "cheers, mate".
e 45-minute presentation addressed the similarity of the roles, and the importance of filtering out the white noise in order to focus with complete clarity.
A full review of VAR procedures was ordered after the Diaz incident. — Reuters.
Twins won't share birthday
ACOUPLE from New Jersey rang in the new year in a special way as they welcomed twins — but the babies won't share the same birth date nor the same birth year.
Ezra was born first at 11.48pm on New Year's Eve then his brother Ezekial was delivered 40 minutes later at 12.28am on New Year's Day.
e brothers were born at Virtua Voorhees Hospital in South Jersey which said the parents were "thrilled" at the momentous occasion.
"Parents Eve and Billy are thrilled that their boys are healthy and will have a great birthday story to tell," Virtua Health said.
Coincidentally, elder sibling Ezra shares his birthday with his father, also born on New Year's Eve.
Meanwhile, two hospitals in Boston welcomed three baby girls exactly at the stroke of midnight, NBC Boston reported.
— Sky News.