The Best Things in the World Today
Iceland's a bit worried that their lovely tourist image has been obscured by the ash cloud (pun intended). So they've asked their people to tell the world why they like Iceland so much and put it online any way they can, in a campaign called 'Inspired by Iceland'. They could have called it 'Iceland Rocks' but they didn't ask me for my opinion.
Police in Dorset are a bit fed up with drivers' traffic violations. Things have gotten so bad that the police force started a campaign called 'No Excuses' that runs until the end of the year. One female driver told the police there that she was speeding because she had just had a spray tan and "didn't want to smudge it". Another motorist claimed he was speeding because he was a "stranger to the country" and was "confused" by road signs. One woman was caught driving with her bonnet up and explained that she was on her way to the garage. Others were caught reading while driving or steering the car with their elbows while doing something else. It's really annoying to have to actually drive while you're in the driver's seat, isn't it?
23 years ago, two mums delivered babies in the same hospital room - one a boy and one a girl. Next week those babies born in the same maternity ward are all grown up and getting married to each other. Growing up, they went to the same church and knew they had the same birthday, then started dating in secondary school. “I knew he was the right guy for me after our second date," says the happy bride. To keep true love strong, maybe they should check out the seven secrets to a lasting marriage.
In sports news, things are heating up - with so little time to go until the World Cup, football fever is at an all-time high in South Africa. The father of Mexico forward Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez has even quit his job with Chivas' reserve side to watch his son play at the World Cup. Interestingly, the Royal Bafokeng Stadium near Rustenburg is the only privately-owned arena being used for the World Cup. It's owned by the richest tribe in Africa and they make sure all their profits are sown back into the local community. In the States a female Japanese baseball player made her debut, the first woman to play professionally there in ten years. Nicknamed 'The Knuckle Princess', the rest of her all-male team had nothing but praise for her performance. The UWIC Archers, a female basketball team, has won the British national league after rising to be just a group of students from south Wales to a team of champions. How cool is that! 
Entrepreneur Bethlehem Alemu's story has just been picked up by CNN. In 2005 in Addis Ababa, she started SoleRebels, her family-owned business of making quality shoes out of old tires, Her heart is to see the business flourish and contribute to building her country. "We earn our money in honorable way," she says, "we can pay our bills by working and we can solve our own problems in our own way, so trade is better than aid." Some students from Colorado have designed a backpack-style incubator that could possibly be a life-saver for babies in newly industrialised countries. It was built from scratch, with 'real-world' elements that the students thought would be more available in limited environments. They're discussing their invention with investors and companies while deciding if they should start their own company to market the incubator.
