A struggling Irish artist has built a house using bricks worth €1.4 billion (Dh6.7bn).
Frank Buckley made the bricks from pulped and shredded decommissioned banknotes. He hopes the structure will provoke debate about the financial crisis, after his home in Dublin was repossessed.
He approached the Irish Central Bank, which gave him enough bills to build the three-room house. In addition to a living room, bathroom and bedroom, Mr Buckley hopes to add a kitchen and patio.
He told one reporter: "It's a reflection of the whole madness that gripped us. People were pouring billions into buildings now worth nothing."
Unplanned Antarctic trip
A marine mechanic from Auckland has found himself heading to the Antarctic after the yacht he was working on unexpectedly put to sea.
The unnamed man was working on the anchor mechanism of the 16-metre Nilaya when the owner decided to set sail to avoid a clash with the authorities.
Immigration officials were trying to serve deportation papers on the skipper, Jarle Andhoy, who is defying both the New Zealand and Norwegian governments with his unauthorised voyage into the polar region.
The authorities say they have concerns about the welfare of the mechanic. Andhoy, 34, describes himself as "a Viking" but a trip he made to the Antarctic last year ended in disaster when his last yacht Berserk sank in stormy seas, drowning three crew members.
Taking a final bow wow wow
The four-legged star of this year's hot Oscar tip is to retire from show business.
Uggie, a 10-year-old Jack Russell, has been hailed for his cameo role in the silent film The Artist. Now his trainer says Uggie is too old for the stresses of Hollywood and will leave the movie business.
His last appearance may be at the Golden Collar Awards later this month. The dog has received nominations for The Artist and Water for Elephants, where he starred alongside Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson. However, Uggie will have competition from Blackie, a Dobermann who appears in Martin Scorcese's Oscar-nominated Hugo.
The force is against you
Police who were called to a toy store in Oregon found themselves confronted with a man attacking customers with two light sabres.
David Canterbury was using toy replicas of the weapons from the Star Wars films, but still managed to injure three people.
Canterbury, 33, was arrested and later sentenced to 45 days in prison. He was also banned from the branch of Toys R Us.
A judge also ordered that Canterbury should undergo a mental-health examination.
Quick bathroom break
Managers at an insurance company in Norway have installed an alarm system that is triggered by employees spending too long on bathroom breaks.
Privacy regulators have now contacted the company to warn them that the system, which uses flashing lights if a worker is away from their desk for more than a few minutes, is "highly intrusive" and may breach human rights.
In reply, the company explained that the system was an attempt to make sure that it had enough people on duty to handle phone enquiries, but said that it would review the policy.
jlangton@thenational.ae
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
SCORES
Multiply Titans 81-2 in 12.1 overs
(Tony de Zorzi, 34)
bt Auckland Aces 80 all out in 16 overs
(Shawn von Borg 4-15, Alfred Mothoa 2-11, Tshepo Moreki 2-16).
Company%20Profile
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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