Strange but true

Cash heist
Thieves have stolen up to $US30 million in cash from a money storage facility in L.A., in an audacious raid that has been described as one of the biggest heists in the city’s history. The culprits are believed to have broken into a warehouse belonging to Canada based security company GardaWorld via the roof, at about 4.30am on Easter Sunday, before cracking the safe and fleeing the scene. They also tried to breach the building’s side in the raid, which triggered one alarm but the raid was not discovered until Monday. Security analysts said the thieves almost certainly had inside intelligence, and that the weight of their cash haul may have exceeded three tonnes. The FBI and Los Angeles police are investigating.
No show fines
French patients would have to pay a 5 Euro fine if they miss a GP appointment, under new rules proposed by the prime minister, Gabriel Attal, last week. Doctors in France report an estimated 27 million no shows per year, he said, and he predicted that the fines would free up 20 million appointments. Patients would give their credit or debit card details when booking, allowing doctors to fine them if they fail to turn up without 24 hours’ notice or a good excuse. However, the plan has immediately come under fire from doctors’ unions and patients’ groups, who said it would strain doctor patient relations, and was an attempt to blame members of the public for the health system’s shortcomings. The plan is one of several proposed by Attal last week, to boost French healthcare in the face of staff shortages, increasing costs and growing demand. Among the others was an expansion of medical school places.
Count Binface
Count Binface has unveiled his manifesto for the London mayoral election. In his list of 24 policies, the spoof candidate pledged to force Thames Water bosses to take a dip in the Thames to see how they like it; to ban shops from selling croissants for more than £1.10; to turn the Millennium Dome into a nature reserve; and to force those using speaker phones on public transport to watch a box set of The One Show. Binface is also pledging to turn shops that play Christmas music before December into public libraries, and to build at least one affordable house.
Statistics watch
60% of Gen Zers (those aged 12 to 27) believe that table manners are no longer relevant. More than a third admit to using their phones at the table, and more than three-quarters say that leaving elbows off the table is outdated nonsense.
Bons mots
“Taste has no system and no proofs.” – Susan Sontag, writer, critic and intellectual, USA

Scroll to Top