After months of speculation, the Dalai Lama has confirmed he will make an appearance at the Glastonbury Festival this weekend.
The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader will speak on Sunday where he will promote his message of “compassion, non-violence and the oneness of humanity”, his representatives said.
Emily Eavis, co-organiser of the festival and daughter of founder Michael Eavis, said it was a “special moment” for the festival, which opened its gates on Wednesday.
He will speak at the festival’s Green Field, a 60-acre site billed as an area of peaceful retreat, as part of a four-day visit to the UK during which he will also attend the Buddhist Community Centre UK in Aldershot. (PA)
‘Twerk’ dates back to 1820
‘Twerk’, the word describing the dance popularised by Miley Cyrus, can be traced back to as early as 1820, according to the Oxford English Dictionary.
The word is one of 500 new entries, including ‘twitterati’ (describing users of the social media service), and ‘fo’ shizzle’ (meaning ‘for sure’), added to the dictionary.
Twerking has its roots in the early 1990s New Orleans ‘bounce’ music scene. But research by the Oxford English Dictionary found it was first used as a noun in 1820, spelt ‘twirk’, to refer to a ‘twisting or jerking movement’ or ‘twitch’. The verb is believed to have emerged later in 1848, and the ‘twerk’ spelling was popularly used by 1901. While the exact origin of the word is uncertain, it may be a blend of the words twist or twitch, and jerk. (PA)
Chases thieves with vacuum hose
A German shop assistant in a late-night convenience store chased away two armed robbers demanding money with the hose of a vacuum cleaner she was using to clean her shop in Berlin’s Neukoelln district, police said on Wednesday.
One of the two would-be robbers was brandishing a pistol and demanded she turn over the money from her cash register in the attempted robbery just after midnight on Tuesday.
But police said the woman, 59, stormed towards the duo and aimed the hose attachment of her switched-on vacuum cleaner at them.
“They then fled without the loot,” Berlin police said in a statement. (Reuters)
Doctors seek helium balloons ban
British doctors will campaign for an end to the “frivolous” use of helium in party balloons as they fear a shortage of the non-renewable gas could jeopardise its vital use in medical equipment.
Anaesthetist Tom Dolphin said using helium in balloons was a “colossal waste” of the element, which is used in MRI scanners and mixed with oxygen to make Heliox to aid people who have difficult breathing.
But another doctor said banning helium in balloons could lead to an increase in the use of nitrous oxide – also known as laughing gas or hippy crack. (PA)
Unsatisfied client points handgun
A 90-year-old man is accused of threatening a US Postal Service employee when he was not satisfied with the service at a post office near Boca Raton.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said H.B. Shay, of Boca Raton, pointed a handgun at the employee and threatened to “blow his head off”.
Responding deputies took Shay into custody outside the post office. An incident report said deputies recovered the firearm and placed it into evidence. Shay was taken to West Boca Medical Centre for evaluation and later booked into the Palm Beach County Jail on the state charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. (PA)