NEWS DIGEST 28.11.2020: Cats at school, squirrels on the sauce

Good morning!. Our news today comes from Facebook. The internet is famous for its love of cats, especially when they are caught in the business of doing cute things. A university student in Xi’an city, China, somehow managed to smuggle her pet kitty into lectures, where he managed to escape detection by quietly hiding inside her desk, the UK’s Daily Mail reported. Adorable munchkin Ba Dun is incredibly attached to his student owner and refuses to leave her side. She was running late for lecture and had no choice but to bring her friend with her. She shot viral footage of little Ba Dun hiding in her desk, looking around in case the lecturer showed up – Sweet moment pet cat quietly stays inside his student owner’s desk after she secretly brought him into class (Mail Online News)

American boxer Mike Tyson is scheduled for a big fight this weekend against former heavyweight champion Roy Jones Jr. and to celebrate, Iron Mike had a family Thanksgiving dinner with a difference. As the centrepiece, there was a cake made in the shape and appearance of Jones’ head. Tyson released a video of him eating the ears of the Jones cake in an allusion to the infamous 1997 incident where he bit off the ear of opponent Evander Holyfield. Tyson also offered the nose and head of the cake to his children – Mike Tyson Eats An Ear From A Roy Jones Jr. Cake (LADbible)

British public service broadcaster BBC heads into deepest space to explore the weird environment that lies outside our solar system. Based on data collected from the two NASA Voyager spacecraft launched in the late 1970s, we realised that interstellar space was far from being a cold, dark and desolate place. It is in fact home to a buzz of activity, from furiously clashing magnetic fields, to swirling storms of radiation and ‘high-energy particles’ – The weird space that lies outside our Solar System (BBC Future)

Back on Earth, Ilford’s Kenneth More theatre is doing its bit for the country’s fightback against coronavirus by making its first two opening shows of its annual Christmas pantomime free of entry costs for workers of the UK’s National Health Service (NHS). NHS staff can order tickets from the entertainment and culture venue in the heart of Ilford for the performances scheduled for the 9th and 10th of December, with a live performance of children’s classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs being up for grabs – Opening shows of panto at Kenneth More Theatre set to be free for NHS workers (Ilford Recorder)

Poverty campaigner and England footballer Marcus Rashford will be honoured for his role in fighting for free school meals for children by the BBC, who will gift him the Panel Special Award at their televised Sports Personality show in the middle of next month. Rashford has also made it on to the Football Black List, which honours black British footballers who have made positive impacts – Marcus Rashford: Special BBC award at Sports Personality show for Man Utd forward (BBC Sport)

The British government has issued guidance for users of its English network of Jobcentres in light of the new tier-based system of anti-COVID restrictions in the country. The centres, which act as job search hubs and advice centres for accessing welfare benefits, have remained open throughout the pandemic and will continue to do so for those who cannot be helped remotely. All legally-required social distancing measure are being observed on Jobcentre premises and benefit payment schedules will remain unaffected – Jobcentre guidance on COVID-19 Local Restriction Tiers (gov.uk)

A woman in Minnesota, US, got a laugh one morning after looking out at her garden and saw a quite drunk squirrel milling after snacking on fermenting pears. The inebriated critter visited the garden at the woman’s home in Inver Grove Heights to enjoy some pre-winter snacks she had left out for the local squirrels. In video footage released to FOX 5 news, the chubby rodent can be seen leaning to one side with a dazed expression on its face, before snapping out of its stupor and continuing chewing on what appeared to be seeds. Seconds later the squirrel again starts to look exceptionally tipsy – Squirrel gets drunk after eating fermented pears outside Minnesota woman’s home (FOX 5 Washington DC)

Probably one of the least known facts about Canada is that the first settlers of a group of its many islands was not native Canadians or Europeans, but Hawaiians. The Gulf Islands, off the coast of Canada’s western British Columbia province, once played host to Hawaiian royalty. The islands still have a Hawaiian community living there, numbering in the hundreds, engaged in tourism and apple growing. The islands were also settled by black Americans, Eastern Europeans, the Portuguese and people from Japan, making them incredibly diverse – The forgotten Hawaiian islands in Canada (BBC Travel)