SPAIN
As part of Coca-Cola’s “Share Happiness” advertising campaign, the company installed ATMs that dispense free money throughout Spain. Recognizing the country is amidst a recession, Coca-Cola has attached only one stipulation to the instant funds: they must be shared. The machine offers suggestions for the recipient to “pay it forward” through good deeds, but distributes 100 euros per user without confirmation that the money will in fact be shared.
NORTH KOREA
Foreigners visiting North Korea were able to post their first-ever tweets and Instagram pictures online this week via mobile phone, thanks to the newly instated 3G network. The authoritarian Korean government now allows mobile Internet access for visitors using North Korean SIM cards; however, citizens are not permitted to access the Internet in any capacity.
WASHINGTON DC, USA
More than 80 U.S. House Republican leaders, namely advisers and supporters of President George W. Bush and former presidential candidates Mitt Romney and John McCain, signed a legal brief stating full support of equal marriage rights for gays. The brief was created in response to the National Organization for Marriage’s recent dismissal of gay rights and was formally filed Thursday.
Amsterdam, Netherlands
The minimum age for legal prostitution in Amsterdam is set to rise from 18 to 21 years. Mayor Eberhard van der Laan said the reform is intended to regulate business and protect the 8,000 women working as prostitutes in the city from crime. Additional change includes closing the time frame for prostitution between the hours of 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
