Food art so cool you don’t want to eat it, but mmm…pancakes!!!

  KK Miller  

Food, although mostly delicious, doesn’t always look beautiful. But what if food that was tasty also looked cool? Something as simple as the humble pancake, always delicious, was turned into some pretty wicked art by a few artistic chefs on the Internet. It’s definitely making us impressed and hungry!

There are many ways to create beautiful pancake art, but an easy way is to make normal pancakes outlined in chocolate. For example:

Qatar World Cup: ‘£3m payments to officials’ corruption claim

 

 David Bond BBC SPORTS EDITOR



Fifa is facing fresh allegations of corruption over its controversial decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar.

The Sunday Times  has obtained millions of secret documents – emails, letters and bank transfers – which it alleges are proof that the disgraced Qatari football official Mohamed Bin Hammam made payments totalling US$5m (£3m) to football officials in return for their support for the Qatar bid.

Qatar 2022 and Bin Hammam have always strenuously denied the former Fifa vice-president actively lobbied on their behalf in the run-up to the vote in December 2010.

Love sushi? Now you can date it, with this romance simulator available in English!

   Casey Baseel

Since most sushi is served raw, the flavor can vary wildly depending on the freshness of the fish and even the season in which you eat it. Granted, most of what’s available in Japan is reasonably tasty, but when all the factors line up just right, the mix of surprise, joy, and satisfaction that come from popping a really good piece of sushi into your mouth can be a borderline emotional experience, almost like falling in love.

If you’re a sushi-loving lady looking to take your relationship with the dish to an even deeper level, there’s now a dating simulator that lets you romance handsome anthropomorphized pieces of sushi.

The game, titled Hei! Renai Iccho!, which translates as Here You Go! One Order of Romance, was released for smartphones on May 28. Players take the role of a young woman who’s the only child of a sushi chef. When her father suddenly accepts a temporary overseas job offer, she’s left to run the family restaurant by herself, since, like all proper anime/video game characters, her mother isn’t in the picture.

Ukrainians vote in presidential elections

25 May 2014 Last updated at 05:39

 BBC

Ukrainians are going to the polls to vote in a new president after months of unrest following the ousting of former President Viktor Yanukovych.

Eighteen candidates are competing in the contest, which is widely seen as a crucial moment to unite the country.

But pro-Russian separatists in the east who oppose the election have threatened to disrupt the voting process.

Some 20 people have been killed amid an upsurge of fighting between insurgents and government forces in recent days.

The violence in the east, particularly Donetsk and Luhansk, has seriously disrupted preparations for the polls.

Shortly after voting began, election officials told the BBC no polling stations had opened in the city of Donetsk

New Sailor Moon’s premiere event excludes men – Unless accompanied by women

   Anime News Network

The official website for the 20th anniversary of the Sailor Moon franchise announced on Friday that there will be an advance premiere screening event for the Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal anime series. The women’s fashion magazine ViVi is collaborating on the June 30 event to celebrate the heroine Usagi’s birthday.

The “birthday party” will feature ViVi models and “secret guests.” The Zepp Diver City facility in Tokyo will host the screening of the new anime’s first episode on June 30 at 7:00 p.m. However, the staff caution that the time is subject to change. Moreover, male attendees will not be allowed – unless accompanied by a female attendee.

Details on ticket sales and other information for the “Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal Advance Premiere Screening Event: Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Usagi Tsukino’s Birthday in Special ViVi Night” will be announced on May 28.

The anime’s website gave a synopsis of the story inspired by Naoko Takeuchi’s original manga:

Ukraine is approaching point of no return, says UN chief

 18 May 2014 Last updated at 07:20

 The BBC

Ukraine is edging towards “the point of no return”, a senior UN official says, amid rising tensions between security forces and pro-Russia separatists.

UN Assistant Secretary General for Human Rights Ivan Simonovic told the BBC that the crisis had worrying echoes of the 1990s war in his native Croatia.

Reports from eastern Ukraine say clashes between government forces and separatist militants have continued.

The separatists have not taken part in EU-brokered talks to defuse the crisis.

Elephant nose ice cream: The treat with a trunk

   Michelle Lynn Dinh

If you’re looking for a fun way to eat your dessert, look no further than Zou-No-Hana Cafe in Yokohama, Japan. The house specialty, the zou no hana (elephant nose) ice cream has been enticing regular visitors and tourists alike with its cute, albeit strange, face and oversized waffle cone ears.

Elephant nose ice cream is ridiculously cute – who knew plain old soft serve, or “soft cream” as it’s called in Japan, could take on so much whimsy. And as you can probably tell, Zou-No-Hana Cafe has perfected the art of the nose lift:

Ukraine rebels hold referendums in Donetsk and Luhansk

 11 May 2014 Last updated at 07:58

The BBC

Pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine’s two eastern regions are holding “self-rule” referendums – a move condemned by the Ukrainian government and the West.

BBC correspondents at polling stations report chaotic scenes, no voting booths and no electoral register.

Self-proclaimed leaders in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions are going ahead with the vote despite Russian President Vladimir Putin’s call to postpone it.

Ukraine says the vote could result in the “self-destruction” of the regions.

Overnight, fighting was reported around the rebel-held city of Sloviansk, which remains sealed off by Ukrainian government troops conducting what they describe as an “anti-terror” operation.

Nintendo celebrates its roots with traditional art of their most famous characters

   Cara Clegg

With global phenomenon like the Mario and Pokemon franchises under their belts, it’s easy to forget about Nintendo’s humble beginnings as a producer of traditional Japanese playing cards. This year the company goes back to their roots in their 2014 company brochure with beautiful artwork that celebrates both the old and the new.

How fancy is Nintendo’s latest company brochure?! Below is the hardcover book that Nintendo is distributing to students looking to work for their company. The contents are updated every year, and they’re always coming up with new ideas for it. This year it features vibrant full-page spreads of Nintendo’s iconic products from across the years, all strikingly worked in a bold and traditional art style. Judging by the Twitter comments it seems that there are people who apply every year just to get their hands on these annual brochures, and we can understand why: this one is so beautiful it looks like a collector’s item.

The world’s media have failed in their response to the kidnap of 200 Nigerian schoolgirls

Their abduction by terrorists has had little coverage compared with the missing Malaysian airliner

 JOAN SMITH  Sunday 4 May 2014

When members of the Islamist terror organisation Boko Haram abducted more than 200 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok in north-eastern Nigeria last month, they disguised themselves in military uniform. The girls, who knew that many schools in the state of Borno have been attacked by jihadists, initially believed that the unexpected visitors had come to take them to a safe place. But as they climbed reluctantly into trucks and on to motorcycles, the men began firing into the air and shouting “Allahu Akbar”. Some of the girls decided to make a run for it, but the majority were coerced into travelling to a bush camp. There the terrorists forced them to cook for their captors.