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A small scale Scottish brewery with a history of controversy has produced what it claims to be the world’s strongest beer, one so alcoholic that it is supposed to be drunk in spirit-sized measures.

The beer has been named ‘Tactical Nuclear Penguin’ by its producer BrewDog, of Fraserburgh, north-east Scotland and is roughly eight times as strong as a normal beer with an alcohol content of 32%.

Sold at £30 a bottle, or £250 with a share in the company, BrewDog says the limited edition beer is intended for connoisseurs and describes the “imperial stout” as their “most audacious and ambitious project to date”.

BrewDog’s timing of the Tactical Nuclear Penguin release has been a source of uproar amongst public health charities, since it coincided with the Scottish Government’s confirmation that it wants a legally binding minimum price for alcohol to combat rising alcohol abuse.

This isn’t the first time a BrewDog product has caused controversy; their first three beers – Punk IPA, Hop Rocker and Riptide – were investigated after research into irresponsible drinks promotions.

The beers were cleared of wrongdoing but BrewDog retaliated by launching a beer named Speedball, after the notoriously lethal drugs cocktail of cocaine and heroin.

In September BrewDog launched a low alcohol beer titled ‘Nanny State’, a move commonly interpreted as a humorous retort to the brewer’s critics in the Scottish Parliament and Westminster.

The BrewDog website boasts that the company presents a challenge to the "bland" beers made by mainstream brewers: "We are unique and individual. A beacon of nonconformity in an increasingly monotone corporate desert. We are proud to be an intrepid David in a desperate ocean of insipid Goliaths."

James Watt, the managing director of BrewDog, described Tactical Nuclear Penguin as "Bold, irreverent and uncompromising, a beer with a soul and a purpose, a statement of intent."

He added: "Beer has a terrible reputation in Britain, it’s ignorant to assume that a beer can’t be enjoyed responsibly like a nice dram or a glass of fine wine.

"A beer like Tactical Nuclear Penguin should be enjoyed in spirit sized measures.”

Only 500 330ml bottles of Tactical Nuclear Penguin have been produced and will be available exclusively to buy online or from two off-licenses in London and Edinburgh. Money raised from bottles purchased for £250 will help finance a £2.3million eco-friendly brewery in Aberdeen.

American socialites Tareq and Michaele Salahi made an audacious bid for fame by allegedly gatecrashing President Obama’s first White House dinner.

US Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan confirmed that the couple were not on the guest list and that an investigation into how the couple managed to breach security and attend the event is underway.

Donovan said the couple did not pose any danger: "It's important to note that they went through all the security screenings and the magnetometer screening, just like all the other guests did."

The Salahi’s attempts at fame are not limited to breaking and entering state events. Reports indicate that the couple have auditioned for roles in TV programme ‘The Real Housewives of Washington’.

Michaele Salahi’s Facebook page (a fan page instead of a standard profile) was updated with a photo album entitled ‘White House state dinner’ featuring pictures of the Salahis with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, mayor of DC Adrian Fenty and Vice-President Joe Biden.

Hundreds of comments have been posted on Michaele Salahi’s Facebook page following the publicity stunt. The comments range from enthusiastic support to vitriolic disgust: “You pulled the caper of the millennium” wrote one individual, while “You are absolutely pathetic. People will really do anything for attention” and “Enjoy going to jail” were posted by two other commenters.

A Japanese man has entered into a marriage with a difference – his blushing bride is a video game character living inside his Nintendo DS.

The gamer, identified only by his username Sal9000, fell in love with virtual woman Nene Anegasaki while playing the dating simulation Love Plus. The aim of Love Plus is to court the affections of, and build a happy relationship with one of three manga-style women.

Sal9000 became the first person to officially pledge his love to a video game character in a ceremony witnessed by dozens of fellow gamers last weekend. The couple’s ‘wedding’ was overseen by a real priest, although he was keen to stress that the nuptials were not official or legally binding.

However it is rumoured on some gaming websites that Sal9000 has already married his digital bride at a chapel on Guam, a Pacific holiday island where marriage laws are less strict than most countries.

Kim Jong-il, the Supreme Leader of North Korea, has banned all live coverage of World Cup football matches from his state-run television stations and only highlights of North Korea’s victories will be broadcast.

This ruling means that North Korea’s population of 29 million won’t be able to find out who takes home the greatest prize in international football, unless the cup is won by 350-1 outsiders North Korea.

Games played between other nations will be banned altogether and any highlights of North Korea’s matches, that are not censored outright, will be heavily edited to make them look the better team.

South Africa 2010 is the first World Cup tournament North Korea has qualified for since 1966.

A US judge has ruled that the negligence of army engineers led to the severe flooding in parts of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The complaint, by six residents and one business, against the US Army Corps of Engineers over its maintenance of a navigation channel was upheld by the court.

Damages totaling $720,000 (£431,000) were awarded and the landmark ruling could lead to thousands more claims.

Roughly 80% of New Orleans was flooded by Hurricane Katrina and over 1,800 people died on the Gulf coast during the devastating storms.

The Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for maintaining a network of canals and earthworks which are intended to protect New Orleans from storm surges and limit flooding.

US district judge Stanwood Duval ruled "negligent failure" to maintain the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet - a shipping channel - had led to flooding in the city's Lower 9th Ward and nearby St Bernard Parish.

Judge Duval maintained that the Army could not be held accountable for the flooding that took place in eastern New Orleans.

In the 156-page ruling, Judge Duval held the Army Corps accountable for failing to shore up the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet which “doomed the channel to grow to two or three times its design width” leading to “a more forceful frontal attack on the levee”.

81-year-old Eric Steward was discovered in Melbourne, almost 600km (370 miles) from where he started his journey in Yass, New South Wales, after driving from a friend’s house in order to buy a newspaper.

After eight hours on the road Mr Steward asked Victoria state police for help, clearly having realised that somewhere he had taken a wrong turn.

"I just went out on the road to have a drive, a nice peaceful quiet drive. "I didn't know where I was going but I knew it was somewhere, and with a bit of luck I would eventually find my wife again," he said.

Mr Steward’s wife Clare only discovered his whereabouts after reaching him on his mobile phone.

"We eventually knew where he was when I said 'Are there any signs around?' He said, 'uh, Westgate Bridge'," she said in reference to the well known Melbourne tourist attraction.

Victoria state policeman Clayton Smith said Mr Steward approached him at a service station and told him he was lost.

"Although we had to laugh. When we asked him why he hadn't stopped earlier he replied, 'I just like to drive'," he said.

Mr Steward, who suffers from light dementia, was unconcerned about all the attention, citing age as a liberating factor in his escapade.

"It's a lot of fuss isn't it?" he said, adding: "When you get to 80 and beyond it doesn't matter much. He's out there waiting for us and you just got to wait your turn."

He laughed off a suggestion to purchase a satellite navigation system.

"Why would you want one of those? You can't get lost. There is no fun in that."

Labour candidate Peter White may have jeopardised his political career with a surprising outburst launched on Facebook in which he likened the Queen to a “parasite” and “vermin”.

Mr White is seeking election to Havering Borough Council in 2010, but has been summoned to meet with Labour party officials after comparing a public holiday to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee with “celebrating vermin” in remarks posted on Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell’s Facebook page. Mr Rosindell is campaigning for a high profile celebration of the Diamond Jubilee, due to occur in 2012.

Mr White argued: “What is the point of celebrating the Diamond Jubilee of someone who is born into a position of privilege, she is a parasite and milks this country for everything she can.

"She has more front than Margate asking for extra money from the civil list. Maybe she should sell a couple of her properties.

"Maybe if she wants Buckingham Palace to be maintained from public funds she should open it to the public.

"Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with a public holiday but lets (sic) have one that means something, rather than celebrating vermin."

A spokesman for the London Labour Party said: "Peter White has been summoned to a meeting with key members of the local party and officers from the London Regional Labour Party.

"He will be required to explain his comments and they will consider his future."

Officials in the Spanish region of Extremadura have launched a major programme aimed at teaching 14 to 17 year olds "sexual self-exploration and the discovery of self-pleasure".

The campaign has sparked political and religious controversy by challenging traditional Roman Catholic attitudes to sex, chiefly the notion that sexual activity is solely for the purpose of reproduction.

The initiative’s slogan “pleasure is in your own hands” seems likely to further aggravate those opposed to the scheme.

The initiative includes leaflets, flyers, a “fanzine” and classroom workshops for the young in which they receive guidance on self-pleasuring techniques alongside advice on contraception and self-respect.

Extremadura's government is funding the campaign, budgeted at €14,000, through its youth and women's affairs departments and officials from the neighbouring region of Andalucia have expressed interest in copying the scheme.

Local opposition leader Hernández Carrón has complained that Extremadura has “become the laughing stock of Spain”, whilst others worry if the campaign might be interfering with parents’ rights.

"The campaign is simple, clear, natural and easily understood by the people it is aimed at, who are aged between 14 and 17," said Laura Garrido, president of the Youth Council of Extremadura.

After the Beijing Olympics ended, one determined collector managed to acquire 5,000 of the 100,000 free condoms handed out to participating athletes. This collection has now been put up for sale as part of the one-off Exceptional Auction of China Sport Collection on 29 November.

The condom wrappers all carry the official motto of the Beijing Olympics – faster, higher, stronger – written in both English and Chinese.

The entire lot of 5,000 must be purchased by one buyer at a starting price of one yuan (£0.08; $0.15) each.

The first Olympic Games to distribute free condoms to competing athletes was Barcelona 1992 and since then it has become common practice for host cities to issue their own brand of contraceptive.

The Avon and Somerset Police Force have, in the space of two years, arrested 200 men and 23 women aged over 70 for a variety of offences including theft, grievous bodily harm, loan sharking, possession of an automatic weapon and conspiracy to murder.

Roughly 300 protestors held a candlelit protest outside a Glasgow theatre over the staging of a play in which Jesus Christ is portrayed as a transsexual.

Health and safety is important but I hate it when the health and safety inspector takes the rules to far.


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The UK is about to face “the great squeeze” according to leading economist Roger Bootle as he talks about this in the latest issue of Deloitte’s Economic Review. He predicts public credit to increase about 15% GDP. In the UK public debt is currently heading towards 100% GDP.

This is bad news for Britain as Mr Bootle, former chief economist at HSBC puts it when he states that the UK's public finances are “in the worst shape for at least half a century”.

This will limit public spending which will effect employment and income. This in turn will make it a more difficult and longer road to economic recovery in the UK.

There is one good thing amongst all this bad news, exporters can now take advantage and benefit from the lower pound.

A public dispute between the Catholic Church and self-proclaimed visionary Joe Coleman looks set to escalate after the latter claimed the Virgin Mary had appeared at Knock Shrine for the second time in three weeks.

The Knock Shrine – located in County Mayo, Ireland – has seen a multitude of visitors since Mr Coleman’s announcement that he had seen an apparition of the Virgin Mary. Approximately 15,000 had gathered on Saturday to witness Coleman’s predicted second apparition in and around the Apparition Chapel and Our Lady of Knock Basillica. With reports from those in attendance being too inconsistent for outsiders to determine whether or not anything miraculous actually took place it seems as though the matter will continue to be disputed.

The potential row between Mr Coleman and the Catholic Church could explode after the 8th December, an important event on the Church calendar as the feast of the Immaculate Conception, as Mr Coleman has predicted that the Virgin Mary will appear at the shrine again on this date.

The Archbishop of Tuam Michael Neary has vocalised the Church’s official disapproval, arguing that the so-called phenomenon was unhealthy and also complained that it brought the shrine into disrepute. Dr Neary added that the famous apparition of 1879, which has since brought droves of pilgrims and tourists to the otherwise unremarkable Irish village of Knock, was neither sought nor expected.