And also...puddle jumpers in the UK, a cricketing schoolboy stumps the global sport and one of our missiles is missing..in Cuba.

By Euronews

Published on 08/01/2016 - 12:22 GMT+1

Every Friday journalists from euronews’ various language teams share a selection of local stories from Europe and beyond which did not reach the

Every Friday journalists from euronews’ various language teams share a selection of local stories from Europe and beyond which did not reach the international headlines.

Puddle muddle in the UK

It has rained heavily in the UK over the last few weeks, so getting wet feet has become a fact of life for many. However, the country has been captivated by a live stream of people trying to cross a puddle in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. It was blocking a popular pathway in the city centre and locals became fascinated by the ingenious attempts to cross it. So Richard Rippon began streaming it on Periscope from a nearby office window. The hashtag #DrummondPuddleWatch trended on Twitter, and more than half a million people tuned in before the puddle dried up.

The internet is glued to this livestream of people crossing a puddle https://t.co/HbVoYKy8Aj #DrummondPuddleWatch pic.twitter.com/Yq5t0uD9yX
— The Guardian (@guardian) January 6, 2016

And, while British men are known for their gallantry, no budding Walter Raleighs were caught on film laying down their capes.

India: schoolboy smashes world cricket record

A 15-year-old Indian schoolboy has smashed the record for the highest cricket score ever achieved by making more than 1,000 runs.

To put it in context, world number one professsional player Steve Smith of Australia has a career average of just 55.

Pranav Dhanawade, the son of a Mumbai rickshaw driver, reached the extraordinary score of 1,009 after batting for two days. The previous best score in the sport’s history had been 628, scored by another schoolboy AEJ Collins in 1899.

The one-sided game was claimed by Dhanawade’s team KC Gandhi School when the entire opposition team managed only 83 runs between them.

[Explainer here http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2016/01/07/watch-indias-cricket-prodigy-strikes-world-record/]

Italy: D&G unveil first hijab line

Dolce and Gabbana have unveiled a collection of hijabs and Abayas (full-length dresses with long sleeves).

The Milan-based fashion house is targeting a share of a Middle East personal luxury goods market that grew 35% last year to more than eight billion euros.

Dolce & Gabbana the Abaya collection ❤️❤️❤️❤️ #dgabaya ❤️
A photo posted by stefanogabbana (@stefanogabbana) on Jan 5, 2016 at 2:49am PST

#dgabaya ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
A photo posted by stefanogabbana (@stefanogabbana) on Jan 5, 2016 at 2:58am PST

Kyrgystan: Briton deported after insulting food

A British expatriate is to be deported from Kyrgyzstan after denigrating a local delicacy, the Chuchuk sausage made of horse meat and offal.

Scotsman Michael McFeat posted a New Year’s Eve message on Facebook saying “The Kyrgyz people queuing out of the door for their special delicacy, the horses penis!!!”.

What was apparently meant as a joke did not go down well with his Kyrgyz colleagues, who are reported to have gone on strike over the slur. Mr McFeat was accused of sparking social unrest at the gold mine where he worked after upsetting locals.

He was charged with insulting the national dignity and could have faced five years in a Kyrgyz jail. Instead it was decided he’d be expelled from the country when a fault was found with his residency papers.

He later apologised for his comment:

baisalov</a> <a href="https://t.co/jNEbGSJsdF">pic.twitter.com/jNEbGSJsdF</a></p>— Беккул Джекшенкулов (Bekkul) January 3, 2016

He's got a point #MichaelMcfeat pic.twitter.com/GKQUEUSyMv
— Liz Bolas (@BettyBolas) January 5, 2016

Sources:
444.hu
Indian Express
Washington Post

Belgium: controversy over personalised license plates

Since March 2014, Belgians have been allowed to personalise their licence plates. An average of around 500 people per month have been applying for the right to do so at a cost of 2,000 euros a time.

But some personalised plates have been proving controversial. The Belgian league against anti-Semitism (LBCA) has called for the prohibition of plates with potentially racist overtones. “SS”, “HH” or “EVA-SS” have, for example been, approved, which is a “natural reference to the Third Reich or Nazi salvation” according to the president of the LBCA. He pleads for the establishment of a “banned list” to prevent such abuses, like in Austria, where it is also possible to customise plates and where any reference to the Third Reich is prohibited.

Plaques personnalisées SS choix est “très libre” https://t.co/MmOGt4rlzh
— Tante Yvonne (@MemoiresC) January 7, 2016

source: rtbf.be

Lost American missile found in Cuba

An inert US Hellfire missile sent to Spain for a training exercise ended up by mistake in Cuba on its way back.

It happened in 2014, according toThe Wall Street Journal, and was a “serious loss of military technology”

US investigators are trying to find out what went wrong and authorities have been trying to get the Cuban government to return the air-to-ground missile, which is often fired from helicopters and used as an anti-tank weapon.

American authorities fear that Cuba might share the technology knowledge with China, North Korea or Russia.

Source – Wall Street Journal

Saudi women fight for right to sit at same table as men

Two women elected to the municipal council of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia have succesfully argued that they should be able to sit at the same meeting table as their male colleagues.

The women were given seats at a separate table at the first meeting of the new council, divided from the mens’ table by a sheet of frosted glass.

But after a heated row, the women got their way and were allowed join the men.

Women took part in municipal elections in Saudi Arabia, for the first time as voters and candidates last December.

Female members of Jeddah municipal council told to sit behind screen. They insisted on joining male members at table https://t.co/oT8Z9aswmH
— Ahmed Al Omran (@ahmed) January 7, 2016

Source – Gulf News