News

A pair of enterprising graduates have come up with a novel way of paying off their university debt- selling advertising space on their faces. Ross Harper and Ed Moyse are offering companies the chance to have their logos scrawled across their faces in face paint. 

After graduating from Cambridge last year, the two 22-year-olds were faced with tens of thousands of pounds of student debt, and the toughest graduate jobs market in decades. Rather than go the conventional route of trying to find a job, they came up with the idea of transforming themselves in to walking billboards. After starting the website BuyMyFace.com in October, they planned  to sell their faces for 366 days (one year) in the hope of raising enough to pay off the £50,000 of student debt they have.

Since then, they have managed to 'sell their faces' every single day. On the first few days, they charged just £1, but since their success has grown, their faces can now command up to £400 a day. Indeed, 178 days in, they are well on track of meeting their target, having made an amazing £32,282 so far.  

Over the last week, Britain has been enjoying some unseasonably warm and dry weather. Whilst this may be perfect for sitting out in the sun and enjoying the lighter evenings, there is also a downside. After the driest 18 months since records began, most of the east and south-east of England is now officially in drought.

For several days now, record temperatures have been hitting Britain. Up and down the UK people have been basking in temperatures over 20oC (68F), with the Scottish record for a March temperature being broken on Sunday and then again yesterday. Whilst we are already enjoying hotter weather than Barcelona and Nice, forecasters are now saying that the best of the weather is yet to come.

All this has led to what is shaping up to be the worst drought to hit the UK for 30 years. With the south and east of England already suffering, it is expected to spread throughout the country, to as far north as Yorkshire and as far west as Wiltshire.

As part of Foreign Fridays, we explore a different country each week through its most unusual, amusing and odd facts. If you want your country to appear, then simply get in contact with us either in the comments below or through Facebook or Twitter.

This week it is the turn of the Iran:

For Nowruz (Iranian New Year), there are seven symbolic items
that are part of the traditional table setting, including
a mirror, goldfish and painted eggs. 

MPs are considering changing the name of the Big Ben tower as part of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations. This summer, Britain is celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's sixtieth year in power, and it has been suggested that the famous landmark could be renamed Elizabeth Tower.

Though often referred to simply as Big Ben, the tower is technically called St. Stephen's Tower. It is the huge bell within the tower which is actually named Big Ben. Whilst the bell would retain its name, it is the tower itself which would be renamed- an honour only previously bestowed on Queen Victoria. Indeed, in 1860, the west tower of the Parliament building was named the Victoria Tower to commemorate the Queen's long reign.

It is Foreign Office aide Tobias Ellwood who is leading the campaign, and he is said top have significant support throughout all the different political parties. Me Ellwood said:

"I can't think of a greater tribute for Parliament to bestow on Her Majesty than the naming of such a landmark as the Clock Tower. If we get the support I hope we will, I would like to see a formal announcement or a ceremony taking place on June 2."

More than 8,000 students' email addresses were accidentally revealed by Student Finance England last night after an administrative error. In a mass email sent out to students due to start university this autumn, the staff inadvertently included an attachment with the email addresses of everyone on their distribution list.

Student Finance England is part of the Student Loans Company- the public body responsible for awarding loans and grants to students starting university. After the blunder, they were quick to apologise, releasing a statement:

"The information was sent in error and only included email addresses, no other personal student data was shared. We have contacted all customers affected to let them know about this issue. The integrity and security of student accounts and the protection of personal information is vital to us and we apologise to all of the students involved."

However, this is not the first time the agency has come in for criticism, as in both 2009 and 2010 thousands of students were forced to start university with little money after their grants and loans were delayed.

Privacy Concerns

The Telegraph newspaper spoke to Nick Pickles, the director of privacy and civil liberties group, Big Brother Watch, who was concerned by this most recent mistake: