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Foreign Fridays Fact: France

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 France:

There are 600 steps up to the second level of the Eiffel Tower.
Then you have to get a lift the rest of the way to the top. 

It is the Eiffel Tower's birthday tomorrow. It will be 113-years-old. Ever since 1889, it has been one of the most recognisable landmarks in the world. Its unique structure and look were designed and built by Gustave Eiffel and unsurprisingly the tower is still the top tourist attraction in France today.

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Racism in Evolving Technology

"A 56-day jail sentence could be awaiting Liam Stacey if his appeal today is unsuccessful. Stacey is the 21-year-old student who tweeted racist comments about Fabrice Muamba and was found guilty of inciting racial hatred under the Public Order Act 1986. A little bit of legal lingo before my comment on the case begins.

Section 17 of the Public Order Act 1986 defines racial hatred as ‘hatred against any group of persons in Great Britain defined by reference to colour, race, nationality or ethnic or national origins'. There are two basic requirements: the words or behaviour used must be ‘threatening, abusive or insulting' and secondly, the words or behaviour must either have been intended to incite racial hatred or were likely to do so.

Stacey tweeted: "LOL. F*** Muamba he's dead!!! #haha". His tweet caused anger amongst Twitter users, before he went on to send further tweets, and according to the Huffington Post, he suggested one of his detractors "go pick some cotton". Some could argue that Stacey had no intention to incite racial hatred, but was simply doing it for a laugh. It becomes the judges' task when it comes to comments on Twitter whether tweets are likely to incite racial hatred even if unintended.

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Global Recruitment Markets Heating up Again

According to Keith Dugdale, global recruiter for the professional services giant KPMG, global recruitment markets are recovering. Dugdale went on to explain that recruiters face a recurring challenge: to make sure the correct talent is in the right place at the right time.

"The signs are that in a number of countries market conditions are picking up, so recruitment is accelerating as well," he said. "We have moved from a point when recruitment had fallen off the agenda as a key strategic issue to it being central again."

Dugdale highlighted emerging economies like India, which have come out of the recession rapidly but now face different challenges. India has recently experienced a period of massive growth, with markets growing by 30%. This has resulted in the Indian economy needing a constant supply of fresh talent. However, due to the rapid nature of India's growth, companies are looking for skilled experienced workers as well as graduates, who are in short supply.

This is in polar opposite to China, another booming economy. Rather than having too many graduates, China struggles to recruit graduate talent. Part of the problem is that graduates from other countries are reluctant to up sticks and move due to the recession and are much more cautious when considering international assignments.

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Graduates Sell Their Faces to Pay Off Student Debt

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.  

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Drought in Britain After Record March Temperatures

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.

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