Anti-high heel petition gets 1L signatures in UK

A London temporary worker, sent home for wearing flat shoes, has collected more than 120,000 signatures so far in a petition calling for Britain to make it illegal for a firm to require women to wear high heels at work.

Reaching that total on Friday easily put Nicola Thorp's petition over the 100,000-signature threshold needed to have Britain's parliament consider holding a debate on an issue.

Thorp made headlines this week when she launched her campaign describing how she had arrived in flat shoes for her first day to work as a receptionist for accounting company PwC last December to be told she had to wear heels.

She told British media she refused an offer to go buy a pair of heels and was sent home without pay.

World's biggest cruise ship sets sail from France

PARIS - Tens of thousands of French well-wishers waved revoir to the largest cruise ship in the world as it set sail on its maiden voyage to the U.K. after 32 months in a French shipyard.
The $1 billion Harmony of the Seas cut a gargantuan silhouette Sunday as it left the western port town of Saint-Nazaire.
At 362 metres (1,187 feet) long, the 16-deck ship, is bigger that the Eiffel Tower and holds the records as the widest cruise ship ever built — boasting a 6,360-passenger-capacity.
The Harmony of the Seas is expected in Southampton on Tuesday, ahead of its inaugural voyage on May 22 to Barcelona.

The world's biggest plane touched down safely in Western Australia

The world's biggest plane has touched down safely in Western Australia amid scenes of traffic chaos around Perth Airport.

Some 20,000 Australians came out to watch the world’s biggest jet, the Antonov AN-225 Mriya, land in Perth.

The thousands of excited onlookers couldn’t help but cheer in amazement as the Soviet-designed cargo plane fought crosswinds while preparing to touch down on Sunday morning. 

The Ukrainian Antonov An-225, also the heaviest plane in the world, measures over 275 ft (84 meters) from nose to tail and 290 ft (88 meters) from wing tip to wing tip. It can carry twice as much as the Boeing 747 freighter.

"It's the equivalent of a five-story plane flying through the air," aviation fanatic Henton Harmadi told the West Australian.

The plane’s top speed is 528 miles per hour (850km/h) and it’s so big it can comfortably accommodate a space shuttle on its roof. Actually, it's what it was supposed to do according to early projects: serve as a mid-air space launch pad to save on rocket fuel and logistics. The plans never came to fruition, though.

8 Dead and 44 Hurt in Texas Bus Crash

A charter bus headed to a casino crashed in far South Texas on Saturday, killing eight people and injuring 44 others in a one-vehicle rollover, officials said.
Police say the driver lost control and the bus rolled over on Highway 83 about 46 miles (74km) north of Laredo. No other vehicle was involved.
Seven people died at the scene and one other died later in hospital. The driver was among the survivors.
Police said the cause of the crash was being investigated.
The coach, carrying 51 passengers, belonged to OGA Charters and had been travelling to a casino in Eagle Pass, about 125 miles north-west of Laredo, the Laredo Morning Times reports.