PARIS POOP PROTEST
Start the clock, because it's one month until the Paris Olympics, and also one month for authorities to try and stop a pretty interesting protest happening in Paris. The Paris Poop Protest! To explain what this is, I'm gonna need to tell you about one of Paris' most iconic sights - the River Seine. You wouldn't be able to tell by looking at it, but for about 100 years now, swimming in this thing has been almost completely banned and that's because it's filled with all sorts of trash, wastewater and sewage. But pretty soon, the Seine River is supposed to be hosting the Olympics opening ceremony and organisers have spent a whopping 2.2 billion dollars trying to clean it up so that athletes can swim in it for the Games. Now, water testing experts say the river still contains a lot of dangerous bacteria. Some people are pretty angry about this, and reckon in hindsight, the clean-up was a big waste of money. So now, they're threatening to poop in the Seine River as a protest and it looks like that might have scared off the French President and Mayor of Paris, who both pledged to take a dip in the Seine to prove it was ready, but have since, erm, postponed. Besides delaying the swimming events a little bit, it doesn't look like organisers have a plan B, so they'll have to hope this strange protest won't have too many participants.
ASSANGE RETURNS HOME
Julian Assange is back home in Australia. He touched down in Canberra last night and after some waves to the crowd, was reunited with his family. Assange hasn't been in Australia for almost 15 years, and has been in jail in the UK since 2019. But after striking a deal with US authorities, he is now a free man.
STATE OF ORIGIN
This year's State of Origin is going to a game three decider. It was do or die for NSW in game two of the series last night, and they certainly did. In front of more than 90,000 fans at the MCG, the Blues had the greatest opening half in State of Origin history, scoring six tries to none and running away 20 point winners. The two states will now battle it out in Brisbane, where Queensland haven't lost a decider since 2011.
ANTARCTIC ART
You've probably heard of lots of scientists going to Antarctica, but did you know that for the past 40 years the Australian Antarctic Division has also been sending artists? Okay well this isn't technically Antarctica, it's Macquarie Island, halfway between Tasmania and the big icy continent. The island is home to millions of different animals, native plants and for the last few weeks at least, Maura Chamberlain. Maura is a botanic illustrator, so usually she paints plants from botanic gardens, but this year she got to see these plants in the wild thanks to the arts fellowship program run by the Australian Antarctic Division. Over the last four decades, the program has given more than 50 artists the chance to do creative projects in the Antarctic region. For Maura, that meant trekking for hours collecting different plants and then taking samples back to a studio onboard a ship off the coast. Maura's planning for her pieces to be showcased in an exhibition and book later next year, and says while painting from photos is okay, nothing beats getting out into nature.
WORLD'S LONGEST BIKE
First to a regular old bike, that just so happens to be 55.16 metres long. It's just become the world's longest bicycle, beating the previous record by an additional 7.66 metres. And guess what, it's actually rideable! Thanks to a team of eight engineering enthusiasts in the Netherlands. Watch the BTN crew pull up to work on this tomorrow.
MELTING WAX STATUE
Now to a melting wax statue of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States. It stands, or sits, in Washington D.C, where the weather is really hot right now, so hot it's rendered waxy Lincoln here headless!
ORIGINAL HARRY POTTER COVER ART SOLD
And finally to an auction where Harry Potter fanatics and rich people, came together to buy this, the original cover artwork by Thomas Taylor for 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'. Guess how much it sold for. You got a number in mind? Well remember it, because the answer is, drum roll please - 1.9 million dollars!
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For the past 55 years, Behind the News has been helping to break down current issues and events for young people all around the world. The program is a high-energy, fun way for people to learn about the stories we see in the news while providing background information that isn’t usually given by other news bulletins.
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