Prince William and his soon to be bride Kate Middleton have asked their wedding guests and well wishers for donations for a special charitable fund instead of giving them any wedding gifts. St. James Palace has announced this news.
The couple thought about it and have selected 26 charities falling in five different categories - children, arts and sports, conservation, service personnel, help and care at home. The guests can donate to any charity they like through the website: www.royalweddingcharityfund.org/.
Most of the charities are very small and they need donations to operate well and continue their noble cause. The list of charities includes anti-bullying group, a dance group, a charity for army widows and Earthwatch - a community of scientists and environmentalists. Some of them work with disadvantaged young people while some are based in Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
It seems William has taken this compassionate side from his late mother, Princess Diana who despite of her troubled life always went out of her way to help the unfortunate and less privileged beings around the world. It is said that both Kate and William have been associated with charity work before. This was something different and I didn't really expect a kind announcement of the sort from the royal family. And I guess with Prince Andrew's shameless history, such kindness and consideration would be quite a delightful thought for the Britain and the royal family members.
Germany, Australia and Switzerland have decided to ban episodes of The Simpsons that make fun of nuclear disasters keeping in mind of what just recently happened in Japan - the radiation issues at the nuclear plant.
The broadcasters said that they will not cut scenes but just ban the episodes with such content. So, far a total of eight such episodes have been banned. In one of the episodes scientist Marie and Pierre Curie died of radiation poisoning, which is not a nice thing to show.
The nuclear plant in Springfield is one of the key elements in the running satirical cartoon that is the highlight of such an action. Though Homer is in charge of the safety but often the story shows negative scenes like once they showed nuclear waste was dumped in children's playground. Similarly, they have shown plutonium used as a paper weight. They have also shown three-eye mutant fish, melt downs and cracked cooling towers during various episodes.
Although the opening credits already clarify the satirical approach but in light of the things in reality, the broadcasters felt it is better to avoid showing such episodes.