South Wales 'Ride me' bus advert sparks online backlash

A south Wales bus company says it will withdraw an advertising campaign following an online backlash.

The New Adventure Travel advert depicts a semi-naked woman on the back of buses holding a billboard which reads: "Ride me all day for £3".

The company said it had been trying to "make catching the bus attractive to the younger generation."
It has attracted an angry response on social media - including criticism by MPs.

On Facebook, one person wrote: "Absolutely dreadful advert, what is wrong with you?!"

Another said: "Do they seriously think they can get away with this? Women should take a stand on this and boycott that bus company."

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Cunard's 175th anniversary Liners gather in Southampton

Cunard's three liners have gathered in Southampton to mark the start of the shipping company's 175th anniversary celebrations.

The Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria started a procession down Southampton Water at about 17:45 BST after an hour's delay.

It was organised to pay homage to the city which is the fleet's home port.

Further celebrations will take place in Liverpool, where the company has its headquarters, in May and July.

Angus Struthers, from Cunard, said it was "the very first time" Queen Mary 2 had led a daylight parade of the "three queens" down Southampton Water and into the Solent.

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The most corrupt countries in the world, ranked in order

Transparency International has released its annual Corruption Perceptions Index, which ranks 175 countries on their levels of public sector corruption.

A statement released with the report indicated that a low score “is likely a sign of widespread bribery, lack of punishment for corruption and public institutions that don’t respond to citizens’ needs”.

It is pointed out that while no countries score 0 (highly corrupt), there are also none scoring a perfect 100 (very clean).

Bribes and backroom deals don’t just steal resources from the most vulnerable – they undermine justice and economic development, and destroy public trust in government and leaders.

Transparency International

Britain scores 78 which takes it up to 14 on the list and overall the country has seen a steady improvement over the past two years (2012: 74, 2013: 76).

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P&G fined $1m in China over toothpaste advertisement - BBC

Consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble has been fined close to $1m (£662,876) in China for what Shanghai regulators said was false advertising of its Crest toothpaste brand.

They said P&G overstated the effects of its toothpaste in a TV ad featuring a popular Taiwanese talk show host.

Images in the ad were said to be digitally enhanced to show whiter teeth.

Chinese media are reporting the fine as the biggest of its kind on record.

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