A Miami Burger King restaurant.J. Pat Carter/The Associated Press
A summary of what you need to know today, compiled by The Globe's news desk on Feb. 19 , 2013.
Hacking ramps up Burger King social media presence
The good news for Burger King is that it has massively increase its footprint in social media. The bad news is it had to get hacked to do it. Someone – coined the "hamburglar" by some web wits – hacked the fast food outlet's twitter account on Monday, changed the logo to McDonald and tweeted "We just got sold to McDonalds!" The resulting web frenzy boosted the normally sleepy company's account by 30,000 followers. Burger King suspended the account temporarily and apologized. "Interesting day here at BURGER KING, but we're back. Welcome to our new followers, we hope you stick around!"
Pistorius says shooting of girlfriend was accident
Oscar Pistorius got out of bed, walked across his bedroom and deliberately fired four bullets through the bathroom door, killing his girlfriend. That's the allegation laid out by prosecutors at a bail hearing today to determine whether the Olympic and Paralympic star should remain free pending trial into the killing. Pistorius countered that he shot Reeva Steenkamp accidentally, thinking she was a burglar. The hearing resumes Wednesday.
Thieves storm airport, grab $50-million of gems
Armed men pulled off a spectacular diamond heist today, storming a Swiss-bound plane on the tarmac and spiriting off $50-million in gems. The thieves drove through a hole they had made in the security fence at Brussels international airport, pulled up beside a plane and took the diamonds from the hold before escaping the same route they came. The crime took just minutes, authorities said.
Toronto public board hiring guidelines favour men, minorities
Canada's largest school board has circulated a memo on hiring that give a leg up to candidates male or are minorities. The document, obtained by The Globe, lists those qualities as things that will help candidates win an interview, an attempt to make the board more representative. Teachers have expressed outrage at the guidelines, but the board insists that final hiring decisions will be based solely on merit.
Are minimum sentencing guidelines discriminatory?
Does race play a role in the severity of sentenced handed out to offenders? That will be the issue at the core of a highly charged Ontario Court of Appeal hearing this week. The hearing – based on the cases of six black men – will examine whether they federal minimum sentencing guidelines are applied disproportionately against black Canadians.
Jill Mahoney