THE DRUCATCH ARCHIVE
Every catch, newest first.
Politics
One year after the deadly Calea Rahovei gas explosion in Bucharest, Sector 5 City Hall issued a proud anniversary press release about rebuilding school classrooms - while admitting students still cannot enter them, because "the authorities" haven't cleared it. City Hall is those authorities.
Politics
Congress's tough immigration law couldn't outsmart a rounding rule. USCIS FY2027 fees leave EAD renewals frozen at zero increase while ICE enforcement costs balloon to $5,300 - a bureaucratic own-goal written into the bill itself.
Scandals
A Dubai clinic clerk forged electronic sick-leave certificates for cash through her own clinic's portal, then told the court it was an "administrative lapse." The Dubai Criminal Court disagreed - loudly and with a prison sentence.
World
Iran's army chief Amir Hatami declared the Strait of Hormuz closed until "rights are respected" - as Brent crude hit $110/barrel and the IEA warned ordinary Iranians and global consumers are already paying the price in spiking diesel and food costs.
Sports
MLB built its marquee postseason series in Cleveland with zero weather buffer, then a single rainy Friday turned the ALCS into a four-games-in-four-days survival test that the league's own schedule created before the first cloud rolled in.
World
After gunning down nearly 6,000 crows this year - including 3,083 in a single day - Malaysia's Klang Royal City Council admits the killing spree didn't work and is now proposing oral contraceptives for the birds. Wild avian family planning: the sequel nobody voted for.
Scandals
A Venice restaurant showed tourists a phone photo of a fish, charged 156 euros, and printed a receipt with no weight or unit price - violating Italian consumer law, per Adico.
Scandals
Dutch housing corporation Woonwaard in North Holland challenged a Rental Commission ruling in favour of students over sky-high heating costs, overturned it in court, and then billed student Luke van Veen nearly €1,300 in legal fees. He launched a crowdfunding campaign.
Politics
Argentina's gambling ad-ban bill passed the lower house in late 2024 and has stalled in the Senate ever since. The national government replaced it with a weaker bill. Governor Llaryora's entire response to Church and public pressure: pause one provincial scratch card.
World
North Korea's "Hero Kim Kun Ok" submarine spent three years unable to confirm a single weapons test, with experts calling it a repainted diesel relic. This week it fired AI-guided torpedoes that are officially impossible to evade.
Money
Ubisoft fired 70 Singapore workers and proposed closing its Finnish RedLynx studio after a €1.5 billion net loss - then reassured survivors the Singapore office would "continue to play an important part" in global operations.
Politics
Vienna's coalition promised free, equal public toilets. Women still pay 50 cents per cubicle. The government monitor says "in implementation." The city says examinations are "still ongoing." The Ombudsman calls it toilet discrimination.