Players must not play the ball with any part of the stick when the ball is above shoulder height (except: defenders are allowed to raise the stick to any height if they are attempting to stop or deflect a shot at goal).

BBC: Our guide to foul play offences in hockey

While this move shows that BofA eventually listened after its customers squealed for months, the decision to raise debit card fees and the willingness to stick its retail customers with an additional fee on debit cards show just how desperate banks are to find new ways to reclaim lost sources of revenue.

FORBES: Bank Of America Will Find New Fees, Stock Worth $11

Mr Bacon was left banging the floor of his hallway with his walking stick for half an hour to raise the alarm.

BBC: Man, 90, dies after ?40 robbery at London home

Raise my arms in the air, or hold up my stick?

WSJ: Hockey Heats Up in Tiny Village With Israel's Only Big Rink

Mr. BOB VAN DER HORN (father of Chris): We decided to raise our children without guns until we found that every stick in the yard turned into a gun and every finger was gun.

NPR: Venezuela Copes with Crumbling Infrastructure

Comments on the tree-ring section of the IPCC's latest report by John Mitchell, director of climate science at Britain's Met Office, raise issues very like those highlighted by perhaps the most prominent critic of the hockey stick, Steve McIntyre, who runs a blog called Climate Audit.

ECONOMIST: Leaked e-mails do not show climate scientists at their best

But it seems bound to raise questions about the ability of some prospective members (Italy and perhaps France) to stick to the Maastricht criteria.

ECONOMIST: Germany and EMU