Peak palace

Berlin, July 28 (Reuters): A team of artists will convert the dilapidated former parliament building of East Germany into a large white mountain next week in a public installation that could be the building’s swansong.

Thousands of metres of white cloth will be draped over a network of scaffolding, covering the building’s dark interior of rusting steel beams, leaky ceilings, tinted glass and crumbling concrete walls.

A mountain peak will be added to the outside of the “Palast der Republik” to complete the wintry effect. The installation will give the public perhaps one of its last glimpses inside the long-vacant building.

Toy trick

Ottawa (Reuters): Exasperated Canadian air safety officials on Thursday told passengers “to leave their water pistols and toy guns at home” because they were triggering big delays at airport security. Screening staff found nearly 3,000 toy guns, water pistols, toy grenades and other items resembling real weapons between January and June of this year.