WARSAW (AP) — A frightened, shivering dog was rescued after floating 75 miles on an ice floe down Poland's Vistula River and into the Baltic Sea, officials said Thursday.
Now his saviors just have to figure out who really owns him.
Four people have already claimed him, but so far rescuers say there's been no wagging tail of joy from the miracle dog they nicknamed "Baltic."
The dog's frozen odyssey came as Poland suffers through a winter cold snap.Temperatures have dipped to below minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit.
The thick-furred male dog was found adrift Monday 15 miles out in the Baltic Sea by the crew of the Baltica, a Polish ship of ocean scientists carrying out research.
Researcher Natalia Drgas said Thursday that the rescue was difficult and at one point it seemed the dog had drowned.
"It was really a tough struggle. It kept slipping into the water and crawling back on top of the ice. At one point it vanished underwater, under the ship and we thought it was the end, but it emerged again and crawled on an ice sheet," Drgas said.
At that point, the crew lowered a pontoon down to the water and a crewmember managed to grab the dog by the scruff of his neck and pull him to safety.
Too weak to shake off the frigid water, Baltic was dried and wrapped in blankets. After he warmed up, he was massaged, fed and soon got on his feet to seek company, Drgas said.
A firefighter in Grudziadz, on the Vistula river 60 miles inland from the Bay of Gdansk, told the Associated Press the dog was spotted Saturday floating on ice through the city. Firefighters tried to save him but could not approach the dog due to shifting ice sheets, said the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Baltica crew, now moored in the port city of Gdynia, has been searching for the dog's owners, ship captain Jerzy Wosachlo said. So far four people have claimed him, but Baltic has not claimed any of them back, Drgas said.
The dog didn't welcome the first two people to come for him, keeping his distance and showing no recognition toward a couple on Wednesday and a woman on Thursday who both said he was theirs. Two other would-be owners were still en route to Gdynia for a possible reunion.
Once in port, the brown-and-black mongrel was taken to a veterinarian, who found him in surprisingly good condition and estimated his age at around 5 or 6 years old. Veterinarian Aleksandra Lawniczak said the 44-pound dog was clearly frightened but in strikingly good shape and had suffered no frostbite.
A dog with thick fur and a layer of fat can survive such cold conditions for as long as eight days if it has water to drink, Lawniczak said.
She described Baltic as a friendly dog who was clearly well treated before getting lost.
Wosachlo said the research team is prepared to adopt Baltic if his original owner is never found.
USA Today
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Rattling dog had eaten 13 golf balls
A dog had 13 golf balls removed from his stomach after his owner noticed his stomach was rattling.
Chris Morrison noticed an unusual sound from the stomach of his black labrador, Oscar, who he regularly walks on a golf course near his home in Dunfermline.
When he took the five-year-old to a vet, he was stunned to find 13 balls were lodged in the dog's stomach, reports the Daily Telegraph.
Mr Morrison, a planning administrator, said one of the balls had been in her stomach so long that it had turned black and was decomposing.
He said: "He finds golf balls like truffles. We're not sure how long exactly this happened over - but it must have been a fair period, several months at least.
"I felt his stomach and heard them rattling around. He normally brings a few home, but I had no idea he had eaten so many.
"It is normally around the ninth and twelfth fairways that we go around - and he just goes and searches for them wherever the golfers lose them."
The balls were removed two weeks ago in an hour-long operation conducted by Bob Hesketh, 40, a vet from Rosyth.
He said: "It was like a magic trick. I opened him up and felt what I thought was two or three golf balls. But they just kept coming until we had a bag full."
Oscar is now on the road to making a full recovery after a special post-operation diet of watered down food, but he now has to wear a muzzle during his walks.
Ananova
Chris Morrison noticed an unusual sound from the stomach of his black labrador, Oscar, who he regularly walks on a golf course near his home in Dunfermline.
When he took the five-year-old to a vet, he was stunned to find 13 balls were lodged in the dog's stomach, reports the Daily Telegraph.
Mr Morrison, a planning administrator, said one of the balls had been in her stomach so long that it had turned black and was decomposing.
He said: "He finds golf balls like truffles. We're not sure how long exactly this happened over - but it must have been a fair period, several months at least.
"I felt his stomach and heard them rattling around. He normally brings a few home, but I had no idea he had eaten so many.
"It is normally around the ninth and twelfth fairways that we go around - and he just goes and searches for them wherever the golfers lose them."
The balls were removed two weeks ago in an hour-long operation conducted by Bob Hesketh, 40, a vet from Rosyth.
He said: "It was like a magic trick. I opened him up and felt what I thought was two or three golf balls. But they just kept coming until we had a bag full."
Oscar is now on the road to making a full recovery after a special post-operation diet of watered down food, but he now has to wear a muzzle during his walks.
Ananova
Dog washed out to sea has lucky escape
WARSAW (Reuters) – A dog had a lucky escape when a Polish boat rescued him from an ice floe that had carried him more than 100 miles up a river and out onto the icy waters of the Baltic Sea.
"My crew saw... a shape moving on the water and we immediately decided to get closer to check if it was a dog or maybe a seal relaxing on the ice," Jan Joachim, senior officer aboard the Baltica, told Reuters Television.
"As we got closer to the ice floe we saw that it was a dog struggling not to fall into the water."
Ship engineer Adam Buczynski managed to scoop the dog off the floe onto an inflatable dinghy and wrapped him in a blanket.
"He didn't even squeal. There was just fear in his big eyes," said Buczynski.
The dog was first seen on the ice floe some 100 km (70 miles) inland to the south on the Vistula river but firemen were unable to rescue him. When the Baltica crew found him, he had already drifted some 24 km (18 miles) out to sea.
"We were in the right place at the right time," said Joachim, noting that they rescued him shortly before night fall.
The crew are now trying to locate the dog's owner.
Poland is in the grip of bitterly cold weather, with night temperatures in some areas falling as low as -34 Celsius (-31 Fahrenheit).
Reuters
"My crew saw... a shape moving on the water and we immediately decided to get closer to check if it was a dog or maybe a seal relaxing on the ice," Jan Joachim, senior officer aboard the Baltica, told Reuters Television.
"As we got closer to the ice floe we saw that it was a dog struggling not to fall into the water."
Ship engineer Adam Buczynski managed to scoop the dog off the floe onto an inflatable dinghy and wrapped him in a blanket.
"He didn't even squeal. There was just fear in his big eyes," said Buczynski.
The dog was first seen on the ice floe some 100 km (70 miles) inland to the south on the Vistula river but firemen were unable to rescue him. When the Baltica crew found him, he had already drifted some 24 km (18 miles) out to sea.
"We were in the right place at the right time," said Joachim, noting that they rescued him shortly before night fall.
The crew are now trying to locate the dog's owner.
Poland is in the grip of bitterly cold weather, with night temperatures in some areas falling as low as -34 Celsius (-31 Fahrenheit).
Reuters
Woman wants surgery to look like Alba
A Chinese woman has revealed plans to undergo plastic surgery to make her look like actress Jessica Alba.The 21-year-old, who has only been identified as Xiaoqing, reportedly plans the cosmetic overhaul in order to win back her ex-boyfriend.
Xiaoqing told the Shanghai Daily: "I have made my decision. I'm not only doing it for my ex-boyfriend, but for myself. I am a psychologically weak person. I want to do something to challenge myself and build a strong personality through it."
The girl has claimed that her 28-year-old ex-boyfriend forced her to do her make-up in the same style as Alba and made her wear a blonde wig.
Xiaoqing added: "I love him very much.... that's why I always followed his opinions. I don't want to lose him."
DS
Criminals in Haiti 'Raping Quake Survivors'
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Bandits in Haiti are preying on vulnerable earthquake survivors, even raping women, in makeshift camps which were set up in the capital of Port-au-Prince after the disaster.
"With the blackout that's befallen the Haitian capital, bandits are taking advantage to harass and rape women and young girls under the tents," Haiti’s national police chief Mario Andresol said yesterday.
"We have more than 7,000 detainees in the streets who escaped from the National Penitentiary the evening of the earthquake... It took us five years to apprehend them. Today they are running wild."
Rachelle Dolce, who is living at a large makeshift camp on the Petionville Club Golf Course, said she thought a rape had occurred outside her tent the previous night. She said she heard men making noise and a woman struggling.
"I heard a fight outside, and I saw panties on the ground," she said. "I started to shout a lot, and they left."
Figures for the number of crimes were not available but women's organizations have already detailed a number of cases and alerted the United Nations mission in Haiti, Andresol said.
Fox News
"With the blackout that's befallen the Haitian capital, bandits are taking advantage to harass and rape women and young girls under the tents," Haiti’s national police chief Mario Andresol said yesterday.
"We have more than 7,000 detainees in the streets who escaped from the National Penitentiary the evening of the earthquake... It took us five years to apprehend them. Today they are running wild."
Rachelle Dolce, who is living at a large makeshift camp on the Petionville Club Golf Course, said she thought a rape had occurred outside her tent the previous night. She said she heard men making noise and a woman struggling.
"I heard a fight outside, and I saw panties on the ground," she said. "I started to shout a lot, and they left."
Figures for the number of crimes were not available but women's organizations have already detailed a number of cases and alerted the United Nations mission in Haiti, Andresol said.
Fox News
Doctors amputate wrong foot of man
LIMA, Peru (AP) — Doctors in Peru mistakenly amputated the wrong foot of an 86-year-old man, then had no choice but to cut off the other one as well to keep an infection from spreading, relatives and officials said Monday.
"It was a terrible shock when I lifted up the sheets and saw they had amputated his left foot," the patient's daughter, Carmen Villanueva, told RPP radio.
She said doctors in the port city of Callao had been attending to an ulcer on Jorge Villanueva's right foot since Jan. 4.
When the infection worsened on Saturday, they ordered the ill-fated emergency surgery. Realizing their mistake, doctors performed a second operation the following day that left Villanueva footless.
The Sabogal Hospital said in a statement that it suspended the doctors involved while it investigates.
Health Minister Oscar Ugarte confirmed the mistaken amputation, saying: "Without a doubt this should be punishable. ... It is a sad situation, and we have asked for an investigation."
Carmen Villanueva said her family plans to sue.
USA Today
"It was a terrible shock when I lifted up the sheets and saw they had amputated his left foot," the patient's daughter, Carmen Villanueva, told RPP radio.
She said doctors in the port city of Callao had been attending to an ulcer on Jorge Villanueva's right foot since Jan. 4.
When the infection worsened on Saturday, they ordered the ill-fated emergency surgery. Realizing their mistake, doctors performed a second operation the following day that left Villanueva footless.
The Sabogal Hospital said in a statement that it suspended the doctors involved while it investigates.
Health Minister Oscar Ugarte confirmed the mistaken amputation, saying: "Without a doubt this should be punishable. ... It is a sad situation, and we have asked for an investigation."
Carmen Villanueva said her family plans to sue.
USA Today
'Dead' beekeeper 'comes back to life'
A Polish beekeeper who was declared dead and put in a coffin after a suspected heart attack was later found to be alive.
Jozef Guzy, 76, collapsed as he started work in Katowice and an undertaker took away his body after a doctor pronounced him dead, the Daily Mail reports.
A spokesman for the Regional Ambulance Service in Katowice said: "The patient was not breathing, there was no heart beat, the body had cooled - all are the characteristics of death."
Funeral director Dariusz Wysłuchato was about to seal the lid of the coffin when Jozef's wife Ludmilla asked him to remove her 'late' husband's wristwatch.
Wysłuchato said: "I touched around the neck artery and suddenly realised he wasn't dead after all. I checked again and shouted, 'It's a pulse!'.
"I had a friend check and he noticed the man was breathing. God, it was a miracle! Thank God I did not close the coffin - if I had done that it would have been a tragedy. Something touched me to touch his neck - I'm so pleased he's alive."
The same doctor who pronounced Jozef dead returned with the ambulance and confirmed that he had "come back from the dead".
Jozef said: "The undertaker saved my life. The first thing I did when I got out of hospital was take him a pot of honey."
DS
Jozef Guzy, 76, collapsed as he started work in Katowice and an undertaker took away his body after a doctor pronounced him dead, the Daily Mail reports.
A spokesman for the Regional Ambulance Service in Katowice said: "The patient was not breathing, there was no heart beat, the body had cooled - all are the characteristics of death."
Funeral director Dariusz Wysłuchato was about to seal the lid of the coffin when Jozef's wife Ludmilla asked him to remove her 'late' husband's wristwatch.
Wysłuchato said: "I touched around the neck artery and suddenly realised he wasn't dead after all. I checked again and shouted, 'It's a pulse!'.
"I had a friend check and he noticed the man was breathing. God, it was a miracle! Thank God I did not close the coffin - if I had done that it would have been a tragedy. Something touched me to touch his neck - I'm so pleased he's alive."
The same doctor who pronounced Jozef dead returned with the ambulance and confirmed that he had "come back from the dead".
Jozef said: "The undertaker saved my life. The first thing I did when I got out of hospital was take him a pot of honey."
DS
Teens hospitalised after chilli sauce dare
BERLIN (AFP) – Eight teenagers were rushed to hospital Wednesday after drinking concentrated chilli sauce in a spicy game of "dare", German police said.
The youths, aged 13 and 14, complained of severe stomach pains after the game and were treated by the German Red Cross before being taken to a nearby hospital.
Police said their lives were not in danger.
AFP
The youths, aged 13 and 14, complained of severe stomach pains after the game and were treated by the German Red Cross before being taken to a nearby hospital.
Police said their lives were not in danger.
AFP
Sat on boyfriend; killed him
CLEVELAND (Ohio) - AN American woman had pleaded guilty to killing her boyfriend by sitting on him, reported MyFox National on Friday.
Mia Landingham, who weighs 136kg, sat on her much smaller boyfriend, Mikal Middleston-Bey, after they got into an argument in August last year, reported police in Cleveland, Ohio. Mr Middleston-Bey only weighed 54.4kg, said the police.
According to a Fox8 report, Landingham was sentenced to three years probation and 100 hours community service on Wednesday after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter. She was immediately released from jail.
The report said that Landingham's attorney said there was a long history of domestic abuse in the couple's relationship and asked Judge Carolyn Friedland for leniency, saying Landingham had no prior criminal record.
Landingham apologised for squashing the father of her children. The couple have three children together. 'I just want to say that I am sincerely sorry about this situation. I wish I could take it back,' she said.
However Middleton-Bey's family were unhappy with the result, with one of his sisters saying: 'So basically you can say that I can go sit on somebody and get probation? I feel there wasn't no justice.'
Source : The Straits Times
Mia Landingham, who weighs 136kg, sat on her much smaller boyfriend, Mikal Middleston-Bey, after they got into an argument in August last year, reported police in Cleveland, Ohio. Mr Middleston-Bey only weighed 54.4kg, said the police.
According to a Fox8 report, Landingham was sentenced to three years probation and 100 hours community service on Wednesday after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter. She was immediately released from jail.
The report said that Landingham's attorney said there was a long history of domestic abuse in the couple's relationship and asked Judge Carolyn Friedland for leniency, saying Landingham had no prior criminal record.
Landingham apologised for squashing the father of her children. The couple have three children together. 'I just want to say that I am sincerely sorry about this situation. I wish I could take it back,' she said.
However Middleton-Bey's family were unhappy with the result, with one of his sisters saying: 'So basically you can say that I can go sit on somebody and get probation? I feel there wasn't no justice.'
Source : The Straits Times
Site names dirtiest U.S. hotels
NEWTON, Mass., Jan. 22 (UPI) -- Travel Web site TripAdvisor said San Francisco's Heritage Marina Hotel topped this year's list of the 10 dirtiest U.S. hotels.
"This hotel is like in a horrible horror movie! The bed was a nightmare. It smelled like urine and had strange spots," TripAdvisor quoted a user review of the Heritage Marina Hotel as saying.
TripAdvisor, which ranked the hotels based on customer reviews, said the San Francisco hotel was ranked as dirty the most often, followed by the Days Inn Eureka/Six Flags in Missouri, Super 8 Virginia Beach/At the Ocean in Virginia, and the Quality Inn of Stroudsburg, Pa.
Rounding out the top 10 were New York City's New York Inn, the Parisian Hotel & Suites of Miami Beach, Fla., the Capistrano Seaside Inn of Capistrano Beach, Calif., the Desert Lodge of Palm Springs, Calif., and the Continental Oceanfront Hotel South Beach of Miami Beach, Fla.
UPI News
"This hotel is like in a horrible horror movie! The bed was a nightmare. It smelled like urine and had strange spots," TripAdvisor quoted a user review of the Heritage Marina Hotel as saying.
TripAdvisor, which ranked the hotels based on customer reviews, said the San Francisco hotel was ranked as dirty the most often, followed by the Days Inn Eureka/Six Flags in Missouri, Super 8 Virginia Beach/At the Ocean in Virginia, and the Quality Inn of Stroudsburg, Pa.
Rounding out the top 10 were New York City's New York Inn, the Parisian Hotel & Suites of Miami Beach, Fla., the Capistrano Seaside Inn of Capistrano Beach, Calif., the Desert Lodge of Palm Springs, Calif., and the Continental Oceanfront Hotel South Beach of Miami Beach, Fla.
UPI News
Crocodiles 'taught to recognise their names'
Two British crocodiles have been taught to recognise when a keeper calls their names, The Blue Planet Aquarium.
The reptiles, Paleo and Suchus, have been taught to listen for their names being called, it was claimed.
Keepers at the centre in Ellesmere Port, Merseyside, they are even learning when to open their mouths for food.
They ssaid the type of training had worked with mammals before but hardly ever with reptiles.
"They are very intelligent and started responding to their names in just a few days," said Tom Cornwall, the aquarium's manager.
In a bid to train them, the crocodiles, which are called Cuvier's dwarf caiman, are given food as a prize if they react in the right way.
The training takes its idea from a similar scheme run at the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust in India.
Once fully trained, the aquarium's zoological team will set up "enrichment activities" for the pair.
Mr Cornwall, Blue Planet Aquarium's ranger and exhibits manager, added: "As well as enabling us to approach them and inspect and treat any potential health issues it will also allow us to set up tasks and foraging exercises for them to mimic the types of behaviour they would have to use in the wild."
Found throughout South America, the Cuvier's dwarf caiman usually live in freshwater habitats like rivers, including the Amazon, flooded forests and larger lakes.
Telegraph
The reptiles, Paleo and Suchus, have been taught to listen for their names being called, it was claimed.
Keepers at the centre in Ellesmere Port, Merseyside, they are even learning when to open their mouths for food.
They ssaid the type of training had worked with mammals before but hardly ever with reptiles.
"They are very intelligent and started responding to their names in just a few days," said Tom Cornwall, the aquarium's manager.
In a bid to train them, the crocodiles, which are called Cuvier's dwarf caiman, are given food as a prize if they react in the right way.
The training takes its idea from a similar scheme run at the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust in India.
Once fully trained, the aquarium's zoological team will set up "enrichment activities" for the pair.
Mr Cornwall, Blue Planet Aquarium's ranger and exhibits manager, added: "As well as enabling us to approach them and inspect and treat any potential health issues it will also allow us to set up tasks and foraging exercises for them to mimic the types of behaviour they would have to use in the wild."
Found throughout South America, the Cuvier's dwarf caiman usually live in freshwater habitats like rivers, including the Amazon, flooded forests and larger lakes.
Telegraph
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Chihuahua only four inches
A micro-Chihuahua has measured up as one of the world's smallest dogs, measuring only four inches.
Jean Tindall noticed her puppy Lulu was not growing like her sister and two brothers.
The 76-year-old, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, who has bred Chihuahuas for five years, said: "I didn't think anything of it when her mum gave birth to the litter, she looked the same size as all the others.
"But puppies grow quickly and I soon realised that her brothers and sisters were all over taking her.
"I don't want to sell her because she will need so much extra care and attention being so small.
"She is so tiny shes only 4 inches. She can fit in my hand shes so tiny. You can't believe she's out of the same litter because the rest are twice as big as her.
Ms Tindall, who named Lulu after the Scottish singer, said the dog, part of the smallest breed in the world, makes up for her lack of size with her big personality.
The mother-of-two added: "She sleeps all day long on a hot water bottle I give her to keep her warm then when I'm ready for bed she wakes up and runs rings around me. I can barely keep up.
"Even though she's small she's got so much love to give and is a little bundle of joy. She hasn't developed a bark yet but when she does I'm sure it'll be as loud as a normal sized dog."
Ms Tindall said she even thought Lulu could be the smallest in the world as in more than 50 years of breeding she has never seen a smaller one.
"I've seen a lot of chihuahuas but I've never seen one as small as Lulu. Even among other tiny dogs she really stands out because she is so tiny.
"I've been breeding and selling chihuahuas for most of my life and I've had a few inquiries about Lulu because she's such a wonderful, cute little thing. But to me she is priceless, I would never sell her. She is a little star and loves all the attentions she gets."
Telegraph
Dog leads owner to elderly, unconscious man
PINE CITY, Minn. – Police credit a 15-year-old German Shorthaired dog with saving the life of an elderly, unconscious man in Pine City. Brett Grinde said he took Effie out for their usual walk on Monday evening, but within a couple minutes she started pulling on the leash, wanting to go in a different direction.
Effie then took off running, leading Grinde to a neighbor's house where a 94-year-old man was on face down on the driveway. The dog started licking the man's face. Grinde called 911, then started CPR.
KARE-TV reported the eldery man, William Lepsch, regained consciousness and is in serious condition at North Memorial Medical Center.
AP
Effie then took off running, leading Grinde to a neighbor's house where a 94-year-old man was on face down on the driveway. The dog started licking the man's face. Grinde called 911, then started CPR.
KARE-TV reported the eldery man, William Lepsch, regained consciousness and is in serious condition at North Memorial Medical Center.
AP
Robber hides in see-through plastic bag
A ROBBER wearing a transparent plastic bag over his head has held up a service station on the Gold Coast.
Police said the man entered the BP service station at Labrador about 3.53pm yesterday wearing the plastic bag, and wielding a large carving knife, according to the Courier-Mail.
He approached the male attendant and demanded cash.
In response, the worker placed the money tray from the register on the counter and the robber helped himself.
He was spotted running through the Sharks Football Club carpark in Olsen Ave, heading east.
The worker was able to give police a good description of the bandit. He was described as about 170cm tall in his mid-20s and wearing three-quarter length denim shorts, a white T-shirt and a sky blue baseball cap.
The man handed himself in to police today. Police expect to charge the man over the robbery.
News.com.au
Police said the man entered the BP service station at Labrador about 3.53pm yesterday wearing the plastic bag, and wielding a large carving knife, according to the Courier-Mail.
He approached the male attendant and demanded cash.
In response, the worker placed the money tray from the register on the counter and the robber helped himself.
He was spotted running through the Sharks Football Club carpark in Olsen Ave, heading east.
The worker was able to give police a good description of the bandit. He was described as about 170cm tall in his mid-20s and wearing three-quarter length denim shorts, a white T-shirt and a sky blue baseball cap.
The man handed himself in to police today. Police expect to charge the man over the robbery.
News.com.au
Mom Tries to Trade Daughter for Gun
PHOENIX — Authorities say they have arrested an Arizona woman who traded her 2-year-old daughter for a gun.
Maricopa County sheriff's deputies arrested 33-year-old Tanya Nareau of Mesa on Tuesday after receiving a tip.
Deputies say they spoke with a family friend who had the child and confirmed Nareau gave the girl to him for gun.
Deputies say Nareau felt the friend would do a better job raising the child than she would.
Authorities say Nareau has been charged with the unlawful sale of a child and solicitation to possess a weapon by a prohibited person.
It was unclear if Nareau had legal representation.
Fox News
Maricopa County sheriff's deputies arrested 33-year-old Tanya Nareau of Mesa on Tuesday after receiving a tip.
Deputies say they spoke with a family friend who had the child and confirmed Nareau gave the girl to him for gun.
Deputies say Nareau felt the friend would do a better job raising the child than she would.
Authorities say Nareau has been charged with the unlawful sale of a child and solicitation to possess a weapon by a prohibited person.
It was unclear if Nareau had legal representation.
Fox News
M'sian mum sets self on fire
NIBONG TEBAL - A 33-YEAR-OLD mother suffered burns after allegedly setting herself on fire in an incident in Jalan Hutan Lipur here.
The mother of seven did so allegedly due to disappointment over the attitude of one of her daughters, police said.
Seberang Perai Selatan OCPD Supt Shafien Mamat said the incident occurred at 12.40am on Saturday. It happened after the victim was counselling her 15-year-old daughter, who was said to be seldom home.
The mother then suddenly bolted out of the house, poured petrol on her body before lighting up a candle and setting herself on fire, he said.
'She told police that she was under pressure when dealing with her daughter,' he told a news conference yesterday. Other members of the family, including her husband, came to her rescue.
The victim suffered 54 per cent burns from the forehead to the abdomen and has been referred to the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital in Alor Star. -- BERNAMA
Source : The Straits Times
The mother of seven did so allegedly due to disappointment over the attitude of one of her daughters, police said.
Seberang Perai Selatan OCPD Supt Shafien Mamat said the incident occurred at 12.40am on Saturday. It happened after the victim was counselling her 15-year-old daughter, who was said to be seldom home.
The mother then suddenly bolted out of the house, poured petrol on her body before lighting up a candle and setting herself on fire, he said.
'She told police that she was under pressure when dealing with her daughter,' he told a news conference yesterday. Other members of the family, including her husband, came to her rescue.
The victim suffered 54 per cent burns from the forehead to the abdomen and has been referred to the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital in Alor Star. -- BERNAMA
Source : The Straits Times
Woman drives home with body in windscreen
A JAPANESE woman who drove home with the body of an 80-year-old pedestrian lodged in her windscreen has been arrested on charges of causing a deadly traffic accident and fleeing the scene, police said today.
The 23-year-old driver was believed to have struck the elderly woman in the early hours of Sunday north of Tokyo before driving seven kilometres (four miles) home with the victim's body wedged in the shattered windscreen.
Michiko Sato, a catering school student, was arrested after her boyfriend called police to report the accident, a police spokesman said.
When police called at Ms Sato's home, they found the body of the elderly woman still stuck in the car's windscreen.
"The suspect said she was so shocked that she didn't know what to do," the police spokesman said. He added Ms Sato was not under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident.
She was charged with causing a traffic accident resulting in death and escaping after running over a person with a car and faces up to 17 years in prison or a fine of up to two million yen ($23,736) if convicted.
News.com.au
The 23-year-old driver was believed to have struck the elderly woman in the early hours of Sunday north of Tokyo before driving seven kilometres (four miles) home with the victim's body wedged in the shattered windscreen.
Michiko Sato, a catering school student, was arrested after her boyfriend called police to report the accident, a police spokesman said.
When police called at Ms Sato's home, they found the body of the elderly woman still stuck in the car's windscreen.
"The suspect said she was so shocked that she didn't know what to do," the police spokesman said. He added Ms Sato was not under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident.
She was charged with causing a traffic accident resulting in death and escaping after running over a person with a car and faces up to 17 years in prison or a fine of up to two million yen ($23,736) if convicted.
News.com.au
Prince William Gets Qualifies as a Pilot
"Prince William has graduated from an advanced helicopter training course, watched by his father and the Duchess of Cornwall.
The 27-year-old prince, known as Flt Lt Wales, spent 12 months training at RAF Shawbury in Shropshire.
Price Charles gave medals to RAF personnel, before attending the graduation ceremony and presenting a flying badge to his son.
William plans to become a qualified RAF search and rescue pilot.
Later this month he will move to RAF Valley on Anglesey, where he will be taught to use his new skills to fly Sea King helicopters.
He follows in the footsteps of his father, who served as a Royal Navy helicopter pilot, as did his uncle, the Duke of York, a Sea King helicopter pilot during the 1982 Falklands War."
BBC News
Woman's car repossessed with toddler inside
MADRID (AFP) – Police and firefighters in Spain have rescued a woman who spent eight days trapped in the lift of her apartment building, police said Thursday.
The 35-year-old was found conscious but disorientated and was taken to hospital after she was found in the private lift in the town of Sitges near the northeastern city of Barcelona, police said.
The police were alerted by relatives in Madrid who had reported her missing, and then heard her cries for help when they visited the building.
Police said it was not clear how the woman, who lived alone, managed to survive for that length of time.
The lift had apparently stalled due to an electrical fault.
AFP
The 35-year-old was found conscious but disorientated and was taken to hospital after she was found in the private lift in the town of Sitges near the northeastern city of Barcelona, police said.
The police were alerted by relatives in Madrid who had reported her missing, and then heard her cries for help when they visited the building.
Police said it was not clear how the woman, who lived alone, managed to survive for that length of time.
The lift had apparently stalled due to an electrical fault.
AFP
Boy calls police to surrender pacifiers
TARANTO, Italy, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Police in an Italian city said a 4-year-old boy who considered himself too old for his pacifiers called authorities to surrender the baby toys.
Taranto police said the boy called the emergency line a few days before his birthday and explained that he thought the police should have his old pacifiers, ANSA reported Thursday.
"I'm old enough now so you can have my dummies," the boy told the operator.
Police said two officers visited the boy's birthday party and traded him a souvenir hat in exchange for his four old pacifiers.
UPI
Taranto police said the boy called the emergency line a few days before his birthday and explained that he thought the police should have his old pacifiers, ANSA reported Thursday.
"I'm old enough now so you can have my dummies," the boy told the operator.
Police said two officers visited the boy's birthday party and traded him a souvenir hat in exchange for his four old pacifiers.
UPI
Priest's parish pooch 'never barks' at Mass
BADEN, M.O. — Our Lady of the Holy Cross Catholic Church got a new priest last summer, the Rev. Don Buhr.
With Buhr came Elijah, also known in this North Side parish as the Church Dog.
Elijah is a Labrador and border collie mix who attends every Mass that Buhr celebrates.
"A dog in church — I know it doesn't sound right and doesn't seem right," Buhr said. "But this dog is a gift from God."
Elijah is slim and black with white paws and a splash of white fur on his chest in the shape of a cross that, Buhr said, marks the animal as "a real priest dog."
Buhr, 69, insists that Elijah smiles at people he likes. "But it's the stupidest smile you ever saw," he said, stretching his lips and gritting his teeth in imitation.
When Buhr came to the church, he asked the parishioners if it would be all right if Elijah attended Mass. He said he didn't want anyone's prayer to be disturbed. So far, he said, no one has complained.
Buhr's last assignment was at a country parish where Elijah was allowed to roam the fields and woods.
The dog has made a smooth transition to the inner city. He is the terror of squirrels and other animals that trespass on the parish grounds, at 1018 Baden Avenue.
Inside the church, however, Elijah is as gentle as a lamb.
During Mass, he tends to quietly meander.
He may stroll onto the altar to sit beside Buhr or server Brittany Pfaffenback, 16. At one Mass, Brittany petted Elijah with one hand and rang the bell with the other.
"I'm a dog lover so I'm glad to have him around," she said.
Elijah occasionally wanders down the aisle and sticks his nose into the pews, seeking affection.
In the summer, he prefers lounging on the cool terrazzo tiles of the high altar.
On a recent cold Sunday, he favored a spot beside a radiator to the side of the altar.
When the crowd lined up to receive Communion, he took up his regular post in front of the first pew on the left. From there, he watched as Buhr distributed the Eucharist.
"He loves that little space and plants himself there every Communion," said a parish deacon, Gerry Quinn, 63, of Affton. "We do worry sometimes that someone will trip over him, but we've all adjusted fine."
At the end of Mass, Elijah trotted ahead of the servers, deacons and priest as they filed down the main aisle.
Growing up, Buhr always had a dog. But he wasn't sure a pet would fit into the lifestyle of a priest.
Then, eight years ago, he decided to give it a try.
He had heard that border collies were supposed to be the smartest and black Labs the gentlest of dogs.
"I told a friend one day that that was the mix I wanted," he said. "The very next day, I saw an ad in the paper. A guy was moving and had to get rid of his dog — a 1-year-old border collie and black Lab mix."
Buhr named the dog Elijah because he came into his life like a whirlwind, "the same way the prophet Elijah went up to heaven," Buhr said.
Buhr knows of no other dog that attends Mass.
Elijah, in fact, had never tagged along to church with Buhr until the priest came to Our Lady of the Holy Cross.
Buhr was an associate pastor at his previous parish, St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Villa Ridge.
Elijah was not allowed inside that church.
"It was not my decision to make," he said.
But at Our Lady of the Holy Cross, the congregation has embraced Elijah, said a longtime member, Charlotte Flowers.
"We have a true church dog," said Flowers, 68. "He's a joy and so well-behaved. The children especially love him. And he never barks in church."
Buhr points out that Elijah is not the only unusual element at the church.
The church, built in 1909, was designed by two architects from Cologne, Germany, in a 13th-century motif.
It has a 185-foot spire visible for miles. Renowned artist Emil Frei designed the 10 stained glass windows, each 25 feet high and 6 feet wide.
Amid the historic features is a distinctly modern touch: The processional cross bears an African-American figure of a crucified Christ.
The priest hopes that word of the Church Dog will spread and perhaps draw people to the parish.
"Maybe there are some dog lovers out there who haven't been to church in a while," Buhr said. "And they will come and meet this special dog."
USA Today
With Buhr came Elijah, also known in this North Side parish as the Church Dog.
Elijah is a Labrador and border collie mix who attends every Mass that Buhr celebrates.
"A dog in church — I know it doesn't sound right and doesn't seem right," Buhr said. "But this dog is a gift from God."
Elijah is slim and black with white paws and a splash of white fur on his chest in the shape of a cross that, Buhr said, marks the animal as "a real priest dog."
Buhr, 69, insists that Elijah smiles at people he likes. "But it's the stupidest smile you ever saw," he said, stretching his lips and gritting his teeth in imitation.
When Buhr came to the church, he asked the parishioners if it would be all right if Elijah attended Mass. He said he didn't want anyone's prayer to be disturbed. So far, he said, no one has complained.
Buhr's last assignment was at a country parish where Elijah was allowed to roam the fields and woods.
The dog has made a smooth transition to the inner city. He is the terror of squirrels and other animals that trespass on the parish grounds, at 1018 Baden Avenue.
Inside the church, however, Elijah is as gentle as a lamb.
During Mass, he tends to quietly meander.
He may stroll onto the altar to sit beside Buhr or server Brittany Pfaffenback, 16. At one Mass, Brittany petted Elijah with one hand and rang the bell with the other.
"I'm a dog lover so I'm glad to have him around," she said.
Elijah occasionally wanders down the aisle and sticks his nose into the pews, seeking affection.
In the summer, he prefers lounging on the cool terrazzo tiles of the high altar.
On a recent cold Sunday, he favored a spot beside a radiator to the side of the altar.
When the crowd lined up to receive Communion, he took up his regular post in front of the first pew on the left. From there, he watched as Buhr distributed the Eucharist.
"He loves that little space and plants himself there every Communion," said a parish deacon, Gerry Quinn, 63, of Affton. "We do worry sometimes that someone will trip over him, but we've all adjusted fine."
At the end of Mass, Elijah trotted ahead of the servers, deacons and priest as they filed down the main aisle.
Growing up, Buhr always had a dog. But he wasn't sure a pet would fit into the lifestyle of a priest.
Then, eight years ago, he decided to give it a try.
He had heard that border collies were supposed to be the smartest and black Labs the gentlest of dogs.
"I told a friend one day that that was the mix I wanted," he said. "The very next day, I saw an ad in the paper. A guy was moving and had to get rid of his dog — a 1-year-old border collie and black Lab mix."
Buhr named the dog Elijah because he came into his life like a whirlwind, "the same way the prophet Elijah went up to heaven," Buhr said.
Buhr knows of no other dog that attends Mass.
Elijah, in fact, had never tagged along to church with Buhr until the priest came to Our Lady of the Holy Cross.
Buhr was an associate pastor at his previous parish, St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Villa Ridge.
Elijah was not allowed inside that church.
"It was not my decision to make," he said.
But at Our Lady of the Holy Cross, the congregation has embraced Elijah, said a longtime member, Charlotte Flowers.
"We have a true church dog," said Flowers, 68. "He's a joy and so well-behaved. The children especially love him. And he never barks in church."
Buhr points out that Elijah is not the only unusual element at the church.
The church, built in 1909, was designed by two architects from Cologne, Germany, in a 13th-century motif.
It has a 185-foot spire visible for miles. Renowned artist Emil Frei designed the 10 stained glass windows, each 25 feet high and 6 feet wide.
Amid the historic features is a distinctly modern touch: The processional cross bears an African-American figure of a crucified Christ.
The priest hopes that word of the Church Dog will spread and perhaps draw people to the parish.
"Maybe there are some dog lovers out there who haven't been to church in a while," Buhr said. "And they will come and meet this special dog."
USA Today
Governor in hot water over prisoner massage
SAIPAN (AFP) – The governor of the US-administered Northern Mariana Islands is feeling the heat after ordering the temporary release of a jailed suspect to give him a massage.
Benigno R. Fitial, the most senior politician in the western Pacific territory, demanded Chinese masseuse, Qing Mei Cheng, be set free on January 8 to treat him for back pain.
The masseuse was taken from the local prison, where she was being held on people smuggling charges, to the governor's mansion before being returned to jail.
"I made this request because this was an unusual situation where I needed to address the extraordinary pain I was experiencing," Fitial said in a statement received Saturday.
A federal court in Saipan on Friday postponed a hearing to investigate the unusual release of a suspect.
Fitial, who won re-election for a second term in a run-off election in November, made headlines late last year when he had to drive himself around after his driver was convicted of dealing drugs from the official car.
Reuters
Benigno R. Fitial, the most senior politician in the western Pacific territory, demanded Chinese masseuse, Qing Mei Cheng, be set free on January 8 to treat him for back pain.
The masseuse was taken from the local prison, where she was being held on people smuggling charges, to the governor's mansion before being returned to jail.
"I made this request because this was an unusual situation where I needed to address the extraordinary pain I was experiencing," Fitial said in a statement received Saturday.
A federal court in Saipan on Friday postponed a hearing to investigate the unusual release of a suspect.
Fitial, who won re-election for a second term in a run-off election in November, made headlines late last year when he had to drive himself around after his driver was convicted of dealing drugs from the official car.
Reuters
Sunday, January 03, 2010
Snake saves family from fire
A Chinese man who nursed a dying snake back to health claims it saved his family by raising the alarm when their house was on fire.
Yu Feng, of Fushun, in Liaoning province, found the dying black snake outside his home, reports the Liaosheng Evening Post.
"I treated it with herbal medicines, and in 20 days it recovered," he said.
He took the snake to a nearby mountain more than a mile away to release it back into the wild - but the next morning it was back at his house.
"I then set it free another two times, but it always came back," Yu added. "People around me said the snake had come back to repay my kindness, so I kept it."
He named the snake Long Long and adopted it as a pet - then one night, he claims it saved the whole family.
Yu explained: "I was asleep when suddenly I felt something cold on my face. I opened my eyes and it was Long Long.
"He had never woken me up before but I was so sleepy I went back to sleep. But Long Long grabbed my clothes with his teeth and whipped the bed with his tail.
"Then he went to my mother's bed and whipped her bed with his tail. I woke up then and smelt something burning, and saw my mother's electric blanket was on fire so I leapt up and turned it off."
Local reptile experts say snakes don't have the intelligence to act in this way - but Yu believes Long Long acted out of kindness, to repay Feng for saving his own life.
Ananova
Yu Feng, of Fushun, in Liaoning province, found the dying black snake outside his home, reports the Liaosheng Evening Post.
"I treated it with herbal medicines, and in 20 days it recovered," he said.
He took the snake to a nearby mountain more than a mile away to release it back into the wild - but the next morning it was back at his house.
"I then set it free another two times, but it always came back," Yu added. "People around me said the snake had come back to repay my kindness, so I kept it."
He named the snake Long Long and adopted it as a pet - then one night, he claims it saved the whole family.
Yu explained: "I was asleep when suddenly I felt something cold on my face. I opened my eyes and it was Long Long.
"He had never woken me up before but I was so sleepy I went back to sleep. But Long Long grabbed my clothes with his teeth and whipped the bed with his tail.
"Then he went to my mother's bed and whipped her bed with his tail. I woke up then and smelt something burning, and saw my mother's electric blanket was on fire so I leapt up and turned it off."
Local reptile experts say snakes don't have the intelligence to act in this way - but Yu believes Long Long acted out of kindness, to repay Feng for saving his own life.
Ananova
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)