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Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Father's anguish as he saves wife, not son
A man has revealed how he abandoned a bid to rescue his teenage son to save his screaming wife after their car plunged into a river in New Zealand. Stacy Horton rescued his partner Vanessa, 35, as their 13-year-old boy Silva drowned in the Whanganui River on North Island.
The father said he arrived at the scene minutes after the family's Mazda MPV station wagon skidded down a grassy bank, over a 10-metre cliff and into the water.
He heard his wife screaming in the darkness and could see his son's friend and the family dog scrambling up the bank. But Silva was trapped inside the submerged car.
Mr Horton said he had tried to dive down to the vehicle, which was pointing engine first into the water with the tail lights shining more than 3ft below the surface. "I tried to get down and get him but I couldn't - it was just too deep. And Vanessa was going under," the father said.
"I made a call to pull my wife to safety. I looked back and I could see the tail lights but it was too far and I couldn't get him. Instead of going down and risking my life as well as my wife and son's, I chose to take V(anessa) back and sat on the shore praying. It was all I could do."
The emergency services were also unable to rescue the boy from inside the vehicle. Police spokeswoman Kim Perks said it was a very tough call for Mr Horton. "I would certainly not have wanted to be in his shoes," she said.
The father said he arrived at the scene minutes after the family's Mazda MPV station wagon skidded down a grassy bank, over a 10-metre cliff and into the water.
He heard his wife screaming in the darkness and could see his son's friend and the family dog scrambling up the bank. But Silva was trapped inside the submerged car.
Mr Horton said he had tried to dive down to the vehicle, which was pointing engine first into the water with the tail lights shining more than 3ft below the surface. "I tried to get down and get him but I couldn't - it was just too deep. And Vanessa was going under," the father said.
"I made a call to pull my wife to safety. I looked back and I could see the tail lights but it was too far and I couldn't get him. Instead of going down and risking my life as well as my wife and son's, I chose to take V(anessa) back and sat on the shore praying. It was all I could do."
The emergency services were also unable to rescue the boy from inside the vehicle. Police spokeswoman Kim Perks said it was a very tough call for Mr Horton. "I would certainly not have wanted to be in his shoes," she said.
Russian bailiffs seize rare hairless cat over owners' debts
A sphynx cat has been seized in Russia's Kemerovo Region over a 15,000-ruble ($517) debt for housing services, a local bailiffs spokesman said on Monday. According to the spokesman, the seized property, which includes a TV, a DVD player and a music system, would probably not be auctioned off as its owners, a middle-aged married couple, have begun to repay their debts.
"The couple's son-in-law has paid 12,000 rubles ($413) out of 15,000 saying that he would pay the rest within days," the spokesman said. The cat was appraised at 1,000 rubles ($34), although the market price for the breed varies from 5,000 ($172) to 15,000 rubles ($517).
Bailiffs in the Siberian region have also been involved in the seizure of several other unusual items as part of their debt-collections duties, including a gasoline station, a pedigree cat, some patents, a thoroughbred horse and a reinforced concrete fence.
They also took three five-month-old calves from a smallholder who had failed to pay off mounting debts, while a herd of pigs was seized in northwest Russia's Veliky Novgorod Region over the debts of their owner.
"The couple's son-in-law has paid 12,000 rubles ($413) out of 15,000 saying that he would pay the rest within days," the spokesman said. The cat was appraised at 1,000 rubles ($34), although the market price for the breed varies from 5,000 ($172) to 15,000 rubles ($517).
Bailiffs in the Siberian region have also been involved in the seizure of several other unusual items as part of their debt-collections duties, including a gasoline station, a pedigree cat, some patents, a thoroughbred horse and a reinforced concrete fence.
They also took three five-month-old calves from a smallholder who had failed to pay off mounting debts, while a herd of pigs was seized in northwest Russia's Veliky Novgorod Region over the debts of their owner.
Prime minister loses job after forgetting absence note
The Prime Minister of the tiny Pacific island nation of Vanuatu has been left red-faced and out of a job, after he lost his seat in parliament thanks to a simple paperwork error - he didn't hand in a note explaining his absences.
Prime Minister Edward Natapei fell foul of a rule that members of parliament in Vanuatu will forfeit their seat if they miss three consecutive sittings of parliament without notifying the speaker of the reason for their absence.
All he needed to do while away on official business was hand in a signed note explaining why he wasn't there. But, in a mistake that one analyst called 'flabbergasting', the Prime Minister's office somehow overlooked this rule - with the result that Natapei has now lost his seat, plunging Vanuatu into a political crisis.
Natapei's cabinet hurriedly convened emergency talks, while Natapei himself was reported to be rushing back to Vanuatu from a Commonwealth summit in Trinidad and Tobago. Vanuatu will now have a caretaker government until the parliament elects a new prime minister next week.
Prime Minister Edward Natapei fell foul of a rule that members of parliament in Vanuatu will forfeit their seat if they miss three consecutive sittings of parliament without notifying the speaker of the reason for their absence.
All he needed to do while away on official business was hand in a signed note explaining why he wasn't there. But, in a mistake that one analyst called 'flabbergasting', the Prime Minister's office somehow overlooked this rule - with the result that Natapei has now lost his seat, plunging Vanuatu into a political crisis.
Natapei's cabinet hurriedly convened emergency talks, while Natapei himself was reported to be rushing back to Vanuatu from a Commonwealth summit in Trinidad and Tobago. Vanuatu will now have a caretaker government until the parliament elects a new prime minister next week.
Annual monkey buffet festival in Thailand
Long-tailed macaque monkeys gather at the Pra Prang Sam Yot temple for the annual monkey buffet festival in Lopburi.
500kg cow rescued from sea
A sea rescue operation was launched to save a 500kg cow after it was found floating about in Northern Territory waters yesterday. The mystery marine bovine was spotted doggy-paddling around in Darwin Harbour during the morning hours.
Rescuers - armed with a life ring and a length of rope - found it in between South Shell Island and the gas plant. It was reportedly not in a good mood.
Workboats Northern Australia (WBNA) operations manager Ben Wall and his crew had a bit of a struggle catching the surly steer.
"He was sort of heading further away from the safe side of things - heading for the mangroves near the gas plant," Mr Wall said. "He was a bit feisty - the first time the boys tried to lasso it, it got away. He would've been under a lot of stress with that ordeal ... treading water for a good few hours until we got to it."
But the farmyard animal eventually returned to the boat to have a life ring fitted over his head - "so it knew we were trying to help", Mr Wall said. They motored slowly back to shore, reaching dry land in about 45 minutes.
The WBNA crew got the distress call from port authorities about 10am, asking if they could organise a rescue effort for the errant hoofer. By 11.30am the unlikely sea creature was back on terra firma.
Rescuers - armed with a life ring and a length of rope - found it in between South Shell Island and the gas plant. It was reportedly not in a good mood.
Workboats Northern Australia (WBNA) operations manager Ben Wall and his crew had a bit of a struggle catching the surly steer.
"He was sort of heading further away from the safe side of things - heading for the mangroves near the gas plant," Mr Wall said. "He was a bit feisty - the first time the boys tried to lasso it, it got away. He would've been under a lot of stress with that ordeal ... treading water for a good few hours until we got to it."
But the farmyard animal eventually returned to the boat to have a life ring fitted over his head - "so it knew we were trying to help", Mr Wall said. They motored slowly back to shore, reaching dry land in about 45 minutes.
The WBNA crew got the distress call from port authorities about 10am, asking if they could organise a rescue effort for the errant hoofer. By 11.30am the unlikely sea creature was back on terra firma.
Careless driver writes off Italian police's prized Lamborghini
When the Italian police unveiled their state-of-the-art Lamborghini patrol cars, they cannot have been short of volunteers itching to take the supercars in pursuit of speeding criminals.
A team of elite drivers was trained to chase down speeding motorists and deliver urgently-needed transplant organs in the futuristic vehicles, capable of reaching more than 200mph.
What they apparently were not prepared for was a distracted motorist who pulled out of a petrol station without looking.
Today, a bandaged and bruised police driver may have had a tough time explaining how he managed to write off one of the force's prized Lamborghinis when he rammed it so hard into a line of parked cars that one of the stationary vehicles ended up on the police car's roof.
According to the police, the crash was caused by the driver of a slow-moving Seat Ibiza who emerged without looking from a service station, clipping the Lamborghini and sending the vehicle swerving into the parked cars.
The front end of the Lamborghini was crushed in the accident, near Cremona, and the driver and a passenger were injured, although not seriously. The Lamborghini Gallardo, worth £130,000 and capable of reaching 62mph in four seconds, was one of a pair donated by the Italian manufacturer to the police to do battle on Italy's roads, where 1 million motorists are injured annually and 4,731 died last year.
A team of elite drivers was trained to chase down speeding motorists and deliver urgently-needed transplant organs in the futuristic vehicles, capable of reaching more than 200mph.
What they apparently were not prepared for was a distracted motorist who pulled out of a petrol station without looking.
Today, a bandaged and bruised police driver may have had a tough time explaining how he managed to write off one of the force's prized Lamborghinis when he rammed it so hard into a line of parked cars that one of the stationary vehicles ended up on the police car's roof.
According to the police, the crash was caused by the driver of a slow-moving Seat Ibiza who emerged without looking from a service station, clipping the Lamborghini and sending the vehicle swerving into the parked cars.
The front end of the Lamborghini was crushed in the accident, near Cremona, and the driver and a passenger were injured, although not seriously. The Lamborghini Gallardo, worth £130,000 and capable of reaching 62mph in four seconds, was one of a pair donated by the Italian manufacturer to the police to do battle on Italy's roads, where 1 million motorists are injured annually and 4,731 died last year.
Indonesian minister says immorality causes disasters
A government minister has blamed Indonesia's recent string of natural disasters on people's immorality.
Communication and Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring said that there were many television programmes that destroyed morals.
Therefore, the minister said, natural disasters would continue to occur.
His comments came as he addressed a prayer meeting on Friday in Padang, Sumatra, which was hit by a powerful earthquake in late September.
He also hit out at rising decadence - proven, he said, by the availability of Indonesia-made pornographic DVDs in local markets - and called for tougher laws.
According to the Jakarta Globe, his comments sparked an angry reaction on the internet, particularly among those who followed him on social networking site Twitter. Why focus on public immorality when there was so much within the government, one respondent reportedly asked.
Communication and Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring said that there were many television programmes that destroyed morals.
Therefore, the minister said, natural disasters would continue to occur.
His comments came as he addressed a prayer meeting on Friday in Padang, Sumatra, which was hit by a powerful earthquake in late September.
He also hit out at rising decadence - proven, he said, by the availability of Indonesia-made pornographic DVDs in local markets - and called for tougher laws.
According to the Jakarta Globe, his comments sparked an angry reaction on the internet, particularly among those who followed him on social networking site Twitter. Why focus on public immorality when there was so much within the government, one respondent reportedly asked.
Austria moves to ban Father Christmas
An Austrian group has called for a ban on Father Christmas amid fears that the foreign invader is usurping the role of the traditional Christkind sprite.
Campaigners in Austria claim the jolly bearded man who brings presents and joy to children around the world is an invention of Coca Cola and synonymous with gaudy commercialism. They claim Father Christmas should be ditched in favour of the more traditional Christkind, or "Christ-child", a tiny blond baby who brings a candle-lit tree and gifts to children before dinner on Christmas Eve, heralded by the tinkling of a bell.
The nine-year-old movement kicked off its annual campaign with a protest in Graz on Saturday night and is planning to begin a scheme to certify shops with decorations meeting its standards.
The Pro-Christkind group will withhold its seal of approval from any shops displaying reindeer, sleighs or any of Father Christmas's associates. "Shopkeepers ask us what they should have instead of a Santa? We recommend they have angels or shepherds. We prefer shepherds to angels," says Christoph Tschaikner, leader of the Pro-Christkind movement.
Roughly one hundred joined the Graz rally on Saturday night, filing between the mulled wine and roast chestnut stalls of the old city to the steady beat of a drum to form a star on the city's main bridge. Similar events are scheduled to take place in Innsbruck, Salzburg and Vienna. "It's not against Santa. He is good for the British and Americans but he is not good for us," said Walter Kriwetz, organiser of the candle-lit procession in Austria's second city.
But not everyone agrees. Sandro Galik, a 35-year-old from Vienna, would prefer Austrians to embrace Father Christmas. "I don't think Christkind is any less materialistic than Santa. It is still about presents, after all. And Santa brings people together. Children can believe in him whatever their background."
Campaigners in Austria claim the jolly bearded man who brings presents and joy to children around the world is an invention of Coca Cola and synonymous with gaudy commercialism. They claim Father Christmas should be ditched in favour of the more traditional Christkind, or "Christ-child", a tiny blond baby who brings a candle-lit tree and gifts to children before dinner on Christmas Eve, heralded by the tinkling of a bell.
The nine-year-old movement kicked off its annual campaign with a protest in Graz on Saturday night and is planning to begin a scheme to certify shops with decorations meeting its standards.
The Pro-Christkind group will withhold its seal of approval from any shops displaying reindeer, sleighs or any of Father Christmas's associates. "Shopkeepers ask us what they should have instead of a Santa? We recommend they have angels or shepherds. We prefer shepherds to angels," says Christoph Tschaikner, leader of the Pro-Christkind movement.
Roughly one hundred joined the Graz rally on Saturday night, filing between the mulled wine and roast chestnut stalls of the old city to the steady beat of a drum to form a star on the city's main bridge. Similar events are scheduled to take place in Innsbruck, Salzburg and Vienna. "It's not against Santa. He is good for the British and Americans but he is not good for us," said Walter Kriwetz, organiser of the candle-lit procession in Austria's second city.
But not everyone agrees. Sandro Galik, a 35-year-old from Vienna, would prefer Austrians to embrace Father Christmas. "I don't think Christkind is any less materialistic than Santa. It is still about presents, after all. And Santa brings people together. Children can believe in him whatever their background."
Hungry snake tries to eat own tail
A hungry snake found his latest meal hard to swallow — when it tried to eat its own tail.
The greedy 3ft creature mistook his rear end for a tasty dish and started to gobble it up.
The panic-stricken king snake quickly realised its mistake but was unable to regurgitate his tail because his backward-facing teeth had taken hold.
Luckily the reptile was rescued when its owner spotted it choking.
The snake was taken to Seers Croft Veterinary Centre in Faygate, near Horsham, West Sussex.
Exotic reptiles expert Rob Reynolds prised open the snake's mouth, then dislocated its jaw and slid out the unfortunate choice of lunch before it had been digested.
The greedy 3ft creature mistook his rear end for a tasty dish and started to gobble it up.
The panic-stricken king snake quickly realised its mistake but was unable to regurgitate his tail because his backward-facing teeth had taken hold.
Luckily the reptile was rescued when its owner spotted it choking.
The snake was taken to Seers Croft Veterinary Centre in Faygate, near Horsham, West Sussex.
Exotic reptiles expert Rob Reynolds prised open the snake's mouth, then dislocated its jaw and slid out the unfortunate choice of lunch before it had been digested.
Woman killed as she prepares to celebrate her divorce
A shocked neighbour of a mum murdered as she festooned her house with slogans advertising her Divorce Party said last night: "Knowing her husband, she shouldn't have put those banners up."
Horrified medics raced to the balloon-decked home of Katrina Jones, 34, after a frantic 999 call.
They found her dying in a pool of blood after being repeatedly stabbed.
Sobbing ex-husband Brian, 63 - a bouncer and bodybuilder who had moved in next door when she dumped him - was led from her semi in handcuffs. Police later charged him with murder
The mum of two died hours before guests were due to arrive for the knees-up on Friday in Marske-By-The-Sea, Cleveland.
She had laid on drinks and food - and banners in the windows of her lounge and bedroom proclaimed: "Divorce Party."
Horrified medics raced to the balloon-decked home of Katrina Jones, 34, after a frantic 999 call.
They found her dying in a pool of blood after being repeatedly stabbed.
Sobbing ex-husband Brian, 63 - a bouncer and bodybuilder who had moved in next door when she dumped him - was led from her semi in handcuffs. Police later charged him with murder
The mum of two died hours before guests were due to arrive for the knees-up on Friday in Marske-By-The-Sea, Cleveland.
She had laid on drinks and food - and banners in the windows of her lounge and bedroom proclaimed: "Divorce Party."
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