Sunday, August 19, 2007
Baby snatched in home invasion
In what police say was a bizarre case of mistaken identity, a man burst into a Lethbridge home demanding money and snatched a 10-month-old baby from his terrified mother.
The man's name is Corey Crow Spreads His Wings.
Crow Spreads His Wings made his first appearance in Lethbridge provincial court yesterday and has since been remanded into custody.
The man's name is Corey Crow Spreads His Wings.
Crow Spreads His Wings made his first appearance in Lethbridge provincial court yesterday and has since been remanded into custody.
Petition to erect a statue in honour of Screaming Lord Sutch
A petition has been started to gather support for a statue of a famous political leader.
The Monster Raving Loony Party's north Kent leader, Lord Toby Jug, has started an online petition to get a statue of the late party leader, Screaming Lord Sutch, put up in Kent.
He set up the petition on the Prime Minister's website on July 26 and needs 2,000 signatures in a year if the Government is to consider the idea.
The north Kent leader, who lives in High View, Vigo, said: "Some people suggested putting a statue in Westminster, but there are already enough loonys there.
"It would be better to put the statue in Whitstable, where Lord Sutch created the country's first pirate radio station."
The Monster Raving Loony Party's north Kent leader, Lord Toby Jug, has started an online petition to get a statue of the late party leader, Screaming Lord Sutch, put up in Kent.
He set up the petition on the Prime Minister's website on July 26 and needs 2,000 signatures in a year if the Government is to consider the idea.
The north Kent leader, who lives in High View, Vigo, said: "Some people suggested putting a statue in Westminster, but there are already enough loonys there.
"It would be better to put the statue in Whitstable, where Lord Sutch created the country's first pirate radio station."
Man apparently left in wheelchair outside Orlando airport for 3 days
A 72-year-old Kansas minister with medical problems is recovering in a hospital Friday after he was apparently left sitting in a wheelchair on a curb outside Orlando International Airport for three days.
Kenneth Davis was reported missing this week when family members in Wichita lost contact with him after an AirTran flight to Orlando. Davis was scheduled to attend a Florida gospel conference this week, the family said.
Family members said that Davis was not feeling well and called for assistance at the airport.
Davis' daughter, Melinda, said her father was then put in a wheelchair and rolled to a curb outside Orlando International Airport, where he sat from midnight Monday until Wednesday afternoon. Orlando police found Davis sitting in the wheelchair on Thursday.
"He urinated on himself and his clothes were soiled but he was dressed in nice clothes - didn't look bummy or anything like that," daughter Melinda Davis said.
The family said Davis suffered a stroke during the days sitting outside the airport.
A spokesman for the airport said he could not be certain that Davis sat in the same spot for such a long time and said "it doesn't seem plausible."
With news video.
Kenneth Davis was reported missing this week when family members in Wichita lost contact with him after an AirTran flight to Orlando. Davis was scheduled to attend a Florida gospel conference this week, the family said.
Family members said that Davis was not feeling well and called for assistance at the airport.
Davis' daughter, Melinda, said her father was then put in a wheelchair and rolled to a curb outside Orlando International Airport, where he sat from midnight Monday until Wednesday afternoon. Orlando police found Davis sitting in the wheelchair on Thursday.
"He urinated on himself and his clothes were soiled but he was dressed in nice clothes - didn't look bummy or anything like that," daughter Melinda Davis said.
The family said Davis suffered a stroke during the days sitting outside the airport.
A spokesman for the airport said he could not be certain that Davis sat in the same spot for such a long time and said "it doesn't seem plausible."
With news video.
Alps host mass naked photo shoot
Nearly 600 men and women volunteers have stripped naked to pose for US photographer Spencer Tunick on the slope of a melting Swiss glacier.
The photo shoot on the Aletsch glacier was commissioned by environmental group Greenpeace as part of a campaign to raise awareness about global warming.
Despite the Alpine setting 2,300m (7545 feet) up, the temperature was well above freezing, at between 10 and 15C.
The Aletsch glacier is a protected Unesco World Heritage site.
With news video, and there are more photos here.
The photo shoot on the Aletsch glacier was commissioned by environmental group Greenpeace as part of a campaign to raise awareness about global warming.
Despite the Alpine setting 2,300m (7545 feet) up, the temperature was well above freezing, at between 10 and 15C.
The Aletsch glacier is a protected Unesco World Heritage site.
With news video, and there are more photos here.
Fascination with feet could spell trouble for a man
Cambridge police say they are investigating a series of strange incidents in which women were approached by a man who appeared to be obsessed with their feet.
Police questioned a 28-year-old Watertown man, whose identity has not been released, last Friday after he wandered into a yoga studio on Massachusetts Avenue, complained of foot pain, and then snatched off the sock of an instructor and snapped a photo of her bare toes.
"We're not sure if it's even borderline assault," said Frank Pasquarello, a spokesman for Cambridge police. "We're still investigating it."
Police questioned a 28-year-old Watertown man, whose identity has not been released, last Friday after he wandered into a yoga studio on Massachusetts Avenue, complained of foot pain, and then snatched off the sock of an instructor and snapped a photo of her bare toes.
"We're not sure if it's even borderline assault," said Frank Pasquarello, a spokesman for Cambridge police. "We're still investigating it."
Size matters when crocodile meets a shark
An extraordinary encounter between two of nature’s most fearsome man-eaters has been photographed by an amateur fisherman.
Indrek Urvet said that he watched in astonishment as a four-metre (13ft) saltwater crocodile made swift work of a much-smaller bull shark by the remote Daly River in the Northern Territory. “I just saw this big croc come charging out of the water with a shark flapping in its jaws. I turned my boat to take some photos. Suddenly the croc saw me. He turned around and came shooting towards me.”
Mr Urvet, who said that fishermen on the river frequently lost their catch to the bull sharks before they could reel it in, retreated and watched from a safer distance as the crocodile devoured the metre-long shark.
Bull sharks, which grow to 3.5m, are known to be highly aggressive and, unlike other marine sharks, can dwell for extended periods in both fresh and saltwater.
Indrek Urvet said that he watched in astonishment as a four-metre (13ft) saltwater crocodile made swift work of a much-smaller bull shark by the remote Daly River in the Northern Territory. “I just saw this big croc come charging out of the water with a shark flapping in its jaws. I turned my boat to take some photos. Suddenly the croc saw me. He turned around and came shooting towards me.”
Mr Urvet, who said that fishermen on the river frequently lost their catch to the bull sharks before they could reel it in, retreated and watched from a safer distance as the crocodile devoured the metre-long shark.
Bull sharks, which grow to 3.5m, are known to be highly aggressive and, unlike other marine sharks, can dwell for extended periods in both fresh and saltwater.
German tourists told to be rights pests
Germans holidaying abroad this summer are being called on to “look beyond the palm trees” and pester staff in foreign airports and hotels about human rights concerns, the Berlin foreign ministry said on Tuesday.
Launching an unusual appeal to the 44m Germans who travel overseas every year, Günter Nooke, a close ally of Angela Merkel, the chancellor, and the foreign ministry’s human rights envoy, said, “human rights were being trampled under foot” in top destinations such as Turkey, Egypt and Thailand.
Compared with most other countries, Germans spend more time and money on holidays, he said, and emphasised that spoiling the tourists’ fun was not his intention. Nor did he want to encourage boycotts of destinations such as Myanmar or North Korea. Rather, tourists should be more aware of their own economic and political power.
Tourists to destinations such as Turkey – which attracted 3.7m Germans last year – should be aware of the limits on press freedom and “deficits in the country’s legal system”, and could engage with local people on these issues.
Equally, visitors to Egypt – where 1m Germans travelled last year – could ask hotels for information on why emergency powers have been in place since the early 1980s.
Tourists visiting the Olympics in China next year could organise “private meetings” with local citizen groups, although he warned against actions that endangered visitors or locals.
Regine Spöttl, of Amnesty International, said she was “thrilled” by the appeal and said visitors to luxury hotels in Dubai, for instance, should confront hotel managers over the working conditions of low-paid Bangladeshi women staff, who regularly faced rights abuses.
Launching an unusual appeal to the 44m Germans who travel overseas every year, Günter Nooke, a close ally of Angela Merkel, the chancellor, and the foreign ministry’s human rights envoy, said, “human rights were being trampled under foot” in top destinations such as Turkey, Egypt and Thailand.
Compared with most other countries, Germans spend more time and money on holidays, he said, and emphasised that spoiling the tourists’ fun was not his intention. Nor did he want to encourage boycotts of destinations such as Myanmar or North Korea. Rather, tourists should be more aware of their own economic and political power.
Tourists to destinations such as Turkey – which attracted 3.7m Germans last year – should be aware of the limits on press freedom and “deficits in the country’s legal system”, and could engage with local people on these issues.
Equally, visitors to Egypt – where 1m Germans travelled last year – could ask hotels for information on why emergency powers have been in place since the early 1980s.
Tourists visiting the Olympics in China next year could organise “private meetings” with local citizen groups, although he warned against actions that endangered visitors or locals.
Regine Spöttl, of Amnesty International, said she was “thrilled” by the appeal and said visitors to luxury hotels in Dubai, for instance, should confront hotel managers over the working conditions of low-paid Bangladeshi women staff, who regularly faced rights abuses.
Dutch diver is fisherman's catch of the day
A Dutch scuba diver became the surprise catch of the day for a 13-year-old boy fishing in the Netherlands when his hook got caught in the man's lip.
"I heard a sound on my head and immediately I felt a jerk on my lip", Wim van Huffelen, who had been swimming in the North Sea, was quoted as saying.
The diver had been swimming close to the shore near the southern Dutch town of Zierikzee. A doctor managed to free him from the hook.
Article in Dutch here.
"I heard a sound on my head and immediately I felt a jerk on my lip", Wim van Huffelen, who had been swimming in the North Sea, was quoted as saying.
The diver had been swimming close to the shore near the southern Dutch town of Zierikzee. A doctor managed to free him from the hook.
Article in Dutch here.
British Telecom leaves customer hanging on its helpline for 20 hours
A grandmother had to be treated with sedatives for stress after a BT helpline kept her hanging on for twenty hours.
Hannah King, 51, wanted to speak to someone when an engineer failed to turn up at her home to fit a phone line.
She held on from 1pm until 9pm but got only piped music and a recorded message playing in her ear.
Next day there was another eight-hour wait with no luck. The next morning, she held on from 8am until noon, but again no one from BT picked up.
The mum-of-five said: "I was so frustrated and angry, I broke down in tears. My children were worried about me so I went to the doctor and he's given me pills to calm me down over all this."
A BT spokeswoman said: "We would like to apologise for the length of time this customer was left on the phone."
Hannah King, 51, wanted to speak to someone when an engineer failed to turn up at her home to fit a phone line.
She held on from 1pm until 9pm but got only piped music and a recorded message playing in her ear.
Next day there was another eight-hour wait with no luck. The next morning, she held on from 8am until noon, but again no one from BT picked up.
The mum-of-five said: "I was so frustrated and angry, I broke down in tears. My children were worried about me so I went to the doctor and he's given me pills to calm me down over all this."
A BT spokeswoman said: "We would like to apologise for the length of time this customer was left on the phone."
Watchdog alarm at 'exam' earpiece
England's exams watchdog says the way a tiny wireless "spy" earpiece is being marketed to students is "disgraceful".
The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority said it had been alerted to the Examear device by a teacher outraged by the advertising.
A spokeswoman for the authority said it would take whatever action it could against the Canadian company involved.
She said students could be barred from all qualifications if caught cheating in one of their assessments.
The Examear website is headed: "Helping students succeed. Worldwide!"
The QCA said it was not obvious how someone taking an exam would communicate the questions to an accomplice who might transmit the answers.
The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority said it had been alerted to the Examear device by a teacher outraged by the advertising.
A spokeswoman for the authority said it would take whatever action it could against the Canadian company involved.
She said students could be barred from all qualifications if caught cheating in one of their assessments.
The Examear website is headed: "Helping students succeed. Worldwide!"
The QCA said it was not obvious how someone taking an exam would communicate the questions to an accomplice who might transmit the answers.
Men accused of murder-by-snake plot
Two men who allegedly tried to use rattlesnakes as deadly weapons to collect on a debt have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder, authorities said.
The Lakewood men were allegedly trying to kill Matthew Sowash, owner of Amateur Poker Tour in Wheat Ridge, because he owed them $60,000, Jim Shires of the Jefferson County Sheriff's office said. Arrest affidavits say Sowash's company stages Texas Hold'em-style poker games in Denver area bars.
Herbert Paul Beck, 56, was arrested on Thursday in Raton, N.M., and Christopher Lee Steelman, 34, was arrested on Wednesday in Lakewood.
Investigators said Steelman told them the two men discussed ways to kill Sowash and Beck suggested rattlesnakes. Beck allegedly told investigators he invested $36,000 in the company last December.
The plan was to build a wooden box to hold the snakes and "the lid was to be built to allow Sowash's legs to be put inside but not pulled out."
Bail for each suspect was set at $500,000 on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit kidnapping and extortion.
The Lakewood men were allegedly trying to kill Matthew Sowash, owner of Amateur Poker Tour in Wheat Ridge, because he owed them $60,000, Jim Shires of the Jefferson County Sheriff's office said. Arrest affidavits say Sowash's company stages Texas Hold'em-style poker games in Denver area bars.
Herbert Paul Beck, 56, was arrested on Thursday in Raton, N.M., and Christopher Lee Steelman, 34, was arrested on Wednesday in Lakewood.
Investigators said Steelman told them the two men discussed ways to kill Sowash and Beck suggested rattlesnakes. Beck allegedly told investigators he invested $36,000 in the company last December.
The plan was to build a wooden box to hold the snakes and "the lid was to be built to allow Sowash's legs to be put inside but not pulled out."
Bail for each suspect was set at $500,000 on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit kidnapping and extortion.
Cows get mattresses to help them sleep
Sleep soundly, Ermintrude. Doze dreamily, Daisy. The United Kingdom's hard-working cows are being encouraged to take the weight off their cloven feet.
Exploiting the principle that happy heifers produce more milk, a Northern Ireland company is expanding its range of night-time bovine pamper products.
Wilson Agriculture in Coleraine has been given a government grant to support its production of Pasture Mats and Poly Pillows to soothe the afflictions of living in concrete-floored cowsheds. The firm is also developing Stable Comfort mattresses for horses. The £21,000 grant from Invest Northern Ireland will be spent on research which may ultimately improve the horizontal quality of life for farm animals.
Enthusiasm for cow mattresses began in Canada, because cattle in northern latitudes spend so much time in barns and byres, according to Evelyn Wilson, a director of the Coleraine company. "If you lie in a comfortable bed all night you'll be in good form all day," explained Mrs Wilson. "It's the same for cows."
Her firm had been importing mattresses from Canada for 12 years but this year started making its own. "They are like beanbags covered with closely knitted army blankets," she said. "The insides are made of rubber crumbs from old car tyres."
Each mattress costs £45. "Cows spend more time inside than they used to. These mattresses stop cows injuring themselves when they go down on their knees. Animals are not stupid. They love them."
Exploiting the principle that happy heifers produce more milk, a Northern Ireland company is expanding its range of night-time bovine pamper products.
Wilson Agriculture in Coleraine has been given a government grant to support its production of Pasture Mats and Poly Pillows to soothe the afflictions of living in concrete-floored cowsheds. The firm is also developing Stable Comfort mattresses for horses. The £21,000 grant from Invest Northern Ireland will be spent on research which may ultimately improve the horizontal quality of life for farm animals.
Enthusiasm for cow mattresses began in Canada, because cattle in northern latitudes spend so much time in barns and byres, according to Evelyn Wilson, a director of the Coleraine company. "If you lie in a comfortable bed all night you'll be in good form all day," explained Mrs Wilson. "It's the same for cows."
Her firm had been importing mattresses from Canada for 12 years but this year started making its own. "They are like beanbags covered with closely knitted army blankets," she said. "The insides are made of rubber crumbs from old car tyres."
Each mattress costs £45. "Cows spend more time inside than they used to. These mattresses stop cows injuring themselves when they go down on their knees. Animals are not stupid. They love them."
Mystery of the Malian found up a Spanish mountain
The young African gave no explanation of why he was wandering alone on the highest peak in Spain, in the windy, snow-capped Sierra Nevada, clad in only in a T-shirt, light trousers and flipflops.
He sang as he strode, and told the group of climbers who crossed his path that he was called Tony Brascons, was 27 and came from Mali. But he wouldn't tell them, or the police who have detained him, how he came to be lost so far from home on a rugged mountainside where temperatures had dropped below freezing in recent nights.
Tony Brascons carried no provisions, and the well-equipped mountaineers who met him feared for his physical state. They persuaded him to accompany them to a nearby refuge, a rough stone shelter at Cariguela, 3,200m up, near the peak of the Veleta mountain, and gave him food and water. They asked if he wanted more help, offering to contact the authorities, but he pleaded with them in sign language not to tell anyone, that he would just rest.
So his would-be saviours were not surprised when, before they had even walked out of sight to resume their own climb, to glimpse the young stranger slip from his refuge and disappear amid the peaks. He headed towards the Mulhacen (3,482m), the highest mountain in Spain, snowbound even in mid-August.
A forest ranger found him near the top, and brought him down 1,000m to Capileira, and called the police. They could find no more about him except that he had spent a night on the bare mountain before meeting anyone.
Speaking neither French nor Spanish, he somehow managed to convey to the baffled authorities that he owed his feat of endurance to "strong legs, strong legs".
Police freed him yesterday, undecided whether or not to repatriate him for having no papers.
He sang as he strode, and told the group of climbers who crossed his path that he was called Tony Brascons, was 27 and came from Mali. But he wouldn't tell them, or the police who have detained him, how he came to be lost so far from home on a rugged mountainside where temperatures had dropped below freezing in recent nights.
Tony Brascons carried no provisions, and the well-equipped mountaineers who met him feared for his physical state. They persuaded him to accompany them to a nearby refuge, a rough stone shelter at Cariguela, 3,200m up, near the peak of the Veleta mountain, and gave him food and water. They asked if he wanted more help, offering to contact the authorities, but he pleaded with them in sign language not to tell anyone, that he would just rest.
So his would-be saviours were not surprised when, before they had even walked out of sight to resume their own climb, to glimpse the young stranger slip from his refuge and disappear amid the peaks. He headed towards the Mulhacen (3,482m), the highest mountain in Spain, snowbound even in mid-August.
A forest ranger found him near the top, and brought him down 1,000m to Capileira, and called the police. They could find no more about him except that he had spent a night on the bare mountain before meeting anyone.
Speaking neither French nor Spanish, he somehow managed to convey to the baffled authorities that he owed his feat of endurance to "strong legs, strong legs".
Police freed him yesterday, undecided whether or not to repatriate him for having no papers.
Captain Calamity rescued yet again in his yacht named Mischief
Captain Calamity Glenn Crawley has sparked repeated rescue missions in his aptly named catamaran called Mischief.
Now the RNLI rescue service is becoming exasperated with the troublesome sailor.
Lifeboat crews say they have lost count of the times they have gone to his aid.
Photograph courtesy of Newquay RNLI.
But 51-year-old Glenn says he is involved in extreme sports - and it is the public calling out the rescuers that is causing the problem.
Mischief has a long history with Newquay RNLI - in February 2006 she was rescued four times in four hours - twice by the lifeboat and twice by local fishing boats.
The RNLI estimates it costs £2,200 each time they launch a lifeboat.
Now the RNLI rescue service is becoming exasperated with the troublesome sailor.
Lifeboat crews say they have lost count of the times they have gone to his aid.
Photograph courtesy of Newquay RNLI.
But 51-year-old Glenn says he is involved in extreme sports - and it is the public calling out the rescuers that is causing the problem.
Mischief has a long history with Newquay RNLI - in February 2006 she was rescued four times in four hours - twice by the lifeboat and twice by local fishing boats.
The RNLI estimates it costs £2,200 each time they launch a lifeboat.
Decorator tries to barter his way out of fine
A Polish man convicted of cannabis possession tried his luck by offering to paint or decorate Kingston Magistrates' Court as a way of paying his fine.
Pawel Matczuk, 29, from Tooting, London, was given a suspended sentence and ordered to pay £70 costs but told magistrates he was unable to pay the fine because his court appearance had made him lose his job as a painter and decorator.
Matczuk's interpreter said: "He is attempting to barter with you. He has offered to paint or decorate something for the court."
Laughing in response, magistrate chairman Judy Hopkins said: "No, I'm afraid this doesn't work."
Matczuk was given a 12-month suspended sentence as well as being ordered to pay the costs in £10 weekly instalments.
Pawel Matczuk, 29, from Tooting, London, was given a suspended sentence and ordered to pay £70 costs but told magistrates he was unable to pay the fine because his court appearance had made him lose his job as a painter and decorator.
Matczuk's interpreter said: "He is attempting to barter with you. He has offered to paint or decorate something for the court."
Laughing in response, magistrate chairman Judy Hopkins said: "No, I'm afraid this doesn't work."
Matczuk was given a 12-month suspended sentence as well as being ordered to pay the costs in £10 weekly instalments.
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