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Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Mexican teacher calms small children during gunfight
A kindergarten teacher sang along with her young pupils to keep them calm last week, while outside the Colonia Nueva Estanzuela school in Monterrey, a gunfight raged as an armed group aboard seven trucks murdered five taxi drivers accused of spying for an organized crime gang.
While filming the incident on her phone, the teacher gently asks her class to keep their heads on the floor, as gunshots ring out in the background. She reassures the children that everything is okay and that they'll be safe in the classroom, reminding them to keep their heads down.
YouTube link.
To distract them, she starts singing the Raindrop Song from the Barney show in Spanish. The song is about if raindrops were chocolates and how you'd open your mouth wide to catch them all.
By getting the children to sing the song she managed not only to keep them calm but also to keep their heads on the floor, as she prompts them to turn over and look up to the sky with their mouths wide open. The as yet unidentified teacher is being hailed a heroine.
There's a news video showing some of the aftermath outside here.
While filming the incident on her phone, the teacher gently asks her class to keep their heads on the floor, as gunshots ring out in the background. She reassures the children that everything is okay and that they'll be safe in the classroom, reminding them to keep their heads down.
YouTube link.
To distract them, she starts singing the Raindrop Song from the Barney show in Spanish. The song is about if raindrops were chocolates and how you'd open your mouth wide to catch them all.
By getting the children to sing the song she managed not only to keep them calm but also to keep their heads on the floor, as she prompts them to turn over and look up to the sky with their mouths wide open. The as yet unidentified teacher is being hailed a heroine.
There's a news video showing some of the aftermath outside here.
Rat burglary victim to get free new false teeth
It looks like there will be a happy ending to the story of an Australian woman who lost her false teeth to a cunning rat. Last week, Margaret Pidgeon, from Stonehenge in the west of Queensland, revealed a long-haired rat had taken her teeth, (audio), from a bedside shelf.
Residents in the region are coping with a rat plague due to lush conditions. The federal Member for Maranoa, Bruce Scott, says he has spoken to the Minister for Human Services Tanya Plibersek, and there is a Medicare entitlement to fund new dentures under "exceptional circumstances".
"Rats will get up to all sorts of things - they have an extraordinary capacity to carry all sorts of things to their little habitat," Mr Scott said. "That's why I'm pleased that this is a criteria under Medicare and I am just wanting to make sure that we're able to put Mrs Pidgeon in contact with somewhere where we can get these dentures replaced.
"Through chronic diseases criteria, particularly under exceptional circumstances where someone's physical health will be affected because of their dental health, there is an entitlement to receive financial support. This is an extraordinary case and I'm just wanting to make sure we can get the loose ends tied up and Mrs Pidgeon to a dentist where she can get her dentures replaced."
Residents in the region are coping with a rat plague due to lush conditions. The federal Member for Maranoa, Bruce Scott, says he has spoken to the Minister for Human Services Tanya Plibersek, and there is a Medicare entitlement to fund new dentures under "exceptional circumstances".
"Rats will get up to all sorts of things - they have an extraordinary capacity to carry all sorts of things to their little habitat," Mr Scott said. "That's why I'm pleased that this is a criteria under Medicare and I am just wanting to make sure that we're able to put Mrs Pidgeon in contact with somewhere where we can get these dentures replaced.
"Through chronic diseases criteria, particularly under exceptional circumstances where someone's physical health will be affected because of their dental health, there is an entitlement to receive financial support. This is an extraordinary case and I'm just wanting to make sure we can get the loose ends tied up and Mrs Pidgeon to a dentist where she can get her dentures replaced."
Dog survives being trapped under 45 tonnes of rock for a week
Meet Jessie the miracle Jack Russell that spent a week trapped under 45 tonnes of rock while chasing a stray cat. For seven days, four-year-old Jessie was wedged metres underground at Mt Beckworth, Victoria, Australia, between enormous rocks only able to wiggle her front paws and move her head. But the devotion of her owner, Steve Porter, never wavered as he moved the earth - literally – to save his dog.
State Emergency Service units from Maryborough were able to move a rock thought to weigh about 20 tonnes, but still Jessie was unreachable. With his dog surviving on liver that was attached to a wire and sent down into the rocks, Mr Porter set about bringing in machinery that could separate the enormous rocks. His son Tom had already started drilling through the solid granite rock, but time was running out.
A massive hydraulic ram, capable of lifting 95 tonnes, was hired from Melbourne, and Mr Porter and a team of men set about shifting the rocks. The team of four worked tirelessly, sometimes until 2am, to move the rock, inch by inch. But still Jessie could not move. Mr Porter said there were times when he considered euthanasing the dog to put her out of her misery, a decision he weighed up every night. But such was his love for the dog he continued to battle the freezing elements.
Eventually, after seven days underground, Jessie was pulled free using a dog-catcher loop that had been borrowed from a local animal welfare group. She ran straight towards Mr Porter and leapt into his arms. “I couldn’t believe she was in such good condition,” he said. “Neither could the vet.” After spending the night under observation at Eastwood Veterinary Clinic, Jessie was released in surprisingly good condition.
There's a large photo gallery here.
State Emergency Service units from Maryborough were able to move a rock thought to weigh about 20 tonnes, but still Jessie was unreachable. With his dog surviving on liver that was attached to a wire and sent down into the rocks, Mr Porter set about bringing in machinery that could separate the enormous rocks. His son Tom had already started drilling through the solid granite rock, but time was running out.
A massive hydraulic ram, capable of lifting 95 tonnes, was hired from Melbourne, and Mr Porter and a team of men set about shifting the rocks. The team of four worked tirelessly, sometimes until 2am, to move the rock, inch by inch. But still Jessie could not move. Mr Porter said there were times when he considered euthanasing the dog to put her out of her misery, a decision he weighed up every night. But such was his love for the dog he continued to battle the freezing elements.
Eventually, after seven days underground, Jessie was pulled free using a dog-catcher loop that had been borrowed from a local animal welfare group. She ran straight towards Mr Porter and leapt into his arms. “I couldn’t believe she was in such good condition,” he said. “Neither could the vet.” After spending the night under observation at Eastwood Veterinary Clinic, Jessie was released in surprisingly good condition.
There's a large photo gallery here.
Mile-high flirting goes horribly wrong
A US man who tried to flirt with a young woman on board a plane by bragging he was carrying enough poisonous gas to knock out the entire aircraft found himself arrested and banned for life from Delta Air Lines. Bryan Sisco, 40, allegedly knocked back five double whiskey-and-cokes at an airport bar in Dallas on Friday before boarding his Atlanta-bound plane, on which he took a wrong seat and found himself next to Danielle Valimont, 23.
When confronted by a flight attendant about being in the wrong seat, Sisco said he and Valimont were newlyweds. The 40-year-old then whipped out a butane lighter, sparking it near Valimont's legs, and boasted that he had a canister that contained enough gas to knock out everyone on the plane. In further attempt to impress her, Sisco also claimed he was an architect and a federal marshal, and his father was in the CIA.
Photo from here.
"We were talking, sharing M&Ms, eating chocolate, having a good time," he said. "I fabricated some truths about myself. ... I thought we were getting along pretty good." Valimont pretended she needed the bathroom and managed to alert a flight attendant. The flight was diverted to Memphis, where a baffled Sisco, who had been sleeping and oblivious to the unfolding panic, was arrested by officers who boarded the plane.
"I fell asleep, and woke up in handcuffs in Memphis with the FBI questioning me. ... I couldn't even feel my thumb, the handcuffs were put on so tight," he said. "I spent three days in a county jail and a fourth day in a federal penitentiary. I was stripped buck-naked twice." The flight continued on its way to Atlanta, while Sisco was released on a $10,000 bond. He faces charges of carrying a weapon or explosive on an aircraft.
When confronted by a flight attendant about being in the wrong seat, Sisco said he and Valimont were newlyweds. The 40-year-old then whipped out a butane lighter, sparking it near Valimont's legs, and boasted that he had a canister that contained enough gas to knock out everyone on the plane. In further attempt to impress her, Sisco also claimed he was an architect and a federal marshal, and his father was in the CIA.
Photo from here.
"We were talking, sharing M&Ms, eating chocolate, having a good time," he said. "I fabricated some truths about myself. ... I thought we were getting along pretty good." Valimont pretended she needed the bathroom and managed to alert a flight attendant. The flight was diverted to Memphis, where a baffled Sisco, who had been sleeping and oblivious to the unfolding panic, was arrested by officers who boarded the plane.
"I fell asleep, and woke up in handcuffs in Memphis with the FBI questioning me. ... I couldn't even feel my thumb, the handcuffs were put on so tight," he said. "I spent three days in a county jail and a fourth day in a federal penitentiary. I was stripped buck-naked twice." The flight continued on its way to Atlanta, while Sisco was released on a $10,000 bond. He faces charges of carrying a weapon or explosive on an aircraft.
Bangladeshi woman cuts off alleged assaulter's penis as evidence
Police in southern Bangladesh say a woman cut off a man's penis during an alleged attempt to rape her and took it to a police station as evidence. The incident took place in Mirzapur village, Jhalakathi, about 200km (124 miles) south of the capital, Dhaka.
Monju Begum, 40, a married mother of three, told police that neighbour Mozammel Haq Mazi forced his way into her shanty and started assaulting her. Mr Mazi, who denies the accusation, was admitted to a nearby hospital.
"We will arrest him once his condition gets better," police spokesman Abul Khaer said. "She said she fought back and cut off his penis and brought it to our police station in a polythene bag to prove that Mr Mazi tried to rape her," police spokesman Abul Khaer said. "She has registered a case accusing him of attempted rape," he said.
"It is quite an unusual incident. As far as I am aware, this is the first time that a woman has brought a severed penis to the police station as evidence." Prof AMSM Sharfuzzaman, a senior surgeon at the Sher-e-Bangla Medical College and Hospital in Barisal town, said it had not been possible to reattach the organ.
Monju Begum, 40, a married mother of three, told police that neighbour Mozammel Haq Mazi forced his way into her shanty and started assaulting her. Mr Mazi, who denies the accusation, was admitted to a nearby hospital.
"We will arrest him once his condition gets better," police spokesman Abul Khaer said. "She said she fought back and cut off his penis and brought it to our police station in a polythene bag to prove that Mr Mazi tried to rape her," police spokesman Abul Khaer said. "She has registered a case accusing him of attempted rape," he said.
"It is quite an unusual incident. As far as I am aware, this is the first time that a woman has brought a severed penis to the police station as evidence." Prof AMSM Sharfuzzaman, a senior surgeon at the Sher-e-Bangla Medical College and Hospital in Barisal town, said it had not been possible to reattach the organ.
Injured cheetah caught roaming Abu Dhabi residential district
A nine-month-old cheetah was found chasing a rooster as it roamed the streets of Karama in Abu Dhabi on Sunday morning. One of the residents who saw the cheetah with a thick chain around its neck, immediately contacted the Abu Dhabi Police and an animal activist, Raghad Auttabashi, founder and a volunteer of the Al Rahma Animal Welfare and Rescue Society.
"The cheetah's left front leg was badly injured, and it looked dehydrated, skinny and malnourished. I just hope that the cheetah's previous owner did not de-claw it, otherwise that would be highly inhumane," said Raghad. The cheetah was immediately transferred to the ADWC, where it received plenty of water, food and vitamins.
Ronel Smutts, the director of the ADWC, said that upon reaching the centre, the cheetah was dehydrated, hungry and traumatised. "The animal was obviously privately owned by one of the villa owners in Karama, and did not get enough exercise nor the proper food, calcium and vitamins it requires. When it first arrived, it couldn't put any weight on its left front leg. For now we gave the cheetah pain medication, and want it to get plenty of love and rest," said Smutts.
The injured leg could have been a result of the cheetah jumping over a fence as it tried to catch its prey (the rooster), assumed Smutts. Being an endangered species, the cheetah comes under Cites (Convention on the Illegal Trade of Endangered Species).Offenders could face fines of between Dh5,000, (£825, $1360), and Dh50,000 and a jail term of between three and six months.
"The cheetah's left front leg was badly injured, and it looked dehydrated, skinny and malnourished. I just hope that the cheetah's previous owner did not de-claw it, otherwise that would be highly inhumane," said Raghad. The cheetah was immediately transferred to the ADWC, where it received plenty of water, food and vitamins.
Ronel Smutts, the director of the ADWC, said that upon reaching the centre, the cheetah was dehydrated, hungry and traumatised. "The animal was obviously privately owned by one of the villa owners in Karama, and did not get enough exercise nor the proper food, calcium and vitamins it requires. When it first arrived, it couldn't put any weight on its left front leg. For now we gave the cheetah pain medication, and want it to get plenty of love and rest," said Smutts.
The injured leg could have been a result of the cheetah jumping over a fence as it tried to catch its prey (the rooster), assumed Smutts. Being an endangered species, the cheetah comes under Cites (Convention on the Illegal Trade of Endangered Species).Offenders could face fines of between Dh5,000, (£825, $1360), and Dh50,000 and a jail term of between three and six months.
Female butterflies avoid sexual harassment by closing wings
In the fleeting existence of a female small copper butterfly, sex is a one-time affair. And scientists in Japan have observed that the butterflies have a simple way to avoid the unwanted attention of persistent males; they close their wings. By folding away their bright, striking wing patterns, the females make themselves less visible to males.
Lead researcher and butterfly lover Jun-Ya Ide from the Kurume Institute of Technology in Fukuoka, had noticed that female small copper butterflies often closed their wings when other copper butterflies flew very close to them. "I also found that she closed the wings at a lower rate when other butterfly species flew nearby," said Dr Ide. And he set about trying to find out why this might be.
"Persistent mating attempts" from males can harm the delicate females, so Dr Ide thought the females might close their wings as an harassment avoidance strategy. He used a model of a male copper butterfly to trigger a reaction in the females. "When I brought the model close to a mated female, she often closed the wings," he said.
Virgin females, on the other hand, left their wings open. "So, I concluded that, since females don't need more copulations, they close their wings to conceal themselves," Dr Ide said. Whereas virgin females that want to mate "keep their wings open to be conspicuous". "The wing closing behaviour has evolved," he said, "to avoid sexual harassment."
Lead researcher and butterfly lover Jun-Ya Ide from the Kurume Institute of Technology in Fukuoka, had noticed that female small copper butterflies often closed their wings when other copper butterflies flew very close to them. "I also found that she closed the wings at a lower rate when other butterfly species flew nearby," said Dr Ide. And he set about trying to find out why this might be.
"Persistent mating attempts" from males can harm the delicate females, so Dr Ide thought the females might close their wings as an harassment avoidance strategy. He used a model of a male copper butterfly to trigger a reaction in the females. "When I brought the model close to a mated female, she often closed the wings," he said.
Virgin females, on the other hand, left their wings open. "So, I concluded that, since females don't need more copulations, they close their wings to conceal themselves," Dr Ide said. Whereas virgin females that want to mate "keep their wings open to be conspicuous". "The wing closing behaviour has evolved," he said, "to avoid sexual harassment."
Church fined $100 per branch for improper tree pruning
Every two to three years, Eddie Sales trims and prunes the crape myrtles at his church, Albemarle Road Presbyterian Church.
But this year, the city of Charlotte, North Carolina, cited the church for improperly pruning its trees. "We always keep our trees trimmed back because you don't want to worry about them hanging down in the way," said Sales, a church member.
The church was fined $100 per branch cut for excessive pruning, bringing the violation to $4,000. "I just couldn't believe it when I heard about it," Sales said. "We trim our trees back every three years all over our property, and this is the first time we have been fined."
The fine will be dropped if the church replaces each of the improperly pruned trees, said Tom Johnson, senior urban forester for city of Charlotte Land Development Division. Charlotte has had a tree ordinance since 1978, and when trees are incorrectly pruned or topped, people can be subject to fines, Johnson said.
But this year, the city of Charlotte, North Carolina, cited the church for improperly pruning its trees. "We always keep our trees trimmed back because you don't want to worry about them hanging down in the way," said Sales, a church member.
The church was fined $100 per branch cut for excessive pruning, bringing the violation to $4,000. "I just couldn't believe it when I heard about it," Sales said. "We trim our trees back every three years all over our property, and this is the first time we have been fined."
The fine will be dropped if the church replaces each of the improperly pruned trees, said Tom Johnson, senior urban forester for city of Charlotte Land Development Division. Charlotte has had a tree ordinance since 1978, and when trees are incorrectly pruned or topped, people can be subject to fines, Johnson said.
Passengers flee as dozens of deadly cobras spotted on train
Hundreds of rail passengers fled in terror when dozens of deadly snakes were found on a train travelling from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi in Vietnam. A guard and conductor were checking tickets as passengers got on in the central city of Quang Ngai on Thursday evening and spotted the live king cobras and cobras under a seat.
People fled the carriage as panic broke out, and the smuggler was able to escape in the chaos. The reptiles, which are extremely venomous and can kill a human within just 30 minutes, were being carried in four see-through cloth bags.
One passenger, Pham Van An, 20, said: "Some of the snakes were very big, and looked terrifying. Most people ran away. But some people went to look at them and the cobras rose up. Then police took the snakes off the train." Officers handed the snakes over to Quang Ngai province's wildlife protection officers for release into the wild.
Nguyen Van Han, chief of the Quang Ngai Forest Protection Department, was unable to say how many snakes were in the bags, but said they weighed a total of 45kg (99lb). Authorities believe the endangered creatures, which are protected under Vietnamese law, were to be sold to restaurants in Hanoi.
People fled the carriage as panic broke out, and the smuggler was able to escape in the chaos. The reptiles, which are extremely venomous and can kill a human within just 30 minutes, were being carried in four see-through cloth bags.
One passenger, Pham Van An, 20, said: "Some of the snakes were very big, and looked terrifying. Most people ran away. But some people went to look at them and the cobras rose up. Then police took the snakes off the train." Officers handed the snakes over to Quang Ngai province's wildlife protection officers for release into the wild.
Nguyen Van Han, chief of the Quang Ngai Forest Protection Department, was unable to say how many snakes were in the bags, but said they weighed a total of 45kg (99lb). Authorities believe the endangered creatures, which are protected under Vietnamese law, were to be sold to restaurants in Hanoi.
Company director dresses as woman to fool photographers outside court
A male company director appearing at court tried to evade the waiting media attention by dressing as a woman. Dressed in female clothing including a stripy top, black knee length skirt and high heels, Martyn Crute left Lincoln Crown Court hoping to give the cameramen the slip.
But his disguise was noticed within seconds by the waiting photographers primed to snap him as he exited. And as they gave chase, he flicked his hair across his face in a bid to hide his manly stubble and chiselled jawline.
The bid to make sure his identity remained a secret came as Crute, a director of UK Oil and Gas Ltd, appeared in court charged with trading for 15 months without being registered to gas safety body CORGI. His business was said to have put lives at risk due to the poor standard of work it carried out during the period.
Crute, from Retford, Notts, admitted a charge of breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act. He was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £41,000 prosecutions costs and was also banned from being a company director for seven years.
But his disguise was noticed within seconds by the waiting photographers primed to snap him as he exited. And as they gave chase, he flicked his hair across his face in a bid to hide his manly stubble and chiselled jawline.
The bid to make sure his identity remained a secret came as Crute, a director of UK Oil and Gas Ltd, appeared in court charged with trading for 15 months without being registered to gas safety body CORGI. His business was said to have put lives at risk due to the poor standard of work it carried out during the period.
Crute, from Retford, Notts, admitted a charge of breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act. He was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £41,000 prosecutions costs and was also banned from being a company director for seven years.
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