Susan Atkins, who as a follower of mass killer Charles Manson was convicted nearly four decades ago in some of the most notorious murders in US history, has lost her 13th bid for release.

Ms Atkins - terminally ill from brain cancer and, according to her attorney, paralysed over much of her body - was denied her freedom by the California Parole Board after a hearing at the prison where she is being held. Ms Atkins, now 61, was convicted in 1971 of taking part in seven of the infamous "Manson family" murders, including that of heavily pregnant actress Sharon Tate, the wife of filmmaker Roman Polanski.

Her death sentence was commuted to life in prison in 1972, when the California Supreme Court declared the death penalty unconstitutional. (Reuters)

Monster fish found in ponds

Hong Kong has launched a search of ponds in public parks after at least 16 fish of an exotic species that can grow up to three metres long were discovered, apparently dumped by their owners when they grew too big.

A metre-long alligator gar was caught in a park pond after reports that visitors feared for their safety, the South China Morning Post reported.

The fierce-looking creatures get their name from their long snout, which resembles that of an alligator. While they are an aggressive and carnivorous species, they are not known to attacks humans.

Native to North America, alligator gars are commonly sold in Hong Kong for home aquariums when they are less than 30 centimetres long but can grow to three metres and weigh up to 140 kilograms.

Another 15 of the fish had been found in ponds and lakes at other parks across Hong Kong. (AFP)

Illegal immigrant wins big lottery

An illegal immigrant who scored a big win with a lottery scratch card in Sweden appeared on television to collect his winnings even though authorities have been trying to deport him.

Tesfaldet Tesloy, a 28-year-old Eritrean who has lived in the immigrant-friendly Nordic country for six years, won a tax-free prize of 1.2 million Swedish crown (€115,000).

But Sweden's attempts to deport the man have failed due to his country's refusal to take him back, highlighting a common problem for immigration officials.

Sweden says it has about 12,000 people awaiting deportation. Mr Tesloy is one of hundreds living illegally in Sweden who cannot be sent home because their home countries refuse to have them back unless they agree to being deported.

Countries such as Iran, Cuba and the east African nation of Eritrea all ignore or refuse to cooperate with the deportation orders, leaving the immigrants stuck in a legal no-man's land. (Reuters)

Finds python in his toilet

An Australian man will be putting his toilet seat down in the future after discovering a python almost twice his size curled up in the bowl.

Snake wrangler Chris Peberdy was called to a house in rural Virginia near Darwin in far northern Australia after the owner, Erik Rantzau, spotted a three-metre-long carpet python in his toilet.

"It's not unusual to find snakes of that size in the tropics but you don't usually find them in toilets," Mr Peberdy told Reuters.

"He must have come up through a drain. He was cruising around the house at night and returning to the toilet by day." (Reuters)

'Carrot' car runs on chocs and wine

A racing car partly made from carrots that runs on chocolate and stale wine has its first outing at Brands Hatch next month.

The car looks identical to other Formula 3 machines with performance to match, reaching speeds of 130mph and accelerating to 60mph in under 2.5 seconds.

But that is where the similarity ends. The "Worldfirst" racer designed by engineers at the University of Warwick was built from the ground up to be green, with bodywork made from recycled rubbish and a diesel engine that runs on biofuel.

Much of its carbon fibre body work started life as aviation industry scrap and plastic soft drink bottles, and the steering wheel is composed of waste from juiced carrots.

The fuel used to power its 230bhp recycled aluminium engine comes from a variety of sources, including chocolate waste and fermented wine dregs.

On October 17 the car makes its debut at Brands Hatch, where it will be competing against around 22 other more conventional Formula 3 vehicles. (PA)

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