An Antarctic expedition has found what it believes to be remains of the first aeroplane brought to the frozen continent, on an icy shore near where it was abandoned almost a century ago.
Australia has searched for many years for the old single-propeller Vickers plane at Cape Denison, where the nation's most famous polar explorer, Douglas Mawson, abandoned it after it proved to be a failure during his 1911-14 expedition. A member of the expedition stumbled on pieces of rusted metal tubing among ice-encrusted rocks on the shore of Commonwealth Bay at an especially low tide.
They match structural iron tubing from the single-winged plane's fuselage.
Mawson's dream of staging the first human flight over the Antarctic ice cap was shattered when the plane crashed in a demonstration flight in October that year, even before his expedition sailed for the Antarctic from Australia in late 1911. (Reuters)
Trainers worse than high heels
Running in trainers puts more strain on the joints than running barefoot. It is also more stressful to knees than walking in high-heeled shoes.
Scientists tested 68 healthy young adults who regularly went jogging. Participants were given running shoes of a typical design and observed running on a treadmill both barefoot and wearing the trainers.
The researchers found that wearing running shoes increased rotational stresses on the hip joints by an average 54%, and heightened different types of stress on the knee by 36% and 38%. The extra strain was thought to be linked to the elevated heels and foot arch padding typical of modern running shoes.
The study stated that the effect of running shoes on knee joint torques is even greater than the effect that was reported earlier of high-heeled shoes during walking. (PA)
In the line of fire
A six-year-old Italian tourist was accidentally shot by a stray bullet during New Year celebrations in Miami.
Andrea Fregonese has been released from intensive care but is still undergoing treatment for a chest wound.
He was hit hours after authorities urged residents to stop firing guns into the air. Mayor Tomas Regalado said: "I hope the message goes out and people throughout the world see that we care and that we're sorry." (PA)
Fast food
Gabon has cut lunch times from three hours to 30 minutes in an attempt to increase productivity.
Officials said the long breaks left workers feeling tired in the afternoon.
The long lunches were a relic from when Gabon was a French colony. (PA)
Not in church!
A German police officer has been suspended from duty accused of having sex during a church service.
The 26-year-old faces possible disciplinary measures as well as a criminal complaint for allegedly disturbing religious activities.
Police said that a visitor discovered the officer with a woman in the Catholic church in Rennertshofen, near the Bavarian city of Ingolstadt, during an early-morning service last week. The couple then fled, but a church employee recognised the officer.
The man was suspended the following day. Disturbing religious activities can carry a sentence of up to three years in prison. (PA)
Mobility scooter training
Mobility scooter drivers are being offered road safety training following a spate of accidents.
Drivers of the low-speed electric scooters are being taught how to negotiate a slalom of cones and other hazards, reversing skills and other road safety tips, a Norfolk Police spokesman said.
The scheme was launched by officers in Great Yarmouth after members of the public raised concerns about accidents caused by the vehicles. (PA)
Festive fatties expelled
Piling on the pounds at Christmas may put a slight dampener on New Year but the consequences were rather more grave for more than 5,000 people expelled from an online dating community.
The so-called "festive fatties" were kicked off BeautifulPeople.com for losing their looks over the holiday season.
The site, which has a strict ban on "ugly people", said it had thrown out more than 5,000 members from around the world who had put on weight. Most of the "former beauties" were expelled from the US, UK and Canada. (PA)