World Briefs

Wu Yulu, a 49-year-old farmer from the outskirts of Beijing, has become a household name in China for his homemade robots. Now, the creations that he calls his children are about to gain international renown.

Made from scrap materials including wire and screws, Mr Wu has invented over 47 robots which can pour tea, offer smokers a light and paint pictures.

Mr Wu, who received no education after primary school, has become a hero in Chinese media for his whirring, ticking and talking inventions, and now foreign media have taken an interest in him ahead of his appearance at the Shanghai World Expo which runs from May to October.

His brightly coloured metal figures, with painted human features and clothes have already been shown in Japan, Korea and Hong Kong. (Reuters)

Gets Chinese accent after bad migraine

A British woman has suddenly started speaking with a Chinese accent after suffering a severe migraine, she said in comments quoted by British media yesterday.

Sarah Colwill believes she has Foreign Accent Syndrome (FAS) which has caused her distinctive West Country drawl to be replaced with a Chinese twang, even though she has never even visited the country.

The 35-year-old from Plymouth, southwest England, is now undergoing speech therapy following an acute form of migraine last month which reportedly left her with a form of brain damage.

FAS has been documented around the world and is usually linked to a stroke or traumatic brain injury. It was first recorded in the early 20th century and there are thought to be only a couple of dozen sufferers around the world. (AFP)

Bare-cheeked face

Visitors to a new exhibit at New York City's Museum of Modern Art are being asked to leave because they are touching nude performers.

The people featured in Marina Abramovic's exhibition have complained of being pushed, prodded and poked by some patrons.

The work includes nude performers standing in a narrow doorway that visitors can pass through. Elsewhere, a naked woman reclines with a fake skeleton on top of her. (PA)

Bum rap

A student who stole 79 women's thongs has been caught by police in Detroit.

The 19-year-old from Michigan State University, who has not been named, was caught after being seen taking underwear from a communal dryer.

The man told police it was a prank and denied a sexual motive, but could face charges. (PA)

Sick joke

A baseball fan is facing charges after being accused of intentionally vomiting on an 11-year-old girl in the stands during a game in Philadelphia.

Police say Matthew Clemmens began trying to make himself ill on an off-duty police captain and his family after a companion was removed from the stadium for unruly behaviour.

Mr Clemmens put his fingers down his throat and threw up, hitting the officer's 11-year-old daughter. (PA)

Mr Asbo

Rowers called for the Queen to approve the removal of an aggressive swan after it attacked people on the river.

The bird, which was nicknamed Mr Asbo, patrols a 1,600-foot stretch of water near to its nest in Fen Ditton, Cambridge, a spokesman from the Cambridgeshire Rowing Association said.

Bill Key, president of the association, said Mr Asbo flapped its huge wings and pecked at rowers and boats which pass through the expanse of water. Her Majesty's Warden of the Swans Professor Chris Perrins said the permission of Her Majesty's Swan Marker, David Barber, was needed before the bird could be removed. Options included relocating the swan or clipping one of its wings, he said. (PA)

Rare bat

A type of bat never seen before in the UK has been discovered visiting caves in the country, researchers confirmed.

Alcathoe's bat, which is about the size of the end of a person's thumb, has been discovered in Yorkshire and Sussex.

The bats were found in woodland in Ryedale in the North York Moors National Park and in the South Downs of Sussex. (PA)