World Briefs

Facilities for Commonwealth Games shooters in tiny Niue in New Delhi are so scarce that they are forced to use pigeons and fruit bats for practice.

The Pacific nation has no clay targets and no shooting ranges, and there are even difficulties getting ammunition and guns.

But veteran Sione Belle Togiavalu, who has competed at three Games, is unfazed.

“We lack everything,” he said, “It’s hard to get clay targets. It is hard to get ammunition, even the right shotgun. Regular competition and a proper shooting range are items we don’t have. We are here to gain experience... When the targets run out, importing fresh ones is a problem... so shooters turn to nature for assistance.

“During the shooting season, the team gains experience by shooting birds, pigeons and fruit bats.” (AFP)

World’s oldest known twins

Belgian sisters Gabrielle Vaudremer and Marie Hendrix turned 100 years old on Saturday, celebrating with champagne, cake and a song from their family to claim the title of the world’s oldest known twins.

The pair received a shawl from the municipality and flowers from the Chateau Sous-Bois retirement home where they live as they marked their birthday with around 200 people.

“They drank champagne and they ate cream cake,” regional manager Damien Berteau said at the retirement home in Spa.

The Guinness World Records lists 98-year-old French sisters as the oldest twins in the world. Records are only recognised by Guinness upon request, but the Belgian twins have not applied with the organisation to officially enter their record and they do not seem interested in doing so, Mr Berteau said. (AFP)

Google’s ‘Street View’ of Antarctica

Google’s “Street View” imagery has sparked privacy concerns in some countries but that’s unlikely to be the case with its latest destination – Antarctica, populated mostly by penguins.

The internet giant has announced that Street View, which shows street-level pictures of cities around the world, now encompasses all seven continents with the inclusion of images from Antarctica.

The Street View pictures of Antarctica are limited for the moment to user-contributed shots of penguins on Half Moon Island and panoramic landscapes. (AFP)

Escapes during mountain outing

A French prisoner went walkabout in the Pyrenees mountains in southwest France, escaping during an outing organised for a group of inmates, local police have said.

The man, who had been convicted for a string of thefts and was not considered dangerous, slipped off during the outing on Friday, said an officer at the gendarmerie in Pau.

A large force of paramilitary gendarmes were still looking for him. The escaped prisoner was in any case near the end of his sentence (AFP)

Bleating drunkard locked up

A drunken man who infuriated his neighbours by bleating like a sheep and doing other animal impressions at the dead of night ended up in jail after resisting arrest, German police said yesterday.

The 49-year-old offered his sleeping neighbours a series of performances, mainly sheep impressions, some lasting as long as 20 minutes, at around 10.45 p.m. on Saturday, police in the Bavarian town of Coburg said.

When police tried to get him to stop, the man became “unreasonable and aggressive”, reportedly because he wanted to continue his baa-ing. Officers saw no choice but to lock him up for the night.

He had an extremely high blood-alcohol content, authorities said. (AFP)

European beard contest

Wearers of spectacular beards and moustaches gathered in the Austrian town of Leogang for a Europe-wide facial hair contest, organisers said.

Around 150 participants from eight countries fought for 17 titles at the European Beard and Moustache Championship in the town high in the Austrian Alps on Saturday.

Categories included Freestyle Beard, Natural Moustache and Verdi, a beard in the style of the famous 19th century Italian composer Giuseppi Verdi. (AFP)

Cashing in on gold

Seventies and 80s gold bling is proving profitable for people wanting to cash in on soaring gold prices, according to a leading jewellery retailer.

Prestons of Bolton in the UK say the economic climate has led to people rummaging through their old jewellery boxes, drawers and cupboards for retro items they don’t plan to wear again.

The top five favourites brought into its store by more than 5,000 people in the last 12 months are gold charm bracelets, chunky chains, sovereign rings, men’s chunky bracelets and large hoop earrings.

Retail director Andrew Whitting­ham said: “We are seeing a lot of items from the 1970s and 1980s which were very fashionable at the time such as chunky chains, bracelets and sovereign rings.” (PA)