Delhi men in female-only metro forced to do sit-ups
A group of male passengers travelling in a female-only carriage on New Delhi’s new metro system were ordered to do sit-ups on the platform by the furious women, according to reports.
At least one carriage is reserved for women on every metro train in the Indian capital, where female residents and tourists have complained about sexual harassment on public transport for decades.
The metro has also become severely congested with the lines expanding into the suburbs over the last year and most regular carriages packed to capacity.
The Times of India said police led a crackdown at a station in Gurgaon, a booming satellite development on the outskirts of Delhi, after a series of complaints – and women passengers joined in the action.
“Not only were the unruly commuters made to shell out a fine of 250 rupees (€4), angry women slapped some of them and forced them to do sit-ups,” the Times reported. (AFP)
Perfect pink
A rare pink diamond sold at auction for a record £14.86 million.
The 14.23-carat rectangular gem, known as the Perfect Pink, went under the hammer at British art auction house Christie’s Hong Kong salesroom, where it was bought by an anonymous bidder.
It was a record price for a jewel sold at auction in Asia. Another record was broken by the total raised by the Jewels: The Hong Kong Sale, which at £50,601,648 was the highest amount Christie’s had raised at a jewellery sale worldwide. (PA)
‘Priceless’ crown
A gold crown – said to be one of the “world’s most beautiful and priceless objects” – is set to be the star attraction at a British Museum exhibition of treasures from Afghanistan.
More than 200 objects, many of which were hidden away for 25 years, are being loaned from the National Museum of Afghanistan.
The “collapsible” crown was discovered by Soviet archaeologists in 1978 in an elite nomadic cemetery and has never been shown in Britain before. The exhibition, which runs from March 3 to July 3, 2011, opened in Paris and is currently in Germany. (PA)
Pet hates
A pet cemetery in Montana is retreating from a proposal to exhume and cremate its animals after owners threatened to chain themselves to the front gates.
The Arley Burt Pet Cemetery in Helena is the final resting place for 1,200 dogs, cats, rabbits and hamsters buried between 1972 and 1993.
The cemetery considered exhuming the pets because of a new hotel going up nearby. But the hotel owner said she was happy with the land’s current use. (PA)
Ash cash
A boy of five donated his life savings – nearly $46 dollars (€35) in change – to help rebuild a volunteer fire station that burned down in an electrical fire.
Joshua Shaffer raided his piggy bank after hearing about the disaster that struck the Sissonville Volunteer Fire Department in West Virginia.
The fire department’s insurance covered only about half of the two million dollars of damage. (PA)
Rude awakening
A Colorado man who told police he woke up to a “bang” and realised he had suffered a gunshot wound to his knee apparently shot himself while sleepwalking.
Sanford Rothman, of Boulder, told officers he had no clear recollection of the incident.
Police said Mr Rothman, 61, kept a 9mm handgun near his bed and took prescription medication for pain. (PA)
Dentist’s ‘devious’ double murder
A dentist murdered his wife and his lover’s policeman husband by poisoning them with car exhaust fumes as they slept in their homes, a court heard yesterday.
Colin Howell then drove off with their bodies in the boot of his car and fooled investigating police by stage-managing a scene to make it look as if they had died in a suicide pact, Belfast Crown Court was told.
He kept the secret for almost 20 years before eventually confessing to detectives after losing more than £350,000 in a bid to find missing gold in the Philippines - a project which turned out to be a scam. (PA)