World Briefs

Dozens of birds found dead in eastern Romania had drunk themselves to death, the local sanitary and veterinary authority (DSVSA) said yesterday.

The starlings died after they ate grape marc left over from the wine-making process, Romeu Lazar, head of the local DSVSA, said.

The cause of death was determined after the contents of the birds’ gizzards were analysed.

On Saturday, several residents of Constanta, east of Bucharest, alerted the authorities after they discovered dozens of dead starlings on the outskirts of the city. They feared the birds had been killed by avian flu, but the DSVSA immediately ruled out that possibility.

The incident came after unexplained mass bird and fish deaths were reported in several countries, including the US, Sweden and Britain. (AFP)

Intimacy ban

A council is set to tell staff that “intimate behaviour during work time” could be “gross misconduct” and lead to “disciplinary action”.

Staff at Fenland District Council, which is based in March, Cambridgeshire, must declare any “close personal relationship” with a colleague to their manager “in writing”, under a proposed new policy.

The council would reserve to right to “elect to transfer” one or both employees involved to a “job in another team”, proposals add. (PA)

Sixth sense

Two-thirds of US pet owners say their animals have a sixth sense about bad weather, while 43 per cent say their pets can sense bad news.

A poll showed that 72 per cent of dog owners report weather warnings from their pets, compared with 66 per cent of cat owners.

It said pets conveyed the warnings in many ways, some hide, some whine or cry, others become hyperactive, erratic or make unpredictable movements, and some bark or meow persistently. (PA)

Fond of their vehicles

Basil Fawlty once beat his car when it broke down but most motorists seem to be fond of their vehicles.

More than half (53 per cent) give names to their car, with Betty, Betsy and Bess the most popular, a poll by webuyanycar.com found.

Other popular names include Bertie, Daisy, Bertha and Meg, while Harrison and Anna have been used by owners of Ford vehicles. (PA)

Model fitter

A 50-year-old carpet fitter has swapped cutting and laying flooring for the catwalk after being snapped up by an international model agency. Rob Knighton, from Shoreditch, east London, was spotted by chance by a model scout while working at her home.

The father of one, who is single and originally from Essex, is the oldest model to be taken on by Next Model Management. (PA)

No mercy

A Swiss village has warned dog owners their pets will be put down if they do not pay for their annual licence.

Reconvilier – population 2,245 humans, 280 dogs – charges £30 for the licence.

The council says a law from 1904 allows the village to kill dogs if their owner does not pay up. (PA)

Slander damages

A Florida surgeon was awarded five million dollars slander damages after a hospital executive said he would not send his dog to him for surgery.

Lawnwood Medical Centre lost an appeal against the ruling after arguing that the amount given to Dr Samuel Sadow was excessive.

Dr Sadow was denied privileges to carry out surgery in the centre’s open-heart institute.

An official then told another doctor: “I would not send my dog to him for surgery.” (PA)

S. African police fine ‘no pants’ passengers

Dozens of men and women who tried to emulate New York’s No pants Subway Ride on South Africa’s first high-speed train were arrested and fined, the rail operator said yesterday.

Gautrain said 34 people were detained after they dropped their trousers and skirts and took a pantless ride from Rhodesfield, east of Johannesburg to Sandton in the city’s north.

“They were fined 700 rands (€80) which was reduced to 350 rands for taking off their clothes on the train,” Gautrain spokesman Kelebogile Machaka said.

The passengers were handcuffed and briefly arrested by police upon their return to Rhodesfield station.

“People were openly staring and laughing at us. They wanted to charge us with public indecency, but then realised there was no indecency,” Kuba Granicki, one of those who participated in the Facebook arranged prank, told South Africa’s Beeld newspaper. (AFP)

Romanian campaigner Volcinschi dies

Anti-communist dissident Raul Volcinschi who risked his life to fight for democracy in Romania has died, aged 89.

Mr Volcinschi died on Sunday at his home in Cluj city, said Octav Bjoza, head of Romania’s Former Political Prisoners Association. The cause of death was not given.

Mr Volcinschi was imprisoned in 1956 for taking part in a student riot supporting an anti-Moscow uprising in neighbouring Hungary. He fled from a high security prison, in an attempt during which another man was shot dead. He was later re-captured and sent to another prison before being released as part of a general amnesty for political prisoners in 1964.

In 1983, he was involved in an unsuccessful plot to assassinate Nicolae Ceausescu, Romania’s communist dictator, according to the book The Trial of Communism.

Ceausescu ruled Romania for 25 years before being executed during a 1989 anti-communist revolt that killed hundreds of people. (PA)