World Briefs

Shanghai has adopted a one-dog policy, passing a law limiting homes to one canine each as it tries to curb the growing popularity of man’s best friend in China’s leading metropolis.

The law takes effect on May 15, the official China Daily reported yesterday.

Under the law, dog owners must also give their pets’ puppies to eligible no-dog households or to government-approved adoption agencies before the pups reach three months, the report said.

Anyone currently owning two or more licensed dogs will be allowed to keep them.

The government had said tighter regulation was needed due to rampant barking, unscooped waste, and the growing risk of dog attacks, which affect the city’s environment and sanitation. (AFP)

Dictator’s junction

A Kurdish city in northern Iraq yesterday took the name of Muammar Gaddafi off of a road junction because the Libyan strongman “does not respect his people,” a local council spokesman said.

“In 2004, the government of the Kurdistan region decided to name a junction as Gaddafi Junction,but after the recent events, we have decided to change it back to its original name (Shartshinar) because we have realised that he is a dictator who does not respect his people.”Sulaimaniyah municipal council spokesman Zardasht Rafiq said.

Colonel Gaddafi’s regime has met the most serious challenge to its 41-year rule with deadly force, in which at least 640 people have died, according to the International Federation for Human Rights. (AFP)

Nick Clegg musical

A hip hop musical based on Nick Clegg’s role in the formation of the coalition Government will be performed later this year.

The show, which has the working title Nicked, features David Cameron in a “rap off” with his backbenchers and promises to take in the student demonstrations and the run-up to the referendum on voting reform. (PA)

Turtle compass

Loggerhead turtles possess a sophisticated internal compass that allows them to sense both latitude and longitude as they navigate long distances across open water, research has shown.

Birds, fish and many other creatures are believed to pick up on changes in the Earth’s magnetic field to determine their north and south location along lines of latitude. But evidence of longitudinal east and west positioning from magnetic cues has never been seen in an animal before and understanding how loggerhead turtles achieve the feat could lead to new developments in navigational technology. (PA)

Out-foxed

An inquisitive fox has been discovered living the high life at the top of the UK’s tallest skyscraper.

The intrepid visitor spent two weeks roaming free and surviving on scraps of food left by builders at the 288 metre Shard building at London Bridge.

The animal, named Romeo by staff, is thought to have entered via the central stairwell before conquering the climb to reach the building’s roof but when the fox became trapped on the 72nd floor of what will become Europe’s biggest building once completed he was caught and taken to an animal centre. (PA)

Reptile refugee

Firefighters say they have removed a five-foot long alligator who was hiding behind a couch after floodwaters washed it into a home in northern Brazil.

Capt Luiz Claudio Farias of the Parauapebas city fire department says that when the floodwaters receded, a woman saw her three-year-old son petting something behind the couch. It was an alligator.

She snatched the boy away and called firefighters. The alligator was taken to an environmentally protected area near the city and released into a river. (PA)

Headway

Two men who left a package containing a cow’s head on the doorstep of some friends in a “prank” will face police charges in Pennsylvania.

Ebensburg police chief Terry Wyland said a couple found a large cardboard box with their name and address on it near their front door. Inside was the cow’s head.

The pranksters went to police headquarters to confess. One of them has experience butchering cows. Now they face harassment and disorderly conduct charges. (PA)