The Prince of Wales (Picture) inadvertently powdered his nose during a visit to a flour mill today. Prince Charles, who wore sticking plasters on the thumb and forefinger of his right hand, was left with the powder print at the mill in Pakenham, near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.
“He must have touched his nose after rubbing the flour between his fingers,” said an onlooker. “He didn’t seem to notice that he had flour on his nose.”
The Prince toured the mill after visiting the cathedral in Bury St Edmunds and a local theatre. (PA)
999 pest
Brazilian police have arrested a man suspected of making more than 200,000 crank calls to an emergency-response number over the past two years.
Police were unable to locate Jose Uilson Santos sooner because he made most of the calls from stolen mobile phones registered to other people.
Mr Santos was caught when he used a public telephone in the city of Aracaju to report a non-existent fire. He faces charges of jeopardising emergency services, punishable by up to six years in jail. (PA)
Phone cheat
Japan has been left shocked after police arrested a 19-year-old accused of cheating in a top university’s entrance exam by using his mobile phone to post questions on a popular online forum and get outside help.
Japan takes pride in its culture prizing honesty and hard work and media say he could become the first person to be prosecuted in the country for cheating.
The unnamed student could face fraud charges which carry sentences of up to three years in prison or a fine of 500,000 yen (£3,800). He allegedly used a question-and-answer site run by Yahoo Japan for help with questions on English and maths in the Kyoto university exam. (PA)
Clapton auction
Rock legend Eric Clapton is parting with dozens of guitars and amps at a New York auction to benefit an alcohol and drug treatment centre he founded in Antigua.
New York-Bonhams will offer the 70 guitars and 70 amps next Wednesday.
Among the highlights is a custom-made black Fender ‘Eric Clapton’ signature Stratocaster, estimated at $20,000 to $30,000. It was used during the “Cream Reunion Shows” in New York and London in 2005.
A pair of 1970 Marshall vintage basket weave speaker cabinets are expected to fetch $8,000-$10,000.
The 65-year-old rock Hall of Famer is a recovered addict who established the non-profit Crossroads Centre in West Indies in 1998. His classic love song Layla was released in 1970. (AP)
Royal website
Pages on the royal wedding website (http://www.officialroyalwedding2011.org/) have been viewed two million times since being launched a few days ago.
Tens of thousands of royal fans have been logging on to the internet portal to view the latest information about the nuptials.
Prince William’s office has said it is considering plans to broadcast his marriage to Kate Middleton on April 29 live on the new website.
On the wedding day itself the site will be the first place to read about details of the bride’s dress and other information.The home-page features the informal Mario Testino photograph of the couple released to mark their engagement. (PA)
Spiders in tank
Mazda has a creepy problem: a common spider species seems to have developed a hankering for making nests and weaving webs inside the engines of its sporty Mazda 6 sedan.
The Japanese automaker has said it will be recalling 65,000 vehicles in the US, Canada and Mexico to outfit them with special screens to keep the spiders out.
While the spider problem sounds silly, Mazda spokesman Jeremy Barnes said it can be dangerous. The webs and nests can block air flow in the fuel tank’s vent and this could cause the tank to leak or even catch fire. So far there have been no accidents or fires, but Mazda isn’t taking any chances. (AFP)
Deadly donation
The old grenade a US Army veteran found in his garage was very much alive. George Stadalski wanted to donate it to a historical museum at an Army post near his home in New York State.
But when Mr Stadalski showed the grenade to a state trooper, the trooper decided to have it checked out by the explosives ordnance unit.
The unit removed the grenade from Mr Stadalski’s house after police evacuated nearby homes and a primary school. Police said the grenade was live when it was detonated by the Army unit at another site. (PA)
Workers burn boss
Indian police have detained two people after an angry mob of sacked steel workers burned to death a senior executive.
After learning they were laid off, about a dozen workers attacked a 4x4 vehicle carrying Radhey Shyam Roy as he was leaving the factory in eastern Orissa state on Thursday.
They doused it with petrol and set it ablaze, said police Superintendent Ajay Kumar Sarangi.
Two other people in the vehicle were allowed to flee but Mr Roy, 59, was trapped inside and died of severe burns.(AP)