World Briefs

Tea-drinking Britain experienced one of its biggest-ever power surges caused by a televised event, as the equivalent of one million kettles were switched on after the Royal Wedding yesterday.

The 2,400-megawatt boost at 12.40 p.m. (1340 GMT) after the carriage procession arrived at Buckingham Palace was the fourth-largest surge caused by a TV programme ever experienced by the National Grid electricity network.

The surge for Prince William’s wedding to Kate Middleton even outstripped the 1,800MW leap after the marriage of William’s parents, Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer, in 1981.

Electricity demand plunged yesterday when millions stayed glued to their screens for the key moments, with a 3,000MW drop for the balcony appearance and a 1,500MW dip as the bride-to-be left for Westminster Abbey.

Britain’s biggest power surge yet was 2,800MW at the end of the England football team’s nail-biting World Cup semi-final against West Germany in 1990. England went out of the tournament on penalties. (AFP)

Space wishes

Messages of good luck to the Duke of Cambridge and his bride have streamed in from countless far-flung spots across the globe – and beyond. Even astronauts from the International Space Station sent greetings to the couple, ahead of their marriage.

In their interstellar message, broadcast on the BBC, flight engineers Paolo Nespoli, Ron Garan and Cady Coleman offered their congratulations, shortly after the station passed over the UK in orbit. (PA)

Tree pair

A traditional tree planting that was also used to mark the marriage of Queen Victoria celebrated the marriage of Prince William to Kate Middleton yesterday.

Two young horse chestnut trees at the Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall were trained and twisted around each other, before they were planted together in the same hole to celebrate the marriage of the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

It is a technique that traditionally symbolises the unity of marriage and was used in 1840, when Victoria, William’s great-great-great-great-grandmother, married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. (PA)

Register search

Police in the UK are combing the national missing persons’ register to try to identify the remains of a man whose body had lain undiscovered in a field for up to a year.

The remains, believed to be of a man aged 20-30, were found by a woman walking her dog in a field of elephant grass on farmland in Rothersthorpe, Northamptonshire, on Monday.

A post-mortem examination proved inconclusive, and police must now wait for the results of further forensic tests to establish the man’s identity and try to determine how he died. (PA)

Half-cut

A drunk man stole a lawnmower from a school in the US and went for a three-mile joyride, during which he mowed his parents’ lawn.

Police in East Lyme, Connecticut, said 22-year-old Nikolaus Trombley was caught on tape.

Mr Trombley has been charged with third-degree larceny and burglary. (PA)

Son of a gun

An eight-year-old boy sold his father’s loaded gun to a fellow pupil for $3 (€2) at their primary school in New York City.

An alarmed mother told officials that her child brought the pistol home from the school in the Flushing section of Queens.

The seller and his father were taken into police custody. (PA)

Happy tail

Two golden retrievers survived a 50-metre plunge down a cliff to a river bank during a landslide.

Police in Clackamas County, Oregon, US, said officers rescued eight-year-old George and 10-year-old Doug after their fall down an 80-degree slope.

Their owner, John Grady, was working on a fence at his property when he saw the dogs wander out onto an unstable overhang that collapsed. (PA)

‘Wall’ couple split

A feuding New York City couple who built a wall through their house, because neither one would give it up, have finally been granted a divorce.

A judge had ordered Simon and Chana Taub to build the wall in their terraced home, because both refused to move and a speedy dissolution of a marriage could not be granted without one spouse admitting fault. (PA)

Animal cops

The Dutch government says the country’s first animal police officers are about to begin training to enforce laws protecting pets, livestock and wildlife against abuse.

The officers are drawn from the regular police force, and 125 of them will receive several months of training on animal welfare legislation and how to enforce it. (PA)

‘Prophet’ probed

Taiwanese authorities said yesterday they are investigating whether a self-proclaimed “prophet” is trying to make money with a prediction that the island will be engulfed by a giant tsunami in May.

The man, known to the public only as “Teacher Wang”, has set off a rush to build makeshift shelters from containers, and prosecutors are wondering if he might be colluding with companies in the container industry.

More than 100 shelters converted from cargo containers are being built in Puli after Wang made public a prophesy that a quake-induced monster wave would hit Taiwan on May 11, claiming millions of lives. (AFP)