World Briefs

A bronze statue of a mother striking the same pose as Copenhagen’s landmark Little Mermaid model has been unveiled at the start of a seaside town’s arts festival.

Georgina Baker, 38, was chosen to model for the £25,000 nude statue which has been installed at Folkestone harbour in Kent. The statue, by Turner Prize-nominee Cornelia Parker, was created after Mrs Baker responded to an advert dropped through 20,000 letterboxes requesting a model.

Ms Parker wanted a robust and “strong 21st-century woman” rather than a “stick-thin model”. Married with two children, Mrs Baker is a scuba diver, a qualified interior designer and an aerobics instructor who works part-time helping disabled people through physiotherapy.

The artwork is based on Copenhagen’s Little Mermaid statue which was unveiled in 1913. Sculptor Edvard Eriksen asked his wife Eline Eriksen to pose for the body, while its head was modelled on ballerina Ellen Price who declined to pose nude. (PA)

Bonus payout

A gambler won a $25,000 jackpot on a Pittsburgh casino slot machine in the US that should have paid out only $12.

The payout was one of five at Rivers Casino involving machines that were not properly tested or certified.

Casino officials say the man was allowed to keep the jackpot and it has now retrained all of its technicians. (PA)

Saab’s problems

The owner of Swedish car maker Saab says it does not have the money to pay employees’ wages.

Dutch owner Swedish Automobile, previously known as Spyker Cars, has courted Chinese and Russian investors and put the Saab factory up for sale in its attempts to revive the brand it took over from General Motors last year.

But after months of production stoppages and problems with paying suppliers, Saab said the situation is so dire that it will not be able to pay its 3,700 employees.

The car factory in Trollhattan, in south-western Sweden, has been plagued by production stoppages since March as Saab has struggled to pay suppliers for parts. (AP)

Good excuse

An agoraphobic who made so much in benefits that he ran an illegal loans business has escaped trial because he is scared to leave his house.

Colin Watson, 62, of Ripley Court in Middlesbrough, UK, set himself up as a money lender using £86,000 paid to him by the taxpayer over six years.

Prosecutors at Teesside Crown Court abandoned their case as they could find no practical way to hold a trial. (PA)

Bieber scuffle

A scuffle outside a Macy’s store where teenage singing star Justin Bieber was attending a promotional event was described by his representative as “a misunderstanding” yesterday.

The incident happened on Thursday outside the store in Manhattan, where Mr Bieber, 17, was promoting his new fragrance.

Police said chaos erupted when the 17-year-old singer left the store to greet fans.

Officers and Bieber’s personal security tried to usher him back inside when a man blocked the doorway and refused to get out of the way. Police said they had to physically move him. The man was issued a summons for disorderly conduct and released, but police learned later that he was a member of the singer’s personal security team.

Mr Bieber was not injured in the scuffle. (AP)

Penguin moved

Fears over the health of a young Emperor penguin stranded on a New Zealand beach prompted officials to move it to a zoo yesterday.

The penguin’s rare 2,000-mile journey from Antarctica has captured the imagination of many. But vets became concerned enough about the bird that they stepped in. (AP)