China has had to delay the loan of two pandas to France because the Greek debt crisis dominated the G20 summit when they hoped to finalise details, French Ecology Minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet said yesterday.
“Things were very far advanced. Unfortunately because of the Greek crisis, the sovereign debt crisis, the emergency G20 summit, there was no time for the final discussion between President Hu Jintao and President (Nicolas) Sarkozy,” she said.
The pandas are destined for the Beauval zoo in central France. (AFP)
Kids think air battle is TV show
Many schoolchildren in the UK believe the Battle of Britain is a TV talent show, and that the Tudors is a brand of crisps, a survey claims.
A poll of 1,000 eight to 13-year-olds reveals gaps in youngsters’ historical knowledge, and suggests that many have a limited understanding of important events and characters.
Four in five of those questioned (80 per cent) thought that the Battle of Britain is a British TV talent show, while just five per cent knew that it was an air conflict between Britain and Germany fought during the Second World War.
Less than one in five (19 per cent) correctly said that the Tudors were a historical royal family, with just under half (45 per cent) identifying them as a brand of crisps.
A further 27 per cent said the Tudors are a group of people who help students in lessons. (PA)
Wembley gates fetch £5,875
Two gates from the original Wembley Stadium have fetched £5,875 at an auction in London.
The Royal Tunnel Gates, which feature in pictures from the last time London hosted the Olympics, were one of nine lots from the stadium put under the hammer.
The timber gates, which measure approximately five metres by five metres and date from 1923, marked the entrance through which teams were driven to compete and were photographed in 1948 flanked by tablets charting that year’s Olympics.
Other items in the auction included a door panel from the stadium’s royal retiring room, which sold for £2,350, and a window from the same room, which fetched £1,175. (PA)
Cleaned out
A mother had to smash the window of a running washing machine to save her five-year-old daughter who had climbed inside at a US laundry. The machine had started running even though it was marked “out of order”. The mother ran to her car, grabbed a spanner, smashed the machine door and pulled out her child, who suffered minor cuts. (PA)
Stung to death
A DIY enthusiast fell to his death when he disturbed a massive swarm of bees in his home and lost his balance. Donald Mason, 49, was standing on a chair to fix a hole in the wall of his house in Miami when the bees startled him. Mr Mason hit his head on the floor and died. His teenage daughter discovered his bee-covered body hours later. (PA)
Sale of car triggers clan war
At least eight people have been killed in a Philippines clan war triggered by the sale of a car.
Gun battles raged for two days between a Muslim clan and two rival families in Lanao del Sur province’s Sultan Dumalondong town.
An unpaid debt from a car sale that led to a killing in 2001 was followed by retaliation by both sides that culminated in the clashes. (PA)