A 600-year-old body found by archaeologists excavating the crannog site in Co Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, may have been the victim of an ancient murder mystery, it has emerged.

The fact the woman, who was in her late teens when she died, was not buried in either a recognised graveyard or in traditional manner has led archaeologists to consider foul play.

Excavation director Dr Nora Bermingham dated the teenager’s death to around the 15th or 16th centuries. The skull of the woman has sustained damage, but archaeologists are not sure if that happened prior to death or by disruption of the site in the centuries since. (AP)

Buckle saves man from stray bullet

Investigators say a man was saved by his belt buckle when he was hit by a stray bullet during a shootout outside a US grocery store.

Police said a man was shot in the stomach on a Philadelphia street and a bullet also hit an employee inside 8 Brother’s Supermarket.

The employee, Bienvenido Reynoso, 38, said he hit the ground when shots started flying and CCTV shows a snack cake being shot off the shelf above his head.

He says he did not realise he had been hit until someone pointed out he had a hole in his shirt - which was when he found the bullet in his belt buckle. (AP)

Fathers avoid questions about sex

Fathers do not want to answer their children’s questions about sex, with 95 per cent of parents saying that it is mothers who take on that role, new research suggests.

Of a random sample of parents, most would wish their child to be taught about sex from the age of 10, according to Mums Show Live!, an exhibition targeted at parents with children aged four to 12.

One in five parents would prefer a teacher to explain sex to their children and only one in 10 say that fathers would handle the responsibility well. (PA)

Possible transplant ‘pregnancy’

A hospital says a Turkish woman who became the first person to successfully receive the uterus of a dead donor may now be pregnant.

Derya Sert, 22, was born without a womb and had one transplanted in August 2011. Specialists at Akdeniz University Hospital placed an embryo into Ms Sert’s womb in the hope she will become the first woman with a uterus transplant to give birth. A hospital spokeswoman said that early test results were “consistent with the expected signs of pregnancy” but cautioned that it is too early to declare her pregnant.

A successful pregnancy and would provide hope for women who were born without a womb or lost a uterus to disease. (PA)

Badger prosecutions rising fast

The number of people prosecuted for cruelty to badgers has almost doubled in five years, UK figures show.

In 2007, thirty people were prosecuted in magistrates courts under the Protection of Badgers Act and by 2011 that figure had risen to 58, the figures reveal.

Labour raised concerns that some campaigning in support of badger culling to tackle TB in cattle could be contributing to cruelty against the animals. But the Government says the cull of badgers, which spread TB to cattle herds, is needed as part of a “science-led” programme to tackle a disease which is devastating to farmers. (AP)