World briefs

James Bond’s geiger counter wristwatch from hit movie Thunderball has turned up following years of mystery about its whereabouts after it was found at a car boot sale.

The prop was key to the plot of the film as it helped the agent locate stolen atomic weapons during underwater scenes in the 1965 film.

The Breitling watch was picked up for £25 (€29) but is now to be sold by Christie’s in London with an estimated price of up to £60,000 (€70,115).

The basic watch was originally made by Breitling in 1962, then adapted by the James Bond art department, and was the only one produced for the movie.

It is thought it had been passed on by someone who worked at Pinewood Studios, where much of the movie was made. (AP)

Pilot locked out of cockpit

An airline captain was accidentally locked out of his cockpit after going to the toilet, forcing his co-pilot to make an emergency landing.

Air India said the cockpit door jammed during a flight over central India and all efforts to open it, even from inside, failed. The co-pilot landed the plane at the nearest airport.

The door was fixed by ground maintenance staff and the plane resumed its flight. The airline said passengers were not in any danger. (PA)

‘Don’t wear socks please’

Pakistan has told civil servants not to wear socks as the country turns off air-conditioners amid a chronic power crisis and soaring temperatures.

The central government has turned off all air-conditioning in its offices as the country endures blackouts of up to 20 hours a day in some places.

As part of a new dress code, moccasins or sandals must be worn without socks.

The power shortages have sparked violent protests and crippled key industries, costing hundreds of thousands of jobs in a country already beset by high unemployment, a failing economy, widespread poverty and a Taliban insurgency. (Reuters)

Taken for a record ride

A member of staff at Chicago’s Navy Pier rode the tourist spot’s Ferris wheel for more than two days, setting a world record.

Clinton Shepherd spent 48 hours, eight minutes and 25 seconds on it and said it was “a very overwhelming experience”. Guinness World Records allowed him to have one five-minute break each hour. He played hours of video games to stay awake during the ride and watched James Bond and Batman films. (PA)

Lennon artefacts donated

Handwritten John Lennon lyrics to songs such as Strawberry Fields Forever, as well as letters from the former Beatles star, have been given to the UK.

The manuscripts and documents – some of them unseen in public – have been donated to the British Library by the Fab Four’s biographer Hunter Davies who wanted to ensure his collection was kept intact.

The lyrics to In My Life are also among the items handed over yesterday as the British Library became the first place to benefit from the “cultural gifts scheme”.

Hunter Davies, 77, befriended the members of The Beatles in the 1960s. (AP)