[attach id=354944 size="medium"]Photo: AP/Schalk van Zuydam[/attach]

A man feeds a sea lion by placing a sardine in its mouth and calling out to the animal in Cape Town, South Africa, yesterday. The US Navy trains dolphins and sea lions under the US Navy Marine Mammal Programme, based in San Diego, California, to perform tasks such as ship and harbour protection and mine detection.

Treats selling like teacakes

Sales of Tunnock’s teacakes have soared after they featured in the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, a supermarket said.

Customers have been stocking up on the sweet treat after giant dancing teacakes whirled around Celtic Park on Wednesday night.

Waitrose said that in the 24 hours following the ceremony, sales of the chocolate-coated marshmallow snack rose by 62%. David Jones, supply chain director at Waitrose, said: “We usually expect to see people marking major sporting events with a barbecue or a beer with friends and family – but the sudden demand for Tunnock’s teacakes isn’t something we anticipated.” (PA)

‘Pants bomb’ fails to explode

The 2009 “underpants bomb” plot failed because the terrorist had been wearing his explosive-laden undergarments for more than two weeks and soiled the explosives, a senior US official said.

Umar Abdulmutallab sent shockwaves through US intelligence when he successfully smuggled a bomb onto a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas day three years ago. The British-educated Nigerian was able to light the bomb but it failed to explode, causing minor burns to the would-be bomber but sparing his fellow passengers.

John Pistole, the head of the Transportation Security Administration, said the bomb did not detonate because Abdulmutallab had been wearing the same underwear for more than two weeks. Asked whether the bomb’s fuse had become “damp” from two weeks of wear, Mr Pistole said: “Let’s say it was degraded. We’re getting kind of personal now.” (PA)

Husky helpers help move house

Dog owner Keath Armstrong put his trio of huskies to work – using them to help him move house.

The dogs pulled a sled, filled with Mr Amstrong’s belongings, some 217 miles from his old flat in Manchester to his new home in Dorset. He walked alongside his pets – Sakari, Nukka and Nala – helping to raise money for The Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

The sled also carried supplies, including a tent for overnight pit stops and food for the dogs. He said: “Walking won’t be a problem for them – they need plenty of exercise and we’ve been in training by doing the Wainwright walks in the Cumbrian fells.” (PA)

Mighty mouthful for a boy

Dental surgeons in India’s largest city have removed 232 small “tooth-like structures” from the mouth of a teenage boy with a rare medical condition.

Mumbai medics said the 17-year-old, from a small village in western India, had been suffering from jaw pain and swelling for more than 18 months.

Surgeon Vandana Thoravade said Ashik Gavai suffered from complex odontoma, a rare condition in which a tumour grows underneath the gum and creates smaller tooth-like growths called denticles. (PA)