A lamb has been saved from the dinner plate after being found dumped in a wheelie bin on a city street.
District nurse Gillian Powell was doing her house calls when she heard a high-pitched “baa-baa” coming from the bin on Watts Street in Levenshulme, Manchester, UK. She phoned her colleague Georgina Holmes at a nearby clinic, who rushed down to help investigate.
The pair plucked up enough courage to open the top of the bin and found the month-old animal inside. They wrapped the lamb in a blanket, before ringing the police and the RSPCA.
The animal was checked over by a vet and found to be uninjured and healthy, apart from a slightly ulcerated eye, for which he is receiving treatment. (PA)
Baby buried alive
A pensioner saved a newborn baby who had been buried alive in a flower garden in Singapore.
Tay Kim Sia said he was smoking a cigarette on the rooftop terrace of his apartment building when he noticed tiny legs sticking up out of a large planter box.
Mr Tay said that he dug around the legs and found a baby boy with his umbilical cord still attached and a black plastic bag tied around his neck.
Other pensioners nearby helped clean the baby and called police. He was taken to hospital, where he was said to be in a healthy condition. (PA)
No napping
US air traffic controllers are to get an extra hour off between shifts after a series of incidents when they fell asleep at work.
But transport heads have rejected another proposed remedy for them to take official naps during their shifts.
Transportation secretary Ray LaHood said today that the government would not pay controllers to sleep while on duty. (PA)
Medvedev dance
Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev was shown dancing awkwardly to a pop song in a video spreading across the internet yesterday, which he said showed a reunion of his university class.
The brief clip uploaded on YouTube by an unidentified person showed the Russian leader in a suit jacket and jeans, stepping and waving his hips alongside several other people to a perestroika-era hit song, American Boy, with a concentrated expression on his face.
Mr Medvedev confirmed the video is real, but one comment stated that “Medvedev is killing his rating so that Putin can reign for the next 12 years.” Russia is headed for presidential elections in 2012, and neither man has ruled out running for the new six-year term at the helm of the country. (AFP)
Papal knock-offs
Police in Rome seized thousands of Pope John Paul II knock-off watches and novelty devices yesterday in a crackdown on false merchandising ahead of the late Pontiff’s beatification on May 1.
The counterfeit papal souvenirs were found stashed in several warehouses on the outskirts of Rome and were destined to hit market stalls around the Vatican as the celebrations kicked off, Italy’s financial police said.
The 5.5 million items seized – which included fake Rolex, Omega and Cartier watches, as well as pirate Mont Blanc pens – had a market value of around €15 million.
Three Chinese nationals were questioned as part of the squeeze on forgers hoping to take advantage of the 300,000 pilgrims expected for John Paul II’s beatification at the Vatican. (AFP)
Mass survey
Schools in Malaysia are adding an assessment of pupils’ weight to their report cards as part of a campaign to curb obesity.
Cafeterias will also be banned from selling junk food and sugar-laden soft drinks.
Health workers want parents to act if the reports show their children should watch their diet. (PA)
Abbey app
A new official royal wedding app which offers a 3D tour of Westminster Abbey is to be released.
Mobile phone users will be able to take a virtual stroll through the ancient church, starting at Great West Door – the point where Kate Middleton will begin her walk down the aisle to meet Prince William.
Abbey 3D, which features an internal scaled replica of the 1,000-year-old abbey, uses revolutionary laser-scanning technology and 3D modelling. (PA)