A Chinese man wore a mask to hide his identity as he greeted well-wishers after winning the jackpot in the China Sport lottery in Chongqing, yesterday.
He collected a cheque for 177 million yuan (€18 million).
The man, reported to be in his 30s, later donated five million yuan to various charities. (AFP)
Open-air toilets
The city of Cape Town yesterday started enclosing controversial open air toilets in a shantytown that sparked tit-for-tat South African political “toilet war” scandals.
“City officials are already on the ground to start the physical construction of the toilet enclosures for the residents,” said newly elected mayor Patricia de Lille.
The Cape High Court in April ordered the country’s only major opposition-led city to build shelters for 1,316 toilets built in 2009, which it said had violated the right to dignity for residents in the city’s shack-filled east.
The issue sparked widespread outrage and protests after surfacing last year and was used by the ruling African National Congress (ANC) as a political point-scorer ahead of local government polls in May. (AFP)
Smurfs heist
A 13-year-old Belgian boy and his mother who made off with armfuls of toy Smurfs have been nabbed with the haul of small blue heroes dreamt up by a Belgian comic-book author, police said.
Staged weeks ahead of the worldwide release of the much-awaited Hollywood movie on Peyo’s Smurfs, the heist took place last Friday in a supermarket outside Ghent.
As the mother stood watch, the teenager stuffed bundles of Smurf toys into his clothes before the two left the store. But they were quickly identified thanks to surveillance cameras and confessed, police said.
The heist ran up to almost €600. (AFP)
Mystery cracked
A skull unearthed in David Attenborough’s garden has solved a gruesome 132-year-old murder riddle.
Remains found during excavations at the natural history film-maker’s property were confirmed as those of Julia Thomas, a wealthy widow chopped up and boiled by her housekeeper in 1879.
Detectives were finally able to close the case as a coroner formally recognised the skull and delivered a verdict of unlawful killing. The discovery was made in October last year by workmen building an extension at Mr Attenborough’s home in Richmond, south west London. (PA)
Let me in!
Teachers calmed children returning from a school trip to France by conducting a sing-along when a suspected stowaway began banging on the underside of their coach.
Worried staff from Hummersknott Academy near Darlington, County Durham, rang police as they headed towards London, who told them to carry on driving until officers could meet them.
Police found the man hanging on to the rear axle of the coach and he was arrested without him coming into contact with any of the 47 children, who were aged between 11 and 13. The incident happened as the pupils returned from a successful trip to Paris via the Channel Tunnel. (PA)
Railway sleeper
A 17-year-old boy escaped with cuts and bruises after being run over by a train in Iowa.
He told police he had been drinking at a music festival when he blacked out.
The train driver saw him unconscious on the track and slammed on the emergency brake but the engine rolled over him before it halted. (PA)
Dog soldiers
Two stray dogs taken in by US soldiers at a remote base in Afghanistan are starting new lives in America.
The troops did not want to leave them behind and raised about $6,000 to fly them out.
They were surprised by how quickly the donations came in after posting information about the dogs on Facebook. (PA)
Sausage role
American Joey Chestnut swallowed 62 hot dogs to win his fifth consecutive annual eating contest at New York’s Coney Island.
It was not his best, but it was enough to beat second-place winner Pat Bertoletti by nine hot dogs.
Chestnut set a world record in 2009 when he put away 68 hot dogs in 10 minutes. (PA)
Squatters arrested
Dutch police yesterday arrested 150 squatters and their supporters who tried to prevent them from clearing a squat in central Amsterdam.
The crowd set up a barricade and started throwing objects like glass and bricks as police closed in on the site, police spokesman Rob van der Veen said.
While police tried to breach the barricade, the group of largely homeless people hurled a variety of dangerous objects at them.
Occupying an empty building has been prohibited in the Netherlands since October 2010. (AFP)