A radio station defended playing an obscene song on air by claiming it was actually about an Italian toasted panini sandwich. Brick FM was reprimanded by Ofcom after it broadcast the track More Punany by Dr Evil during a daytime show.
In its defence, the station claimed punany, which is slang for vagina, referred to a “sandwich sold locally and is made of Italian bread with cheese and tomato which is heated up” but the communications watchdog said it had “serious concerns” about the station and warned further breaches could lead to “regulatory action”. (PA)
Plants clean up
Genetically modified plants developed in the UK could be used to clean up US military testing grounds.
British scientists have given plants bacterial genes that allow them to thrive around TNT and RDX, toxic explosive compounds found in shells, bombs and missiles.
It allows the plants to decontaminate land polluted by left-over residues from test firing, lead researcher Dr Liz Rylott, from the University of York’s Centre for Novel Agricultural Products (CNAP). (PA)
Boy held
A 14-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving after a stolen motorbike crashed, killing another teenager.
West Midlands Police said a 17-year-old youth died at the scene of the accident in Penn Fields, Wolverhampton, which happened at about 12.25 a.m. yesterday.
The Buell X1 Lightning, which had earlier been reported stolen to the police, was being ridden with a pillion passenger when it left the carriageway in Rookery Lane.
The 17-year-old victim, who is from Wolverhampton but has yet to be formally identified, suffered serious head injuries and was declared dead at the scene. (PA)
Shooting party
Four drunken police officers opened fire on a funeral service they were assigned to guard in Nigeria, killing at least three mourners. A police spokesman said they shot for no reason after drinking heavily.
The four are being held pending the filing of criminal charges. (PA)
Police warning
Police would not be able to cope with disturbances on the scale of this summer’s riots during next year’s Olympics, the officer co-ordinating security for the Games has said.
Scotland Yard’s Assistant Commissioner Chris Allison said that, while lessons had been learned, there was no doubt that police “still wouldn’t be able to cope” if faced with riots on the scale seen in the capital on August 8.
Officers were waiting for the conclusions of an internal review and a report on public order policing by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) before making any decisions “about what we need to put in place in Games time”, he said. (PA)
Novel solution
Postal authorities in the Chinese capital have come up with a novel solution to a soaring divorce rate – love letters sent with a seven-year delay.
The new service allows couples in the first flush of romance to post a letter their partner will only receive seven years later, the China Daily reported yesterday, saying that was when relationships often began to cool.
Divorce is becoming increasingly common in China. In Beijing, the divorce rate has risen from 11,582 in 2004 to 21,013 last year, according to government data.
Special envelopes containing a card for a personalised message went on sale in Beijing on September 9 – considered auspicious because the words “nine nine” in Chinese sound similar to the word “forever”. (AFP)
Wrong country
Two South African rugby fans scoured the Wellington suburb of Eastbourne for their hotel, only to find it was half a world away in the British seaside town of the same name, a report said yesterday.
Michael and Sunette Adendorff travelled to the New Zealand capital to watch the Springboks play Wales in the Rugby World Cup believing they has secured accommodation at the Majestic Hotel, the Dominion Post reported.
But instead of enjoying the “splendid” beach views advertised on Majestic’s website, they found themselves wandering Wellington’s streets unable to locate the hotel on their GPS navigator, the newspaper said.
The penny finally dropped when the pair asked for directions at a local shop and pharmacist Linda Burke explained the hotel was actually some 19,000 kilometres (11,800 miles) away on the British south coast. (AFP)
Sexual healing
Police in Arizona have arrested 20 members of an American group called the “Goddess Temple” for allegedly offering sexual services online under the guise of religious healing.
Officers went undercover and are working to track down another 17 suspects, said Phoenix Police Sergeant Steve Martos, with more arrests expected soon.
The probe into the Goddess Temple lasted six months, culminating in raids on September 7 in Phoenix and in the northern Arizona city of Sedona, a tourist haven.
Detectives gathered evidence proving male and female “practitioners” were performing sexual acts in exchange for monetary “donations” under the guise of offering religious services, said Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery, whose office will lead the prosecution. (AFP)
Polar recreation
A team of six adventurers are to follow in the footsteps of polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton by attempting to cross the Antarctic on foot.
To mark the centenary of Shackleton’s 1914 expedition, the team will traverse the Antarctic continent from the Weddell Sea to the Ross Sea via the South Pole. (PA)