A badger flash-mob has protested against a UK Government-led cull of the animals.
Fifty ‘badgers’ danced to Queen guitarist Brian May’s own version of the popular YouTube Badgers song, which was inspired by Queen’s hit record Flash, in the demonstration outside the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs.
They burst into song at noon for five minutes as they called for the Government to ditch badger cull plans in favour of badger vaccinations to control bovine TB. (AP)
Job vacancy: spotting polar bears
Norway has a vacancy for a summer job spending three weeks in the Arctic wilderness spotting polar bears.
The governor’s office on the remote northern islands of Svalbard wants someone to act as lookout to warn researchers doing projects in the region.
The job requires previous experience with the outdoors, good polar bear spotting skills and a competence with firearms. (PA)
Ghost trains on Britain’s main line
Some British main line train stations are operating with fewer than 30 passengers a year.
Teesside Airport station in Darlington had just 14 passengers in the 12 months ending March 2012, while Dorking West in Surrey could boast only 16 passengers and Denton in Greater Manchester only 30, figures published by the Office of Rail Regulation showed.
A spokeswoman for Northern Rail said services such as those stopping at Denton were often known as “ghost trains”, adding: “It was part of our rail franchise agreement that we would keep this Denton service going in order to keep the line open.” (PA)
Volcano may be World Heritage site
Japan’s Mount Fuji looks likely to win recognition as a World Heritage site.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs issued a notice saying it had received notification that Mount Fuji was recommended for World Heritage status by the International Council on Monuments and Sites, a body affiliated with Unesco.
Formal approval is expected in June at a World Heritage Committee meeting in Cambodia.
Mount Fuji would be Japan’s 13th cultural World Heritage site. The 3,776 metre volcanic peak is ringed by lakes, national parks, temples and shrines. It rises from the Pacific coast and is seen as a sacred part of Japan’s cultural landscape. (AP)
Somalia to restart mail after 20 years
Somalis may soon be receiving letters from abroad for the first time in more than 20 years after a deal was struck with the United Nations’ postal agency, the latest step towards ending Somalia’s isolation following two decades of civil conflict.
But the challenges to bringing the Horn of Africa country back into the global postal community are manifold – there are no functioning post offices, only the main roads are named and most houses do not have a number. (Reuters)
Emperor’s lock of hair is auctioned
A lock of hair belonging to the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph has been auctioned in Vienna for €13,720.
The lock, which belonged to the estate of the Emperor’s valet, Eugen Ketterl, had been valued at about €450. Emperor Franz Joseph ruled from 1848 to 1916 and was one of Europe’s longest reigning monarchs. (PA)