Austrian police and firefighters have taken on the role of urban cowboys in a two-day round-up of a herd of cows that broke out of a fenced-off pasture and decided to go to town.
A police statement says the 43 animals defied attempts by police and volunteer firefighters to recapture them after wandering off on Thursday and heading toward the Upper Austrian town of Freistadt. After being chased away from the railway station, they endangered motorists by stampeding on to a two-lane highway before running into a town suburb.
Two firefighters who tried to stop them were injured and needed hospital treatment.
The statement said 18 of the animals remained on the loose yesterday. (AP)
China’s First Lady serenaded troops
A photo of China’s new First Lady singing to martial-law troops following the bloody 1989 military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square flickered across Chinese cyberspace.
The image of Peng Liyuan was swiftly scrubbed from the country’s internet before it could generate discussion online, but it revived a memory the leadership prefers to suppress and shows one of the challenges in presenting Peng on the world stage as the softer side of China.
The image of Mrs Peng – wearing a green military uniform as she sings to helmeted and rifle-bearing troops in Tiananmen Square – contrasts with her appearances this week at the age of 50 in trendy suits and coiffed hair while touring Russia and Africa. (AP)
‘Small World’, large cash
A disabled man has been awarded $8,000 (€6,241) by Disneyland in California after the It’s A Small World ride broke, stranding him for three hours while its theme song played continuously.
Jose Martinez was the only passenger not evacuated when the ride broke down and staff failed to call the fire department to free him.
Mr Martinez uses a wheelchair, suffers from panic attacks and high blood pressure, and needed to urinate for much of the time he was stranded. (PA)
Washable nappies are back
Parents in the UK are being offered a £100 (€119) incentive to ditch disposable nappies and switch to traditional washable alternatives instead.
Council chiefs in Swansea want to help reduce the mountain of disposable nappies piling up at landfill sites every year.
In Wales alone, more than 200 million disposable nappies are thrown out annually and they account for four per cent of all UK household waste.
The plastic contained within the unpleasant-smelling bundles can take up to 500 years to decompose. (AP)
Chimpanzees’ get an Easter surprise
Chimpanzees at a safari park have been treated to an Easter surprise with tailor-made eggs filled with their favourite foods.
The chimps tucked into giant ostrich eggs stuffed with peanut butter, strawberry yoghurt, honey and mealworms, which were hidden around their enclosure at Blair Drummond Safari Park, in Stirling.
Staff painted the shells in bright, colourful designs and the animals were sent on a traditional Easter egg hunt. Hot cross buns were also on the breakfast menu on Chimp Island to help warm up a cold morning. (PA)