Police in China’s capital have warned women not to wear miniskirts, hot pants or other skimpy clothing on buses and subways during the hot summer in order to avoid sexual harassment, Chinese media has reported.
Women should also shield themselves with bags or newspapers, and sit or stand in lower areas rather than in raised seats to avoid being surreptitiously photographed, according to guidelines issued by the traffic department of the Beijing Public Security Bureau and cited by the official China Daily.
Women often complain of groping and other harassment in Beijing’s crowded buses and subways. (Reuters)
Anteater gets its very own minder
Tammy the fun-loving anteater is being given her own minder to stop her from being trampled by late-night visitors to ZSL London Zoo this summer.
The 12-year-old, tree-climbing anteater is famed for her friendly disposition and fondness for ambling around the public walkways of her exhibit after hours.
But with naturally poor eyesight, she has a tendency for clumsiness, prompting the zoo to take special measures to steer her out of trouble during a series of late-night events.
Zoo Lates, which started yesterday, sees thousands of post-work revellers descend on ZSL London Zoo for an adults-only Friday night out. (AP)
Lifelong reminder of Richmond Park
A body art fan has had a detailed map of Richmond Park tattooed on her left thigh after regular walks there helped her to beat depression.
Jessica Pinney, 28, an Australian sound artist, paid £185 (€217) to have a combination of the current map of the park and an older one inked on when she returned home to Melbourne.
She told London’s Evening Standard: “I feel like Richmond Park is my home and I wanted to have it tattooed on me so it’s always with me and I’m kind of always there. It’ll be hilarious if I ever get asked for directions there – I can pull down my trousers or pull up my skirt and give them some really good advice.” (PA)
Supermarket’s fishy excuse for service
Staff at a Waitrose supermarket in the UK refused to fillet a fish because it was “too slippery”, according to The Sun.
The bizarre decision was blasted as the latest example of health and safety. It happened after a female customer asked her local supermarket in Warwickshire to slice up a trout.
The assistant at the store, whose website invites shoppers to “just ask if you’d like your fish skinned or filleted”, initially agreed.
But a supervisor then insisted the fish was “too slippery” to get a knife through – and chopping it up “wasn’t possible on the grounds of health and safety”. (PA)
Mummy emerges for restoration
A 2,500-year-old Egyptian mummy is coming out of his coffin in Boston to undergo rare cleaning and restoration procedures at Massachusetts General Hospital.
The mummy – known as Padihershef – has been on display at the hospital since it received him as a gift from the city in 1823 as a medical oddity.
An expert trained in restoring ancient artefacts will remove the mummy from his coffin and use cotton swabs to clear salt deposits from his face. His coffin will also be repaired.
Padihershef was a 40-year-old stonecutter in Thebes, an ancient city on the west bank of the Nile in what is today’s Luxor. (PA)