A tower bell above the rooftops of Wolfpassing village is unique – it is embossed with a swastika and praise for Adolf Hitler.
The Wolfpassing bell pays homage to the Führer for his 1938 annexation of Austria, a move supported back then by the vast majority of the nation’s citizens. It describes Hitler as “the unifier and Führer of all Germans” and says he freed the Ostmark – Nazi jargon for Austria – “from the yoke of suppression by foreign elements and brought it home into the Great-German Reich.”
The government’s recent sale of Wolfpassing castle has made the bell an issue beyond the sleepy village of 1,500 people about 60 miles west of Vienna. Officials are scrambling for explanations why the bell evaded notice for so long. (PA)
Club supremo Stringfellow a father at 72
Nightclub owner Peter Stringfellow has become a father again at the age of 72 after his wife Bella gave birth to a girl (pictured).
Their daughter, Rosabella, was born at London’s Portland Hospital yesterday morning. The businessman, who has two grown-up children, married Bella in 2009.
Speaking at the time, he told the Daily Mirror: “My last child was born 48 years ago, so I’m up for the challenge.
“I know it’s going to be tough, so of course we’ll have nannies – a night nanny, and a day nanny and a holiday nanny and an aeroplane nanny. I’m ready for the hardship.’’ (PA)
President vows to strip military of perks
Officers in Ecuador’s armed forces could be about to lose their privileges and perks. President Rafael Correa has called for officers to be stripped of separate dining facilities and meals. In a speech marking Navy Day, he called such practices anachronistic, hateful vestiges of inequality. The populist leftist leader also criticised “exclusive” clubs for military officers paid for with taxpayers’ money. While clubs and recreational facilities for officers are better appointed in Ecuador than those for enlisted personnel, service people do pay fees to help maintain them. (PA)
Worm dig boy finds concealed weapon
A nine-year-old boy digging for worms in Arizona found a gun buried near his home.
The stainless-steel .38-calibre revolver was in plastic bag along with one bullet just under the ground’s surface.
Police said it appears the gun was only covered up to hide it until someone came back to get it. They do not know who owns the weapon or how it ended up in the ground. (PA)
Austen ring blow for US singer Clarkson
The British Government has stepped in to stop US singer Kelly Clarkson taking a gold and turquoise ring once owned by Jane Austen out of the country.
The star bought the jewellery at auction last year for more than £150,000, (€171,772) but culture minister Ed Vaizey has put a temporary export bar on the ring in a bid to keep it in the UK.
It is one of only three surviving pieces of jewellery known to have belonged to the Pride and Prejudice author, having been given to her sister Cassandra and then passed down through the family before it was sold.
Mr Vaizey said: “Jane Austen’s modest lifestyle and her early death mean that objects associated with her of any kind are extremely rare, so I hope that a UK buyer comes forward so this simple but elegant ring can be saved for the nation.” (PA)