He may not have used a broomstick or the ‘floo network’ to get there, but a seal found miles from the sea has been named Dumbledore by animal rescue staff.
The adult grey seal was given the name of the legendary Harry Potter wizard and Hogwarts headmaster by staff at RSPCA East Winch in Norfolk, where he is being treated.
He was taken to the specialist centre after being found more than 20 miles from the mouth of the River Mersey in a farmer’s field near Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside, on December 22.
Quits at 90 after 60 years with firm
A hard-working pensioner has finally retired aged 90 – after 60 years’ service with one firm.
Dennis Gerrish was even still cycling to work every day at Wiltshire-based Apetito where he was a gardener.
The nonagenarian’s career began in the 1950s when, at the age of 30, he joined the firm as a mechanic in the motor department at the old Waldens Farm Foods, staying until 1989.
Top-selling comic superheroes
A film about a team of comic superheroes and a compilation album of chart hits were the top-selling Christmas presents on Amazon.co.uk.
The Marvel superhero film Guardians of the Galaxy, starring Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel, was the most popular product across the UK, closely followed by NOW That’s What I Call Music! 89.
Films, video games and music dominated the top ten of items sold online in the run-up to Christmas from November 1 to December 19.
Monkey revives electric shock pal
Onlookers at a train station in northern India watched in awe as a monkey used all his powers to revive another monkey that suffered an electric shock and fell unconscious on the rail tracks.
The unconscious monkey fell down between the tracks, apparently after touching high-tension wires at the train station in the northern Indian city of Kanpur.
His companion came to the rescue and was captured on camera lifting the friend’s motionless body, shaking it, dipping it into a mud puddle and biting its head and skin – until the monkey came to after a few minutes and began moving again.
Arrested over macadamia nuts leak
South Korean prosecutors have arrested a government official who allegedly leaked information about an investigation into former Korean Air Lines executive Cho Hyun-ah, who forced a flight to return over a bag of macadamia nuts.
The Transport Ministry official was sent to a Seoul detention facility after a local court issued a warrant for his arrest, according to the Seoul Western Prosecutors’ Office and court officials. The official was suspected of providing the information to a Korean Air Lines executive, who allegedly tried to cover up the incident.
Cho, the daughter of Korean Air’s chairman, resigned as vice president at the airline earlier this month amid mounting public criticism that she forced a December 5 plane bound for South Korea from New York to return to a gate and kicked off a flight attendant because the nuts were served in a bag, not on a plate.
Big fries are back on menu in Japan
Big fries are going back on the menu in Japan. McDonald’s Japan confirmed it is to resume serving all portion sizes of fries on January 5 after resolving shortages due to labour disruptions on the US west coast. The fast-food giant began limiting customers to orders of small fries earlier this month.
The company said in a notice on its website that its fry inventory had improved thanks to air shipments and extra sea shipments from the US east coast. It apologised and said it would try to avoid further shortfalls at its 3,100 outlets in Japan.