The RSPCA in the UK has launched an appeal for information after eight newborn puppies were found in a rubbish bin.
The tiny pups – some with their umbilical cords still attached – were discovered by children in Queensferry, North Wales. Bosses from the animal charity said they were stunned at how someone could throw away the animals as if they were rubbish.
RSPCA inspector Tim Jones said: “It is totally unnecessary and these puppies could have died if nobody had heard them. They could not be seen in the bin.”
The puppies – thought to be Staffordshire bull terrier cross-breeds – are being cared for the RSPCA.
Boy sailors lied about their ages
Almost a third of sailors who served in the Royal Navy in World War I were aged just 14 to 17, records have shown.
An analysis of digitised historic naval records revealed that huge numbers of youngsters lied about their age so they could enlist. The Royal Navy Registers of Seaman’s Services, 1900-1928, published by family history website Ancestry, detail name, birthdate, vessels served on and other service details.
Around 100,000 boys enlisted after the outbreak of war in 1914, many of them leaving home for the first time, even though the legal combat age was 18.
Shedding light on dead soldier
A shattered pair of glasses in an Indian museum has helped shed light on the sacrifice of a volunteer soldier who is thought to have been the first Bengali to die in World War I.
Jogendra Sen was 28 when he was killed in action near the Somme in 1916, where he was the only non-white member of the 15th West Yorkshire Regiment. His story was rediscovered following a chance discovery by an expert in India’s involvement in World War I, Santanu Das, a reader in English at King’s College London, a Leeds University spokesman said.
Das came across Pte Sen’s bloodstained glasses in a museum display case on a visit to his home town of Chandernagore, a former French colony. He said he was “absolutely stunned” when he saw the glasses.
Rembrandt treat for dying woman
A Dutch charity has granted a terminally-ill woman’s dying wish, wheeling her into Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum on a special bed for a private viewing of an immensely popular exhibition of Rembrandt paintings.
The 78-year-old woman, who suffers from ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, was among three terminally-ill patients taken to the museum by the Ambulance Wish Foundation. The terminally-ill patients visited the museum after hours, avoiding the crowds who have flocked to see the blockbuster Rembrandt show.
Kees Veldboer, a former ambulance driver, established the foundation in 2007 and has since helped nearly 6,000 people fulfil their dying wishes. Veldboer said the woman “was very happy to be able to enjoy it in peace for the last time”.
Bill to beat the ‘cheater pints’
A bill seeking to crack down on ‘cheater pints’ of beer has overcome its first hurdle in the US.
The Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee voted 12-2 in support of Democratic Senator John Patrick’s Bill, which would require bars and restaurants in Maine that advertise that a beer is a pint to sell it in a glass that is at least 16 ounces. Patrick said some establishments use 14-ounce glasses, even though they advertise the beers as pints.
Gregory Mineo, the state’s top liquor inspector, told politicians that the Bill would be impossible to enforce. The Maine Restaurant Association and others have said that the Bill is unnecessary because of consumer protection laws. It heads to the full House and Senate.