An Australian fisherman bitten by a shark while trawling for prawns at sea made a 20-hour dash for hospital, only to have his boat run aground within sight of land. Quentin Gorrell was eventually picked up by the police in a dinghy and brought to hospital, he told the NT News newspaper in Darwin yesterday.
"We got totally bogged and could feel we were starting to go over. We couldn't believe it, the wharf was seriously spitting distance away. It was a case of so close but so far," Mr Gorrell said.
The shark bit Mr Gorrell on the hand, ripping tendons in his index finger to the bone, as he untangled it from nets on this prawn trawler off the coast of northern Australia. "It almost took my finger off from the second joint," he said.
The attack happened on Monday near Croker Island northeast of Darwin in the Northern Territory, but Gorrell took 20 hours sailing to reach Darwin, only to run aground on low-tide mudflats.
Minister sorry for jokes about death
Canada's Farm Minister has apologised for making tasteless jokes about a fatal listeriosis outbreak and saying he hoped it had killed off his main political rival. The outbreak at a Maple Leaf Foods deli meat plant has been linked to at least 16 deaths and prompted one of Canada's biggest food recalls.
The Canadian Press reported that, during a conference call between officials to discuss the crisis last month, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz had quipped, "This is like a death by a thousand cuts. Or should I say cold cuts."
On hearing about a new death in the Atlantic province of Prince Edward Island, Mr Ritz said: "Please tell me it's Wayne Easter." Mr Easter is the farm spokesman for the opposition Liberal party and comes from the island.
"I want to offer my most humble and heartfelt regrets to the families of those affected by this tragedy. I did not intend to add to their suffering and I very deeply apologise for that," Mr Ritz said in a statement.
Aussie pub dares patron to bare all down under
An Australian pub offering free drinks to women who remove their underwear and display it to patrons and staff will be investigated by alcohol licensing regulators, authorities said yesterday.
The Saint Hotel in Melbourne has promised a "No Undie Sundie" event over the coming weekend, where woman who remove their underwear and hang it above the bar will receive A$50 (€27) worth of free drinks. Women who flash their bras and underwear to staff also get free drinks, the pub said, in a promotion that women's protection groups said was "almost an invitation to sexual assault".
"On the face of it, it looks like an inappropriate liquor promotion and we will be investigating with a view to banning it," Liquor Licensing Victoria director Sue Maclellan told the Herald Sun newspaper.
Happy 113th birthday for world's oldest man
The world's oldest man celebrated his 113th birthday yesterday, telling reporters at his home in southern Japan about his joyful life and healthy appetite.
"I'm happy," said Tomoji Tanabe as the local mayor presented him with flowers and a giant tea cup glazed with his name and date of birth. "I'm well. I eat a lot," he added.
Mr Tanabe, recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest living male last year, eats mostly vegetables and believes the key to longevity is not drinking alcohol. The former civil servant lives with his son, drinks milk every day and has no major illnesses, although he now writes in his diary only once or twice a month. He used to write on a daily basis.
"His favourite food is fried shrimp, but we've heard that he's cut back on oily food," said an official at his hometown of Miyakonojo, southwest of Tokyo. "He's said he wants to live for another 10 years, that he doesn't want to die."
Berlin Wall goes under the hammer
Four graffiti-covered giant slabs of the Berlin Wall could fetch as much as €3,000 each at an auction today, a Berlin auction house said yesterday.
The four 2.8-tonne chunks of the wall that once divided Communist East Berlin and capitalist West Berlin are pieces of German history, said Hans Peter Plettner, spokesman for Deutsche Grundstuecksauktionen AG.
Even though much of the Berlin Wall was quickly broken up and ground down for road construction after it was demolished in 1989, a myriad of its pieces chipped off by souvenir hunters remain popular with tourists and Berliners alike.
German radio station to air show in Latin
A Berlin radio station will broadcast its morning show entirely in Latin on September 26 to mark the European day of languages. Trailers, news and weather will be translated into Latin for the Kiss FM show, listened to by around 4.2 million people daily, to raise awareness of the tragedy of dead languages.
"We are particularly looking forward to a member of staff who has written a Latin rap song," station spokesman Michael Weiland said.