Sound-effects specialist Wayne Allwine, who followed in the footsteps of Walt Disney to provide the falsetto voice of Mickey Mouse for the past 32 years, has died after he succumbed to complications from diabetes in Los Angeles on Monday. He was 62.
He was only the third person to lend his voice to the famed rodent. Disney himself started voicing Mickey Mouse in 1928, when he made his talking debut in Steamboat Willie. Jimmy Macdonald took over the responsibilities in 1947 and handed over the reins to his protege Mr Allwine in 1977.
Mr Allwine provided Mickey's voice for such movies as Mickey's Christmas Carol(1983), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), and The Prince and the Pauper (1990). He also brought Mickey to life for Disney theme parks, TV, radio and live stage events.
Mr Allwine joined Disney in 1966, working his way up from a job in the mail room. He worked under sound-effects expert Mr Macdonald for seven-and-a-half years. He is survived by his wife, Russi Taylor, who provides the voice of Minnie Mouse, and five children from previous marriages. (Reuters)
Burglar calls police for help
A burglar had to call Dutch police to free him after finding himself trapped in an attempt to break into a school in Amsterdam.
The 26-year-old "got into the school through the roof and a small window" on Tuesday night, police spokesman Ebe van der Land said.
"He was unable to leave the same way and found himself trapped in an inner court, his exit blocked by a high gate.
"He said he did not have the strength left to scale the gate, and so called the police."
Officers freed the man before locking him up. (AFP)
Sarkozy revamps Facebook page
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, eager to show himself as a man of the people, has revamped his Facebook networking page with home videos of him flirting and discussing world politics with his wife, Carla.
Mr Sarkozy's love of sunglasses and big watches, and his marriage to the model-turned-singer continues to keep the gossip columnists busy. But his new Facebook site aims for a more domestic feel, with a video of Carla Bruni-Sarkozy chatting to a group of women visiting the presidential palace, telling them about her husband's busy life in admiring tones. Mr Sarkozy then bursts into the room and kisses his wife, who affectionately strokes his hands and arms for the remainder of the video.
Revamping the site, which counts more than 96,000 "friends", was meant to show "the man rather than the head of state", the president's office said. The new style may also be an attempt to usurp attention from other Facebook sites referring to the President. The site "I bet I can find one million people who hate Nicolas Sarkozy" has more than 200,000 members. (Reuters)
'Ghost' dollars for Pol Pot's shoes
A Cambodian photographer's attempt to sell the sandals of late Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot has yielded only one bid - 790,000 fake dollars offered in protest at the sale.
Nhem En, who photographed inmates at the regime's main torture centre and also snapped pictures at official regime ceremonies, announced last month he was selling the footwear.
The shoes belonging to Pol Pot, who died in 1998, were made of car tyre.
But "bidder" Pok Leak Reasey said that he was offering 790,000 fake dollar bills traditionally used to make offerings to spirits of the dead.
"And the reason why I have offered the money in ghost notes is because I want to say that all material remaining from the regime is worth nothing," he said.
Up to two million people died of starvation, execution, overwork or torture as the Khmer Rouge, which ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, dismantled society in a bid to forge a communist utopia. (AFP)
Climbs Everest for record 19th time
A Nepali sherpa carrying a banner reading "Stop Climate Change" climbed Mount Everest for a record 19th time yesterday, improving his own record set last year.
Apa Sherpa, 49, who lives in the United States, reached the 8,850-metre peak along the Southeast Ridge route, pioneered by New Zealand's Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953.
"Climbing Everest is a very difficult thing," said Ang Tshering Sherpa, chief of the Asian Trekking Agency that sponsored the Eco Everest Expedition with which Apa climbed.
"It is becoming more and more challenging because of climate change that has melted ice, exposed steep rocks and widened crevasses."
He carried a special metal vase containing auspicious Buddhist offerings to the world's highest point, hoping to draw international attention to the effects of climate change on the Himalayas. (Reuters)
Couple flee after bank bungle
New Zealand police have launched an international search for a couple who fled with millions of dollars after NZ$10 million (US$6.05 million) were accidentally deposited into their bank account. Detective Senior Sergeant David Harvey of New Zealand Police said yesterday that an investigation team was working with Westpac Bank on the case.
New Zealand's news agency NZPA said the couple, who ran a gas station in Rotorua, had applied to Westpac Bank for a NZ$10,000 overdraft but 1,000 times that amount was paid into their account in error.
"The individuals associated with this account are believed to have left New Zealand and police (are) working through Interpol to locate those individuals," a police spokesman said.
Banking ombudsman Liz Brown told Rotorua's The Daily Post newspaper that generally it was a criminal offence for people to spend money that was accidentally put into their bank account if they knew it did not belong to them. (Reuters)