A former New York police officer wants $100,000 compensation for trauma he claims to have suffered since biting into a tuna sandwich and encountering a bone, a report said yesterday.
The former member of "New York's finest", now a private investigator, has filed the lawsuit saying he choked for more than a minute on the bone and has never been the same since, the Daily News reported.
The suit says Robert McKenna, 57, suffered "permanent and emotional pain and suffering" during the incident more than two years ago and was "in imminent fear of losing his life".
"I can't even be near tuna now," he was quoted as saying by the Daily News. "Like a fish fillet sandwich? Forget it."
Satellite snoops on penguin droppings
Scientists have tracked down previously undiscovered colonies of Antarctic emperor penguins after spotting trails of their droppings on satellite pictures, a study said yesterday.
Zooming in on individual penguins is beyond current satellite imagery, but the tell-tale reddish-brown stains on the polar ice helped hone in on large groups of the black and white flightless birds.
Mapping expert Peter Fretwell of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) said the poop trail helps to track movements of the penguins, which in turn helps to monitor how they respond to climate change.
"We can't see actual penguins on the satellite maps because the resolution isn't good enough. But during the breeding season the birds stay at a colony for eight months," he said.
The penguins spend much of their lives at sea, but return to their colonies to breed during the Antarctic winter. Scientists managed to identify 38 colonies, including 10 new ones, according to the research published in the journal Global Ecology and Biogeography.
Shoe-thrower's 'symbolic' act
The German student who hurled a shoe at Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said at his trial yesterday that his protest was a "symbolic" act of defiance inspired by the notorious shoe attack on George W. Bush.
Speaking publicly about the incident for the first time, Martin Jahnke told Cambridge Magistrates' Court that he was not out to hurt Mr Wen but to take a stand against his "regime".
The 27-year-old said he wanted to protest about human rights in China, object to the University of Cambridge allowing Mr Wen to speak, and show solidarity with the Chinese people.
Prosecutors say the Cambridge pathology postgraduate student behaved in a way "likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress". Mr Jahnke denies committing a public order offence.
If found guilty, Mr Jahnke could face six months in prison and a €5,000 fine as a maximum sentence. The trial is expected to conclude today.
Stolen marble rock returned to Israel
A guilt-ridden New Yorker has returned a massive marble stone he took from an excavation site in Jerusalem's Old City 12 years ago, Israel's Antiquities Authority said yesterday.
The 21-kilo piece of ninth century marble column disappeared from an Israeli Antiquities Authority (IAA) dig in 1997.
Several weeks ago the authority received an e-mail from a priest in New York state who requested forgiveness on behalf of a member of his congregation.
"The fellow confessed to me that 12 years ago he took a stone from Jerusalem and his conscience has bothered him ever since. I wish to return the stone to Israel and hope that you will forgive the man for his transgression," the cleric wrote, according to a statement from the IAA.
The stone was returned this week with a letter from the "thief", who said he was given it by an Israeli tour guide during a visit to Israel.
"Only later did I realise that he probably took the stone from the excavation without permission," wrote the man, whose name has not been released.
'Spiderman' arrested after Sydney climb
A French climber nicknamed "Spiderman" scaled a landmark Sydney skyscraper, thrilling office workers but angering police, who arrested him upon his descent.
Police closed off roads along most of a city block as Alain Robert made his way up the 219-metre Aurora Place building without safety ropes or a harness, cheered on by about 200 pedestrians.
With office workers inside the building closely following his progress, the daredevil reached the top of the 41-storey structure then immediately began the climb down to ground level.
The 46-year-old was arrested on a platform near the bottom of the building, earning more cheers from the crowd.
Mr Robert has climbed more than 80 buildings around the world in an attempt to raise awareness about climate change. He is also no stranger to Australia, having previously scaled the Sydney Opera House.
Police charged Mr Robert with risking the safety of others by climbing a building and granted him bail to appear in court today.