Portuguese police have recaptured a convict who had escaped in 1993 and had been hiding in the caves in the mountains for 16 years receiving help from villagers nearby, local media said yesterday.
The 54-year-old former shepherd, thin and heavily bearded but healthy, was arrested in the north of the country in a police operation dubbed "Cro-Magnon" in reference to Europe's early humans who lived in caves thousands of years ago, Diario de Noticias daily said.
He had been convicted and sentenced to a 10-year term for accidentally killing a neighbour in a discussion over a sheep flock, but escaped after about two years in prison.
Local residents were quoted as saying the man, who only had a dog for company during his hiding, never harmed anyone while on the run. A local mayor said the village would hire a lawyer to try to alleviate his sentence.
Jornal de Noticias daily said the man was very worried about the fate of his pet and, when arrested, pleaded to give it to a villager he knew. (Reuters)
Kiss warning at rock festival
Fans attending one of the world's biggest heavy metal festivals in Germany were asked to avoid "hugging, kissing on the cheek, and shaking hands" lest they spread the H1N1 influenza. On its website, the Health Ministry of Germany's northern Schleswig-Holstein region optimistically advised revellers to restrain from any such sociable behaviour so as to minimise the infection risk at the Wacken Open Air festival, which ends today.
It also recommended fans did not share bottles of beer.
"We know that kissing and what have you can't be ruled out," said ministry spokesman Oliver Breuer. "They're just tips." (Reuters)
Underweight team told to eat 15 eggs
India's unfancied rugby sevens side must bulk up if they hope to make an impact at next year's Commonwealth Games, eating seven meals and at least 15 eggs a day, the country's South African coach said yesterday.
"I have told them (his players) they must eat at least 15 eggs a day, six for breakfast and the remaining nine any time, any how, during the day," the country's South African coach Norman Laker told The Telegraph newspaper yesterday. "The players have three meals a day and that's not enough. In South Africa, elite rugby players have seven meals a day."
India is rated a lowly 83rd out of the 95 teams in the International Rugby Board rankings which are currently headed by South Africa.
"Indian players weigh 72-77 kg on an average whereas the international players weigh between 88 and 100 kg. That is the weight difference you have to make up," Mr Laker said ahead of the team's departure to South Africa for a training stint.
India is hosting the Com-monwealth Games in October 2010. (Reuters)
China official spends €128,000 on karaoke
A court in eastern China has tried a local official for squandering 1.24 million yuan in public funds in karaoke parlours during a five-year spree, state press said Thursday.
Lu Yanbiao, 42, was tried by a court in Zhejiang province's Shaoxing city on Wednesday for pilfering €128,000 in public funds from an outpatient department at a local disease control centre where he was the boss, Xinhua news agency said.
"Lu indulged in drinking, singing and playing mahjong in karaoke bars between 2004 and 2008," the report said, citing prosecutors. "He also always asked for (woman) escorts, who cost between 2,000 to 5,000 yuan each time," it said, apparently referring to prostitution that is widespread in China's karaoke parlours.
Mr Lu, who was divorced, spent up to 16 evenings a month in high-end karaoke bars in the city of Shangyu, it said. A verdict in the trial is expected soon, it added. (AFP)
Lost mongrel found after nine years
A young Australian yesterday held an emotional TV reunion with her dog Muffy, who went missing nine years ago before reappearing filthy and flea-bitten 2,000 kilometres away.
Chloe Rushby, now 17, who was given the mongrel on her eighth birthday, stroked and hugged the white-haired Muffy in a meeting shown live by Channel 10's satirical The 7pm Project.
"Hey Muffy, hey girl," Ms Rushby said, before admitting she was overcome with emotion. "I'm shaking," she added.
She was flown from the eastern Gold Coast region to Melbourne by Channel 10 after Muffy's astonishing reappearance in an unkempt suburban back yard, where she was sleeping on a piece of cardboard.
The dog, who was identified by an embedded microchip, was set to be flown back to the eastern Gold Coast in air-conditioned luxury courtesy of specialist transport service Jet Pets.
Muffy will receive her own pet travel consultant, enjoy door-to-door transfers and the comforts of a luxury kennel and doggy transit lounge, all free of charge. (AFP)