A rare albino wallaby has been born in captivity in Cyprus, becoming the star attraction at a private zoo.
The two-month old marsupial has only just emerged from its mother's pouch, standing about 40 centimetres tall and stark white among a mob of eight larger brown wallabies.
"It was quite timid at first and kept jumping back into the pouch, but it seems to be enjoying the attention today," said Christos Christoforou, owner of the Paphos Bird and Animal Park.
Wallabies are members of the kangaroo family and can live up to about nine years in the wild. They are smaller than their cousins, and can weigh up to 24 kilograms. They are native to Australia.
Albinism is a genetic condition caused by a lack of the melanin pigment which gives colour to eyes, hair and skin. (Reuters)
China bans bad breath in space
Bad breath is enough to fail the test to enter China's manned space programme, state media said yesterday - but the final green light for blast-off is given by the hopeful astronaut's wife.
China only wants to send the best of the best into orbit, meaning unfortunate personal smell is sufficient reason to get disqualified right away, the Sina.com website reported.
"Bad body odour will affect the colleagues in the narrow confines of a space shuttle," said Shi Binbin, a doctor with the 454th Air Force Hospital in the east Chinese city of Nanjing.
A runny nose is also a definite obstacle to joining China's space race for much the same reason, according to the report.
But the biggest hurdle may yet lie ahead - as any prospective astronaut's wife will have the final say. If she does not like the idea of her husband going into space, he will not be allowed to enter the programme - no matter how he has performed up until then, the report added. (AFP)
Lawsuit over exhibit cadavers
The owner of a popular collection of "high quality" cadavers has sued the manager of an exhibition at New York's South Street Seaport, seeking to prevent it from taking control of the bodies.
The lawsuit by Premier Exhibitions, which stages human anatomy displays in US and Canadian cities under the banner Bodies... The Exhibition, stems from more than $1 million (€700,000) of profits and licensing fees it says it is owed by Jam Exhibitions LLC, which promoted the New York display.
According to the lawsuit, Jam was removed as the New York promoter on July 20 and has said it has "insufficient funds" to pay what Premier is owed. (Reuters)
Crocodile takes mid-air stroll
Terrified passengers screamed at the sight of the 30-centimetre reptile as it made its way under seats and down the aisle.
Crew members managed to corner and capture the croc and handed it over to authorities when the plane landed in Cairo, where it was to be housed at the Giza zoo.
All of the passengers were questioned about the crocodile, but none admitted bringing it on board.
In August 2007 the authorities seized more than 250 baby crocodiles, snakes and chameleons which a Saudi man tried to smuggle out of Egypt. The menagerie also ended up at Giza zoo. (AFP)
Two arrested over bank note swindle
Two men were arrested in Abu Dhabi for swindling a large number of people with claims they possessed "magic powder" that doubled bank notes, a local newspaper reported yesterday.
The men would show their victims what they said were the supernatural powers of the powder, which if sprinkled over bank notes in a bag, would double the amount, The National cited the interior ministry as saying.
After the victims handed over a large number of notes, the "magicians" would swap the money with fake notes covered with the powder, which lab tests showed consisted of flour and washing powder, the paper reported.
"A massive number of people, not some, lost to them," said Colonel Maktoum al-Sharifi, the director of the Criminal and Investigative Directorate, without saying how much money the men had swindled.
The two men were caught in an Abu Dhabi hotel after they played the trick on an undercover policeman posing as a potential customer, the paper added. (AFP)