Two people died when their parachutes became tangled.
Brian Laithwaite, 65, and Emma Bramley, 31, were parachuting at Langar Airfield in Nottinghamshire, UK when the accident happened.
Mr Laithwaite and Ms Bramley were both described as experienced parachutists by police. They were part of a 14-strong group that had flown to 13,500 feet before Ms Bramley and Mr Laithwaite jumped out in a six-man group. The plan was to split off so that each jumper could deploy the parachute safely in space.
It was then that Ms Bramley deployed her main parachute and it became tangled with Mr Laithwaite's body. He remained above her, with his own canopy fully open, as they plummeted to the ground. (PA)
Indonesian woman 'aged 157'
Estimates of the size and composition of Indonesia's booming population may remain just that despite an ongoing census, if the "discovery" of a 157-year-old woman is anything to go by.
Census officials have said they believe the woman's claims to have been born in 1853, when the Crimean War erupted.
"There's no authentic data to prove her age but judging from her statements and the age of her adopted daughter, who's now 108 years old, it's difficult to doubt it," statistics bureau official Jhonny Sardjono said yesterday.
Even more incredible, she still works around the house and has smoked clove cigarettes all her life, Mr Sardjono said. (AFP)
Blogging help
Every councillor in Scotland has been issued with a guide on how to use blogs - to stop them making embarrassing gaffes.
The 11-page briefing advises elected members to make effective use of online social networking to increase their presence in communities and avoid blunders.
The guide follows recent high-profile clashes in Scotland over comments made by politicians and activists on the internet. Tory Westminster hopeful Philip Lardner was suspended for writing on his website that gay people are "not normal". (PA)
Dieting for dollars
At least a third of US companies are offering financial incentives, or plan to introduce them, to get their employees to lose weight or get healthier in other ways.
"There's been an explosion of interest in this," said Dr Kevin Volpp, director of the University of Pennsylvania's Centre for Health Incentives.
OhioHealth, a hospital chain whose workforce is mostly overweight, last year embarked on a programme that paid employees to wear pedometers, and the more they walk, the more they earn - up to $500 a year. Half of the 9,000 employees at the chain's five main hospitals signed up and more than $377,000 in rewards have been paid out. (PA)
Abu Dhabi's 'leaning tower'
An Abu Dhabi tower has been recognised as the "furthest-leaning man-made tower" in the world by Guinness World Records, local newspapers reported yesterday.
The 160-metre Capital Gate tower, developed by the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Company (Adnec), leans at 18 degrees - over four times the angle of Italy's famous Leaning Tower of Pisa, Khaleej Times reported.
Adnec said the tower earned the record following an evaluation by Guinness World Records that began in January, the month the tower's exterior was completed, Gulf News reported.
Capital Gate was designed from the get-go to take an angled stance, unlike the Tower of Pisa, which slanted over with time.
The 35-storey tower's 18-degree angle is achieved by staggering the floor plates from the 12th floor up. (AFP)
Porky bird
An Australian kookaburra bird is undergoing personal training after growing too fat to fly because she ate too many sausages.
The kookaburra got into trouble with her weight when residents at a Sydney park began feeding her sausages at barbecues.
The porky kookaburra weighed in at 1.2 pounds, nearly 40 per cent heavier than a normal adult bird, rendering her so unfit she could not fly. (PA)
Prince's persistent chest infection
The Prince of Wales is to take three days off next week as he tries to fight off a persistent chest infection, Clarence House said yesterday.
Prince Charles has cancelled an appearance at Royal Ascot and the traditional Garter Service at Windsor Castle on doctors' advice to convalesce from next Monday.
But the heir to the throne has decided to honour a number of long-standing and important commitments this week, Clarence House said.
A spokesman said: "The Prince has been suffering from a persistent chest infection for over a month and doctors have advised him to find a number of consecutive days in which to have a complete rest." (PA)