A team of workers sporting breathing apparatus and carrying shovels has started clearing around 1,000 tonnes of fat from sewers around London’s Leicester Square, a water company said yesterday.
Cooking fat being poured down drains under one of the city’s main tourist attractions is thought to be causing blockages.
Leicester Square borders London’s Chinatown and its bustling restaurants and cafes, as well as the West End and Soho entertainment districts.
The clean-up, which could take up to two months, is described as the biggest ever of its kind by Thames Water, the firm organising it.
Danny Brackley, one of those involved in the clean-up, said they could not even access the sewers at first as they were blocked by a 1.2-metre thick wall of solid fat.
"Cooking fat down drains is a big ‘no no’," Mr Brackley said. "As soon as it is poured away, it cools down quickly and sets hard, forming a solid obstruction." (AFP)
Drunken man tries riding giant croc
An Australian man was lucky to be alive after drunkenly scaling the fence of a crocodile enclosure and trying to take a five-metre beast named "Fatso" for a ride, police said yesterday.
The 36-year-old jumped the wildlife compound’s fence after being ejected from a pub in the northwestern city of Broome late on Monday night, and tried to sit on the back of the massive saltwater reptile.
"He first climbed into a compound containing two female crocodiles, before approaching a five-metre long male called Fatso," a police spokeswoman said.
"The man was bitten on his right leg as he tried to sit on its back. He managed to escape and make his way back to the pub, where an ambulance was called." (AFP)
Paul the octopus wins
What do you give the global superstar who has everything? This was the dilemma facing staff at the aquarium home of Paul the octopus whose knack for predicting World Cup games has catapulted him to fame. In the end, as a reward for correctly "tipping" all eight games he predicted – seven Germany games and the final itself – Paul’s German handlers dropped a shiny golden replica of the coveted Jules Rimet trophy into his tank.
The eight-legged oracle, who now has more than four times as many fans on social networking site Facebook as German Chancellor Angela Merkel, seemed particularly pleased with his prize, wrapping several tentacles around it.
In the wake of his phenomenal success, speculation has been rife about what Paul will do next.
One tongue-in-cheek bookmaker gave punters the chance to place a bet on Paul’s future career. (AFP)
Dubai seizes heroin stash
Dubai customs said yesterday it has seized eight kilogrammes of heroin stashed inside steel auto parts coming from an unnamed Asian country. Inspectors "uncovered one of the most complicated attempts to smuggle drugs in which auto parts were used after being filled with eight kilogrammes of heroin coming from an Asian country", it said.
The way the drugs were hidden "raises suspicion that the manufacturer is involved in the smuggling attempt, as the steel parts were professionally welded," said the air cargo chief at Dubai customs, Omar Ahmad al-Muhairi. (AFP)
Teenagers admit to ‘hero’ killing
Two German teenagers admitted in court yesterday to beating to death a 50-year-old man who tried to protect a group of children from them, in a case that shocked the country.
As the trial of 19-year-old Markus Schiller and his 18-year-old accomplice began, the defendants confessed to brutalising businessman Dominik Brunner on a train platform but said the older man had struck first. "I know that what I did cannot be excused and that my reaction was absolutely wrong," Mr Schiller told the court in the southern city of Munich. (AFP)
Want to adopt a cow?
Most Swiss head to the beaches for their vacations, but others are opting for a rustic holiday in the mountains where they are spending time with their adopted cows over the summer.
Launched five years ago by herder Michel Izoz, a cow adoption project called Mavachamoi – word play in French for "my cow" – is proving popular among urban dwellers in Switzerland.
Among the 20 cows available for rent at his farm in La Lecherette in the canton Vaud, only Ilda, Rosette, Tola, Ursula, Usine and Quenele are still available. All the others have been booked for the summer.
Mr Izoz noted that some cows are more popular than others, especially those with horns as they "appear more authentic".
Clients go online to the website www.mavachamoi.ch for a catalogue showcasing the cows on post-card perfect meadows. For €280 they can reserve a cow for a season, during which they can visit the animal as often as they wish.
Most reservations are made as gifts, Mr Izoz said, pointing out that the project offers a chance for city dwellers to compare "the stressed out world of the cities and the hard lives in the mountains". (AFP)