Ghana plans to enforce a ban on the sale of second-hand underwear beginning in February, an official said, citing the health risks involved in the hawking of the garments by street vendors.
“We are collaborating with the Ghana Standard Board to halt the importation of second-hand underwear into the country as a measure to promote good health and reduce government’s expenditure on health,” said Appiah Donyinah, director of import and export at the trade ministry.
The enforcement of the ban on imports and sales in the West African nation would extend to other used goods as well, including mattresses, handkerchiefs, socks and pants, he said.
“We banned the importation of these items into the country sometime in 1994, but the implementation was not effective,” said Mr Donyinah. “Now we are going to make sure that it is fully implemented.” (AFP)
Warm feeling
A man has been acquitted of drunken driving after claiming he consumed alcohol to keep warm having lost control of his vehicle on an icy road.
Thomas Drummond told a court in Missouri he had been driving home after a night out with friends when he veered into a ditch. He claimed he was not drunk while driving, but was by the time emergency workers arrived two hours later.
Defence lawyer Stephen Wilson said it was a set of facts you do not see every day. (PA)
Two degrees
A transsexual former University of Amsterdam student has won a battle to be granted a replacement graduation diploma with his new name and gender printed on it.
Justus Eisfeld will get a new diploma after Education Minister Marja van Bijsterveldt said a law barring universities from issuing replacement diplomas was “interpreted too strictly”.
Mr Eisfeld was a woman when he graduated with a degree in political science in 2001, but has since undergone surgery to become a man. He lives in New York and could not immediately be reached for comment. (PA)
Fashion show
A biodegradable dress which dissolves as it is gradually lowered into water will feature in a new exhibition examining how clothes can “explore issues beyond fashion”.
The outfit by artist Helen Storey features in the GSK Contemporary – Aware: Art Fashion Identity show at the Royal Academy of Arts in central London.
A red lace dress from the late designer Alexander McQueen’s 1998 autumn-winter collection will also feature in the show along with a reproduction of a kimono worn by one of the victims of the atomic bombing at Hiroshima. (PA)
Tache test
RAF servicemen donned Second World War uniforms as they battled to come out on top of a charity moustache-growing contest.
Personnel from No 1 Air Mobility Wing (1 AMW), based at RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire, were sporting ‘tashes for the “Movember” competition.
Station Warrant Officer Nick Dale, RAF Lyneham’s moustache expert, who judged the contest, said: “Having been born with my ’tache, I can’t fully appreciate how difficult a task this has been for the guys, but the effort has been tremendous all round.” (PA)
Washout
A Chinese toddler who climbed inside a washing machine during a game of hide-and-seek had to be rescued by emergency workers with a power saw.
The three-year-old had been playing with his mother at their home in Taiyuan in central Shanxi province when he became trapped.
Firefighters had to dismantle the washing machine first, then use a circular power saw to cut open the plastic drum to get the boy out. (PA)
The high road
Rescuers had to use ropes and ladders to free a woman from her pickup truck after it ran off the road and landed in treetops about 30 feet up.
Police said 33-year-old Dana Bowser will get a ticket for driving too fast for conditions on Route 68 near Evans City in western Pennsylvania.
Rescuers said Bowser was conscious and able to communicate with them and she did not panic as they worked to reach her. (PA)
£863,000 spent on elephant conservation
The UK has spent more than £850,000 on elephant conservation in the past three years, figures showed last night.
The Environment Department (Defra) has contributed funds to international anti-poaching efforts as well as projects in Kenya, Malaysia, Thailand, India and Indonesia.
A total of £863,320 was spent between 2007/08 and 2009/10, Environment Minister Richard Benyon said, while a further £700,000 has gone on projects which “may indirectly benefit the elephant”. (PA)
Spud-u-like
The head of the Washington State Potato Commission claims he lost 20lbs on a 60-day, all-potato protest diet.
Chris Voigt’s spud splurge was prompted by changes in federal food handout programmes that limit potatoes.
He ended his diet this week, saying he hoped to counter those who claim potatoes have limited nutritional value. (PA)