The president of Turkmenistan has ordered a beauty pageant where horses will strut their stuff in front of the Central Asian state’s leadership, a presidential decree said.
The pageant aims to preserve ancient pure horse breeds, “a pride of the people of Turkmenistan”, local media quoted the degree by President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov as saying.
President Berdymukhamedov will bestow the owner of the winning horse with the Grand Prize while the horse will receive the title of the Most Beautiful Race Horse of the Year. (AFP)
Granny attack
An angry grandmother used her handbag to fight off a gang of sledgehammer-wielding robbers who were attempting to raid a jeweller’s shop in a British town, media reported yesterday.
The woman in her 70s was captured on video running across a road to confront the crash-helmeted gang.
Wielding her handbag, she hit three of the six robbers and one fell off his moped as he tried to make his escape during the botched raid in Northampton, central England.
The gang had been foiled when staff in the shop activated metal shutters to protect the windows. Five men have been arrested. (AFP)
Crematorium heat
A British town council said yesterday it had approved plans to use the heat from a crematorium to warm up the swimming pool next door.
The local authority in Redditch, a town outside Birmingham in central England, reckons the move will cut energy waste.
Work on a link between the town’s crematorium and its new leisure centre will begin later this year following the council decision.
A senior official from Unison, Britain’s second biggest trade union, has called the plan “sick”, “insulting and insensitive”.
However, Redditch Borough Council leader Carole Gandy said correspondence showed that up to nine in 10 locals were in favour of the idea. (AFP)
Naked chef
A Hong Kong adult channel is set to debut a cooking show headlined by a nude host who will prepare Cantonese dishes wearing a transparent apron – an apparent bid to encourage more men to cook.
Host Flora Cheung will start each 30-minute show shopping for fresh ingredients in the city’s famous wet markets, undressing once she is back in the privacy of her studio kitchen, the South China Morning Post reported.
Ms Cheung, who admits she has never worked in a restaurant kitchen, said she hopes the risque show will draw more men into the kitchen. The first episode is set to air later this month.
Producer Jesse Au told the paper that the show may spawn similar offerings with nude hosts cooking up a range of Asian cuisines: “This could be an endless series if it proves popular.” (AFP)
Gnome flashmob
Thousands of pint-sized figures gathered at a busy railway station to form the first garden gnome flashmob.
The nine-inch-high army was equipped with laptops and mobiles as well as the usual fishing rods and rakes to complete the commuter look.
The 5,000 figurines were at Liverpool Street Station to mark the release of new movie Gnomeo & Juliet 3D – a reworking of the Shakespeare play – which hits cinemas on Friday. (PA)
Sushihall Street?
Glaswegians have the most attractive accent for Japanese speakers of English, a new study has revealed.
The Glasgow accent came out on top for social attractiveness to Japanese people learning to speak English, a survey by Northumbria University found.
Those questioned listened to speakers of six varieties of English and rated them on a range of personality traits. (PA)
Tearful men
The British stiff upper lip could be a thing of the past with almost three-quarters of men admitting to shedding a tear in front of others, according to a survey.
Four out of five men (80 per cent) are now happy to “express their emotions”, 84 per cent do not think twice about telling loved ones “how they really feel” and 71 per cent have cried openly, the poll for Clinton Cards found.
It takes just a month for one in 10 men to express their true feelings in a relationship, increasing to almost a third by the time they reach the three-month mark. (PA)
Job lot
Around 1,500 young Japanese struggling to get their first job held a rally in Tokyo to highlight their problem.
The college students crowded into a park to offer each other moral support and appeal for jobs.
A record one-third of Japanese university students graduating this spring have not found work. (PA)
Big bangs
Fireworks used to celebrate Chinese New Year in Beijing caused 194 fires, double the number from last year.
Nearly 400 people were hurt by fireworks during the first six days of the holiday period.
The biggest fire this year wrecked a five-star hotel in north-east China. There were no casualties. (PA)
Witch guide
Romania is considering new laws that would require witches to get a permit and make it possible to fine or even imprison one whose prediction turns out to be false.
A bill has just started its way through parliament in a country where witchcraft has been part of the culture for centuries.
It also would require witches to provide customers with receipts and ban them from practising near schools and churches. (PA)