Two more pilots from Aeromexico have been caught drunk on the job, days after crew members stopped two drunken pilots from taking off from Costa Rica.
Security officials detected alcohol on the breath of the two pilots and a hostess when they arrived at Mexico City airport from western Jalisco state on Wednesday, according to Reforma daily.
When they were asked to explain themselves, the pilots “ran off and left their suitcases at the checkpoint,” the newspaper reported. The hostess was detained.
Aeromexico is part of the Skyteam alliance which includes Delta, Air France-KLM, Alitalia, Aeroflot, Korean Air and Vietnam Airlines. (AFP)
Speeding minister
The Estonian minister responsible for speed cameras has been left red-faced after being caught out for driving too fast.
“I am guilty and I will pay the fine,” Economy and Communications Minister Juhan Parts said.
Mr Parts’ Audi A6 was clocked on Sunday driving at 111 kilometres per hour on the highway between the Estonian capital Tallinn and the Baltic state’s second city of Tartu.
The limit is 90 kph, and Mr Parts was hit with a fine of €48. (AFP)
Vampire stuff
A man has been given three years probation for stabbing a friend who refused to let him suck his blood.
Aaron Homer, 24, from Chandler, Arizona pleaded guilty to assault.
Robert Maley let him suck his blood, but when he refused a second time he was stabbed. He said they were into “vampire stuff”. (PA)
‘Welsh lamb’
An angry mother called in police after finding her teenage daughter’s backside branded with a “100 per cent Welsh lamb” tattoo.
Renee Brady, 38, of Cardiff, south Wales, was horrified to discover her daughter had secretly got the tattoo for a dare, despite being under age.
All was revealed when Levi-Paige, 16, who had immediately regretted her action, fell off her horse during a riding lesson at the weekend and the offending tattoo was spotted. (PA)
No nudes
A US university is scrapping the student tradition of running around nude to mark the end of the autumn term.
The president of Tufts University in Massachusetts Lawrence Bacow says the Naked Quad Run has become too dangerous because of excessive drinking, slippery pavements and dangerously low temperatures.
Mr Bacow referred to the run as “carnage”. He says two runners recently had to be treated in hospital with high blood-alcohol levels. The run dates to the 1970s. (PA)
Venus in Italy
A 5th century BC marble statue caught up in a dispute between Italy and the Paul Getty museum in the US over stolen art has been returned to the Italians.
The Venus of Morgantina was given back to Italy as part of an agreement made in 2007 with California museum, which promised to return 40 items Rome believed had been looted by art thieves.
Italy claims the marble statue was stolen by looters at the end of the 1970s and handed over to an art trafficker who forged documents to prove legitimate ownership and smuggled it to Switzerland. It was eventually sold to the Getty museum through a London action house.
Dismantled into seven parts for the journey to Italy, the statue will now be reassembled with the help of experts from the Getty. The Venus, which stands over two metres tall, is set to be unveiled in April. (AFP)
Graduate stress
An Oxford graduate who sued her law college after failing tough legal exams has lost her high Court bid for £100,000 damages.
Maria Abramova claimed that the “clearly negligent” tuition resulted in her failing to qualify as a solicitor and later caused her to flunk the New York Bar Exam.
Miss Abramova, 28, originally from Russia, claimed she found it “psychologically difficult” to take legal exams and blamed Oxford Institute of Legal Practice college for her stalled legal career. (PA)
Wheeling about
A unicyclist has filed a three million dollar (£1.9 million) lawsuit against New York City after he was given a ticket for riding on the pavement.
Circus performer Kyle Peterson was issued the ticket in 2007 for violating an ordinance that prohibits riding a “two- or three-wheeled device” on pavements. He claims his rights were violated because he was riding on one wheel.
Mr Peterson says he wants the freedom to ride his unicycle. The city is fighting the suit saying the law is intended to protect pedestrians and the difference between a bicycle and a unicycle “is negligible”. (PA)
Council killjoys
Local authorities which ban donkey derbies and pancake racing should be forced to explain their decisions, British MPs have been told.
Opening the second reading of his Local Ombudsman Private Member’s Bill, Conservative Christopher Chope (Christ-church) told the Commons he wanted to crack down on local authorities which “unreasonably ban events on the grounds of health and safety”.
He cited examples of council killjoys stopping groups holding donkey derbies, forcing them to walk during pancake running contests and banning children wearing goggles into swimming pools in case snapping elastic hurt their faces. (PA)