A woman miraculously survived yesterday after her car plunged six stories from the top of a car park in Melbourne and became wedged between two buildings.
The driver, 41, was freed 40 minutes after her vehicle fell an estimated 30 metres and became stuck at ground level in a lane between the walls of the car park and another building. The woman suffered deep cuts to her head and possible spinal injuries and was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in a serious but stable condition.
“I think a lot of things contributed to keeping her alive today, the airbags, the seatbelt... luck. It’s pretty amazing she’s still alive,” said paramedic Matthew Riddle. (AFP)
Year of the dog
Dogs are enjoying a boom in popularity and overtaking their old foe, the cat.
Nearly a quarter of UK households, or 22.9 per cent, had a dog last year – a rise of 2.1 per cent in the last five years, and a whisker ahead of cats, at 22.7 per cent, according to research for the Pet Food Manufacturers Association.
But the tendency for people to own more than one cat meant that the UK cat population remained higher than that of dogs, at 8.6 million compared to 8.3 million dogs. Small and medium sized dogs such as terriers and spaniels have become more popular, according to the report driven partly by fashion trends and by lower costs and greater convenience. (PA)
Tartan week
A celebration of all things Scottish is taking place across the Atlantic as this year’s Tartan Week gets under way.
The annual festival of Celtic culture in New York is now in its ninth year.
And for the first time, Tartan Day will be recognised in Canada. The programme ends next Saturday with the annual Tartan Day parade along Sixth Avenue. (PA)
Body snatchers
Two Cypriots and an Indian accused of stealing the remains of Cyprus’s former President Tassos Papadopoulos were found guilty yesterday.
The body was dug up in Kato Deftera cemetery on December 11, 2009 in one of the most bizarre cases in the island’s criminal history.
Indian Sabrjit Singh, Antonis Prokopiou Kitas – already serving life for double murder and rape – and his brother Mamas Kitas were found guilty of conspiracy to commit a crime, exhuming a corpse without a court order and trespass. The trio were arrested after Mr Papadopoulos’s body was found at another Nicosia graveyard five kilometres from its original resting place – buried in an already occupied grave.
Antonis Prokopiou Kitas is considered to have masterminded the robbery by mobile phone from his cell at Nicosia Central Prison. (AFP)
Bomb alert
A British charter plane with 225 people on board made an emergency landing with a Greek air force escort in Athens yesterday after receiving a bomb threat, officials said.
An airport spokesman said the passengers and crew had disembarked safely and a police inspection of the aircraft was carried out.
The Boeing 757-200 operated by Thomson Airways landed shortly before 3 p.m. with an escort of two Greek F-16 fighter jets and a Super Puma search and rescue helicopter, the air force said.
“We were informed that a plane involved in a possible bomb situation was en route,” an air force spokesman told AFP.
The charter plane was en route from Bristol to the popular Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh. (AFP)
Shell shocked
Veterinary experts are examining a giant turtle considered sacred by many Vietnamese to try to determine how to treat its wounds, a day after it was captured in a central Hanoi lake. Tests are being carried out to try to pinpoint what is ailing the creature which has a shell the size of a desk, said Tim McCormack, co-ordinator of the Asian Turtle Programme.
Only four of the freshwater species are believed to be living worldwide.
Mr McCormack said photos taken of it in a holding tank showed injuries on its legs and elsewhere, but it was not yet clear how serious they are.
The turtle is believed to be about 80 to 100 years old, which could mean it will require longer treatment. It took 50 workers two hours to net the turtle yesterday, put it in a cage and pull it to a small island in Hoan Kiem Lake which was recently expanded and equipped with the small holding tank, known as the “turtle hospital”. (PA)
Missing tickets
Lottery winners have left their life-changing tickets in a series of silly places, Camelot said as it publicised £9 million-worth of unclaimed prizes.
Players have stashed their winning slips in such places as under the dog’s basket; inside a tin of cat treats; in the car sun visor, and one winner stored his in his secretary’s make-up bag.
The National Lottery has launched National Back of the Sofa Week to encourage players to rummage between the cushions for missing tickets. (PA)