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(AGENCY)
There are crash landings and bumpy landings but Aussie pilot Ben Buckley made a chicken manure landing, according to the ABC.
The network said Buckley, a veteran pilot from Victoria, was re-enacting the first powered, controlled flight in an Australian-designed and built plane when he encountered problems.
The aircraft got off the ground in the central Victorian town of Ballarat, but when it came down again, it veered off the runway and into a 20-ton pile of chicken manure.
"The council had shifted it to the edge of the runway and the airplane finished up in that," the broadcaster quoted him as saying.
"Well there was a bit of give in it. I'm still a bit stiff and sore though, I can tell you."
(REUTERS)
New research suggests viruses could be the cause of the obesity epidemic, reports Perth Now.
This is opposed to the commonly held belief based on poor Western lifestyles that feature over-eating, little exercise and fatty foods.
Scientists' curiosity was triggered when they noticed laboratory rats and mice on strict diets had put on weight just as domestic pets and feral animals living around humans had, the newspaper said.
The researchers looked at more than 20,000 animals from 24 populations of eight species living in or around industrialised societies.
Scientists from nine research centres across the world found that in all cases, body weight was increasing.
"Surprisingly we find that over the past several decades, average mid-life body weights have risen among primates and rodents living in research colonies, as well as among feral rodents and domestic dogs and cats,'' they said.
The consistency of the findings in varying environments raises the intriguing possibility of non-diet-related factors being involved in weight gain.
(AGENCY)
The United States diplomatic cables released by whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks exposed that a diplomat form Singapore had called India a "stupid."
The Singaporean foreign affairs officials made this remark during their meeting with senior US officials like Deputy Secretary of Defence for East Asia David Sedney between 2008 and 2009.
Singapore official said that India was a "stupid" and "half in, half out" of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Singapore officials not only attacked India but also foulmouthed on other Asian countries like Malaysia, Thailand and Japan.
In one of the cables, Singapore's Ambassador Tommy Koh called Japan "the big fat loser" and "stupidity, bad leadership and lack of vision" for Japan's position in Asian region.
In another cable officials said that "A lack of competent leadership is a real problem for Malaysia" and added Malaysia has a "distinct possibility of racial conflict."
Meanwhile, Singapore's Foreign Affairs Ministry has condemned the relaese of the cables saying that this "selective release" will not give a complete picture of the important issues.
(GETTY IMAGES)
Elizabeth Hurley has confirmed her marriage is over following the release of steamy images of her kissing bad-boy bowler Shane Warne, reports Herald Sun.
A short time ago, she tweeted her fans as a media storm blew up around the issue: "Thank you for all your very, very nice messages x".
So far, Warne has tweeted nothing, and was saying nothing to the media camped outside his Brighton house today, says the newspaper.
But it appears the troubled sports star may have packed his bags, after carrying at least one suitcase from the house this morning.
The actress yesterday attempted to restore her reputation over allegations she is having an affair with the Spin King, saying ties with her multi-millionaire husband Arun Nayer were cut “months ago”.
Photographs and videos of Warne and Hurley kissing outside a London hotel last week were splashed across the front page of the News of the World on Sunday.
(REUTERS)
Virgin boss Richard Branson will serve as a flight attendant on an AirAsia X flight in February next year after losing a cross-dressing bet to rival Tony Fernandes, officials said Sunday.
The two men laid the wager over whose Formula One team would place higher in this year's rankings.
Although both teams completed the season with zero points, Fernandes' Lotus F1 team was placed ahead of Branson's Virgin Racing by virtue of their better race finishing positions.
"It's confirmed February 21, 2011. Richard Branson will be a crew of AirAsia X," Fernandes said in a Twitter post late Saturday, adding that the flight will take off from London Stansted Airport bound for Kuala Lumpur.
Fernandes said last month seats on the flight will be auctioned off for charity.
An AirAsia official said Branson would be required to wear makeup and high-heels, along with the regulation red stewardess outfit, and would have to perform regular duties - including cleaning the toilets - during the flight.
(AFP)
A terrifying drama unfolded in a Manhattan subway station when a man was crushed between a train and the platform - trapping him for at least a half hour until he could be freed, reports the New York Post.
The unidentified victim fell into an 8-inch space between a southbound No. 4 train and a movable platform extender - which bridges wide gaps between the platform and the train on curved tracks - in the Union Square station, officials told the Post.
The 41-year-old man was trapped at his waistline and critically injured.
Witnesses said he was conscious and yelling in agony during the ordeal, which ended only after a track worker was able to release the hydraulics that control the metal "gap filler" extension device.
(AGENCY)
Iran'S supreme court has upheld a sentence of blinding with acid for a man who blinded his lover's husband, under the Islamic "eye-for-an-eye" justice code, according to media reports.
The convict, named only as Mojtaba, 25, threw acid in the face of Alireza, 25, a taxi driver in Iran's clerical hub city of Qom, after an "illicit affair" with the victim's wife, Mojdeh, also 25, said the newspaper Iran.
The supreme court has upheld a lower court ruling that Mojtaba be blinded with drops of acid, in line with Islamic justice, which allows for "qisas," or eye-for-an-eye retribution, in cases of violent crime, it said.
Qom prosecutor Mostafa Barzegar Ganji said the victim had used his right to qisas. "We have asked for forensic specialists to oversee the blinding of the convict," he said, quoted in Iran.
Several acid attacks have been reported in Iran.
In February 2009, Majid Movahedi was sentenced to be blinded in both eyes for having hurled acid in the face of a university classmate, Ameneh Bahrami, who refused a marriage proposal.
A satirical sketch poking fun at posh "gap yah" students has been named one of the UK's online hits of the year.
A satirical sketch poking fun at posh "gap yah" students has been named one of the UK's online hits of the year.
The three minute, 18 second film made by comedy group The Unexpected Items has been watched on video sharing website YouTube more than 2.6 million times this year.
Gap Yah shows Orlando calling his friend Tarquin to tell him about his trip around the developing world on "a spiritual, cultural, political exchange thing".
The video was named UK Homegrown Comedy Hit of the Year by YouTube.
Teenage favourite Justin Bieber's track Baby was the most viewed video in the UK followed by Eminem's Love The Way You Lie.
More than 13 million hours of video were uploaded to YouTube in 2010.
(AP)
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, known for his off-colour jokes and macho posturing, took on a different role on Friday night by singing "Blueberry Hill" at a children's charity event.
"Like an overwhelming majority of people, I can neither sing nor play but I very much like doing it," Putin said after being prodded by the event's hostess, who reminded him that he had sung before a group before.
Putin sang last summer at a secret meeting with a team of Russian undercover agents who were expelled from the United States. His audience on Friday included Sharon Stone, Monica Bellucci, Kevin Kostner and Gerard Depardieu.
Wearing a black suit and a white shirt, Putin went on stage and played the opening notes to "Blueberry Hill" on the piano, then stepped behind the microphone and sang, backed by several musicians and singers.
Putin, 58, described as an "alpha-dog" in U.S. diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks website, has a black belt in judo, and frequently undertakes testosterone-fuelled feats such as flying a fighter jet or shooting a Siberian tiger.
He has thus far shown little interest in musical pursuits, but his piano performance suggested he has been able to squeeze in some music lessons.
The Prime Minister's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Reuters that Putin indeed takes lessons "but very rarely, when he has time". He said Putin learned the lyrics to "Blueberry Hill" as part of his English-language studies.
Putin also attempted to play the Soviet-era spy movie song "From Where the Motherland Begins", which he said he had sung with the Russian agents, but hit a wrong key and stopped, promising to rehearse it better for the next performance.
Putin, a former KGB agent, remains Russia's most popular politician and is seen as a senior partner in tandem with President Dmitry Medvedev. Both have said they do not rule out taking part in the 2012 presidential election.
"Medvedev will now have to learn to play saxophone," said a participant at the event who declined to be identified.
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