Man bitten after taunting shark
Picture used for illustrative purpose only. (AGENCIES)
SYDNEY - An Australian teenager who was taunting a shark with a dead fish ended up getting bitten on the heel, reports said Sunday.
The 17-year-old was airlifted for surgery after being attacked by the one-metre (three foot) reef shark near the west coast city of Carnarvon late Saturday, the Royal Flying Doctor Service said.
Witnesses said the teen was dangling a fish he had caught to try and attract the reef shark in shallow water and was bitten after being knocked over by a wave.
"(There were) heaps of people on the beach, heaps of kids in the water, so it was pretty silly really, feeding sharks when there were kids about," one witness told ABC Radio.
Reef sharks are not considered particularly aggressive but have been known to attack if provoked.
Sharks are common in Australia but fatal attacks are rare, with only 53 deaths in the last half-century, according to the Australian Shark Attack File.
Most recently, a surfer and wakeboarder were savaged by sharks in separate incidents north of Sydney last month.
Weightlifting kit for kids...
Picture used for illustrative purpose only. (AGENCIES)
BRITAIN: A weightlifting kit for four-year-olds has been criticised by health experts who say that the equipment could cause physical damage to children.
The £79.99 Kid-E-Fit Weight Bench is advertised as a ‘serious weight-training system’ aimed at children between four and eight.
It includes a padded bench for the child to lie down on, a 4 lb barbell and four add-on weights that can be filled with sand and water to provide a total load of 9 lb 7oz.
Health experts slammed the gym kit, saying it is dangerous for children to lift weights before they have reached adolescence.
Dr Ian Campbell, medical director of charity Weight Concern, said: ‘Resistance training is not ideal for anybody under the age of 16 and especially not during these tender years.
‘At this age I believe weight training, however light the weights, is wholly unnecessary and potentially harmful.’
A spokesman for the British Heart foundation added: ‘Parents could be spending
a small fortune on mini-me gyms when the best thing for their child’s health and fitness is free – and that is going outside and enjoying playing sports and games in the fresh air.’
Two holidaymakers frogmarched off Virgin flight
(AGENCIES)
MELBOURNE: Federal police have frogmarched two angry Melbourne holidaymakers off a Virgin Blue plane after the pair were told the plane was too heavy to fly.
The drama preceded a chaotic first day of the Easter break at Melbourne Airport, where a baggage meltdown left thousands of holidaymakers fuming.
The Easter weekend got off to a bad start on Thursday when an embarrassed Virgin Blue captain was forced to call for two volunteers to leave the plane after extra fuel was needed to fly through bad weather to Bali.
When nobody volunteered, airline staff attempted to jettison the last two passengers to board in a bid to compensate for the extra weight.
The angry holidaymakers refused to leave before federal police marched them from the plane.
A witness said the whole plane sympathised with the ejected men.
"They had taken care to book their flights, they were ready to go to Bali and then they were told they couldn't," the passenger said.
Virgin Blue spokeswoman Melissa Thomson said the incident was "totally regrettable", but bad weather meant the amount of spare fuel needed to be doubled.
Many Jetstar and Qantas passengers were facing a weekend without fresh clothes after they arrived at their destinations on Friday to find the carriers had left their bags behind.
Real Madrid drops King's Cup - under bus
In this image made from television, the Copa del Rey trophy is seen falling in front of the team bus after Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos let the 15-kilogram (33-pound) cup fall from the top of the team bus during celebrations in Madrid. (AP)
SPAIN: Sporting trophies from national leagues are usually prized by clubs, but Spanish soccer team Real Madrid broke theirs only hours after winning it.
Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos dropped the Copa del Rey from the top of the team bus during celebrations for the team's Spanish League Cup victory overnight... and the bus then ran over the trophy.
Emergency services gathered up the broken pieces and returned them to the bus but the trophy did not reappear at the club's traditional celebration spot of the Plaza de Cibeles in central Madrid.
Ramos says the cup is "OK".
Madrid beat rival Barcelona 1-0 in the Copa del Rey final on Wednesday, with Cristiano Ronaldo's extra-time goal giving the club its first domestic cup in 18 years.
Steering wheels have nine times more germs than public toilet seat
Picture used for illustrative purpose only. (AGENCIES)
UK: Research has found that while 80 bacteria lurk on each square inch of toilet, around 700 harmful bugs inhabit the car's interior.
Keep this in mind next time you make a pit stop at a fast-food drive-through - the steering wheel of your car harbours nine times more germs than a public toilet seat, reports Daily Mail.
The study also revealed that 42 per cent of motorists regularly dine while driving.
Only a third cleaned the inside of the car once a year, while ten per cent said they never bothered to wipe down surfaces or vacuum.
A car is the perfect place for germs to breed, especially if you eat in it and leave litter or uneaten food around. To avoid potential health risks it would be wise to regularly clean your car inside and out.
Scientists said the car boot was the filthiest area, with 1,000 bacteria for every one and half square inches.
The study found that bacillus cereus – a bug that can cause food poisoning and is found in rice, pasta, potatoes and pies – was the most common along with arthrobacter, which is found in soil and human skin.
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