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28 March 2024

Best of Web: Drug-smuggling pigeon caught

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By Staff & Agencies

Drug-smuggling pigeon caught

(SUPPLIED) 

Drug smugglers looking to get contraband into the prison in Bucaramanga, Colombia, have trained pigeons to carry contraband over prison walls.

Police discovered the pigeon a block away from the prison, unable to fly due to the amount of cocaine paste and marijuana on its back. The 1.6 ounce container of drugs was too heavy for the pigeon to carry.

A pair of police officers saw the bird struggling to leave the ground and intercepted the package before the pigeon could get airborne, according to 'World News Insight'.

 

Twin Suns could soon be setting on Earth

(AGENCY)

QUEENSLAND: It'S the ultimate experience for Star Wars fans - staring forlornly off into the distance as twin suns sink into the horizon.

Yet it's not just a figment of George Lucas's imagination - twin suns are real. And here's the big news - they could be coming to Earth.

Yes, any day now we see a second sun light up the sky, if only for a matter of weeks.

The infamous red super-giant star in Orion’s nebula - Betelgeuse - is predicted to go gangbusters and the impending super-nova may reach Earth before 2012, and when it does, all of our wildest Star Wars dreams will come true.

The second biggest star in the universe is losing mass, a typical indication that a gravitation collapse is occurring.

When that happens, we'll get our second sun, according to Dr Brad Carter, Senior Lecturer of Physics at the University of Southern Queensland.

“This old star is running out of fuel in its centre”, Dr Carter said.

“This fuel keeps Betelgeuse shining and supported. When this fuel runs out the star will literally collapse in upon itself and it will do so very quickly.”

When this happens a giant explosion will occur, tens of millions of times brighter than the sun.

The bad news is, it could also happen in a million years. But who's counting?

The important thing is, one day, night will become day for several weeks on Earth.

“This is the final hurrah for the star,” says Dr Carter.
 
Bryan Adams demands 100 white towels for India tour

(GETTY IMAGES)

MUMBAI: Popular International singer Bryan Adams, who is set to rock India on February 12-16, has made a slew of demands ranging from 100 white towels and hospitality parties to forklifts before he arrives in the country.

The tour flags off in Pune, then moves to Mumbai, Bangalore, New Delhi and lastly Hyderabad.

Bryan has asked for forklifts for the event, 100 white towels for the crew, a hospitality party after each concert, and barricades for the standing audience not farther than 1.2 m from the stage since the band likes to interact with the audience as much as they can.

As far as the rooms are concerned, the 51-year-old has requested for windows in his room which open to the outside as he does not like rooms without windows. Also he doesn't like flourescent lights in his rooms. Hence, he has requested for adjustable incandescent lighting.

The singer of hits like "Everything I Do", "Please Forgive Me", "18 Till I Die" and "All For Love", among others, will be traveling with a crew of 16 people. He, being a strict vegetarian, will have his personal chef traveling along with him.
 
Man gets ice cream cone tattooed on his face

(AP)

LONDON: A man got a large tattoo of a triple-scoop ice cream cone inked onto his face just days after he was released from a mental health facility.

Radric Davis appeared in court on January 3 claiming mental incompetence and saying he was unable to 'intelligently participate in the probation revocation hearing', reports Daily Mail.

The 30-year-old was sent to a mental health facility to be evaluated.

The daily said it was unclear why he has since been released and how it affects his probation status.

When he was released he got the ice cream facial tattoo complete with the word, 'Brrr' on the cone and red lightning strikes coming out of it.

He was arrested in November last year for driving on the wrong side of the road, numerous traffic violations, damage to government property and driving without a valid licence.
 
Mobile phone could bring down a plane

(AP)

PERTH: The use of electronic devices such as mobile phones, tables and iPods in mid-air may create a "perfect storm" of conditions that can have disastrous consequences, aviation experts have warned.

This is because most personal electronic devices emit electromagnetic waves which can interfere with a plane’s electronics, an investigation by the New York Times has found.

Although it has remained difficult to prove, safety experts suspect that electronic interference has played a role in some airline accidents and have warned passengers not to be complacent, reports Perth Now.

“Electronic devices do not cause problems in every case,” David Carson, an engineer with Boeing told the Aussie daily.

“However it’s bad in that people assume it never will.”

Older planes may be particularly vulnerable to interference as they may not have the best protection against the latest generation of devices. Another contributory factor is the plane's altitude.

In 2007, a pilot recounted an instance when the navigational equipment on his Boeing 737 failed after takeoff. The problem resolved itself after a passenger was told to turn off a hand-held GPS device.

However new technology is combating the potential danger electronic devices can pose to aircraft.

 Diana wedding cake silce sold

(SUPPLIED)

A shrivelled 30-year-old piece of confectionery, said to be from Prince Charles and Princess Diana's wedding cake, has sold for NZ$380 ($290) on a New Zealand internet auction site.

Christchurch woman Katrina Greenslade auctioned the slice of royal history on auction site Trade Me, claiming it had been in family since 1981, reports AFP.

The winner, known only as Paul, fought off numerous bidders for the cake, which attracted 40,000 hits on the site.

Greenslade said the bite-sized morsel was obtained by her father, a sergeant in the Royal New Zealand Air Force, when a tier of the royal wedding cake was sent to the air force after the ill-fated marriage in July 1981.

"It was dragged out often and admired and its story was told many times to family and friends," she wrote on Trade Me.

"For the last four years it has sat in a plastic container in the back of a drawer in my china cabinet. The icing had faded and yellowed and I decided to sell it, but not for the money.

"I wanted to share the story, the icing on the cake is that it's going to a fabulous new home and I hope the auction will feature in a book on the website's most memorable auctions."

The auction attracted dozens of online comments, including one browser who remarked: "Who would have thought the cake would last longer than Diana?"

Another suggested sending it to Prince William and Kate Middleton for their upcoming nuptials.