10-year-old takes parents’ car, claims he’s a dwarf
A 10-year-old Norwegian boy came up with a novel excuse after he drove his parents’ car into a snowy ditch on Wednesday morning: He told police he was a dwarf who forgot his driving licence. The boy lives near Dokka, a town about 110 km north of Oslo. Sometime before 0600 local time, he loaded his 18-month old sister into the car and headed for their grandparents in Valdres, about 60 km away, local police said. He drove more than 10 km before he veered off the road. A snowplow driver found him and alerted the police.
“The parents woke up and discovered that the children were missing and that someone had taken off with their car. They were pretty upset, as you can imagine,” said Baard Christiansen, a spokesman for the Vest Oppland police district. “The boy told the snowplow driver that he was a dwarf and that he had forgotten his driver’s licence at home.” Police said no charges would be filed and the case was closed. (Reuters)
‘Beethoven of Japan’ says he can hear again
A composer known as the “Beethoven of Japan” said he had regained some of his hearing ability, a week after setting off a furor by admitting he had used a ghost writer for his popular symphonies and other music. Mamoru Samuragochi, a classical musician, became known as an inspirational genius for composing despite losing his hearing.
Samuragochi said that he had suffered hearing loss and was not able to hear when he began paying a part-time university professor to write music under his name, a collaboration that went on for 18 years. But the situation had improved.
“The truth is that recently I have begun to hear a little again,” he said in a statement reported by Japanese media, adding that for the last three years he has been able to follow conversations under certain conditions.
Samuragochi, 50, apologised to fans last week for paying Takashi Niigaki to write compositions under his name. Niigaki told reporters that he had also wondered about the extent of the composer’s hearing loss. (Reuters)
Britain’s biggest puppy is over 7ft tall
At 7ft 1 inches and weighing in at a massive 11 stone, Great Dane Freddy is the ‘tallest dog in Britain’. The big, friendly and gigantic Great Dane Freddy, who weighs in at 11 stone, towers over most when he’s on his hind legs—at a staggering 7ft 4in tall. At 41 inches from foot to shoulder blade the not-so-small pup is only 18 months old and said to be still growing. Although no official measurement has been made, Freddy is almost tall enough to take the current Guinness World Record from Zeus, a four-year-old Great Dane from Michigan, US, who is 44 inches tall from foot to shoulder blade. He is already significantly larger than Britain’s current recorded biggest dog Samson, who is 6ft 6in when stood on his hind legs. The gigantic dog began life as the runt of the litter, but experienced an astonishing growth spurt to reach his current size. Freddy’s petite and proud owner Claire Stoneman, 38, from leigh-on-Sea, Essex, said she spends £4,000 a year on standard dog food alone. Miss Stoneman, who is just 5ft 4inches, said she is aware that his size may cause concern to fellow pups in the park so gets up extra early in the morning for his daily walk. (The DailyMirror)
Restaurant shut down for selling human flesh
A restaurant was shut down after it was found to be selling dishes made from human flesh. Cops arrested 11 people including the owner and recovered at least two fresh human heads when they swooped on the eatery at Anambra in Nigeria after a tip-off. The bloodied and disembodied heads were found wrapped in cellophane sheets—and police said roasted human head was even on the menu. Two AK-47 guns, other weapons, dozens of rounds of ammunition and several mobile phones were also discovered. One local resident said, “We always saw weird people coming and going.” A pastor, who was surprised to learn that he had been served human flesh complained to the police. “I ate at the restaurant and the bill was very high,” he told Your Jewish News. (The Daily Mirror)
Crowds visit ‘weeping’ statue of Virgin Mary
Hundreds of people have flocked to a small town in northern Israel to view a statue of the Virgin Mary that residents say “weeps’’ oil. Members of a Christian family from Tarshiha, near the lebanon border, say they have witnessed a miracle in their living room. Osama Khoury said on Tuesday that his wife Amira found the statue “covered with oil’’ recently. Amira said the statue “spoke to her’’ and told her not to be afraid. After a neighbour witnessed the oil, word soon spread. Parts of the statue appear to be slick with moisture, even after it is wiped off. The family says it is most striking when a “tear’’ seems to roll down the statue’s cheek. It says about 2000 people have come to see the statue over the last week. (The Daily Telegraph)