WHEN UK SPIES GUARDED AGAINST HARRY POTTER lEAK
Usually concerned with top secret matters affecting national security, Britain’s eavesdropping spy agency GCHQ was also on the lookout for leaks of a yet-to-be-published Harry Potter book, its publisher has revealed.
Shortly before the publication of one of the volumes in JK Rowling’s seven-part wizarding saga, with millions of fans worldwide at a fever pitch of anticipation, publisher Nigel Newton received an unexpected phone call.
“I remember the British spy eavesdropping station GCHQ rang me up and said ‘we’ve detected an early copy of this book on the Internet’,” Newton told Australia’s ABC Radio in an interview last week that gained attention in Britain last Sunday.
“I got him to read a page to our editor and she said ‘no, that’s a fake’,” said Newton, founder and chief executive of Potter publishing house Bloomsbury, describing the spies as “good guys”.
A spokesman for GCHQ said: “We do not comment on our defense against the dark arts.”
As any Potter reader will know, Defense Against the Dark Arts is a subject taught at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, in which pupils learn how to defend themselves and fight back against the evil deeds of Dark Wizards.
(Reuters)
COPS FIND SUSPECT HIDING IN AN OVEN
Authorities in Iowa said a woman wanted for a probation violation was found inside her home — hiding in a modified oven.
The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office said deputies executed a search warrant on March 31 at the Guthrie Center home of Gabrielle looper, 25, who was wanted on an arrest warrant for a probation violation.
Investigators said looper initially appeared to not be at home, but their suspicions were raised when they noticed the home had two ovens. looper was found hiding in a non-functioning oven that had its bottom cut out in an apparent attempt to turn it into a hiding place.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Deputy Kent Gries told KWQC-TV. “Yes, she fit all the way in the oven.” Gries said the oven was not connected to a power source.
“Its sole purpose was to hide people when law enforcement came,” Gries said. “It’s not uncommon for people to go to extreme lengths to avoid apprehension or to hide contraband.”
Deputies said a man named Joseph Crawford was also arrested during the search on a charge of interference with official acts.
(UPI)
STUFFED ANIMAl MISSING AFTER BEING lAUNCHED INTO SPACE
A stuffed toy dog in England has gone missing after being launched into the edge of space as part of a school science experiment. Students at Morecambe Bay Community Primary School launched a plush toy named ‘Sam the dog’ into space along with a GoPro and GPS tracking devices using helium balloons last Tuesday.
The balloons carried the stuffed animal and the equipment into space before falling back to earth. Both the camera and the tracking equipment were found in a field near Burnley after landing safely back on earth, but the the plush toy was nowhere to be found after it seemingly became detached during re-entry.
“Sam the Dog is still missing in action,” a post on English lakes YouTube account stated. “According to the flight data, it is thought that he returned to earth within a 40-50 mile radius of the landing site.”
The Morecambe Bay Community Primary School students are hopeful to get Sam the dog back and are getting some help from English lakes Hotels Resorts & Venues in searching for leads.
The company is offering a free stay at the Midland hotel where the launch took place for anyone who finds the plush.
(UPI)
TEXAS TOWN ClAIMS IT BUIlT WORlD’S lARGEST KNIFE
A small town in Texas has constructed a record-breaking monument — the world’s largest Bowie Knife. The town of Bowie, Texas, which, like the knife, was named after Alamo defender Jim Bowie, unveiled the 20-foot-long, 3,000-pound, stainless steel knife. “For Bowie, we are hoping to get people off of the highway and into town,” Diana Thomlinson, executive director of the Bowie Chamber of Commerce, told KFDX 3.
“We want them to spend their money of course, but we want them to see there is so much to do and see in Bowie. The knife will be dedicated to Bowie in a ceremony in June, with plans to submit it for consideration in the Guinness World Records.
(UPI)
SOUTH AFRICANS TRY TO SEE FUNNY SIDE OF ZUMA CRISIS
With their economy flatlining, currency on the ropes and politics in turmoil, many South Africans are turning to humour for relief, mainly at the expense of President Jacob Zuma and his $16-million home improvements. Within minutes of Zuma surviving the recent heated impeachment vote in Parliament, the 73-year-old was facing another roasting on the nation’s irreverent stand-up circuit. “Zuma is the dude who just threw up all over the dance floor but still doesn’t want to go home,” comedian lazola Gola quipped.
For comedians, Zuma is the gift that keeps on giving, a politician whose career has run the full gamut of scandal, from a love child and corruption charges to foot-in-mouth insults of African countries.
(Reuters)