Grumpy , The Nastiest Cat On Earth

For months a stray cat has been terrorising Haydon Wick. He's been attacking residents' cats and indulging in all manner of anti-social behaviour. Now residents are breathing a sigh of relief because the feline felon is finally behind bars. But when they called the RSCPA to come and collect the caged kitty they were told nobody would be available until after the Bank Holiday. "We have been trying to catch him for about four months and the RSCPA told us to ring when we had him in the cage they gave us," said the 21-year-old woman who caught him. "When I called them the person on the other end said unfortunately because it was a Bank Holiday they didn't have anyone who could come out. "They said could we keep him in a garage or shed until later in the week when someone would be able to pick him up or let him go and try to catch him again later in the week.Grumpy the cat"I told them that we weren't prepared to do that - it would be cruel to leave him locked up in a shed until then. "And he is quite vicious and no one wanted to put their hands near him." The woman, who works as an administrator, said she was shocked that the RSPCA had told them to lock the cat, which was caught this week, in a shed for two days. "I think it's appalling and can't believe that's what they wanted us to do," she said. "It's just cruel to the cat - for a start where would he go to the toilet?" They got in touch with John Warwick, at the Swindon and District Animal Haven, who offered to look after the cat until the RSPCA collect it. "It's a bit off that they couldn't come out to pick him up," said John. "It isn't a nine to five job and it's frustrating for people who want to do the right thing when they can't get any help. "I have been getting more and more calls to go out and deal with things like injured deer. We're a small organisation run by volunteers and we're around on a Bank Holiday." As John took Grumpy, as he's become known to residents, away it was a sad farewell from the residents in Coriander Way. "I'm glad he's now going somewhere that will look after him," said the 21-year-old. "I don't like him and glad he's going, but I do feel sorry for him." A spokeswoman for the RSPCA said that limited resources forced them to prioritise injured and abandoned animals. She said: "There is approximately one animal inspector per 114,000 people. "There will inevitably be times when our resources are stretched, especially on Bank Holidays when more people are out and about." today.

Stalin & Hitler Were Possessed By Satan! Declares Vatican Exorcist

Adolf Hitler and Russian leader Stalin were possessed by the Devil, the Vatican’s chief exorcist claims, the Daily Mail newspaper reports. “You can tell by their behavior and their actions, from the horrors they committed and the atrocities that were committed on their orders,” Father Gabriele Amorth, who is Pope Benedict XVI’s “caster out of demons,” said during an interview with Vatican Radio. “Of course the Devil exists and he can not only possess a single person but also groups and entire populations. I am convinced that the Nazis were all possessed. All you have to do is think about what Hitler — and Stalin did. Almost certainly they were possessed by the Devil.”Father Gabriele AmorthSecret Vatican documents recently released say that wartime pontiff Pope Pius XII attempted a “long distance” exorcism of Hitler which failed to have any effect. “It’s very rare that praying and attempting to carry out an exorcism from distance works. Of course you can pray for someone from a distance but in this case it would not have any effect,” Father Amorth said. The Vatican’s chief exorcist claims that one of the key requirements for an exorcism is to be present in front of the possessed person and that person also has to be consenting and willing. “Therefore trying to carry out an exorcism on someone who is not present, or consenting and willing would prove very difficult,” he said. “However I have no doubt that Hitler was possessed and so it does not surprise me that Pope Pius XII tried a long distance exorcism,” he added. In the past Father Amorth has also spoken out against the Harry Potter books, claiming that reading the novels of the teen wizard open children’s minds to dabbling with the occult and black magic.
Father Amorth, who is president of the International Association of Exorcists, said of the J.K. Rowling books: “Behind Harry Potter hides the signature of the king of the darkness, the devil.” He said that Rowling’s books contain innumerable positive references to magic, “the satanic art”, and added the books attempt to make a false distinction between black and white magic, when in fact, the distinction “does not exist, because magic is always a turn to the devil.” Amorth is said to have carried out more than 30,000 exorcisms.

Nepali Boy Submitted For World's Smallest Person Record

A 14-year-old Nepali boy who is only 50 centimetres (20 inches) tall has been put forward for a Guinness world record as the world's smallest person, his family and supporters said. "We found out that a Jordanian boy holds a record in the Guinness Book of World Records and he is 25.5 inches tall. But Khagendra is 5.5 inches smaller than the Jordanian guy, so we sent an application to the Guinness Book of World Records," said Min Bahadur Rana, president of Khagendra Thapa Magar Foundation, an organization set up to collect funds for the boy.14-year-old Nepali boy Khagendra Thapa Magar(L) standing next to another boy at his home in the Banglung district in northwest Nepal. Khagendra, who is only 50 Cm (20 inches) tall has been put forward for a Guinness world record as the world's smallest person.Fourteen-year-old Khagendra Thapa Magar weighs only 4.5 kilograms and will be taken on tour round Nepal to raise money for his upkeep, his father told reporters. "We show him in exhibitions to collect fund for his education, health and future," said Rup Bahadur Thapa, his father. According to the website set up by his supporters, www.khagendratma.org, Thapa weighed only 600 grams at birth and his hobbies include "playing with pebbles" and "worshipping Buddha."

Two Killed During Exorcism

A 60-year-old woman and her grandson were killed in an exorcism rite that sought to cure an unidentified illness the entire family was suffering from at a village here, a police official said. The bodies of the woman Kashmiri and the boy Anuj, 14, with their hair burnt and bearing injury marks were recovered from their house in Aminnagar village in the district this morning and three persons were arrested, Superintendent of Police Devendra Chaundhry said.He said Vir Singh, his wife Santosh and their daughter had allegedly performed some exorcism rite as the entire family of nine had been suffering for some time from an unidentified illness and they could not find a cure. The SP said Vir Singh then tried to perform the rite to drive away "evil spirits" and cure them of the illness and his mother-in-law and one of his sons died as a result. Chaudhry said the bodies had been sent for post-mortem and the three were being questioned.

Grim Reaper Ritual Cause Of Fire

Religious candles are reportedly responsible for a fire in the Lower Valley. But it's the ritual surrounding the incident that's raising eyebrows. Firefighter found candles surrounding an altar to the Grim Reaper. Charles Lopez, of the Cameron County Fire Marshal's office, says, "In the entertainment center, she was burning some religious candles. Basically what happened was it caught fire and the entertainment center burned up." The Cameron Park woman declined an interview. She did say she was "praying to a saint." Neighbors say they wondered what was going on, after they saw the altar and the statue.Reporters asked an expert about the grim reaper and what it means. It's something called La Santisma Muerte or "the most holy death." UTB Professor Dr. Tony Zavaletta says, "They would have it because... they're going to try something that would help them solve some problem or do something for them." Zavaletta says La Santisima Muerte has become popular during the last decade. It's a saint not recognized by the catholic church, so it's known as a folk saint. You'll see the grim reaper on cars, in homes, and at Mexican stores. The UTB professor says its popularity spreads through word of mouth. It may seem dark worshipping the so-called "saint of death." But Zavaleta says there's another way to look at it. "Bottom line, it's not negative at all, not anymore negative than anything else."

Teen Ghost Hunter Shot Near Spooky House

A man who lived in a "spooky" house that local teenagers considered haunted was charged with felony assault after he shot a girl in the head as she and her ghost-hunting friends lurked on his property. The man said he didn't mean to hurt the girls. But he said they were juvenile delinquents and should not have been trespassing. Allen S Davis, 40, was arrested the day after the shooting, which critically injured Rachel Barezinsky, 17. Davis appeared in court where bond was set at $500 000 on five counts of felonious assault, one charge for each girl in the group.Rachel BarezinskyBarezinsky remained in critical condition at Ohio State University Medical Centre, a nursing supervisor said. Her aunt, Tina Wedebrook, told reporters that the girl had surgery to relieve swelling in her brain and had been able to squeeze visitors' hands, but was having trouble moving the left side of her body. Davis' home had a reputation at the high school for being haunted by ghosts and witches, and students have been daring each other to knock on the door or go in the yard, police Lt Doug Francis said. Davis, a self-employed non-fiction writer who lives with his 64-year-old mother, said he didn't know that teens considered his house haunted. "It's really something how homeowners defend themselves and the way the laws are written, we're the ones brought up on charges while the perpetrators get little or nothing," he said.Allen S DavisBarezinsky and two of her friends got out of their car parked near the home about 22:00 and took a few steps onto the property, Francis said. They jumped back in when a girl in the car sounded the horn, and they heard what they thought were firecrackers as they drove away. The girls - all days from starting their senior year at high school in suburban Columbus - drove around the block, and Barezinsky was struck while sitting in the car as they passed the house again and heard a second round of what turned out to be gunshots, Francis said. Davis told officers he was aiming for the car's tires from his first-floor bedroom, police said.

Virgin Mary Appears On Turtle

An 81-year-old woman in Chicago said the image of the Virgin Mary appeared to her on the stomach of a pet turtle. Shirley McVane said the image mysteriously appeared on a sand turtle given to her by a family member. McVane, said she had had the turtles for about a year and the image is plain to see."I told some of our friends, you know I've got a turtle and I said it has the image of the Virgin Mary on it, and I said it's getting plainer and plainer," McVane said. "And they said, 'Yeah sure. Yeah, I know, you're 81 years old, you think we believe that?' I said, 'Well, it's the truth.' So, now they all believe it." McVane said she has renamed the turtle Mary and its tank mate Joseph.

Pluto Vote 'Hijacked' In Revolt

On Thursday, experts approved a definition of a planet that demoted Pluto to a lesser category of object. But the lead scientist on Nasa's robotic mission to Pluto has lambasted the ruling, calling it "embarrassing". And the chair of the committee set up to oversee agreement on a definition implied that the vote had effectively been "hijacked". The vote took place at the International Astronomical Union's (IAU) 10-day General Assembly in Prague. The IAU has been the official naming body for astronomy since 1919. Only 424 astronomers who remained in Prague for the last day of the meeting took part. An initial proposal by the IAU to add three new planets to the Solar System - the asteroid Ceres, Pluto's moon Charon and the distant world known as 2003 UB313 - met with considerable opposition at the meeting. Days of heated debate followed during which four separate proposals were tabled. Eventually, the scientists adopted historic guidelines that see Pluto relegated to a secondary category of "dwarf planets".Dr Alan Stern, who leads the US space agency's New Horizons mission to Pluto and did not vote in Prague, told BBC News: "It's an awful definition; it's sloppy science and it would never pass peer review - for two reasons. "Firstly, it is impossible and contrived to put a dividing line between dwarf planets and planets. It's as if we declared people not people for some arbitrary reason, like 'they tend to live in groups'. "Secondly, the actual definition is even worse, because it's inconsistent." One of the three criteria for planethood states that a planet must have "cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit". The largest objects in the Solar System will either aggregate material in their path or fling it out of the way with a gravitational swipe. Pluto was disqualified because its highly elliptical orbit overlaps with that of Neptune. But Dr Stern pointed out that Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Neptune have also not fully cleared their orbital zones. Earth orbits with 10,000 near-Earth asteroids. Jupiter, meanwhile, is accompanied by 100,000 Trojan asteroids on its orbital path. These rocks are all essentially chunks of rubble left over from the formation of the Solar System more than four billion years ago. "If Neptune had cleared its zone, Pluto wouldn't be there," he added.Stern said like-minded astronomers had begun a petition to get Pluto reinstated. Car bumper stickers compelling motorists to "Honk if Pluto is still a planet" have gone on sale over the internet and e-mails circulating about the decision have been describing the IAU as the "Irrelevant Astronomical Union". Owen Gingerich chaired the IAU's planet definition committee and helped draft an initial proposal raising the number of planets from nine to 12. The Harvard professor emeritus blamed the outcome in large part on a "revolt" by dynamicists - astronomers who study the motion and gravitational effects of celestial objects. In our initial proposal we took the definition of a planet that the planetary geologists would like. The dynamicists felt terribly insulted that we had not consulted with them to get their views. Somehow, there were enough of them to raise a big hue and cry," Professor Gingerich said. "Their revolt raised enough of a fuss to destroy the scientific integrity and subtlety of the [earlier] resolution." He added: "There were 2,700 astronomers in Prague during that 10-day period. But only 10% of them voted this afternoon. Those who disagreed and were determined to block the other resolution showed up in larger numbers than those who felt 'oh well, this is just one of those things the IAU is working on'." Professor Gingerich, who had to return home to the US and therefore could not vote himself, said he would like to see electronic ballots introduced in future.Alan Stern agreed: "I was not allowed to vote because I was not in a room in Prague on Thursday 24th. Of 10,000 astronomers, 4% were in that room - you can't even claim consensus. "If everyone had to travel to Washington DC every time we wanted to vote for President, we would have very different results because no one would vote. In today's world that is idiotic. I have nothing but ridicule for this decision." He added that he could not see the resolution standing for very long and did not plan to change any of the astronomy textbook he was currently writing. But other astronomers were happy to see Pluto cast from the official roster of planets. Professor Iwan Williams, the IAU's president of planetary systems science, commented: "Pluto has lots and lots of friends; we're not so keen to have Pluto and all his friends in the club because it gets crowded. "By the end of the decade, we would have had 100 planets, and I think people would have said 'my goodness, what a mess they made back in 2006'."Robin Catchpole, of the Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge, UK, said: "My own personal opinion was to leave things as they were. I met Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered Pluto, and thought, it's nice to shake hands with someone who discovered a planet. "But since the IAU brought out the first draft resolution, I was rather against that because I thought it was going to be very confusing. So the best of the alternatives was to keep the eight planets as they are, and then demote Pluto. I think this is a far superior solution." The need for a strict definition was deemed necessary after new telescope technologies began to reveal far-off objects that rivalled Pluto in size. The critical blow for Pluto came with the discovery three years ago of an object currently designated 2003 UB313. Discovered by Mike Brown and colleagues at the California Institute of Technology, 2003 UB313 has been lauded by some as the "10th Planet". Measurements by the Hubble Space Telescope show it to have a diameter of 3,000km (1,864 miles), a few hundred km more than Pluto. 2003 UB313 will now join Pluto in the dwarf planet category. Mike Brown seemed happy with Pluto's demotion. "Eight is enough," he told the Associated Press, jokingly adding: "I may go down in history as the guy who killed Pluto."

'Ethical' Stem Cell Breakthrough

A biotech firm says it's found a way to develop new stem cells -- and potential treatments for devastating illnesses -- without destroying human embryos. Advanced Cell Technology says its breakthrough could end the ethical and political debate over stem cell research. The White House calls the development encouraging.The new technique piggy-backs on an existing fertility procedure used by parents who want to avoid having a child with a lethal or debilitating birth defect. It takes a single cell from an early-stage embryo and uses it to seed a line of stem cells. The rest of the embryo retains the potential to become a healthy human. Dr Ronald M Green, a Dartmouth University ethics professor who reviewed the experiment, says he is unsure that opponents will accept this research immediately, but he believes they will eventually. "I think many of the opponents are going to bridle at this," he said. "People are unprepared for scientific breakthroughs to resolve these ethical issues."

"Hobbit" Was Ancestor Of Pygmys

Skeletal remains of a homonoid nicknamed "hobbit" and found in a cave on a remote Indonesian island are from an ancestor of human pygmies still living there today, scientists say. Previous researchers concluded in 2004 that the remains on Flores island represented a new species of human, "Homo floresiensis", which was about 3-feet tall with brains roughly the size of grapefruits. But in an article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week, a team led by Robert Eckhardt, professor of developmental genetics and evolutionary morphology at Pennsylvania State University, disputed those findings. The international research team said only one reasonably complete skeleton, classified as "LB1", was unearthed and it probably belonged to an early human suffering from microencephaly, a condition where the head and brain are abnormally small.Other skeletal parts were found in the cave, but no other cranial parts were unearthed. "LB1 is not a normal member of a new species, but an abnormal member of our own," said Eckhardt. Eckhardt's team said four major areas of evidence proved the 2004 evaluation wrong. The 2004 theory asserted that early human ancestors travelled to the island about 840,000 years ago, evolved into the new species, and that there was no subsequent human migration to the island until they died out about 15,000 years ago. But Eckhardt's team said this was false as pygmy elephants arrived on the island twice and during periods of low sea levels, Flores was isolated from other islands only by short distances. This made "repeated influxes by later humans not only possible, but likely," it said. The earlier team was also wrong to have compared the facial features of LB1 with those of homosapiens from Europe. LB1's face was also exceedingly assymetrical, pointing to an "abnormal developmental disorder", Eckhardt's team said.

Pope To Inspect 'Image Of Christ' On Veil

A small piece of cloth bearing an eerily detailed image of a bearded man with a bruised face is to be the subject of a papal pilgrimage next week. Pope Benedict XVI will journey to a remote monastery in the Abruzzo region east of Rome next Friday to visit the mysterious icon, said to show the face of Christ. Known by locals as Veronica's Veil, the cloth, measuring 9 1/2 in by 6 1/2 in, is said to have been used by St Veronica to wipe Jesus's brow on his walk to the cross. It later assumed Jesus's image, showing a man, eyes open, with a beard and a moustache. The history of the icon is sketchy. Nothing is known of its whereabouts after Christ's crucifixion, but it is said to have been taken to Rome in 1297. Locals in the remote town of Manoppello in Abruzzo maintain the icon was brought to them 500 years ago by a wandering pilgrim.It now resides in the town's monastery, where it is stretched between two panes of glass in a golden frame. The image clearly shows the face of a Christ-like figure. When held up against daylight, however, the image on the veil disappears. In recent months, Veronica's Veil has been the subject of an influx of tourists from Rome, keen to see what they view as a 'holy relic'. The Vatican has stressed, however, that the Pope's visit does not mean he is officially endorsing the veil. In 1999, scientists from Bari University in southern Italy reported that the image had not been painted or embossed on the veil in any way that could be explained.

Pub Haunted By A Former Regular?

Is there anybody out there... who knows the identity of a ghost believed to be haunting a Preston pub? When they took over running the Hand and Dagger pub, Preston, Pam Mobbs and partner Dave Eyre knew that serving spirits was going to be part of the job. But the couple didn't expect them to be of the non-alcoholic kind! Since they moved into the seventeenth century pub three weeks ago, the couple say they have witnessed some strange ghostly going-ons.Bar mats and menu cards have been moved during the night and chairs and tables have been re-arranged. Pam said: "In the upstairs restaurant you can sometimes hear male voices." According to pub regulars the mysterious happenings are the work of Fred' who, Pam claims, has haunted the pub in Clifton Road, Salwick, for many years.Dave Eyre and Pam Mobbs who run the Hand and Dagger pubNow the new owners are appealing to people to come forward with information leading to Fred's identity? "Nothing that has happened is really scary," said Pam. "But we would love to know who Fred is and are appealing to people to pop down and tell us what they know."

'Miracle' Creek Draws Thousands

Thousands of Indians drank from a polluted Arabian Sea creek after claims that its water had miraculously turned sweet and could cure illnesses, police said yesterday. About 5,000 people gathered at the creek in Mumbai overnight, many of them drinking the dirty water from their palms. 'Sweet seawater, this is a miracle. This water is divine,' Sheikh Naseer, a Mumbai man told a local TV news channel.Children and adults bathed in the creek, which receives thousands of tonnes of sewage and industrial waste every day. Some scooped up seawater in bottles and plastic bags, saying they were going to share it with their families. 'There has been a mad rush to the creek. There is a dargah [Islamic mausoleum] nearby and people felt this is something divine,' said S Kumar, a police officer. But police began stopping people from going to the creek yesterday after authorities warned drinking the polluted water was dangerous. Mumbai's civic officials said the water could have temporarily lost its salinity for several reasons, including pollution and inflow of freshwater from a nearby source. 'We have collected a sample of the water and sent it for testing,' a city official said.

Frog Froth To Treat Wounds

The Tungara frog of Trinidad is an amphibian of unusual habits. When females lay eggs in ponds, their mates build huge balls of froth around them. These act as nests that protect their delicate, developing offspring. But those froth balls are proving to be very special. Scientists have found that they contain a new type of detergent, as well as anti-microbial agents. Researchers are trying to isolate and develop this chemical to make new drugs and medicines. 'This material is amazing,' said Professor Malcolm Kennedy, of Glasgow University's biology department. 'You could imagine using this stuff as an emergency spray on soldiers injured by shell blasts or on burns victims. It could provide immediate protection for the wound and stop infections spreading.'These frogs lay their eggs in stinking pools bursting with microbes. Yet none of their eggs gets infected, thanks to the froth that the frogs create. This not only prevents microbial growth, but holds its structure for many days. It is astonishing stuff.' The adult Tungara frog, Physalaemus pustulosus, is found across much of South and Central America, as well as in the Caribbean. After the female lays eggs in pools of rainwater and secretes a fluid containing a special detergent-like chemical, the male fertilises the eggs and then creates the froth by kicking the liquid vigorously with its hind legs. The Tungara detergent does no damage to the fertilised eggs, and may have important uses. 'In particular, it could be used to clear up oil spills, replacing standard detergents which can cause considerable environmental damage on their own,' said Kennedy.

Irish Tech Firm Has Discovered 'Free Energy'

An Irish company has thrown down the gauntlet to the worldwide scientific community to test a technology it has developed that it claims produces free energy. The company, Steorn, says its discovery is based on the interaction of magnetic fields and allows the production of clean, free and constant energy -- a concept that challenges one of the basic rules of physics. It claims the technology can be used to supply energy for virtually all devices, from mobile phones to cars. Steorn issued its challenge through an advertisement in the Economist magazine this week quoting Ireland's Nobel prize-winning author George Bernard Shaw who said that "all great truths begin as blasphemies". Sean McCarthy, Steorn's chief executive officer, said they had issued the challenge for 12 physicists to rigorously test the technology so it can be developed."What we have developed is a way to construct magnetic fields so that when you travel round the magnetic fields, starting and stopping at the same position, you have gained energy," McCarthy said. "The energy isn't being converted from any other source such as the energy within the magnet. It's literally created. Once the technology operates it provides a constant stream of clean energy," he told Ireland's RTE radio. McCarthy said Steorn had not set out to develop the technology, but "it actually fell out of another project we were working on". One of the basic principles of physics is that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, it can only change form. McCarthy said a big obstacle to overcome was the disbelief that what they had developed was even possible. "For the first six months that we looked at it we literally didn't believe it ourselves. Over the last three years it had been rigorously tested in our own laboratories, in independent laboratories and so on," he said. "But we have been unable to get significant scientific interest in it. We have had scientists come in, test it and, off the record, they are quite happy to admit that it works. "But for us to be able to commercialise this and put this into peoples' lives we need credible, academic validation in the public domain and hence the challenge," McCarthy said.

Man Wants To Remove Extra Organ

An Indian businessman born with two penises wants one of them removed surgically as he wants to marry and lead a normal sexual life. The 24-year-old man from the northern state of Uttar Pradesh admitted himself to a New Delhi hospital this week with an extremely rare medical condition called penile duplication or diphallus, the Times of India said. "Two fully functional penes is unheard of even in medical literature.In the more common form of diphallus, one organ is rudimentary," reporters quoted a surgeon as saying. The surgery was expected to be challenging as both organs were well-formed and full blood supply to the retained penis had to be ensured to allow it to function normally, he added. The newspaper did not disclose the identity of the man or the hospital to protect the patient's privacy. There are about 100 such reported cases of diphallus around the world and it is known to occur among one in 5.5 million men, the newspaper said. It is caused by the failure of the mesodermal bands in the embryo to fuse properly. The mesodermal bands are one of three primary layers of the embryo from which several body parts are formed.

Mystery Of Water Spouting Tree May Be Solved

San Antonio Officials may have solved the mystery of a San Antonio tree that's gurgled water from its trunk for months. The site has attracted a stream of pilgrims who consider it holy water. Local News reports city water system officials shut off service to Lucille Pope's home -- and found that the tree stopped leaking.Her son, Lloyd Pope, says authorities think the roots had gotten into the waterline. Lucille Pope had sought answers from the Texas Forest Service, the Edwards Aquifer Authority and nurseries -- with no results. Meanwhile, visitors have come from as far as Laredo, Dallas and Georgetown to see the red oak that's spouted water in the midst of the drought.

Voodoo Man Sentenced

A man who built a voodoo shrine using his ex-girlfriend's panties before killing her mother and a dog and slashing her teenage cousin was sentenced to 28 years to life in prison. Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Robert Collini sentenced Pierre Carrenard to consecutive terms of 25 years to life for killing the woman, two years for killing the dog and one year for assaulting the 16-year-old girl on Aug. 9, 2005, District Attorney Charles Hynes said. The ex-girlfriend, Francois MacDaly, told police Carrenard, 36, harassed her repeatedly after she broke up with him. On the day of the crimes, she said, Carrenard called her at work and threatened her mother, Esperance Labidou, a Haitian immigrant who worked at a bus company. Carrenard testified in court that he believed Labidou had turned her daughter against him.Prosecutors said Carrenard stabbed Labidou 25 times in her Brooklyn basement apartment before turning the large knife on her Chihuahua, Foo Foo, which had tried to protect her. When the teenage cousin, who lived upstairs, entered the basement apartment, Carrenard slashed her face. He then fled to Florida. Police found a shrine in his apartment made of MacDaly's panties and one of his socks tied together with a green vine. Carrenard explained in court that the shrine "was a sort of spell to control her spirit." Police also found a letter in his apartment. "All I want to do is to love you and make a life with you, but your family keeps getting in the way" the letter said. "Let this be the last interference. You will no longer listen to your family. You will listen to me." Carrenard was arrested Aug. 23, 2005, in Miami, where he had been staying with friends.

UFO Over Hawaii

The FBI and the Transportation Security Administration are investigating sightings of an object resembling a missile flying over the Hilo Airport area Hawaii County Civil Defense said. Reports gave opposite descriptions of its direction and widely varying estimates of its size. The largest estimate was about 12 feet long, and the smallest was one foot. One report said it was headed over the airport's main runway, but another said it was headed north from Hilo, away from the airport.Civil Defense official Lanny Nakano said the federal agencies classified the sighting as unconfirmed. The FBI and TSA did not return requests for comment. Nakano, reading from notes from another Civil Defense official, said it was seen at 10:18 a.m. headed away from the airport. But an eyewitness, who asked that his name not be used, told reporters he saw it heading from the Civic Auditorium area to the Keaukaha area, which would take it over the main runway. That witness saw a silver tube with no markings or fins, trailing "vapor" that quickly dispersed. "The noise was super-loud," he said. Police also interviewed about a half-dozen witnesses who saw or heard it, said police spokeswoman Chris Loos. Loos and the nameless witness said there were plane flights before and after the object was sighted, but the object did not appear connected to their presence. At Pohakuloa Training Area, 30 miles to the west, spokesman Bob McElroy said there were no military exercises using missiles.

'Hybrid Mutant' Found Dead

People in Turner are wondering if an animal found dead over the weekend may be the mysterious creature that has mauled dogs, frightened residents and been the subject of local legend for half a generation. The animal was found near Route 4, apparently struck by a car while chasing a cat. The carcass was photographed and inspected by several people who live in the area, but nobody is sure exactly what it is. Michelle O'Donnell of Turner told reporters that she spotted the animal on her property about a week before it was killed. She said it was evil-looking with a horrible stench, and looked like a "hybrid mutant of something."For the past 15 years, residents across Androscoggin County have reported seeing and hearing a mysterious animal roaming the woods with chilling monstrous cries and eyes that glow in the night. Nobody knows for sure what it is, and theories have ranged from a hyena or dingo to a fisher or coydog, an offspring of a coyote and a wild dog. Now, people are asking if the mystery beast and the dead animal are one and the same.

Bishops warn priests against witchcraft

Southern Africa's Catholic bishops have warned priests to stop moonlighting as witchdoctors, fortune tellers and traditional healers, and to rely on Christ for miracles. The Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference, which represents bishops in South Africa, Swaziland and Botswana, said on its Web sites some priests were adopting the traditional African practice of calling on ancestors for healing. The bishops ordered priests to "desist from practices involving spirits", and to steer clear from witchcraft, fortune-telling and selling spiritual powers or magic medicines."The belief that ancestors are endowed with supernatural powers borders on idolatry. It is God, and God alone, who is all-powerful while the ancestors are created by him," said the pastoral letter to priests issued earlier this month. Many in Southern Africa turn to sangomas -- or traditional healers -- to cure illness, ward off evil spirits and even improve their sex lives. Sangomas, who play a key role in rural communities but are also revered by many in towns and cities, call on ancestral spirits to heal and give advice. Some Christian sects, like the South Africa-based Zion Christian Church, fuse traditional African beliefs about the power of the ancestors with orthodox Christianity. The Southern African bishops said Catholic priests should instead heal in the name of Jesus Christ, and should tend to the soul, not just the body.

Movie Crew Terrified Of Haunted Plane

Crewmembers working on new JAMES BOND movie CASINO ROYALE staged a mutiny when they were asked to spend the night on a haunted plane. Several scenes for the upcoming spy movie, which stars British actor DANIEL CRAIG as 007, are being shot on a decommissioned jumbo jet at England's Dunsfold Aerodrome. And both cast and crew are convinced the passenger jet is haunted by a woman who died of a heart attack during a flight, after reported sightings of her ghost. An insider tells reporters, "We were asked to stay on it overnight for one scene, but several of the crew refused because of the ghost. It's been a real problem." Dunsfold Aerodrome spokesperson DAVID MCALLISTER says, "I cannot discuss the film but I am aware of the plane being haunted."

Cannibal Gets 18 Years For Eating Toddler

A 29-year-old KwaZulu-Natal man has been sentenced to 18 years imprisonment for killing a three-year-old girl and eating parts of her body. Eric Delani Chala was sentenced by the High Court sitting at Ramsgate on the south coast.He killed the little girl on a farm in the Harding area in July last year. He had been asked to watch over the toddler and her sibling, but attacked them with a knife. The other child escaped, but the little girl was killed. Chala then roasted and ate some of her flesh, before cutting up her body and storing the pieces in a mealie bag. After his arrest, Chala was assessed by several psychiatrists. He was found to be fit to stand trial and not mentally disturbed.

Vampire Sea Spiders

Weird spider-like creatures that live at the bottom of the ocean and use a 'straw' to suck on their prey are baffling scientists. These sea spiders, some of which are blind, are defying scientific classification. Marine zoologist Dr Claudia Arango of the Australian Museum in Sydney agrees they are arthropods, but which type? She presented her research on these unusual and poorly understood animals recently at the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research meeting in Hobart. "They are very weird looking animals," says Arango. For over 100 years, scientists have been puzzling over how exactly to classify sea spiders or pycnogonids. They crawl along the bottom of the sea floor, sometimes more than 6000 to 7000 metres down, where they live in the dark, feeding on slow-moving soft-bodied sponges and sea slugs.An unusual Antarctic sea spider with five pairs of legs. Its large proboscis is protruding towards the bottom of the pictureThe creatures are segmented and have an exoskeleton, which makes them an arthropod, the same grouping as crustaceans, insects, centipedes and spiders. But they also have a very strange collection of features, including a unique feeding structure. "They have a proboscis that's like a straw that they insert into the animals and suck out the juices," says Arango. Such features make it difficult to fit them into any of the known groups of arthropods. "They look like spiders, but they are not real spiders," says Arango. "It's been very hard to place them in a position within the tree of life." Arango has been studying the diversity and evolution of sea spiders. She has been using DNA and morphology to construct a family tree, using 60 species of sea spiders from all over the world.Some scientists believe that sea spiders make up a new very primitive group, at the base of the arthropod family tree.
This Antarctic sea spider has a 70-centimetre leg span But Arango's findings so far support another theory: that they are more closely related to the arthropod group that includes spiders and scorpions. She stresses these are only preliminary conclusions though, and the jury remains out. Arango says the most interesting sea spiders live in Antarctica. They are more diverse, more abundant, bigger and weirder than other sea spiders, she says. "That makes them a very sexy and attractive fauna." One type of Antarctic sea spider has an extra body segment giving them five pairs of legs instead of the usual four pairs. Another type has extremely long legs spanning 70 centimetres. Arnago says the diversity and abundance of sea spiders in Antarctica means they probably play a very important role in its ecology, although this is yet to be elucidated.

This Tree Does Its Own Watering

Lucille Pope's red oak tree has baffled tree experts, water specialists and nursery professionals. The knotted, towering tree, more than 100 years old, has become the root of scrutiny in her East Side neighborhood. The tree has gurgled water from its trunk for the past three months. Pope, 65, has sought answers from several specialists, calling experts from the Texas Forest Service, the Edwards Aquifer Authority and nurseries for an explanation. They've combed her backyard, probing the gnarled tree that leans away from a parked white 1980s Cadillac. After snapping pictures, doing taste tests and conducting preliminary studies, they're still working to give her a definitive answer. "I got a mystery tree," Pope said. "What kind of mystery do I have where water comes out of a tree?" The odd occurrence started in early April when her son, Lloyd Pope, noticed bark smeared with sap when he went to fill his the water trough of his stepson's dog Neno. After moving the Rottweiler's tray, he saw a wide stain that ran from the root up toward the branches, with fluid dripping to the ground from above.Lucille Pope drinks the water that is mysteriously leaking out of a tree in her backyard on the East Side.Days later, he saw water streaming onto the ground from the other side, and he showed his mother the sight. Lloyd Pope, 47, said the water was cool, like it came from a faucet. The only damp spot around the tree trunk is where the water lands. The peculiar incident has the Popes wondering if the water has properties not found on tap. Pope said her insurance agent dabbed drops on a spider bite that went away after the application on the welt. Pope said she's soaked her sore ankles in water from the tree and the pain has gone away. Now she wonders, is it a tree that heals or water that blesses? Her son doesn't believe the cause of the streaming water is anything holy or religious. "I ain't with that superstitious stuff," Lloyd Pope said, sitting on the hood of the Cadillac, catching water spurting out of the tree in a plastic gallon jug. "There's no crying Mary here." After hearing of the leaking tree, two water experts stopped by Wednesday afternoon to study the strange sight. George Rice, a hydrologist on the board of the authority, and Annalisa Peace, executive director of the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance, walked around the tree, touching the damp surface.Lloyd Pope catches the water springing from a tree in his backyard on the East Side."I've never seen anything like this before," Rice said. "If you wanted to dream something up I'd say that somehow water pressure underneath is forced through some kind of channel in the tree. But that's still very unlikely." Rice watched the water gurgling about 2 feet up from the roots, estimating the flow at a 10th or 20th of a gallon every minute. Lloyd Pope offered a blue plastic cup of the cool water to Rice and several bystanders. After a sip, Rice said it tasted like it could have had a trace of saline, almost like something that could have gone through natural dissolving salts. Rice took a quarter of a plastic bottle of water from the tree, analyzing it later with a quick examination kit that measured water conductivity. "From a crude, free test I can't tell the difference," Rice said of the water he compared to Edwards Aquifer water. "It's 600 micromhos, the same as what comes out of my tap, maybe a little higher." Mark Peterson, regional community forester from the Texas Forest Service, paid a courtesy call three weeks ago to help Pope figure out a logical explanation to the phenomenon. He hasn't done any extensive research but still is trying to identify the enigma. He's talked to consultation services without any results He said he believes it could be a spring, adding that that would be rare with the drought conditions this summer. Peterson plans to ask colleagues around the country via link services for ideas about the tree. "If it is a burst pipe their monthly bill would be enormous," Peterson said. "It would definitely be reflected in their bill." Pope said she doesn't think the cause is a broken water pipe. She said her water bill is normal and hasn't fluctuated from the monthly average. The only fluctuation she's seen she said is in the morning when the water flow is more forceful. Roland Ruiz, spokesman for the authority, said that early in the morning he would suspect that the aquifer level would be up. "With a high demand the level would be down," Ruiz said. "As the demand dropped, theoretically it would go up." Ruiz said a science team member researched the elevation of the area and said that it's unlikely that the water from the tree is from aquifer springflow. The family members said they plan to call the San Antonio Water System for an assessment. After Rice and Peace left with their sample of water, Lloyd Pope continued to sit on the hood of the Cadillac, pressing the mouth of the nearly filled jug to the spout of water, just as he does every other day. Then he put the collected water, which he said is better than faucet water, in the icebox. His mother cupped her hands to the tree, drinking the pooled water spilling over her fingers. She's still waiting to find out if the source of the mysterious water flow is an artesian spring, a broken water pipe or an abandoned well. Or possibly something else. "I just want to know if it is a healing tree or blessed water," she said. "That's God's water. Nobody knows but God."

Mystery Creature Blamed for Killing Dogs

People on a northern Manitoba reserve are avoiding a lake after three sled dogs were gutted amid reports that a strange creature is on the loose. Chief Joe Dantouze of the Northlands First Nation in Lac Brochet said that he had never seen an animal kill in the manner that befell the dogs. The dogs were found gutted on a island in nearby Reindeer Lake on Sunday morning and another four dogs have gone missing. Manitoba conservation officials have been looking into the matter and have taken the bodies of the dead dogs for analysis. Dantouze said some people claimed to have spotted a mysterious creature on the lake, but didn't give a description."There were signs that people had seen something out on the lake but they don't know what type of animal it would be," Dantouze said. People believe the mysterious creature killed the dogs, he said. "They're afraid right now. People are afraid to go out on the lake, like for fishing, and to use the beaches around the lake. "And I think, who wouldn't be if something like this would happen to another lake? I think people would be scared and I think that's how it is right now." Dantouze said the band has advised people to stay away from the lake for the time being.

Man Missing After Pulled Into Ocean By Turtle

A graduate student from the University of Central Florida is missing after he was pulled underwater by a large sea turtle, according to reporters. Officials said the man vanished about three miles north of the Sebastian Inlet and 400 yards out to sea, sheriff's officials said.The student was apparently tagging turtles as part of a UCF research project. "The person was onboard a Boston Whaler with other students when a large turtle pulled the victim underwater,". The Coast Guard from the Fort Pierce, Fla., station is conducting the search with assistance from the Brevard County sheriff's helicopter.

The Cyclops Baby

She's just four days old but more talked about than any other baby in Chennai's Kasturba Gandhi Hospital. It�s because she's born with just one eye. It's a birth defect called Cyclopia where the eye is in just one cavity and there is no functioning of the nose or nostrils. The baby girl is now breathing through her mouth with the help of tubes.Only one in a million babies are born with Cyclopia because it's usually detected through scans in the 10th week of pregnancy. In almost all the cases, the pregnancy is terminated. "This condition occurs when the forebrain doesn't fully subdivide which affects the development of the eye," says a paediatric opthalmologist at Apollo Hospital, Dr Uma Ramesh.Doctors are not yet sure if she will be able to see but thanks to all her life organs being in perfect health, this special baby girl has a high chance survival. What they're worried she won't survive, is the imminent discrimination.

Strange Holes In The Ground Discovered In Krasnoyarsk Region

Residents of Novoselovo district in the Krasnoyarsk region have come across a mysterious phenomenon in the field. They discovered several tunnels of unknown origin in an area located some 100 meters away from the highway connecting the cities of Krasnoyarsk and Abakan , in the vicinity of the village of Kurgany. There are about 10 holes in the field. Each hole has an entrance to a cave-like hollow place in the earth. Some of the tunnels are big enough for a person of medium height to stand up straight. According to one of the suppositions, all the underground passages are interconnected in a network. A few daredevils equipped with flashlights attempted walking across the tunnels.Local residents have a number of theories to explain the origin of the tunnels. Some people believe the tunnels are the work of unidentified pranksters, others blame mysterious animals which reportedly dig holes in the ground. According to yet another theory, the tunnels may somehow be related to an earthquake that occurred in the area 3 years ago. Krasnoyarsk scientists have not yet made any official statements as to the explanation of the phenomenon.

Dog Meat Popular With North Korean Women

Dog meat is increasingly popular among women in North Korea because the traditional Korean delicacy is believed to be good for the skin, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper in Japan reported. Dog meat has long been regarded as a stamina food in both Koreas, widely consumed on hot summer days in particular. North Korea is believed to have a greater variety of dishes with dog meat, known in the North as "sweet meat." South Korean gourmets who have tried the delicacy in the North, say Northern dishes taste better."Sweet meat has various vitamins, including Vitamin A and B and is good for digestion problems and fatigue," the Choson Sinbo newspaper said on its Web site seen in Seoul.The paper quoted a cook at a dog meat restaurant in the North's capital, Pyongyang, as saying an increasing number of women are visiting the restaurant. "Customers get convinced about the efficacy of sweet meat when they see the skin of our employees and cooks," the paper quoted the chef, Ryu Jong Mok, 47, as saying. The paper said Ryu also has "resilient and fine" skin. Dog meat is also widely consumed in South Korea, especially among middle-aged men on belief that it's good for stamina and virility.But women in the South are usually less willing to try the food. Earlier this week, a poll showed that more than 35 percent of South Korean dog owners also eat dog soup. Dog meat is also eaten in some other Asian countries, including China, Vietnam, the Philippines and Laos. Activists regularly criticize the practice and call for bans on eating dog meat.

Is Tiny Heed The World's Smallest Cat?

Could this be the world's smallest cat? The Guinness Book of Records is waiting until this little Munchkin kitten is fully grown to decide if he is a record breaker. But Heed is well on track. At 14 weeks old he is just 3 1/4 inches tall, and weighs just over 2lbs. Current record holder, Mr Peebles from Illinois, stands at 6.1 inches tall, and weighs 3.1 lbs. At eight weeks old, Heed could hide behind a tin can and he is still shorter than a roll of toilet paper. His owner, Tiffani Kjeldergaard, 40, of Potrero, San Diego, explained: "Munchkins are a breed that have the same mutant gene as little people. But they usually weigh 3-5 lbs and stand at around 6 inches. "Heed was one of a litter of seven and was the only one with this gene. His mother is a Munchkin and his father is a normal sized cat."We called him Heed because he was born with a big head and a tiny body and it reminded us of a line in a Mike Myers film called So I Married an Axe Murderer where he shouts in a Scottish accent, 'Look at the size of his heed!'" Tiffani and her husband Stefan, a computer programmer, planned to have the whole litter adopted, but delayed the rehoming when the kittens all had a tummy bug. "Then I noticed that Heed was not growing" said Tiffani. "When the others recovered we decided to hold onto him, in case he was still sick. We thought we might lose him." But Heed was soon in good health. "He eats all day long," Tiffani said. "He even has a pot belly." Tiffani, who breeds cats, birds and horses, and also has a pet llama, contacted the Guinness Book of Records. "They have sent me the documentation, so fingers crossed. "Heed is a great little cat. He loves to rub noses with me when he's nervous, but I take him out everywhere with me and he loves it. He'll definitely be staying with us. This guy is kind of cool."

Haunted Clinton Tunnel

There is light at the end of this tunnel, but it seems impossible to reach it. The old train tunnel buried in woods off Route 70 once came out to a now-removed bridge over the Wachusett Dam. It has been said to be haunted (but probably that is just weird echo vibrations), to be abnormally cold, and to create an optical illusion that makes it appear to go on forever when one is walking through. That last part is true. Although the tunnel was once said to be the second-longest one in the state, it’s probably not more than a quarter-mile, or at the most, a half-mile long. But when you’re walking it, it seems to go on for miles. Listed in “Haunted Places in Worcester County,” the tunnel earned its spot in the book from the eerie sounds produced by echoes, its Gothic appearance, and the chilly temperature.Clinton Police Officer John J. Gaughan, who lives near the tunnel, said the best time to go there is in the winter, when water running down the sides turns it into a shimmering ice palace. “I take my kids. We bring flashlights, and it’s quite a show. Sometimes people put sand down, or else you’d slip on all that ice,” he said. Officer Gaughan said temperatures in the tunnel run about 20 degrees cooler than outside. Trains, including passenger trains, stopped running through the tunnel in the mid-1950s, and the trestle over the dam was removed in the 1970s, he said. An effort is under way to connect the tunnel to the Central Mass. Rail Trail.

The Oregon Coast Dead Zone

For the fifth year in a row, unusual wind patterns off the coast of Oregon have produced a large “Dead Zone,” an area so low in oxygen that fish and crabs suffocate. This dead zone is unlike those in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere, which result from fertilizer, sewage or runoff from hog or poultry operations carried by rivers. The Oregon zone appears when the wind generates strong currents carrying nutrient-rich but oxygen-poor water from the deep sea to the surface near shore, a process called upwelling. The nutrients encourage the growth of plankton, which eventually dies and falls to the ocean floor. Bacteria there consume the plankton, using up oxygen. Jane Lubchenco, a marine biologist at Oregon State University, said the phenomenon did not appear to be linked to recurring El Niño or La Niña currents or to long-term cycles of ocean movements. That made Dr. Lubchenco wonder if climate change might be a factor, she said, adding, “There is no other cause, as far as we can determine.”The zone occupies a space roughly the size of Rhode Island.The dead zone, which appears in late spring and lasts a matter of weeks, has quadrupled in size since it first appeared in 2002 and this year covers about 1,235 square miles, an area about as large as Rhode Island, Dr. Lubchenco said. The zone dissipates when winds shift. It is not clear what effect the dead zone may have on future fish or crab catches, Dr. Lubchenco said. So far, she said, the dead zone has not formed until the Dungeness crab season has been nearly over. Hal Weeks, a marine ecologist who leads the Marine Habitat Project for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, said the formation of the low-oxygen, or hypoxic, areas had so far caused “localized disruptions” in fishing but no overall decline in catches and no interference with recreational fishing. Dr. Weeks said these areas might have occurred in the past and gone undetected. But he added that when he convened a meeting of scientists and fishermen about 18 months ago to discuss the issue, the fishermen said they did not recall problems occurring so regularly. “Based on people’s memories,” Dr. Weeks said, “they did not have a pattern or periodicity to it.” He and Dr. Lubchenco said scientists would take a research vessel out to sea on Tuesday and lower a robot vehicle to photograph the sea bottom to check fish and crab mortality. “You don’t normally haul up a pot and find any dead crabs in it,” Dr. Lubchenco said. “And the crabbers that we have talked to have all reported dead crabs.” Dr. Weeks said he hoped the research cruise would help explain what was going on. “I am expected to give the best possible technical advice to my managers,” he said, “and I am afraid right now I don’t have answers for them.” In 2002 when the dead zone first appeared, Dr. Lubchenco said, she and other researchers dismissed it as an interesting anomaly. “But now, five years in a row, we are beginning to think there has been some sort of fundamental change in ocean conditions off the West Coast,” she said, possibly because of changes in the jet stream.

Cannibal Eats Victim’s Head In Soup, Keeps Heart In Fridge

Police have detained a man who murdered an elderly movie director, disjointed his body and made soup by boiling the victim’s head. A plumber called the police, saying he had found large chunks of meat in the sewage at a block of flats in northern Moscow. “I was clearing a blockage, when I saw lumps of human meat!” reporters quoted him as saying. Police rushed to the scene, and bloody tracks led them to the door of Evgeny Zorin. Zorin, 69, was known for his documentaries dedicated to Russian outlands. He lived alone in his apartment in peace with the neighbors. While the police were contemplating the blood on the stairs, a man rushed out of the apartment and ran for the door. The police detained him and went in.Alexander PoyarkovThe apartment was covered in blood, and a strange smell was coming from the kitchen where something was boiling in a saucepan. Inside the saucepan the police found a man’s head. On the kitchen table was a bowl of soup and a spoon. Experts later identified human flesh among the soups ingredients. In the fridge the police found a human heart, and further inspection produced bloodstained instruments — a small axe, a saw and a knife the murderer had used to cut the body to pieces. Alexander Poyarkov, 29 years old, confessed to the murder. He said the old man had invited him to spend the night at his place when he had nowhere to go, and then raped him. “He put me up for the night. Then he raped me. And I killed him,” Polyakov said. Poyarkov stabbed his host with a knife several times. Then he disjointed the body, threw some parts away, flushed others down the toilet, kept the heart and boiled the head, to make the body unrecognizable, he said. Poyarkov has been charged with murder. He is scheduled to undergo a psychiatric analysis in the near future.

Slithery Creature Prompts Speculation

There's something slithering through the waters of the French Broad River, but no one knows what it is. Jim Reynolds, an associate geology professor at Brevard College, took pictures this week of the animal. He spotted it near the end of a canoe trip from Rosman to Brevard. It has a long tail, stubby legs, scaly skin and an impressive set of teeth. Reynolds thinks it may have been a pet that got to be a bit too much for its owner.One photo published in today's Asheville Citizen-Times and Web site appears to show a 3-foot-long creature similar to an alligator, gliding toward a riverbank somewhere near Brevard. Others who have seen the reptile say it's too small to be a gator. Sid Cullipher, owner of Headwater Outfitters, believes it is a caiman, which is a member of the same biological family that is native to South America, but not to North Carolina.

The 'Planemo' Twins

Astronomers have spotted a pair of two strange celestial objects beyond the solar system that tend to blur the differentiation between a planet and a star. At the outset, they appear