Panda "thief" leads chase through China city

A wild giant panda which wandered into a southwestern Chinese city on the weekend led would-be rescuers on a day-long chase before it was captured and returned to the wild, it has been reported.
The animal was first spotted early Saturday morning in Dujiangyuan, a city in Sichuan province, and was pursued by residents of a housing complex who initially thought it was a cat burglar, it said.
The panda managed to escape by climbing over roofs and disappearing through an iron gate into darkness.
"The panda was amazingly agile and totally different from those at the zoos," a witness, surnamed Xu, was quoted as saying.
Several hours later, police received reports that the panda had been sighted in a river.
Police observed the swimming panda until it stopped to climb a tree on the riverbank, where it stayed until daybreak.
Around 10 a.m., with the help of a tranquiliser dart and rope, firemen were able to lift the panda from the tree so it could be returned home.
 

 Rats invade central Hong Kong

Hong Kong's central business district, famous for gleaming skyscrapers and fashionable bars, is facing an invasion of rats.
Between January and June, the densely populated area's rodent infestation rate swelled to 17 percent from zero, based on the number of rats attracted to every 100 pieces of bait.
"Central was virtually rat-free a few months ago, then the situation deteriorated. We have to tackle the problem actively. What is important is sustained action," said Ho Yuk-yin, a consultant with the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department.
He attributed the influx to poor vigilance at restaurants in the area's old, run-down and poorly-maintained buildings and maze of dank alleyways.
Government officers are distributing pamphlets to educate restaurant workers about hygiene, food storage, rubbish disposal and rat prevention. Workers were also putting out poisoned bait.
The district is now the second-worst rat infested area in Hong Kong, behind a shopping centre in rural New Territories. A rodent infestation rate above 20 percent is considered high.

Singapore opens landfill to tourists

The Singapore government has opened a landfill island, made entirely from garbage incinerator ash, to its citizens in a bid to share its "rich natural environment."
"Throughout the planning, design, and construction of the landfill island, and since it came into operation, painstaking efforts have been made to protect the island's ecosystem and preserve its rich natural environment and biodiversity," the National Environment Agency said in a statement.
The Semakau landfill is about five miles south of Singapore. The Nature Society of Singapore and the Sport Fishing Association of Singapore are among the independent groups organizing visits to the dumpsite, the statement said.
 

 Pope hails vacations

Pope Benedict, on holiday in the Italian Alps, told pilgrims on Sunday that vacation has become a necessity to escape the frenetic pace of day-to-day life, especially for city dwellers.
In his first public address since arriving in this tiny mountain hamlet a week ago, Benedict urged the faithful to use holidays for "prayer, reading and meditation on the deep meaning of life surrounded by family and loved ones."
He said vacation "has become almost a necessity to recover in body and spirit, especially for those who live in the city where the often frenetic conditions of life leave little space for silence and reflection".
Speaking before thousands of local residents and tourists gathered in fields ringed by pine trees and towering mountains, the 78-year-old Pope gave thanks for his own holidays "after the first months of demanding pastoral service".
 

Woman gives birth to two sets of twins

LeAnn and Stephen Beloyan struggled for more than a decade to start a family. Then just weeks into LeAnn's pregnancy, they discovered they were having not one, but two sets of identical twins.
"We were elated and overwhelmed, and concerned about how we were going to handle all this," Stephen Beloyan, 39, said Saturday, when two of the babies were expected to go home.
Lauren, Sarah, Benjamin and Samuel each were born a minute apart on June 7 by Caesarean section at Capital Health System's Mercer Campus.
Eight weeks early but otherwise healthy, the newborns weighed from slightly more than 2 pounds to 3 pounds.
 

 Hippo turns 54

A hippopotamus dined on fruit and juices frozen into a giant confection during a party celebrating the 3,500-pound animal's 54th birthday.
Hundreds of visitors ate birthday cake Saturday at the Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden while Donna the hippo consumed her frozen fruit.
Zoo keeper John W. Stuteville said Donna is considered one of the world's oldest living Nile hippos. She has already outlived her mate and all eight of their offspring.
Stuteville said that in the wild, hippos usually live to be only 30 to 45 years old, he said.
Arthritis, which afflicts Donna, usually brings them down because they carry too much weight on their short stubby legs and knees.
Stuteville attributes Donna's longevity to the care she has received at Mesker and to her surroundings, including inclines she must climb out of her enclosure's pools — a design that keeps her active.

Indian porn drive proves successful

Indian police forced around 200 people caught watching pornography to do sit-ups in public to shame them and keep them away from theatres that illegally screen smutty movies.
It was reported on Monday that police stopped the screening of a pornographic movie at a cinema in Balasore district in the eastern state of Orissa and made audience members -- some as young as 17 -- do 10 sit-ups each at a public square, watched by onlookers.
The police made the all-male group vow not to watch pornography again. To make matters worse for the embarrassed teenagers who were caught, police called their parents to watch them doing sit-ups.
Police officer Sanjeev Panda said authorities carried out the public shaming after attempts to get theatres in district not to show pornography had failed.
"So we decided to crack down on the audience," Panda was quoted in the newspaper, which also reported that police in Orissa planned to integrate such public punishments into their general campaign against pornography.
Exhibiting pornography is illegal in India, but it is screened in many cinemas.

Tailpiece

Been here before?

Roger is a hard worker, and he spends most of his nights bowling or playing volleyball. One weekend, his wife decides that he needs to relax a little and take a break from sports, so she takes him to a strip club. The doorman at the club spots them and says "Hey Roger! How are you tonight?" His wife, surprised, asks her husband if he has been here before. "No, no. He's just one of the guys I bowl with."
They are seated, and the waitress approaches, sees Roger and says "Nice to see you, Roger. A gin and tonic as usual?" His wife's eyes widen. "You must come here a lot!" "No, no" says Roger "I just know her from volleyball."
Then a stripper walks up to the table. She throws her arms around Roger and says "Roger! A table dance as usual?" His wife, fuming, collects her things and storms out of the bar. Roger follows her and spots her getting into a cab, so he jumps into the passenger seat. His wife looks at him, seething with fury and lets Roger have it with both barrels.
At this, the cabby leans over and says "Sure looks like you picked up a bitch tonight, Roger!"