As his country suffers from a chronic water and energy crisis, Chavez told the public to limit the amount of time they spend in the bathroom.“Some people sing in the shower, stay in the shower for half an hour,” he fumed in a televised cabinet meeting, according to the Daily Mail.He then revealed that he was taking the lead in the fight against wasted energy.“No, kids,” he urged, “three minutes is more than enough. I’ve counted, three minutes, and I don’t stink.”Warming to his subject, he continued: “If you’re going to lie back in the bath with the soap and you turn on the Jacuzzi, imagine that — what kind of Communism is that?”Increased demand and a lack of investment have caused serious blackouts in Venezeula in recent months, with the situation made worse by low rainfall affecting the hydroelectric dams that generate much of the country’s power.Chavez has already announced measures to curb energy use, instructing government departments and nationalised companies to reduce their consumption by 20%. –– Daily Mail.
REPTILE CARRIER: Customs officers in Norway were amazed to find 14 royal pythons and 10 albino leopard geckos taped to a man’s body.The 22-year-old Norwegian was stopped in a routine check by Kristiansand customs after arriving on a ferry from Denmark, the Faedrelandsvennen newspaper reported.After finding a tarantula in the man’s bag, customs officials decided to give him a full body search that revealed 14 stockings –– one for each snake –– taped around his torso.Reptile smuggling is not uncommon in Norway but Helge Breilid, the office manager at Kristiansand customs, said customs officers had been “horrified” by the case.“Customs officers quickly realised the man was smuggling animals, because his whole body was in constant motion,” Breilid said.When the man dropped his pants, the officers found 10 cans taped to his legs, each containing a lizard, he said. The man was put in police custody. . –– Ananova.
MISSED LANDING: US aviation authorities have launched an investigation in the US after a pilot overshot his destination by 150 miles and had to turn back.An alert was sparked when a Northwest Airlines flight from San Diego to Minneapolis lost radio contact with air-traffic controllers for more than an hour.The Airbus A320, with 144 passengers on board, was 240 kilometres off course by the time the pilots realised the error, re-established communications and requested permission to turn around.By this time, the US military had been alerted and had put fighter jets on stand-by, reports Sky News.The pilots reportedly told the Federal Aviation Administration that they lost track of where they were during a “heated discussion” over airline policy.However, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has said that it will investigate the possibility that the pilots fell asleep on the job.Delta Airlines, which owns Northwest, has suspended the two pilots while the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder are being analysed.In January 2008 a Go! Airlines flight in Hawaii passed its destination when two pilots fell asleep in the cockpit for at least 18 minutes. They were eventually roused by controllers and landed the plane safely. –– Ananova.
