It’s a weird world

Standard People
COPS BITTENPOLICE arrested an 82-year-old man after he bit and kicked officers who had arrived to mediate in a dispute with a neighbour over a domestic pet.

COPS BITTENPOLICE arrested an 82-year-old man after he bit and kicked officers who had arrived to mediate in a dispute with a neighbour over a domestic pet.

The officers arrived at his house in the central Dutch village of Nijkerk to talk to the neighbour when the man was leaving on his bicycle, police said.Asked to identify himself, the man got off his bike and started to kick and bite the officers, police said. The man was taken to the police station and was released after questioning. — Reuters.

SHE IS A HE!A DURHAM couple have spoken of their shock after being told that their baby girl was actually a baby boy.Five weeks after giving birth to a girl, mum Claire Robson was astonished when doctors told her “she” was a“he” after all.Robson, 21, and partner, Andrew O’Shaughnessy, 27, from Brandon, near Durham, were thrilled when their first baby was born at Sunderland Royal Hospital.Born 11 weeks prematurely by caesarian section, the baby was immediately transferred to an incubator, reports the Northern Echo.Robson was told she had had a little girl who the couple named Olivia and started stocking up on pink baby clothes.It was during a visit to the Wearside hospital that the couple were called in by a consultant and told that Olivia was, in fact, a boy.Robson said: “I just burst into tears. It’s taken a bit of getting used to. From that point onwards everyone kept calling the baby a he.“Because he was born so early he wasn’t fully developed —that’s why no one could tell. As he got a few weeks older it became apparent.” — Orange news.

BOOZE MORERUSSIA’S Finance minister has urged his countrymen and women to support the country — by drinking and smoking more.Alexei Kudrin called for increased consumption of tobacco and alcohol in a bid to boost the state’s revenues, reports Metro.“If you smoke a pack of cigarettes, that means you are giving more to help solve social problems,” commented Kudrin.“People should understand: Those who drink, those who smoke are doing more to help the state.”Russia, noted for its high consumptions of both cigarettes and alcohol, has among the lowest duties on cigarettes in Europe.In June, plans to double the excise duty on cigarettes from £5 per 1 000 cigarettes to £12 by 2013 were outlined.The comments by the minister seem to contradict recent government moves to improve life expectancy rates. — Reuters.

UNDERGROUND HOMEA RETIRED miner has dug out his own underground home to avoid becoming a “mortgage slave” in China.Chen Xinnian, 64, didn’t want to spend all of his wages and savings on buying a bigger home, reports the Dahe Daily.So he put his professional expertise to good use and tunnelled out an apartment underneath his existing home in Zhengzhou, Henan province.Each day, he dons his miner’s helmet and lamp and works for four or five hours in his spare time.So far, his underground home is a one-bedroomed apartment covering an area of 50 square metres.“I often sing and dance with my wife underground. It’s so cool there. My two daughters also fight to sleep underground,” said Chen.The apartment is 20ft underground and can resist a level eight earthquake — and it is so cool that food does not need to be kept in a fridge. — Orange news.