QUIRKY WORLD ... A daily look at some of the world’s stranger stories
Cleaners found a stash of 24 gold bars worth more than $1.1m (€818,000) hidden in an aeroplane lavatory after a flight from Bangkok arrived in eastern India, officials said yesterday.
The Jet Airways plane had landed in Kolkata and was being cleaned before a scheduled flight to Patna when the cleaners found two bags with the gold stashed inside, according to customs official Mona Priyadarshini.
Priyadarshini said the gold bars weighed around 1kg each. Customs officials confiscated the stash and are investigating.
Comedy veterans Monty Python will choose the venue for their eagerly awaited comeback just moments before it is announced.
The comedy troupe — which features John Cleese and Michael Palin in its line-up — will confirm a reunion today, their first new project for three decades.
The team’s Eric Idle revealed they had received “bids” to host the performance in locations around the world with a “winner” still to be finalised.
Idle, Palin, Cleese, Terry Gilliam, and Terry Jones are due to attend a press conference at midday to give further details of their plans.
It is understood the initial plan will be for one live show and the comedy stars will examine each of the invitations they have received to perform before coming to a decision.
A man tried to escape a speeding fine by blaming the offence on his grandmother who lived more than 4,800km away, could not drive, and had never visited the UK.
Dillon Coker, 26, was snapped by a speed camera doing 51m/h on a 40m/h (64km/h) stretch of the A127 Essex, in January. He told police he was not driving his Volkswagen Polo at the time, saying his grandmother was responsible.
However, police investigations established that she lived in Sierra Leone and could not have been behind the wheel.
Coker admitted perverting the course of justice when he appeared at Basildon Crown Court and was given a six-month jail sentence suspended for 12 months, told to carry out 100 hours of work in the community and ordered to pay £500 (€600) in costs.
Wonder material graphene faces its stiffest challenge yet in providing thinner, stronger, safer, and more desirable condoms.
A research team from the University of Manchester has received a Grand Challenges Explorations grant of $100,000 (€74,366) from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop new composite nano-materials for next generation condoms.
The challenge is to develop technology that can make the condom more desirable, which could lead to an increase in its use.
A Chinese ricetrader who dodged taxes by claiming that he had purchased a US bank has been jailed for life.
Lin Chunping saved millions with false invoices between Sept 2011 and May 2012.
He claimed he had taken over a Delaware-based bank for £36m (€43m), winning him praise and a political appointment to a municipal advising body.
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