Quirky World: Hunt for heir after homeless woman leaves €45k in cash

GERMANY: Tens of thousands of euro in cash was found in the possessions of an 83-year-old woman who lived at a homeless shelter and died last week.

Mihael Pohar, spokesman for the Duesseldorf district court, said officials found a bag containing €45,000 in €500 notes; another €930 in smaller bills; $6,648 and a small amount of Moldovan currency.

Pohar said a social worker who dealt with the woman told authorities she may have a son in the US.

A court-appointed administrator is now looking into that possibility as he tries to find any heirs. The woman is believed to have been a Moldovan citizen.

ENGLAND:

A baby sloth named “Edward” after his impressive Edward Scissorhands-like claws, is being hand-reared with the help of a special teddy bear.

Zookeeper Kelly-Anne Kelleher has taken on the role of surrogate mother at London Zoo after seven-week-old two-toed sloth Edward’s mother stopped producing milk. To help him build up muscles, Kelleher has adapted his teddy bear with carabiners, climbing equipment that means it can be hung from a branch and allow him to climb on and strengthen his limbs.

He was named after Johnny Depp’s character Edward Scissorhands due to his claws, which will grow to up to 4in in length, enabling him to climb through trees.

ENGLAND:

A Tory candidate with the Twitter handle @BigBraLady has helped the party to emerge victorious in the latest town hall by-elections.

Conservatives won a seat from independent at North Kesteven District Council (North Hykeham Mill ward) and held a seat at Wychavon (Droitwich East), where the new councillor, Karen Tomalin, runs a women’s underwear business called bras2u.com.

ENGLAND:

A rare First World War anti-aircraft gun is to fire again 100 years after guns first successfully repelled a German Zeppelin raid over the White Cliffs of Dover.

The 3in gun, one of only six of its type left in the world, was built in 1915 as one of the first weapons designed to combat the new threat of aerial warfare.

The gun, acquired by English Heritage from the Ministry of Defence in 1994 and sited at Pendennis Castle, Cornwall, since then, has been restored, and is the only one in full working order, English Heritage said.

It has now been installed at Dover Castle to recreate one of the anti-aircraft gun emplacements first put in place in 1915, and will be regularly fired in demonstrations by a team of specially trained English Heritage volunteers in authentic costume.

USA:

An aggressive 2ft-long cobra captured at a luxury high-rise flats complex in Houston has been euthanised.

Police were summoned to the complex after residents spotted an albino monocled cobra on the third floor. Police used a broom to corner and capture the snake. No injuries were reported.

Authorities are not sure how the snake, which is native to south-east Asia, ended up in the building or who owned it.

USA:

A circa-1860s Brooklyn Atlantics team baseball card that has been in the same family for more than 150 years has fetched over $179,000 (€162,0000 at auction.

The card was owned by Florence Sasso of Great Barrington, Massachusetts. It shows her great-great-uncle Archibald McMahon, an outfielder for the squad, pictured with eight of his team-mates in bib-style shirts and two gentlemen in suits. Heritage Auctions in Chicago say it was bought by an anonymous collector.