Paraplegic athlete Lai Chi-wai attempting to climb the 89-storey Nina Tower in Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong, on January 16. On Saturday, Hong Kong residents watched paraplegic athlete Lai Chi-wai strap himself to his wheelchair and climb up one of the city’s towering glass-paned skyscrapers. Over more than 10 hours, Lai managed to pull himself up more than 250 meters (about 820 feet), in an effort to raise money for spinal cord patients. “I was quite scared,” Lai said. Climbing up a mountain, I can hold onto rocks or little holes, but with glass, all I can really rely on is … Continue reading Paraplegic athlete in wheelchair climbs 820 feet up Hong Kong skyscraper

A couple in Canada have been fined for breaking Covid-19 curfew rules after the woman was caught “walking” her husband on a leash, according to local media. The woman reportedly told police that she was just out “walking her dog” near their home in the city of Sherbrooke, in Quebec province. On Saturday the province imposed a nightly curfew between 20:00 and 05:00. Walking a dog close to home is one of the only acceptable reasons to be outside between those times. The pair were spotted by police at around 21:00 on Saturday, just a short while after the new … Continue reading Husband on leash breached Quebec’s Covid-19 curfew

A Zambian MP has compared a nationwide distribution of condoms and sterile gloves despite the products failing safety tests as “genocide”. “What the ministry of health is doing is genocide,” lawmaker Mwansa Mbulakulima said. “When you put water in those gloves and condoms, they’re leaking. How many people have died from September as a result of this negligence.” The MP said he was concerned about the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and coronavirus, Mr Mbulakulima and his colleagues in a parliamentary committee heard on Wednesday how Honey Bee, a local company, secured a $17m (£12m) contract to supply the condoms … Continue reading Zambia faulty condoms sparks anger

A Massachusetts man is starting the new year with a clean slate after he returned a sword he stole from a statue of a Revolutionary War general nearly 40 years ago.© Provided by People Don Treeger/The Republican via AP On Monday, Cindy P. Gaylord, the chair of the Westfield Historical Commission, met with a veteran who said he stole the sword from the town’s Gen. William Shepard statue in 1980, the Springfield Republican reported.© Don Treeger/The Republican via AP The returned sword will likely be kept in a local museum, the Springfield Republican reported Gaylord said the man first contacted city hall about … Continue reading Man Who Stole Sword from Mass. Statue Returns It 40 Years Later With ‘Shame and Remorse’

A police officer with a remarkable talent for remembering faces has now identified more than 2,000 suspects, West Midlands Police PCSO Andy Pope says he can remember faces for years and has even been able to single out wanted people wearing face coverings. The 43-year-old was recognised by the force’s chief constable in 2018 when he passed the 1,000 milestone and is now aiming to reach 2,500 by 2022. Mr Pope, from Redditch, said his talent was “impossible to explain”. “It’s just an instinct that it is the person and thankfully it’s proven right,” the PCSO, nicknamed “memory man” by colleagues, … Continue reading Birmingham ‘memory cop’ Andy Pope spots 2,000 suspects

A customer left the employees of Souk Mediterranean Kitchen a $5,600 tip. Employees at a restaurant in Ohio received a Christmas gift they didn’t see coming when a customer left a $5,600 tip for the entire staff to split. The guest, who asked the restaurant to allow him to remain anonymous, was dining at Souk Mediterranean Kitchen in Toledo on December 12 when he left the massive tip for all 28 employees, including those who were off that day. After dividing it, each staff member took home $200.”There was a lot of tears, I’m tearing up now talking about it,” … Continue reading A customer at an Ohio restaurant left a $5,600 tip to split among the entire staff for Christmas

Italy’s public broadcaster has ordered an inquiry after a TV show featured advice on “how to shop in a sexy way”. In the show, Detto Fatto, a scantily clad woman in high heels and mini-shorts, tells women to “arch their backs” in supermarkets to reach products on higher shelves, it gave tips on pushing a trolley in an alluring way and raising a knee for “extra intrigue”. The episode caused outrage among viewers and politicians, many pointed out that it was aired on the eve of International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The chief executive of broadcaster … Continue reading Outrage as Italian TV show gives ‘sexy shopping’ advice

Aerial view of the island of Lampedusa, Italy A young couple from Algeria must have thought their wedding rings were lost forever when their tiny boat capsized, they were among the lucky ones on that trip from Libya to Italy, of the 20 people aboard, five have died, including a little girl, according to the Italian arm of Doctors Without Borders (MSF). Ahmed and Doudou survived, rescued by fishermen, like the other survivors, the couple, in their early twenties, are still in shock, they were at sea for 48 hours when the boat capsized, all of them ended up in the … Continue reading A couple’s wedding rings found by rescuers weeks after their boat capsized in the Mediterranean

A racing pigeon from Belgium has set a new record after being sold for €1.6m ($1.9m, £1.4m), New Kim, a two-year-old female, was initially put up for auction for just €200, but was bought by a bidder from China on Sunday for the record amount. Kurt Van de Wouwer, whose family bred and owned the pigeon, said they were “in shock” at the news, according to Reuters news agency, the previous record holder was a four-year-old male who sold for €1.25m. Champion racer Armando, who was nicknamed the “Lewis Hamilton of pigeons” after the Formula 1 world champion, was retired … Continue reading Racing pigeon from Belgium sold for record €1.6m

A train driver in the Netherlands has had a lucky escape thanks to a fortuitously placed art installation, the metro train in Spijkenisse, near the city of Rotterdam, crashed through a barrier at the end of the tracks shortly before midnight on Sunday, but rather than plummeting 10m (32ft) into the water below, the train was left suspended dramatically in the air. It ended up being delicately balanced on the large sculpture of a whale’s tail at the De Akkers metro station. “We are trying to decide how we can bring the train down in a careful and controlled manner,” … Continue reading Whale sculpture saves Dutch metro train

Maci Currin’s legs make up 60 percent of her height. Maci Currin isn’t all legs, but they do make up 60 percent of her total height, the 17-year-old from Cedar Park, Texas, broke two Guinness World Records, one for having the longest legs for a female, and another for a teenager with the longest legs, her left leg is over 53 inches long, while her right leg is slightly shorter, at 52.874 inches, according to Guinness world record. In a video posted on the group’s YouTube channel, Currin’s mother talks about realizing that her daughter was taller than her peers at an early … Continue reading A Texas teenager breaks two world records for longest legs

Maintaining or increasing the frequency of sexual activity boosts survival rates for heart attack patients, according to a new study. People who have had heart attacks can boost their chances of long-term survival by returning to normal levels of sexual activity, a new study shows. Many people stop having sex after a heart attack in the belief that it could trigger another episode, but research published Wednesday in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology says sex is good for survival rates. Researchers followed 495 couples for around 20 years and found that those who maintained or increased their frequency of sexual activity … Continue reading A healthy sex life boosts long-term survival hopes for heart attack victims