Woman loses fight to keep dogs instead of parents
St. Petersburg: A St. Petersburg woman barricaded herself in her apartment, throwing glassware and spraying tear gas at bailiffs who arrived to take her 11 dogs away and let her parents return home, authorities said.
The woman had thrown her 70-year-old parents out of the flat so that there was space for the dogs. It took bailiffs more than a year to resolve the problem.
“The judge decided that the St. Petersburg resident must part with her pets and let her parents return to their common flat,” the bailiff service said in a statement.
The bailiffs had found an asylum for the dogs and then informed the woman of the date and time of their arrival to take the dogs. The pet lover said she had “a surprise” waiting for them.
“First, the woman locked herself in a room with the pets, barricading the door with boxes, wardrobes and other things,” the bailiff service said. It took them more than three hours to get inside the apartment, with the woman throwing glasses and crockery at bailiffs from the windows and then spraying tear gas in a hole between doors.
The dogs put up resistance too, one of them biting a bailiff’s shin. Eventually the men managed to get the woman handcuffed.
“She was taken to a local court,” the bailiff service said. “The dogs were given sleeping pills and taken to the asylum.”
The parents returned to the apartment. (IANS)
Bicycle helmets ‘should not be made compulsory’
London: A helmet is said to be the best protective gear one can wear even while riding a bicycle.
But, it should not be made compulsory, doctors have concluded in a surprise finding published in ‘British Medical Journal’.
In many countries wearing a helmet while on a bicycle is mandatory. But the doctors have warned that if people are forced to wear helmets, they may give up cycling altogether and lose the health benefits of regular exercise.
More than two thirds of the reputed journal’s readers said they opposed compulsory helmets for adults. One respondent in the poll of 1,427 people said: “It gives out the message that cycling is dangerous, which it is not.
The evidence that cycling helmets work to reduce injury is not conclusive. “What has, however, been shown is that laws that make wearing helmets compulsory decrease cycling activity.
Cycling is a healthy activity and cyclists live longer on average than non-cyclists.” Another added: “Since nowhere with a helmet law can show any reduction in risk to cyclists, only a reduction in cyclists why would anyone want to bring in a law for something that’s clearly not effective at reducing risk to cyclists?” Australia made it illegal to not wear a helmet in 1991 but Sydney University researchers have called for the law to be repealed, arguing that the fall in head injuries was down to road safety improvements, ‘The Daily Telegraph’ reported.
They also cited figures from Western Australia which suggested the law led to a 30 per cent drop in cycling rates. Chris Rissell, one of the researchers, said: “I’d recommend a trial repeal in one city for two years to allow researchers to make observations and see if there’s an increase in head injuries, and on the basis of that you could come to some informed policy decision.” (PTI)
No sexy girls please, China tells online game fair
SHANGHAI: Hemlines are a little longer at this year’s annual online gaming fair in Shanghai, as companies take to heart a government directive against “vulgarity”, a Chinese newspaper reported today.
The ChinaJoy Expo, an annual online game showcase, is well-known for its “spicy girls” who dress up in hot pants and bras to dance and pose at company booths.
But a recent government crackdown on ”vulgarity” in the online games sector is forcing the girls to cover up, the Shanghai Daily said.
“The length of my dress is longer than before,” said Zhou, a model who has been a ChinaJoy showgirl twice.
The new policy prohibits costumes that show more than two-thirds of a showgirl’s back and bans the girls from sticking printed logos on ”sensitive positions” like over their breasts, the paper reported.
Some online games companies feared the change would lessen the attractiveness of the expo given that the girls are as much a draw for men as are the games on display, reported the paper.
“To be honest, I came here largely for spicy girls,” said Xaiver Du, a college student and online gaming fan. “I’m satisfied with the female models for this year’s ChinaJoy … I care more about them rather than only sexy clothing,” Du said. (Agencies)
Website promises adultery, or money back!
London: Have a “successful” extra-marital affair or get your money back — this is what an Australian website has promised.
Noel Biderman, founder of the adultery website “ashleymadison.com” says in a slogan – “Life is short. Have an affair”.
The website that was founded in 2001 has now launched what it calls the “ultimate money back guarantee”, the Daily Mail reported.
The site has a worldwide membership of over eight million people who prefer cheating on their spouses.
Speaking to Australia’s Herald Sun daily, Biderman said affairs, just like marriages, had to be worked on.
“If you want to find the right level of success, we think there is the commitment level you need to make, and if it doesn’t work out for you then we’ll give you your money back,” he was quoted as saying. (IANS)