Girl under bear attack calls mum before dying
London: A mother in Russia had a shock of her life when her teenaged daughter frantically called her up for help while being attacked by a group of bears.
Olga Moskalyova, 19, had just watched her stepfather being attacked in long grass and reeds by a river and thus fled for 70 yards before the mother bear grabbed her leg, the Daily Express reported.
As the bear chased and attacked her, Olga managed to call mother Tatiana during the prolonged attack.
Tatiana helplessly listened to her daughter who was under attack by a brown bear and its three cubs.
Olga called her mother thrice to gave an horrific hour-long account of the attack, as the wild animals finally killed her.
She screamed: “Mum, the bear is eating me! Mum, it’s such agony. Mum, help!”
Tatiana said that at first she thought Olga, who was a trainee psychologist, was joking. “But then I heard the real horror and pain in Olga’s voice, and the sounds of a bear growling and chewing.”
She added: “I could have died then and there from shock.”
Tatiana also rang up her husband for help.
Little did Tatiana know that the bear had already killed her husband and Olga’s stepfather Igor Tsyganenkov by overpowering him, breaking his neck and smashing his skull. (IANS)
Cigarettes to disappear from Russia’s store shelves in 2013
Moscow: Russia plans to ban smoking in public places and tobacco ads.
“In several years a smoker can easily smoke only in his own flat or on the street. Cigarettes should disappear from store shelves already in 2013,” the Rossiyskaya Gazeta governmental daily wrote today.
Cigarettes will be sold without being shelved, while a consumer can choose what he would like to buy by a priced catalogue.
Chewing and sniffing tobacco can also face a similar ban.
Such strict measures are proposed in a draft law on protection of the population from effects of tobacco consumption prepared by the Health and Social Development Ministry.
Law makers propose a 100 percent smoking ban in public places, on tobacco products advertising and as well as higher fines for smoking in areas with no permission signs. They even propose the recording of tobacco producing equipment and tobacco distribution by analogy with recent innovative changes in the alcohol producing industry.
Such tough measures are taken as today Russia ranks first in the world by tobacco consumption, the daily reported.
“We have 44 million smokers and this increases the risk of premature mortality from tobacco-related diseases,” the head of the International Confederation of Consumer Societies, Dmitry Yanin, told the daily.
According to expert estimates, the average Russian smokes 17 cigarettes a day. Meanwhile, back in 2008 Russia ratified the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. (UNI)
Rare Hercules statue found
London: A rare statue of Hercules, the Greek demigod who was ordered to undertake 12 superhuman tasks, has been found in Israel, it was reported here.
Dating back to second century A.D., the smooth white marble statue stands at 0.5 metres.
“This statue is unusual because it is small. Most statues of gods from this period were life-size,” Daily Telegraph quoted Walid Atrash of the Israel Antiquities Authority as saying.
Hercules was directed to perform the 12 superhuman feats by Mycenaean King Eurystheus to atone for the murder of his wife and three children.
The statue was excavated in Horvat Tarbenet area in the Jezreel Valley. (IANS)
Drunk woman prevents plane landing
London: A drunk woman passenger forced an airline pilot to abandon landing at Manchester airport after she created a ruckus inside the plane.
While being helped to sit on her seat by the cabin crew and fellow passengers, as she was in an inebriated state, she not only refused to comply but instead started kicking them all around.
When the plane was finally on the ground, she was escorted away by two male passengers who had helped restrain her.
Lynn Grimes, 41, had been drinking before boarding the EasyJet flight from Athens to Manchester, but escaped a prison sentence because she has a flying phobia, Daily Mail reported.
Grimes, had four airline-size bottles of wine during the trip back to Britain before she started to harass staff around her.
She had been invited to sit with cabin crew at the rear of the aircraft because they knew of her fear of flying, the Manchester’s Minshull Street crown court was told.
Once the plane was about to land, Grimes was asked to return to her seat for safety reasons. But she declined to comply.
Both – crew and fellow passengers – tried to remonstrate with her, but she became aggressive and abusive, said prosecuting Nicola Amatino.
When a passenger tried to help her to her seat, Grimes grabbed her by the hair and pulled a scarf around her neck. She kicked out at a crew member, hitting him in the stomach.
The scenario inside the plane made the pilot to decide that it was unsafe to land until she was properly seated and aborted the landing.
Grimes was given an eight-month sentence. She will also have to participate in a medical programme meant to help her and carry out 60 hours of community work. (IANS)
Man using two phones while driving banned
London: A man in Britain was caught using two mobile phones while driving on a 70 miles per hour limit road — he has now been banned from driving.
David Secker, 34, was pulled over by police after they spotted him on a phone held with his right hand while holding another phone in his left hand. He made them wait until he had finished his phone-conversation, Daily Express reported Tuesday.
Secker declined texting on the second phone. He maintained he was just passing on a phone number but was still holding on to the steering wheel.
Norwich magistrates found Secker guilty of driving with no insurance, using a mobile phone while driving and not being in proper control of a vehicle.
He was also fined 150 pounds. (IANS)
Bachmann tribute to Elvis marks wrong anniversary
SPARTANBURG, South Carolina: Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann offered a ”happy birthday” message to the late singer Elvis Presley on Monday, even though August 16 is the anniversary of his death in 1977. ”Happy Birthday, Elvis!” Bachmann shouted from the stage at a campaign stop in the parking lot of The Beacon, a South Carolina drive-in restaurant famous for its fried food and sweet tea. (Reuters)