Endangered leopard videographed at China-Russia border
Beijing: Clear pictures and video of endangered Amur leopard have been captured by infrared cameras in northeast China’s Heilongjiang province. Experts with the provincial forestry department said the infrared cameras set in a forest in Dongning county in the China-Russia border have captured images of the same leopard eight times, state run Xinhua news agency reported.
The leopard’s presence in the county suggests that the range of the animal’s activity may be extending inland from the border areas between China and Russia, experts said. One of the world’s most endangered species, the Amur leopard was included on a list of animals under top grade national protection in 1983.
There are believed to be about 40 wild Amur leopards left, mostly in far eastern Russia, China’s northeast and the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. (PTI)
Police in China fatally shoot man seeking aid for family
Beijing: Chinese police fatally shot a man in northern China who was on his way to Beijing to ask the central government to help house and take care of his sons and elderly mother. His relatives received approval for the aid three days after the Saturday killing.
Lawyer Xie Yanyi, who is working with Xu Chenhe’s family on the case, said Xu, his mother and three sons were on their way to the capital when train station security officers in Harbin recognized them and barred them from buying tickets.
The family had visited Beijing several times seeking aid, and local authorities often try to block such trips to avoid embarrassment. The newspaper Southern Metropolis Daily said Xu reached for a policeman’s gun, but Xie said witness videos contradict that account. (AP)
Princess Charlotte leaves for her country home in UK
London: Britain’s newest baby princess had her first outing today with her parents Prince William and Kate Middleton, as she left for the royal family’s country home. Princess Charlotte, who is just four days old, left her Kensington Palace home in London to spend the next few weeks at Anmer Hall in Norfolk county in the east of England.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were seen leaving London in convoy in their Range Rover to spend time at the refurbished Georgian mansion on the Queen’s private Sandringham estate. William was at the wheel and Kate in the passenger seat, with Prince George and Princess Charlotte strapped into baby seats at the back. Kensington Palace confirmed that the new parents were on their way to the country retreat, where they are expected to spend most of the English summer period for the next few months.
The 10-bedroom Anmer Hall was a gift for William’s family from his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, who saw her newest granddaughter for the first time on Tuesday. William is on two weeks paternity leave from his job as an air ambulance helicopter pilot and is expected to start the final phase of his training at the beginning of June. The new baby, who is fourth in line to Britain’s throne, has been named Charlotte Elizabeth Diana and will be known as Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte of Cambridge. She was born on May 2 in the Lindo Wing of London’s St Mary’s Hospital weighing 8lbs 3oz (3.7kg). Charlotte, the feminine form of Charles, has a long royal pedigree and became popular in the 18th century when it was the name of George III’s queen. Elizabeth is an ode to the name of the current Queen of England and Diana a tribute to the memory of William’s late mother. (PTI)
Large dinosaur fossil discovered
Beijing: A 126-million-year-old fossil of a large dinosaur has been discovered in northeast China’s Liaoning province.
Experts with the provincial fossil resources protection bureau said the fossil, found in a village under Chaoyang city, belongs to a 15-meter-long sauropod dinosaur living in the Cretaceous Period. The fossil was first discovered by a local villager while farming recently.
A preliminary exploration has been carried out and part of the fossil has been unearthed, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Sun Yongshan, head of the provincial fossil resources protection bureau, said experts will soon work out excavation and protection plans and a professional team will be organised to carry out the excavation. Experts said the new discovery is the most well-preserved sauropod fossil found in Liaoning so far. (PTI)
Archaeologists unearth tomb of ancient doctor in China
Beijing: Chinese archaeologists claimed to have discovered an ancient tomb belonging to a high-profile doctor who lived more than 700 years ago in the northwest of the country.
The newly-discovered tomb, located at a village of Xi’an City, capital of the Shaanxi province, dates back to the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368), said Duan Yi, associate professor with Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology. A gravestone inscribed with 665 words inside the tomb revealed the identity of its owner, Wu Jing. Wu was born into the famous Ru Yi (Confucian doctor) family in Zhouzhi, now a county of Xi’an. Confucian doctors were a special group proficient in both Confucianism and medicine, which allowed them a high status during that period. Wu was appointed to a post in charge of local medical services and education, similar to today’s head of a medical school, the inscription on the gravestone said. A story was recorded in the gravestone that he once cut flesh from his own arm to feed his ailing mother to show filial piety. “The tomb is an important discovery that will shed light on unknown aspects of medical history and social culture in the Yuan dynasty,” said Duan. The tomb is composed of a passage, a door and a burial chamber. Old iron nails, rotten wood ashes and unknown bone residue were found in the chamber, state-run Xinhua quoted him as saying. A total of 76 burial objects including pottery and jade were also discovered in the tomb. (PTI)
US woman held hostage asks for help in online pizza order
Washington: Dial pizza for rescue! A quick- thinking woman in the US, who was being held hostage by her boyfriend, saved herself and her children from possible harm by sending a SOS message in an online pizza order. Cheryl Treadway made an online pizza order, for a small hand-tossed classic pizza with pepperoni, to Pizza Hut in Avon Park, Florida.
Under the comments section there was a message asking them to send help and call 911 as the customer was being held hostage, Highlands County Sheriff’s Office investigators said. Pizza Hut employees recognised the order as being from a frequent customer. But, the comments were out of the ordinary so they called the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office to investigate the situation. “We’ve never seen that before,” the restaurant’s manager, Candy Hamilton was quoted as saying by WFLA-TV. “I’ve been here 28 years and never, never seen nothing like that come through,” he said. Deputies responded to the Pizza Hut and to the delivery location for the order. Upon arrival at the home, deputies were greeted by Treadway who was carrying a small child in her arms. She told deputies that her boyfriend, Ethan Nickerson, was in the home armed with a knife and that her other two children were also in the home with him. After she was escorted to safety, deputies approached the home. Lieutenant Curtis Ludden began to speak with Nickerson through the closed door of the home. After about 20 minutes, Lieutenant Ludden was able to talk him into coming out peacefully. The other two children were then removed from the home, unharmed. Deputies believe Nickerson may have been high on Meth at the time of the hostage situation. According to the arrest report, the couple had been arguing throughout the day. When Treadway attempted to leave the residence to pick up the children from school, Nickerson grabbed her and took her cell phone. He then accompanied Treadway to pick up the children. Upon returning home, Treadway eventually convinced Nickerson to let her use the cell phone to order a pizza which is when she sent the message to Pizza Hut. (PTI)
