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THE NEWS

Odd news from around the world

Man, 33, fights off Taser police armed with toy LIGHTSABER: “They might be one of the more feared tools at the disposal of the police. However, it would seem the mighty Taser was no match for a humble plastic lightsaber after a man managed to fend off officers as they tried to arrest him inside a toy store. Police in Portland, Oregon, were on the receiving end of ‘The Force’ when they tried to take down a suspect with the electroshock weapon – and he retaliated using the children’s toy with surprising success. Officers said they tried to calm the man down but he kept swinging the lightsaber and shouting incoherently. So they then tried to use a Taser on him, but the man managed to break the wires free using the toy. Abandoning the Taser attempts, police then wrestled the man to the ground before taking him into custody. David Canterbury, who was arrested at the scene, was treated for injuries and taken to a hospital for a mental evaluation.

Lizard plays computer game: “When Australian Philip Gith realised his pet lizard was a better smartphone gamer than him, he didn’t euthanise it for embarrassing him – he whipped out his camera. And now the female bearded dragon he calls Crunch has become an internet celebrity due to its fondness for the smartphone game Ant Smasher. In the video Crunch is shown snapping up the on-screen ants and insects with her tongue to the tune of the Super Mario theme, and when the game stops the lizard looks up expectantly at its owner, angling for another round. Peter Harlow, manager of reptiles at Taronga Zoo, said dragon lizards were the only type of lizard that could respond to what they see on a video screen. “They have excellent visual acuity – that’s what they do, they look for little insects and then they go out and grab them,” he said, adding that Crunch would have thought that the on-screen bugs were food.”

Saddam’s dinnerware to be sent back to Iraq after it was found in NYC restaurant: “It was a gimmick proving to be quite a draw for diners at a restaurant in New York. Traditional Iraqi cuisine served on the very dinnerware used by the Butcher of Baghdad himself was being sold in an upmarket Upper East Side restaurant for $38 a head. However, now diners who were eating from Saddam Hussein’s dinner plates will have to return to more run-of-the-mill tableware. The gold-plated crockery, which was plundered from the dictator’s palace, is to be repatriated to the Iraqi administration by the U.S., New York authorities have confirmed. The items were illegally smuggled into the country and were later sold on eBay for about $3,000 to an art group in New York City called Creative Time. Iraqi-Jewish Chef Michael Rakowitz served up an Iraqi-style meal of venison and date syrup – called ‘Spoils’ – which arrived on a plate that the ‘Butcher of Baghdad’ once ate from, customers were told.”

At least he’s keeping his eyes on the road!: “A driver in China could end up being charged on two separate counts after he was caught speeding while fondling the breasts of his female passeneger. Deng Jialin was so distracted by his female companion that he neglected his speedometer – and was clocked driving at 92kmph (57mph) in an 80kmph (50mph) limit. He was captured on film juggling the steering wheel of his silver Nissan X-Trail with his left hand while reaching across to put his hand down the lady’s top. The footage was captured while Deng drove along a motorway in China. It was not the first time Deng had bee caught speeding though, this time, his punishment wasn’t simply the 200-yuan fine ($30) he had to pay in the past but the embarrassment of having the still above circulated around the globe.”

Colombian cops seize mobster’s Ferrari and re-brand it as a police car : “The Colombian Police Force has taken delivery of its latest crime-fighting tool – a drug kingpin’s beloved Ferrari. The red 1991 Ferrari 348 was the pride and joy of feared cartel boss Luis Hernando Gomez. Now the infamous mobster has to accept that his beloved sports car is being used as a propaganda tool by his number one enemy. Colombian cops decided to seize his assets when Gomez, known as ‘Scratch’, was jailed in the U.S. for trafficking more than 500,000 kg of cocaine across the borders. A complex 2005 operation saw the authorities strip the 53-year-old of around £60m of goods, including farms, homes, artwork and this, his cherished Ferrari 348. The mid-engined sports car has a 300bhp V8 and can do 0-60mph in 5.1 seconds. It has a top speed of 171mph.”

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