Roadkill: Tourists left stunned as lioness attacks buffalo - right in the middle of a traffic jam
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 1:06 PM on 19th October 2009
This stunning series of pictures shows the moment a water buffalo becomes a road-hog.
But the tourists driving through Kruger National Park in South Africa could hardly blame the poor creature, who was more concerned with the tail-gating lioness than other traffic on the road.
The convoy of cars came to a halt to watch - but the passengers then found themselves part of the action as the two beasts lumbered on to the road, oblivious to their gaze.
Battle lines: The lioness and the buffalo size each other up at the start of the attack in Kruger National Park, South Africa
Dinner time: The buffalo screams out in pain as the lioness attacks by sinking her teeth into the giant beast
The incredible fight took place near the national park's Phelwana Bridge in mid-August, as tourists noticed a buffalo standing alone by a tree just 10m from the road.
At first the rest of the countryside seemed desolate, and then passengers began to see lion heads popping up out of the foliage a further 20m away.
It seemed the convoy had missed act one of the battle, as the buffalo seemed injured and was staggering on the spot.
Struggle: The buffalo desperately tries to shake the lioness loose, but the claws are out and dinner is served
Buckin' bronco: The lioness keeps a firm grip on its prey
Eyewitness 'Mgdonny', who posted this incredible series of photos on picture-sharing site Flickr, said: 'We sat there for about an hour and nothing happened.The buffalo then tried to lift itself up, with great difficulty, and after some time managed to get on its feet.
'As it stood up this female lioness came walking towards it and jumped on to the buffalo's back trying to pull it down.
'The female lioness was injured in the back leg and looked as if it had tried to attack the buffalo previously and was injured in the process.
Break for freedom: Chaos hits the road as the buffalo stumbles on to the tarmac
Peckish for a calf: The buffalo has his leg pulled by the lioness as traffic comes to a stop
'The buffalo started snorting and walking with the lioness on its back trying to escape.'
It came towards the roads and hit a car in the rear bumper and the lioness couldn't hold on and jumped off.'
At this point, the tourists became uneasy as two male lions began to pad their way over.
Luckily, they were content to stay on the side of the road and watch their lady friend bring home the dinner.
Running to safety: The buffalo lurches across the road, having successfully knocked the lioness off her back
Lion's eye view: Motorists dare to stick their head out the window for a picture - but this is one hitchhiker who won't be getting a lift
Mgdonny continued: 'The buffalo - still on the road - hit another car in the front bumper with its horn.
'The two huge male lions came walking towards the road and just sat down in the distance.
'After a some time again the female tried two more times to bring down the buffalo but with no success.'
Luckily for the buffalo - and the passengers - the buffalo proved too much for the lioness, and she padded off, leaving the buffalo free to roam another day.
Secondhand store owner finds rotting body in fridge
From correspondents in Taipei
Agence France-Presse
October 19, 2009 03:24pm
The owner of a recycling centre in Taiwan made a gruesome discovery when he found a decomposing body inside a used refrigerator, according to an official.
Hsu Chiu-feng, from the northern port city of Keelung, yesterday told police he bought the medium-sized fridge from four young men for 150 Taiwan dollars ($5), the Apple Daily newspaper said.
He noticed a dark liquid trickling from the old and rusty fridge, which was also giving out a foul smell, leading him to the grisly find.
A prosecutor who examined the body said it was so decayed that it was impossible to immediately determine its sex.
"All we can say is it was an adult," the prosecutor, Cheng Ya-fang, said.
She added the body was dressed only in underwear and had been found along with some wine bottles and a few comic books.
Hsu led police to the four young men, who said they had no idea how the body had ended up in the fridge.
One of the four said the refrigerator had been placed in the storeroom of his father's wholesale food business.
The fridge had previously been used to store seafood so he did not think the foul smell was strange, the young man told investigators.
Pictured: Evil father cradles the baby he tried to kill in hammer attack on her pregnant mother
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 12:30 PM on 19th October 2009
Cradling the tiny baby carefully in the crook of his arm with her small body tenderly wrapped in blankets, Simon Morris looks every inch the doting father.
In fact, this is just days after he attempted to murder his then unborn daughter and her mother in a horrific hammer attack.
Morris, 37, had tried to kill his heavily pregnant girlfriend Nerys Price in a bogus burglary so that he could benefit from her will and move in with his mistress.
But when she survived the attack and daughter Freya was born healthy after an emergency Caesarean, he blamed the assault on a bogus burglary.
This picture was taken days later as he pretended to be a devoted father. Within less than a week, he was arrested on suspicion of the assault.
Scam: Simon Morris pretends to be a doting father to daughter Freya days after trying to kill her and her mother in a horrific hammer attack
Morris crept up on Miss Price while she was asleep and hit her twice over the head with the sharp end of a bricklayers' hammer.
He had hoped to walk off with up to £500,000 after her death and was stunned when she came round.
The 6ft 6in fitness enthusiast claimed two men had burst into the room and attacked her. He was panicking and shaking so much she had to call police herself.
Baby Freya was born prematurely by Caesarean, but was completely healthy and she and her mother soon returned home to Prestatyn, North Wales.
Not realising she was sleeping beside her attacker, Miss Price and Morris shared a bed but detectives were suspicious of his explanation of the raid.
They wondered why the former bouncer had not tried to defend his partner during the break-in and he was arrested.
Other pictures on a Facebook site entitled 'Simon Morris is innocent' show him enjoying a party lifestyle.
He is seen with his American Corvette car, while another shot shows him posing behing bars in a nightclub podium cage.
In debt: Morris (l) hoped to inherit up to £500,000 after killing Nerys Price (r)
Morris was jailed for 25 years last week for the sickening attack on August 15 last year.
Miss Price, a £50,000-a-year human resources manager survived despite two dents in her skull and baby Freya was unharmed.
She told his trial how she met Morris in 2006 and had been won over by his 'impeccable' manners.
She added: 'He was financially independent, well-liked, in a secure job. I thought it was a secure loving relationship. I trusted him implicitly.'
But Morris, a 'preening', muscle-bound footpaths inspector had debts of around £30,000.
He knew the building firm where Miss Price worked would pay three times her salary in the event of her death.
Together with the equity from her previous home, the total pay out would be as much as £500,000.
Judge Merfyn Hughes QC told Morris he had made a 'callous attempt to rid yourself of a partner who ... had done nothing but give you love and affection'.
Outside court, Miss Price said she now hoped to rebuild
Race Officials: 3 Die in Detroit Marathon
Sunday, October 18, 2009
DETROIT — A half-marathoner and two other runners died during the Detroit marathon on Sunday, organizers said.
Daniel Langdon, 36, of Laingsburg, collapsed at about 9:02 a.m. between the 11- and 12-mile markers, said Rich Harshbarger, vice president of consumer marketing for the Detroit Media Partnership.
Rick Brown, 65, of Marietta, Ohio, collapsed at 9:17 a.m., near where Langdon went down, and 26-year-old Jon Fenlon of Waterford collapsed at about 9:18 a.m., just after finishing the half-marathon in 1:53:37, Harshbarger said.
It was unclear whether Brown and Langdon were participating in the 13.1-mile half marathon or the full race.
Harshbarger told the Free Press that there were at least six medical stations on the race course and that emergency personnel were on the scene within seconds.
Every runner must sign a medical release form, and they are encouraged to talk to their doctors before they run the race, Harshbarger said.
"On a day when so many people bring such energy and challenge themselves to do their utmost, this news is very difficult to hear," said Free Press editor and publisher Paul Anger said. "Our deepest sympathies are with the families."
The temperature was about 28 degrees when the marathon started and had risen to 41 degrees by 10 a.m. Running coach Keith Hanson said he doubted that the weather had anything to do with the deaths.
"The wind never kicked up," Hanson said. "In my mind, the conditions were perfect."
Deaths at marathons are relatively rare. The last death at the Detroit event was in 1994 when a 42-year-old man died of a heart attack after running more than 20 miles.
More than 19,000 people were registered to participate in the 32nd Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Marathon on Sunday.
Nicholas Stanko, of Haslett, Mich., took first place in the marathon with a time of 2:20:24. He said he was inspired by members of the track and cross country teams at Haslett High who came out to cheer him on. Stanko and his wife, Theresa, both teach and coach at the school.
"I just tried to give them the best I could," he said. "I ended up just holding on. You always just hold on by a thread at the end, and my thread didn't break today so I lucked out."
Sarah Plaxton, of Highland, Mich., was the top female finisher in the marathon with a time of 2:57:09. The 41-year-old mother of three said she didn't realize how close she was to the lead runner until supporters lining the streets told her she was reeling in the leader with less than a quarter-mile to go.
"I was in shock, actually," said Plaxton, who sprinted across the line for the win. "I didn't even see her until I turned the corner, and then I gave it everything I had."
Woman passenger beaten by train thugs... for being FAT
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 12:33 PM on 19th October 2009
Marsha Coupe works on her campaign to reduce weight discrimination
Overweight people have launched a campaign to make the world more fat-friendly after a woman was attacked on a train because of her size.
Marsha Coupe, 53, was left covered in bruises after being set upon on a train from Charing Cross to her home in Hayes, Kent.
Her story - which will be shown on BBC1 tonight - sparked one group of overweight women to appeal to London Mayor Boris Johnson for help reducing 'fatism'.
They hope the mayor will work to make the city more like San Francisco, where discriminating against fat people is banned.
In BBC1’s Inside Out, Mrs Coupe tells of her ordeal, which happened in May last year.
She said: 'A woman across from me started kicking me and said: "Hey fattie! You should not be on the train, you need two seats".
'(She was) kicking me, slapping me.
'I had probably 30 to 40 bruises over my chest and my neck. I was terrified I was going to lose my eye.
'London prides itself on being diverse - it won the Olympics on such diversity, and yet there is almost a zero-tolerance on anyone of size.'
The marketing manager added: You cannot walk the streets without being verbally or physically assaulted.'
Nobody has been arrested over the attack.
The documentary shows Kathryn Szrodecki, an overweight presenter from Fulham, travel to San Francisco, where every person has legal protection from size discrimination.
Cinemas and restaurants have to provide larger seats, and doctors are even asked to 'respect the wishes' of fat patients who do not want to discuss their weight.
She is determined to make similar changes in London and appears on Inside Out at 7.30pm.
Ms Szrodecki said: 'Mayor Boris, I have seen the law in action. I have my scales with me and I'm on my way to your office to begin the transformation of London.'
Eve Hart, 25, an emergency services phone operator from Ilford, told the Evening Standard she was often turned away from nightclubs because she is overweight.
She added: 'When you go out, you get ready and look your best, and then get abuse. I feel more embarrassed than anything for my friends than myself.'
Convicted Priest Says He Didn't Kill Nun
Sunday, October 18, 2009
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Roman Catholic priest imprisoned for killing a nun 29 years ago told a newspaper that he is innocent, but a prosecutor and the victim's nephew wondered why he is only making the claim now.
The Rev. Gerald Robinson, now 71, was convicted in 2006 for killing Sister Margaret Ann Pahl in 1980 by strangling her and stabbing her 31 times in a Toledo hospital chapel. Church historians have said it's the only documented case of a Catholic priest killing a nun.
"I didn't do this," Robinson told The Columbus Dispatch for Sunday editions. "I have no idea why anyone would do it."
Robinson was sentenced to a mandatory term of 15 years to life in prison.
Lee Pahl, the nun's nephew, said he believed at the trial that Robinson was the killer and continues to believe it. He's also bothered that Robinson, who retired as a priest in 2004, has not been defrocked.
"As a convicted murderer, he shouldn't be allowed to keep his title as a priest," Pahl said.
The lead prosecutor said Robinson should have made his claim in court.
"For him now to come out and say he didn't do it — I would say to him, 'You missed your chance to say that when it counted,"' said Dean Mandros. "He didn't take the stand because he knew he couldn't answer the (critical) questions."
Lawyers for the Ohio Innocence Project are continuing tests to determine whether DNA under Pahl's fingernails matches someone else. The DNA doesn't match Robinson, and it also didn't match the Rev. Jerome Swiatecki, the late priest whom Robinson's attorneys believed should have been a suspect.
An 8-inch letter opener that was a gift to Robinson became the central piece of evidence that prosecutors used to tie him to the crime.
Robinson was charged with murder in 2004 after questioning by cold-case detectives.
"To my knowledge, they just wanted to have a case — a name. I don't have any reason why," Robinson said.
He said he was surprised by what came out at the trial.
"I couldn't believe it, the dramatics at what came out in the end by the prosecutors. I was surprised by a lot of the things those witnesses said at the trial," Robinson said.
Robinson said other prisoners in the Hocking Correctional Facility call him "Father" and tell him their sins.
"They know what I am," Robinson said. "They know why I am here. My case is no secret. It never was."
Paintings by dog sell for more than £1,000
Paintings done by a dog called Sam are selling for up to £1,045 in Maryland, USA.
Published: 8:57AM BST 19 Oct 2009
Selling for up to $1700 (£1,045) for an individual work, Sam has put his brush to 22 different canvases Photo: CAVENDISH PRESS
Using the lush surroundings of his home town of Eastern Shore, Maryland as his muse, Sam's paintings are attracting a loyal art world following.
Some of his 22 paintings - done using a tailor-made paintbrush held in his mouth - have sold for up to $1700 (£1,045).
"Sam is a regular renaissance dog and his abstract paintings are all the rage with the hip New York galleries," says Mary Stadelbacher, Sam's owner.
"He loves his painting and would happily carry on for hours if I left him to it.
"He loves to work in a variety of colours and layers his paintings with darker shades first and then moves on to lighter ones later."
Mary, who runs Shore Service Dogs, in the United States took in six-year-old Sam four years ago as a rescue dog.
"He had been bounced around a couple of dog pounds, so I couldn't have that," says Mary about Sam, who is a bloodhound, sheep-dog cross.
"I took him in and intended to train him up as a fully fledged service dog."
However, soon after Mary took Sam in she was struck down by a botched operation that robbed her of the use of her right hand for a time.
"I never completed Sam's training because of my rehab," says Mary.
"So in the end I decided to keep him on to help me around the house."
Painting al-fresco in the summer and by the heat of a bright fire in the winter, Sam the painting dog is a pooch for all seasons.
"Using his specialised training as a house-help dog, combined with my amateur art background, Sam is a fully trained artist," explains Mary.
"He takes the paint-brush mouth piece and will approach the canvas and begin painting on the simple command of 'paint'.
Inspired to teach Sam to paint after seeing a spate of painting animals, Mary and Sam help to keep Shore Service Dogs centre open with the money made from the art sales.
"I saw dolphins painting and elephants painting, so I thought why not a dog?" explains Mary.
"He has been exhibited in swanky New York galleries such as Denise Dibro's studio and art collectors have bought his work from as far a field as Chicago.
"We even had one woman buy her dog one of Sam's paintings as a birthday present.
"He is quite a unique abstract artist."