The city of Suny in North-Eastern Ukraine is considering an unorthodox method of ridding its pigeon problem by getting them drunk.
The radical measure was proposed amidst fears that City Day, an annual holiday celebrating the founding of Suny in 1652, would be ruined by the growing presence of the birds, Metro reports.
A statue of Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko will be covered in bird droppings come City Day, officials fear.
Alexei Movchan, who heads the city branch of Ukraine’s ruling Party of Legions, came up with the idea: “Let’s give them wine-soaked bread and then deport them somewhere where they’ll wake up the next day.”
He dismissed accusations of animal cruelty by saying that deportation of intoxicated birds has been practised for years in a monastery in Western Ukraine.
It is unclear whether the city of Suny will utilise Movchan’s plan ahead of the City Day celebrations on September 2nd
The practice Olympic volleyball court has been taken over by squirrels.
The little critters have decided to use the court as a place to hide their acorns.
The animals collect the acorns in St James’ Park and then head over to the courts at Horse Guards Parade in Central London to bury them in the sand.
As volleyball teams get in some last-minute practice, they are discovering the squirrels’ hidden treasure beneath the sand.
On Friday (July 20), Olympic organisers arranged for a group to rake the sands of the court each morning to turf up any remaining acorns and then scare squirrels away from stowing their favourite snack there.
The fast food chain has teamed up with De Montfort University in Leicester, offering the course as a way to train its restaurant general managersKFC has launched a university degree.
The fast food chain has teamed up with De Montfort University in Leicester, offering the course as a way to train its restaurant general managers.
The degree will be described as ‘blended learning’, which means that the chosen 60 students will be able to continue earning money as restaurant managers while studying.
The university’s deputy vice-chancellor Professor David Wilson said of the launch: “This is an important new contract for De Montfort University and we’re delighted to have this opportunity of working with such a major player in the global restaurant market.”
The aim of the BA Hons management course is to enhance the skills of the managers so that they perform to their optimum abilities.
Plans to transform the City’s iconic Gherkin building to ‘The Penguin’ could see a giant bird towering over Londoners this summer.
Bosses at ZSL London Zoo commissioned a production team to draw up a dramatic redesign of the famed skyscraper to remind visitors to the capital not to miss their penguins in 2012.
They plan to approach city bigwigs with the bold concept of turning the prominent Swiss Re Building – more commonly known as The Gherkin – into a giant penguin.
The images, show London’s landmarks eclipsed by an enormous Humboldt penguin.
The Zoo’s Head of Comms, Emma Edwards said: “We don’t want anyone to miss our penguins, and they certainly wouldn’t be able to miss this one looming over the capital.
“We think ‘The Penguin’ would be a striking addition to the London skyline and serve as a perfect reminder to Londoners and tourists alike to visit ZSL London Zoo and Penguin Beach this summer.
“We know it’s audacious, but let’s be honest – penguins are a lot more interesting than gherkins!”
Earlier this year, LOCOG awarded the Zoo the coveted ‘Inspired by 2012′ mark for its Animal Athletes events – taking place all summer. Keepers celebrated the prestigious accolade by installing a diving board in the penguins’ pool.
This is hillarious. This better happen or I will be very dissapointed. Who doesn’t want a giant penguin to be towering over London skyline?!
Self-described “breastaurateur” Doug Guller has purchased an unincorporated ghost town in Texas and renamed it “Bikinis” after his Bikinis Sports Bar & Grill franchise.
“Bikinis, TX will be a world class destination and I am thrilled to expand the Bikinis brand to include town ownership,” Guller says in a release on his company’s site. “There can’t be a better way to put Bikinis on the map…Literally.”
The Dallas Observer reports that Guller made the purchase after seeing an ad for the town, originally named BankerSmith, posted for sale on Craigslist.
The Houston Chronicle notes that Bikinis, Texas, is located just six miles from the “fabled” Luckenbach, another unincorporated community popularized in a 1977 song by Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings.
Guller is reportedly planning an inaugural event in his new town this fall.
The announcement was made in conjunction with Guller’s declaration that Tuesday was “National Bikinis Day.”
He said that the cows made an appearance in the neighbourhood at around 6am on the Sunday before taking a stroll back to their field, just over a mile away.
The 20-year-old said of the confusing incident: “When I heard the noise I first thought it was a family member in the house snoring but then I took a look outside.
“I know they came from a field about a mile away from here but I’m not sure whose cows they are.”
Luckily no damage was caused to any of the resident’s property. The cows rested in the street and then headed back to their own field.
She had been learning the instrument for just six weeks when she played Mary Had A Little Lamb before a live audience in Plymouth, Devon.
Her music teacher Matej Lehocky said she was ‘bright’ and her talent was ‘unheard of’.
‘To play at her age is something extraordinary, something very special,’ he said.
‘Usually children that young are not able to control themselves or do what they are told.
‘Normally they just run down the keys and get bored.’
Mr Lehocky added she had shown great maturity for a person as young as her and although there were moments she would get distracted, she had something exceptional.
Neither of Lavinia’s parents, Ian and Jenna, who work as managers at a local Tesco, are musical.
Jenna, from Ivybridge, Devon, said: ‘I don’t know where Lavinia gets her brains from – she’s more intelligent than me.
‘Before she was two she could write numbers and letters and recognise them in books.
‘She told me what a trapezium was the other day; I didn’t know.
‘She seemed to be on the toy piano all the time so we asked her if she wanted to learn, and she said she would.’
Young Lavinia, who has just turned three, will be hoping she can fulfill her promise and title of ‘mini-Mozart’… no pressure then.
Moose might be solitary creatures by nature, but one animal has struck up an unlikely friendship with a Norwegian woman.
Anna-Grete Lindvik came across Svea three years ago when she was orphaned at just two days old when her mother was scared off by a dog in the woods.
The young animal managed to find her way to Anna-Grete’s nature park – and the pair have been inseparable ever since.
“She means a lot to me. I usually say that she’s one of the best things that has ever happened to me. To have a close relationship to a wild animal – she never had a moose mother, but she has me. It’s like you feel it in your heart. It’s touching.”
Anna-Grete thought the young moose wouldn’t survive the rough winter alone, so took her into her house where they slept side-by-side by the fireplace.
Now Svea has her own calf who Anna-Grete is also bonding with.
She said many visitors to the nature park do a double-take when they see the unlikely pair taking a stroll through the woods.
“I get different reactions. Most just stand there speechless. You can see their chins dropping down.”
This is adorable. So strange for this wild animal to form such a bond with a human. It clearly benifits both parties though!
The seven-year-old’s life has been transformed by his furry friend, Jessi-Cat, a cream-coloured Birman
Pals: Lorcan Dillon with Jessi-Cat
A little boy who is too anxious to talk has found his voice thanks to his pet cat.
Lorcan Dillon has selective mutism, an anxiety disorder which affects his confidence and makes it difficult for him to communicate.
But the seven-year-old’s life has been transformed by his furry friend, Jessi-Cat, a cream-coloured Birman.
His mother Jayne, 44, said: “Lorcan can find it very hard to express himself, yet he can be himself around Jessi-Cat and finds it very easy to talk to her.
“She is always interested in what he’s doing and that unconditional love she has for him has been a huge boost to his confidence.
“Lorcan is able to connect ‘love’ to Jessi-Cat, something he can’t do with people, and she’s been a great support to him when things have been really hard.”
Explaining the condition, Jayne said: “It is an anxiety disorder which means children can find it difficult or impossible to communicate verbally with adults usually, but any strangers and sometimes members of their own family.
“It was diagnosed when he started nursery school at three and a half.
“The staff were concerned because he would not speak and any of the adults and most of the children.
“The reason I got Jessi-Cat is because pets and cats in particular are very good with children with special needs and autism or anything like that.
“And it is a way for Lorcan to communicate. He does speak normally at home, he does not have selective mutism with us at all in the house but he does not express his emotions.
“He would not say ‘I love you mummy’. He just does not do it.
“But with the cat he can cuddle her, he can stroke her, he can talk to her and he does say ‘I love you Jessi-Cat’, which is really nice and it is a way for him to express emotions which otherwise he would not be able to do.”
This a truely special story. The fact that this little boy can now express his emotions is amazing. The bond between Lorcan and Jessi-Cat is heartwarming to say the least. If ever there was a news story designed to put a smile on your face, this has to be it.
The Brighter Sides of Life 