Mischievous seagull saved from death penalty

A mischievous seagull sentenced to death for attacking terrified people on the Channel Islands has been saved, thanks to a campaign.

Gulliver, the seagull, had been causing mayhem by dive-bombing beach runners and walkers, and stealing people’s hats on the beach at St Oeun in Jersey, Channel Islands. So, in response, councillors on Jersey ordered him to be shot or trapped and killed. But after TV nature star Chris Packham heard about a protest to save Gulliver, the council have now done a U-turn and said he won’t get the guillotine.

Environment Minister Steve Luce said: “No action will be taken until I have been given a full briefing, we will certainly not be killing the seagull.”

More than 700 islanders signed the petition demanding that the state’s environmental department should not execute Gulliver. The council now hopes to catch him and move him safely to another area where he won’t pester trippers for a bite of their burgers and sandwiches.

Koalas block traffic with wrestling match

Traffic stopp­ed in both directions on an Australian road due to an unusual and adorable road hazard — a pair of wrestling koalas!

A video filmed last week on a road through a wooded area shows vehicles stopped in both directions as the two koalas had a wrestling match in the middle of the street. A motorcyclist going the other direction eventually drove around the koalas, but the car filming the marsupials stayed put.

The koalas eventually got up for a game of chase. Suddenly the koalas looped back around to the front of filming car and vanished chasing each other.

Who wants selfieccinos?

The Tea Terrace, in House of Fraser’s Oxford Street branch, is giving people a surprise with selfieccino. Yes, this indeed a cappuccino topped with a selfie. Your face printed in foam, resting on top of a cappuccino.

It’s created using a Cino machine, which works by scanning a photo and reproducing it on to the coffee’s froth using a flavourless food colouring. The process takes around four minutes.

Oh, and if you’re not a coffee drinker, you can get your selfie printed on a hot chocolate instead. You could choose to get any picture you fancy printed on your drink — a picture of your cat, or even a nice relaxing sunset — but most people go for selfies. The Tea Terrace now hopes to trademark the term before taking selfieccinos to their locations in London Victoria and Guildford, Surrey.

Boy gets locked in a safe while playing

A simple game of hide and seek can prove more dangerous than you can imagine, as a nine-year-old boy found out in Berlin recently.

While playing hide and seek in his grandfather’s house with his younger brother, the older boy made an unused safe as his ultimate hiding place and shut its door. Unfortunately, the door got locked and could only be opened by a code that only his grandfather knew, who was away.

Initially his whereabouts couldn’t be determined and when the family finally managed to trace his ‘hiding place’, they couldn’t open it without its six-digit code. Fire-fighters were called to help rescue the boy and they pumped oxygen into the safe through a small plastic tube while trying to crack the code.

Finally, after three hours, they managed to enter the correct code and get the boy out, who had remained calm during the whole ordeal. The next time these boys play hide and seek, they are going to make sure it’s a place without a lock!

Published in Dawn, Young World, December 30th, 2017