Infozone Breaking World News

An off-licence in Essex has refused to sell alcohol to a 92 year old woman because she had no proof of age. Diane Taylor, who is a great-grandmother when into her local shop to buy a bottle of whisky for he son and was turned away because see didn’t have any photo ID.

Ms Taylor said, “It seemed so stupid I thought the cashier was complimenting me.

“But then I realised that she was being serious so I pulled out my bus pass, my blood donor’s card but it was no good.
“She said she wanted proof of age. I was so taken aback I didn’t know what to do.”

Adding that, “No one can convince me I look under 25 – I’d only take 78 at a push.”

A spokesman for the shop has apologised for the incident, but reiterated that staff cannot sell alcohol to people without seeing photo identification.

Ms Taylor eventually bought her son’s whisky from another store.

Another cannon that belonged to the famous flagship of pirate Blackbeard has been recovered after nearly 3 centuries under water. The legendary ship called Queen Anne’s Revenge ran aground on a sandbank in 1978 as Blackbeard tried to escape from the Royal Navy; surprisingly Blackbeard escaped with the stolen treasure when it was transferred to one of his sister ships.

Blackbeard and his pirate crews operated throughout the West Indies and the east coast of America. The cannon was recovered out of just 25ft of water off the coast of North Carolina, and is being led by the Department of Cultural Resources.

All in all 12 cannons have been recovered from the site that was discovered in 1996 by Florida based Intersal Inc. The projects head conservator Sarah Watkins-Kenney said, “Four cannons were all found to be loaded, with cannon shot and wads in place ready to be fired.”

Other artefacts have also been recovered including shackles and some of the ships rigging.

Picture courtesy of Davide Simonetti

US toy manufacturer Mattel, famous for its Barbie doll, Fisher-Price and Hot Wheels toy has announce that it plans to buy HIT Entertainment in a cash deal worth $680 million. HIT Entertainment own the rights to Thomas the Tank Engine and other popular toy brands, many of which Mattel already produce under licence.

The new deal means that Mattel will now own the rights to manufacture children’s toys such as Barney the purple dinosaur, Thomas the Tank Engine and Bob the Builder. The president of HIT Entertainment Jeffery D. Dunn talked about the deal saying, “HIT entertainment owns some of the most loved and trusted preschool brands in the world and under Mattel’s leadership, I look forward to seeing them grow”.

The chairman of Mattel Robert Eckert said, “Mattel is the right home for Thomas and Friends. This powerhouse brand is joining the ranks of such iconic brands as Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-price and American girl.”

A 39 year old Detroit man has been arrested after he made his 9 year old daughter drive him to the petrol station because he was drunk. The incident was captured on the petrol stations CCTV as the van pulled into the station early in the morning.

The man, who was named by the police as Shawn Weimer told the station clerk that his daughter was driving him around as he was too drunk to drive; he was then caught on camera dancing in the forecourt before entering his van in the passenger seat.

The station clerk alerted police and the pair were pulled over by police a couple of miles down the road. According to the officers making the arrest, the girl seemed surprised that she had been pulled over saying that her father had been drinking all night and that she had driven the van before.

A hungry squirrel chewed trough a power cable in Greenwich, Connecticut cutting power off to more than 15,000 people it has been revealed. A spokesperson for Connecticut Light & Power stated that the squirrel was zapped by thousands of volts of power and died instantly; this in turn caused equipment in the substation to malfunction plunging a huge part of the town into darkness.

The incident happened around 8am and caused several hours of power outages in the town. Police were sent to the affected areas of the town to direct traffic during rush hour as the traffic lights were out due to the power outage.

A spokeswoman for the Greenwich School District said that five of its schools were affected, but they all had generators which meant that classes went on as usual.

A marathon runner has had his medal taken away from him after it emerged that he caught a bus in the middle of the run. Rob Sloan, who came third in the Kielder Marathon initially denied cheating, but then admitted to catching a bus at the 20 mile mark before re-joining the run in the leading pack.

Suspicions were raised after a number of runners stated that they had not seen Sloan pass them in the race and other witnesses also reported that he was hiding behind a tree before joining the race in third place. The 31 year old now faces a ban from his local running club and could also be banned from entering any future competitions.

Former Olympian Steve Cram who organised the event said, “He was the only runner in the whole of the race who ran the second half quicker than the first half”.

Golfers at the Carbrook Golf Club in Brisbane are in for a surprise on the 14th hole, as the lake is home to at least six bullsharks. The sharks are thought to have strayed into the golf course water hazard after severe flooding a few years ago which broke the banks of a nearby river; the sharks were then left stranded when the water receded.

Golfers at the course regularly see the bullsharks fins poking through the water and it has become somewhat of a tourist attraction with players from near and far wanting to play on the course. The golf course even has a monthly tournament dedicated to the sharks, called the Shark Lake Challenge.

Carbrook Golf Course’s manager Scott Wagstaff told the press; “You can’t believe how close you are…just six feet away”. Adding that, “There’s no drama, it’s become a positive thing for the golf course. They are amazing. I’ve become a shark lover since working here.”

Thousands of beer bottles have fallen off a lorry in Munich, spilling over a busy road and holding up traffic for hours. It was a horror show for avid drinkers as they watched firefighters clear the broken bottles and flush the beer down the drains.

The accident held up traffic for several hours in the city, with one firefighter saying, “You always get a few who want to sneak a bottle or two from a crash but there’s broken glass everywhere and it’s really very dangerous because the rest of the load could fall at any time”.

Adding that; “You might love a beer but you wouldn’t want to be buried under a landslide of it”.

British Airways has announced that it is to offer its frequent flyers a course in surviving planes crashes. The four-hour lessons, which teach survival techniques are scheduled to start next year and passengers can pay for them with their air miles.

The BA manager running the courses told the press, “It makes passengers safer when travelling by giving additional skills and information, it dispels all those internet theories about the ‘brace position, and it just gives people so much more confidence in flying.”

A Civil Aviation Authority study conducted in 2006 found that a large portion of passengers struggle with even the most basic tasks like undoing their seatbelts when under pressure. British Airways first developed the passenger training programme for BP, who regularly send staff into remote areas of the world.

The course teaches passengers how to release their seatbelts quickly and effectively, as well as locating the life jackets and concludes with an emergency evacuation down a planes escape chute.