Weird
Robin Hood banker gave millions to poor
A German bank manager who secretly transferred millions of pounds
from rich clients to debt-ridden customers has been spared jail. The
62-year-old, dubbed the “Robin Hood banker”, was found guilty of moving
a total of 7.6 million euros (£6.85m) between 2003 and 2005.
She carried out 117 separate transfers to try and stop people’s
accounts closing due to lack of funds. As a rule, the banker - whose
name was not reported under German media conventions - moved the money
back when the indebted clients were solvent again. But 1.1 million euros
(£991,000) was lost when certain customers were unable to pay their
debts.
Humpback horror: camel chaos in Oz
Around 6,000 feral camels are rampaging through a remote Australian
town causing chaos and terrifying the locals, prompting the government
to organise a mass cull. The Northern Territory government said that the
community of Docker River was “under siege”. Local government minister
Rob Knight said: “They’ve actually come right into the community
smashing infrastructure. “There are health issues, there are camels
being trampled, and dead carcasses in the community.
The town is around 150 miles west of Uluru, commonly known as Ayers
Rock. Graham Taylor, the chief executive of local authority Macdonnell
Shire, said that it was a crisis. “It began four weeks ago with 25 or 30
camels, but every day more and more turned up looking for water,” he
said.
The animals are part of a wild herd of more than a million camels
which roam the central Australian desert. They were introduced to the
country in the 19th century when white settlers built roads and rail
across the Outback, and used the animals for transportation.
The camels were set free afterwards, and have been breeding ever
since. With few natural predators and vast sparsely-populated areas in
which to roam, the camel population has soared.
Hotel offers to keep mothers-in-law for Xmas
A hotel chain has promised families a stress-free solution to hosting
the in-laws over Christmas. Holiday Inn, UK is offering a special room
rate for mothers-in-law during the festive period, so that families can
have a break from each other.
Relatives can check their partner’s mum into a room and gain a 25%
discount. The rate will be offered to in-laws between December 23 and
29, and extends to all of the firm’s 194 Holiday Inn or Holiday Inn
Express hotels across the country.
Relationship expert Kirsten Gronning said incidents of arguments
increase fivefold during the festive celebrations. “Christmas can be an
extremely stressful period, especially for the family planning and
catering for it,” she said. |
