Camels under fire in methane blame game
Sydney: Killing Australia’s 1 million feral camels would be the equivalent of taking 300,000 cars off the road, a member of parliament said Wednesday. Opposition agriculture spokesman John Cobb said camels belch 1 ton of carbon into the atmosphere each year because they are ruminant animals like cattle. Camels imported from India were let loose in the 1900s when vehicles took over the work of moving goods in the Outback. The population doubles every 7 years and the government has put up funds for a cull but has shied away from an eradication programme. Australians don’t like eating camels and so they are not farmed. Around 25,000 head a year are exported, mostly to the Middle East. Cobb wants the government to put up enough money so that every last camel is shot.
Rating bosses eases workers’ stress
LONDON: Telling your boss what you really think of them is good for your health — and helps managers improve, according to research published Wednesday. Firms should be even be encouraged to let employees regularly rate their line managers, to produce “happy, healthy, stress-free employees,” said the study presented at a conference of the British Psychological Society. Researchers split a group of 150 managers into two groups, one of which received training and feedback from some 500 staff on their management skills while the other bosses did not. “When managers received feedback from their staff, they were more likely to change their management style and subsequently be seen as more effective line managers,” said the study.
Cheesed off diner trashes McDonald’s
KANSAS CITY, Missouri: A woman has been charged with trashing a McDonald’s restaurant in Missouri because she was unhappy with her cheeseburger. Police said they received many tips after releasing video of the Dec. 27 incident. In the video, which has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times online, a customer is seen throwing a sign and a water dispenser over a counter and pushing three cash registers to the floor. On Tuesday, the Jackson County prosecutor’s office charged 19-year-old Alesha McMullen of Kansas City with Class D felony property damage. It wasn’t immediately known if McMullen has an attorney. A phone listing for her could not be found. Police say McMullen told officers her order was prepared wrong and the restaurant refused to give her a refund.
Chinese turn foreigners for top varsities
BEIJING: Students born, raised and educated in China are using fake foreign passports to get into top universities, which have higher entrance standards for domestic candidates, state media said Wednesday. Fake foreign passports can be bought in eastern China for around 200,000 yuan ($29,300), the Global Times said of the bogus enrolment scam. Admission requirements for domestic students at China’s top universities are extremely high, with only the top scorers on annual nationwide entrance exams offered places. But for foreign students, enrolment requirements are much lower as many universities want more foreigners to foster an international environment on campuses, the report said. “A typical student imposter cannot speak the native language of his purported motherland and can’t tell you the name of the nation’s capital. His family is Chinese,” it said.
‘Facebook fugitive’ recaptured by police
LONDON: A criminal who taunted police via Facebook while on the run from prison has been recaptured, four months after his break-out, police said on Wednesday. Craig “Lazie” Lynch, 28, became a cult figure thanks to his defiant status updates on the Internet social networking site. Dubbed the “Facebook fugitive” by the press, Lynch — whose profile picture showed him raising his middle finger to the camera — notched up tens of thousands of “friends” from around the world. There was also a separate Facebook page, “Where is Craig ‘Lazie’ Lynch?” calling for information which could lead to his capture. Lynch was serving a seven-year term for aggravated burglary when he escaped the prison where he was being held near Woodbridge in Suffolk last September. But he could now have his spell behind bars extended after being charged with escaping from lawful custody.
— Compiled from agencies
