Too much snow shuts ski center
LONDON: A ski center in the Scottish Highlands was forced to close Friday — because of too much snow during Britain’s coldest winter in 30 years. The CairnGorm Mountain ski center had to bring in diggers to clear the deep drifts that had built up on the slopes and approach road during two days of blizzards. Scotland, which does not always have the most reliable snowfall for its winter sports, has been one of the worst hit areas of Britain during a freezing few weeks. “It’s a bit like buses,” said Barry Gromett, a Met Office forecaster. “You wait for a number of winters for skiing snow without any luck, and then it all arrives at once.” The ski center put a message on its web site explaining that the mountain and facilities, access roads and car parks would be closed after major drifting to allow for its clearance.
Car repossessed with kid inside
SAN JOSE, Calif.: Police in California say a car dealer who repossessed a San Jose woman’s Honda Accord left with something a bit more valuable: her 2-year-old son. The child, Cyrus Lopez, was sleeping in the back of the car on Tuesday night when it was taken away because the boy’s mother, Isabel Leuvano, was behind on her payments. Leuvano says she was waiting for her daughter outside the running car when someone jumped in and drove off. Police say the driver was 47-year-old Alberto Luna, the owner of Alberto’s Auto Sales. Officers located the toddler a half-hour later — about the same time Luna told authorities that he discovered the boy. Sgt. Ronnie Lopez says kidnapping charges don’t appear to be warranted. But he says Luna should have checked the car thoroughly.
$500 tip lands man in trouble
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian police have arrested a Lebanese man allegedly carrying fake currency with a face value of $66 million after he tipped a hotel staff with a $500 note, an official said Friday. The largest US note currently in wide circulation is a $100 bill. But police found bundles of $1 million, $100,000 and $500 notes in the man’s hotel room in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, said Izany Abdul Ghany, head of the city’s commercial crime unit. Hotel staff alerted police after a housekeeper received a $500 note tip and found out it was fake when she tried to convert it to local currency at a money changer, Izany said. The man could be charged for possessing counterfeit money and, if found guilty, face up to 10 years in jail, he said. The largest US note ever printed was a special edition one for $100,000 in 1934. Bills of $500 were last printed in 1945 and are now no longer in wide circulation, according to the US Treasury Department.
-Compiled from agencies
