Bear Convicted of Honey Theft

A beekeeper in Macedonia was upset that a local bear was constantly raiding his hives, despite various schemes to frighten it away. Zoran Kiseloski pressed criminal charges against the bear, who was convicted in absentia. The bear remains at large, and is a protected species, so the government was ordered to pay restitution for the damages.

Afghan Boy Survives Knife in Head

A 10-year-old boy in Kandahar, Afghanistan got involved in a fight at his father’s shop and was stabbed in the head. The knife went behind his eye and penetrated the front of his brain. He was able to walk into a British field hospital, where this x-ray was taken. Surgeons at the 212 Field Hospital removed the 3-inch blade and sent him to the 208 Field Hospital for care.

Major Stephen Gallacher, 49, senior A&E nurse of 208 Field Hospital, said: “It was a horrendous sight. I just didn’t think he would survive. But he was soon off the life-support machine and was up and about within days. It was just amazing.”

Better Late than Never

A library patron in Vantaa, Finland quietly returned a book that had been loaned out over 100 years ago!

The library had long since lost track of the loan but welcomed back to its collections the bound copy of a 1902 volume of Vartija, an active religious monthly periodical at the time.

“We are unclear when exactly it was borrowed and who returned it. There weren’t any documents with it,” librarian Minna Saastamoinen told Reuters.

The fine at the time the book was checked out was ten pennies per week.

“Gnome” Stalks Streets of Argentina

The residents of General Guemes, Argentina have reported several sightings of a “creepy gnome” that walks the streets at night. A group of teenagers caught the creature on video. At first they thought it was a dog, until it walked into the street with a sideways gait. Jose Alvarez, who took the video, said one of his friends was so frightened that he was taken to the hospital.

The Get Out of Jail Diet

Accused mafioso Salvatore Ferranti has been granted house arrest instead of jail, because no Italian prison can deal with his needs. Ferranti, who weighs 462 pounds, spent six months in four prisons. Guards say he couldn’t fit through the doors and there was no bed big enough for him. A court in Sicily agreed that his obesity was “a pathology incompatible with prison.”

Woman battles Python for Cat

Ruth Butterworth of Brisbane fought a python to save her kitten’s life. She was calling Tuffy to come inside when the snake encircled the cat and started to crush it.   

“I just started punching the thick part of the snake where it was about the size of my arm,” Ms Butterworth said. “I wasn’t looking, I just kept punching until it let go.”

The snake bit Ms Butterworth twice before it released Tuffy, who ran indoors. Ms Butterworth then realized she had also broken her wrist.

Woman Sat on Toilet for Two Years

A woman in Ness City, Kansas was taken to the hospital after she had become stuck to a toilet seat. She had apparently been sitting on the toilet seat for two years, and her skin had grown around the seat. Emergency workers detached the seat from the toilet, and the seat was removed from the woman at the hospital. The woman’s boyfriend said he asked her every day to come out of the bathroom, but did not say why he waited two years before calling authorities. The 35-year-old woman initially refused medical service, but was convinced to go to the hospital.