MELBOURNE: An Australian domestic flight was delayed for two hours after a stowaway snake was found in the plane’s cargo hold, officials said on Wednesday.
The snake was found on Tuesday as passengers were boarding Virgin Australia Flight VA337 at Melbourne Airport bound for Brisbane, according to snake catcher Mark Pelley.
The snake turned out to be a harmless 60-centimeter (2-foot) green tree snake. But Pelly said he thought it could be venomous when he approached it in the darkened hold.
“It wasn’t until after I caught the snake that I realized that it wasn’t venomous. Until that point, it looked very dangerous to me,” Pelley said.
Most of the world’s most venomous snakes are native to Australia.
When Pelley entered the cargo hold, the snake was half hidden behind a panel and could have disappeared deeper into the plane.
Pelley said he told an aircraft engineer and airline staff that they would have to evacuate the aircraft if the snake disappeared inside the plane.
“I said to them if I don’t get this in one shot, it’s going to sneak through the panels and you’re going to have to evacuate the plane because at that stage I did not know what kind of snake it was,” Pelley said.
“But thankfully, I got it on the first try and captured it,” Pelley added. “If I didn’t get it that first time, the engineers and I would be pulling apart a (Boeing) 737 looking for a snake still right now.”
Pelley said he had taken 30 minutes to drive to the airport and was then delayed by security before he could reach the airliner.
An airline official said the flight was delayed around two hours.
Because the snake is native to the Brisbane region, Pelley suspects it came aboard inside a passenger’s luggage and escaped during the two-hour flight from Brisbane to Melbourne.
For quarantine reasons, the snake can’t be returned to the wild.
The snake, which is a protected species, has been given to a Melbourne veterinarian to find a home with a licensed snake keeper.
Snake on a plane delays a flight in Australia
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Snake on a plane delays a flight in Australia
Turkiye’s youngest oil wrestlers keeping a 14th-century tradition alive
- The sport, which is on UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list, sees wrestlers cover themselves in olive oil and try to press their opponent’s back to the ground to win the bout
EDIRNE, Turkiye: On a grass field slick with olive oil and steeped in tradition, hundreds of boys as young as 11 joined the ranks of Turkiye’s most time-honored sporting event: the annual Kirkpinar Oil Wrestling Championship.
Held every summer in the northwestern city of Edirne, the event is said to date back to the 14th century as a way of keeping the Ottoman Empire’s fighting men fit and ready for battle.
The sport, which is on UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list, sees wrestlers cover themselves in olive oil and try to press their opponent’s back to the ground to win the bout.
Alongside the men contesting, youngsters also don the iconic “kispet” leather trousers to embark on a slippery test of strength, skill and stamina under the scorching sun.
The boys are ranked in divisions based on age, height and build, with the youngest generally placed in the “minik,” or tiny, category. Under strict safety regulations, their matches are shorter and closely supervised.
Most young wrestlers train year-round at local clubs, often in towns where oil wrestling is passed down through generations.
While the youngest competitors aren’t wrestling for titles like “baspehlivan,” the grand champion of the men’s matches, their participation is no less significant as it is key to the continuity of a sport that holds deep cultural importance across Turkiye.
This year’s contest – the 664th in its history – saw 36-year-old Orhan Okulu win his third men’s title.
“My goal was the golden belt in Kirkpinar and thanks to my God, I succeeded,” Okulu said of the coveted prize.
Pakistan confiscates 18 lions kept as pets in crackdown after attack
- The lion, which was kept without a license in a house in Lahore, was confiscated and sent to a local safari park
- Keeping exotic animals as pets has been fueled by social media, with owners often showing off their animals online as status symbols
LAHORE: Eighteen lions kept illegally as pets have been confiscated in Pakistan’s Punjab region, authorities said on Monday as they launched a crackdown after one escaped from a house and attacked a woman and two children.
The woman suffered scratches and bruises, and the two children, aged five and seven, were hospitalized after the attack last week but their injuries were not life-threatening, provincial wildlife officials said.
The lion, which was kept without a license in a house in Lahore, was confiscated and sent to a local safari park, said Mubeen Elahi, director general of the provincial Wildlife and Parks Department. The owner was later arrested, police said.
Keeping exotic animals as pets has been fueled by social media, with owners often showing off their animals online as status symbols.
“According to the new regulations for keeping big cats, no individual is allowed to keep a lion without a license, without adhering to the required cage size, and without following other standard operating procedures,” Elahi said.
The punishment is up to seven years in jail.
As well as confiscating the 18 animals, the department raided 38 lion and tiger breeding farms and arrested eight people for violating the rules, he said, adding that all farms will be inspected by the end of this week.
There are 584 lions and tigers in homes and breeding farms in Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province, he said.
“I know plenty of people who keep big cats as pets,” said Qaim Ali, 30, who himself had a lion but sold it after it attacked his nephew.
“Most of them are not interested in breeding but keep them as a symbol of power and influence in society.”
Djokovic’s daughter steals the show at Wimbledon with her victory dance
- Tara Djokovic’s victory dance brought a smile to dad’s face. Everybody else’s, too
LONDON: Novak Djokovic won the match on Center Court on Saturday, but it was his 7-year-old daughter who really wowed Wimbledon.
Tara Djokovic’s victory dance brought a smile to dad’s face. Everybody else’s, too.
Djokovic had just clinched his 100th Wimbledon singles win and was asked during his on-court interview to shed light on the little dance he’s been doing recently.
He said it’s done to a song called “Pump It Up.”
“There’s a song with my kids — look my daughter’s doing it right now,” a smiling Djokovic said as he looked into the crowd. “You want to show it darling?”
The TV camera then panned to Tara, who then showed everyone how it’s done: pump your fists down, then left, right and overhead.
The crowd roared.
“She’s the master. It’s a little tradition we have right now. Hopefully we can keep going so we can keep pumping more in Wimbledon.”
China’s first Legoland opens to visitors in Shanghai
- The resort, which opened Saturday, is the first in China
- It is one of 11 parks across the world and was built with 85 million Lego bricks
SHANGHAI: A giant 26-meter (85-foot) Lego figure named Dada welcomed visitors to the new Legoland resort in Shanghai.
The resort, which opened Saturday, is the first in China. It is one of 11 parks across the world and was built with 85 million Lego bricks.
Among the main attractions is Miniland, which replicates well-known sights from across the world using Lego bricks. It features landmarks across China like Beijing’s Temple of Heaven and Shanghai’s Bund waterfront. There’s also a boat tour through a historic Chinese water town built with Lego bricks.
“My first impression is it is a good recreation, like a real fairyland of Lego,” said Ji Yujia, a Lego fan who was there on opening day.
The resort was developed in conjunction with the Shanghai government by Merlin Entertainments and the LEGO Group.
Visitors were greeted by performances featuring Legoland characters. Tickets range from $44 (319 yuan) to $84 (599 yuan).
River Seine reopens to first Paris swimmers after century-long ban
- The seasonal opening of the Seine for swimming is seen as a key legacy of the Paris 2024 Olympics
- A few dozen swimmers arrived ahead of the Saturday morning opening for the long awaited moment
PARIS: The River Seine reopened to Parisian swimmers on Saturday morning for the first time since 1923, offering locals and tourists a welcome respite after a scorching temperatures.
A few dozen swimmers arrived ahead of the opening at 8:00 a.m. (0600 GMT) for the long awaited moment, diving into the water under the watchful eye of lifeguards, an AFP journalist said.
The seasonal opening of the Seine for swimming is seen as a key legacy of the Paris 2024 Olympics, when open water swimmers and triathletes competed in its waters which were specially cleaned for the event.
The swimming zones are equipped with changing rooms, showers, and beach-style furniture, offering space for 150 to 300 people to relax, lay out their towels, and unwind from the city’s hustle and bustle.
The promise to lift the swimming ban dates back to 1988, when then-mayor of Paris and future president Jacques Chirac first advocated for its reversal.
