Chinese granny buried alive by property developers

A 70-year-old Chinese grandmother in the central province of Hubei was beaten and buried alive by property developers eager to get their hands on her land. Wang Cuyun was attempting to prevent a demolition team from knocking down her house when she was allegedly beaten by a worker with a wooden stick and then pushed into a ditch that had been dug around the property.

A bulldozer then covered Mrs Wang with earth, burying her alive. By the time her relatives dug her up, she was dead. The incident occurred last Wednesday in Maodian village in Huangpi district. With house prices rocketing across the country, developers often team up with local governments to force homeowners out of their property, according to a recent report by Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD), an NGO based in Hong Kong.

It is not possible to refuse an eviction in China, since the government technically owns all the land. Chinese law also does not require developers to agree a compensation fee before they demolish a property.

The government has said it is aware of the growing, and often middle-class, anger against forced evictions, and is currently drafting new regulations that will protect homeowners. In particular, the government has said that property developers must not force residents out of their homes by beating them or cutting off the water and electricity supply.

But in Mrs Wang's case, three policemen helped supervise the demolition team while she was being buried, but did not intervene to protect her. Local residents tore off the police officers's badges in scuffles afterwards.

Chen Xiao, Mrs Wang's son, moved his mother's body to the main road nearby to protest against the killing and thousands of locals soon crowded the scene to demand an explanation. One neighbor, who remained unnamed, said that the policemen had "stood around, acting like it was none of their business".

A woman in Germany phoned police after hearing "suspicious noises"

A woman in Germany phoned police after hearing "suspicious noises" in her flat, but much to her embarrassment officers found the source was a vibrator, authorities said on Friday.

The noise was so loud and strange, even over the telephone, that police in Bochum in western Germany decided to send a patrol car around to the "scene of the crime", a statement said.

"Daringly, and with the occupier's permission, one of the officers opened the drawer of a wardrobe where the noise was coming from.

"Underneath some clothes he found a very personal, battery-operated object which had obviously switched itself on ... The tenant's face abruptly changed color." Police then "wished her a nice evening and left".

Masked gunmen rob poker tournament of $1 Million at Berlin hotel

Armed robbers have stormed a luxury hotel in central Berlin where a poker tournament was taking place.

One report said the gang - armed with assault rifles and hand grenades - made off with the tournament jackpot of 800,000 euros ($1.1m; �726,000).

Several people were injured in the ensuing panic, although none of them seriously.

About 1,000 poker players are taking part in the five-day tournament.

Several masked, armed individuals entered the Grand Hyatt Hotel and fled with a haul of money," police spokeswoman Heidi Vogt said.

Officials said most of the injuries were caused by panic. The tournament - organised by the European Poker Tour (EPT) - resumed about four hours after the attack.

Woman bitten by bear at Wisconsin zoo, fingers severed

MANITOWOC, Wis. - Police say a bear bit off a woman's fingers at a Wisconsin zoo after she ignored barriers and warning signs to try to feed the animal.

The Lincoln Park Zoo in Manitowoc closed after the incident Friday morning. Police say the 47-year-old woman lost a thumb and a forefinger, and two other fingers were partially severed.

The woman's boyfriend was bitten as he tried to pry the bear's mouth off her hand, but he didn't lose any fingers. Her 3-year-old granddaughter wasn't injured.

A mayor's office statement says alcohol played a factor.

It's unclear which of two Asiatic black bears bit the women when she put her hand through their enclosure's fence. Police tell the Herald Times Reporter the bears likely won't be euthanized.

Manitowoc is about 80 miles north of Milwaukee.

JOKE: It was finals week at the college

It was finals week at the college. The students had filed into the auditorium, and picked up their blue-books for the test. This particular class had been in aviaian biology and identification. The professor was known to give very difficult finals, and weighed them heavily in the grade.

Looking down to the table in the front of the room, the students saw several stands with stuffed and mounted birds. They could see that they were birds, as the feet were visible below the burlap sacks that had been placed over them. And beside each was a small sign with a number.

The bell rang, the professor allowed a moment for the noise to die down, and them addressed the class. "Today's final will count, as you know, for a large percentage of the grade. But the directions for the test are simple. You are to identify each of the birds on the table before you. Write the number, and the latin and common name of the creature associated with it, on your paper. When you have completed the identifications, you may leave. Begin." With that he sat down.

One of the students, a few rows back from the front gestured for the profs attention, and asked a question, "Uh, professor, are you going to remove the sacks so we can see the birds?"

"No... If you've been following the lectures through the term, you should be able to identify each of them by its feet alone. You should have realized the areas that I was stressing, in class and in the reading assignments."

The student, becoming a little alarmed, "You mean, you expect us to be able to know one of these from the others just by its feet. That's unreasonable."

"I'm sorry you're dismayed by this test. Perhaps if you'll begin it'll go better than you expect, and then the others can begin also."

"No, this is absurd. I'm not going to take this test. This is outrageous. I'm leaving." And the student begins to gather up his pencils, and day-pack.

"If you're leaving, tell me your name, so I can mark you off in my book now, please."

The irate student, holding up his feet so the prof can see them, replies, "YOU FIGURE IT OUT!"