ABRACADABRA

Pee & be shamed 

In a bid to tackle the menace of people urinating in the open, a UK city has decided to take offenders on a 'walk of shame' to show them the damage to historic sites due to such corroding behaviour.

Each day, up to 30 people are caught on CCTV urinating in public in Chester, which was founded by the Romans and attracts eight million visitors a year.

Chester Council has joined forces with police to introduce a "heritage awareness" course in an attempt to combat the public nuisance, which officials say is corroding the city's buildings.

While students, soldiers and the unemployed are the primary culprits, accountants, solicitors and teachers have also been caught, the Daily Mail reported.

In the past year, 108 offenders have agreed to pay 75 pounds to enrol on the course, which is run by trading standards officers, rather than go to court and face a possible heavy fine.

Man bites off nose

London: A 45-year-old man in Britain told another man he was going to eat him before almost biting off his nose, the Daily Mail reported.

Heath Bowden then took a "chunk" out of his victim Graham Brook's right ear before sinking his teeth into his left ear, Gloucester crown court was told.

Julian Kesner, prosecuting, said: "Having bitten through (Brook's) nose, he bit a large chunk out of his right ear and then started on the left ear when he was pulled away."

Bowden of Norbury Ave, Matson, Gloucester, has pleaded not guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent on his victim, Graham Brook, in February 2012.

He claims he acted in self defence, the Mail said.

Kesner, said that "he (Bowden) had lost his temper totally as a result of an argument inside the pub".The trial continues.

British among the laziest

London: People in Britain, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and South Africa are among the laziest in the world, according to a new study. In a global study carried out by journal. The Lancet which included results from 122 countries, the UK was found to be one of the most inactive countries, with a staggering 63.3 per cent of the population being inactive while Greece was labelled the least lazy nation in the world.

Only 15 per cent of the population of the balmy Mediterranean country, which also boasts one of the world's healthiest diets, was classed as inactive.

The study found just over 40 per cent of those in North America were inactive, putting it in the 46th spot. Overall, women rated lower than men in the study. The highest percentage of inactive women was found in countries where they find it difficult to find employment due to social constraints, such as Saudi Arabia, which ranked third least active country with 68.8 per cent of its population inactive.

Southern European country Malta with 71.9 per cent and Swaziland in Southern Africa with 69.0 per cent inactive population topped the list.

UAE with an inactive population of 62.5 per cent, South Africa with 52.4 per cent and Bhutan with 52.3 per cent were also among the top twenty laziest countries in the world. Of the countries surveyed almost one third of their population is considered inactive. And 80 per cent of adolescents rated as below the standards, the report said.

The researchers pointed out that lack of exercise is now a leading cause of death and a third of people across the world do not meet the minimum activity recommendations, which is generally about 2.5 hours of moderate activity per week.

Insurance claim'Lost phone, inside a cow' 

London: Do you know anybody who lost his mobile inside a cow or someone who baked her handset into a sponge cake? The team at a UK-based mobile insurance company has heard it all in some bizarre excuses customers have made to claim insurance in the last twelve months.

The company's list of top ten weirdest mobile insurance claims was topped by a farmer in Devon who claimed his phone had disappeared inside the back end of one of his cows when he'd been using the torch on his mobile while assisting the cow during calving, The Mirror reported.The phone later made an appearance, but was damaged. Placed number two on the list was a lady in her early 40s from Nottingham who claimed that she'd baked her phone into a Victoria Sponge cake she'd been making for her daughter's birthday.

A woman in her 30s claimed she'd been walking her Cocker Spaniel on Barry Island beach, Wales, when a seagull swooped down and took her mobile from her hand.

A 20-year old girl from Bristol claimed the vibration function on her phone had stopped working while she was using it as an adult toy, www.mobileinsurance.co.uk said.

A 40-year-old construction worker said his cellphone had fallen out of his back pocket when he pulled his jeans down before sitting on the toilet. Not realising, he went about his business and flushed the chain.

The phone didn't flush, but underwent serious water damage.

A man in his 30s claimed he'd been filming monkeys from the car window in Longleat Safari Park with his mobile handset when a monkey climbed on the roof and snatched it.

The list also included a couple who lost their phone over the side of their cruise ship while re-enacting the "I'm King of the World!" scene, while trying to take a photo of themselves.