Giant growth removed from 'Turtle Boy'

A young lad branded 'turtle boy' due to a large shell-like growth on his body is finally free of the birthmark thanks to a British surgeon.

Little Didier Montalvo, six (6) year old from Colombia, suffered from Congenital Melanocytic Nevus, which meant a mole grew so large it almost entirely covered his back.

He was teased and banned from going to school because of the growth.

Locals in his village feared he had been cursed by evil forces as he was conceived during an eclipse.

Didier had said, "I want to grow up. But the mole won't let me."

His mum, Luz, could not afford to pay for surgery to help her son get rid of the birthmark blighting his life.

But when plastic surgeon Neil Bulstrode, from Great Ormond Street Hospital, in London, heard about the boy’s plight, he and his team flew to capital Bogotá to operate on him.

They eventually managed to remove the mole with a series of skin grafts.


"Didier's was the worst case I had ever seen. Effectively three quarters of the circumference of his body was affected. Obviously he has had to go through a number of painful operations, but we feel it was worth it. It’s great to see the photos of how Didier is getting on now. I'm really happy with how things have healed," said Mr Bulstrode.

River dolphins may be extinct in 15 yrs

Finless porpoise is the last surviving mammal in China's Yangtze River after the extinction of the white Yangtze River dolphin.

But now, the species - commonly called river dolphin - is also facing extinction due to human impact – fishing with dynamite and electric current, draining of habitat, dredging, river traffic and pollution.

Chinese scientists believe the mammal – which has been around for twenty-five (25) million years - would be extinct in some fifteen (15) years if nothing is done to protect them.

Since January, more than twenty (20) river dolphins were found dead in China.

Post-mortems showed that most of them had starved to death and one was severely injured by a boat's propeller.

Today only around one thousand (1,000) finless porpoises live in the Yangtze River, including around eighty (80) in Dongting Lake and some in Poyang Lake.

The river dolphin has long been considered a signal of coming storms.

River dolphins need to breathe fresh air through their lungs and when the air pressure falls ahead of a major storm, they jump out of the water and fishermen know it’s time to head home.

Their appearance also marks good fishing sites.

An adult male river dolphin can grow up to two (2) metres long and weigh as much as two hundred and twenty kilogram (220kg).

The mammal is highly intelligent and is said to have an Intelligence Quotient (IQ) as high as that of a chimpanzee.

Chinese fisheries authorities have taken emergency measures to protect finless porpoises including taking measures to reduce human impact, cracking down on illegal fishing, suspending all sand gathering activities for a few months and monitoring pollution discharge.

Mum being filmed leaving her baby in a buggy in the path of a traffic

This mother has some lessons to learn about road safety - as she leaves her baby sitting in the traffic.

The shocking video was shot in a Russian city, from a camera mounted on a vehicle's dashboard.

The clip shows a bus moving slowly past a pedestrian crossingwhile changing lanes.

And as the bus swings out to the right, it is clear that the driver has moved to avoid a child in a pushchair.

Horrifyingly, the baby's mother has left the buggy around three (3) ft into the road, right in the path of the traffic.

It is only as a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) attempts to squeeze through the same space that the woman pulls the pushchair back.

As cars speed past, she gradually moves her child back onto the pavement, out of harm's way.

Shockingly, while a few other pedestrian shoot the woman an odd look, none of them seem upset by her placing her child in such a dangerous situation.

Musician, 75, in love with 55yr old politician

A seventy-five (75) year old musician, Lin Rong-de has written hundreds of love letters and poems to a Taiwan politician he admires.

He has expressed his love for the former vice premier Tsai Ing-wen, 55, in the about two hundred (200) letters he wrote over the past two (2) years.

He has also written dozens of his love poems for Tsai and gathered them in a book - A poetry collection for Xiao Ying - specially dedicated to the single woman, a millionaire with a law degree.

"She is so elegant and refined," said the septuagenarian, adding that he was attracted to Tsai because of her interactive skills and personality.

However, Lin has yet to pass his letters to the chairperson of the Democratic Progressive Party, saying he would do so when Tsai visits Tainan, where he is currently living.

When asked for her comment, Tsai thanked Lin for his support and said, "Hope to see (you) in Tainan."

Tsai is currently running against President Ma Ying-jeou of the ruling Kuomintang in the fifth (5th) presidential election in 2012.

She has set the record by becoming the first female presidential candidate in the history of Taiwan.

British PM shows romantic side

David Cameron, 45, has told how he and his wife Samantha, 40, keep their romance alive with weekly date nights.

The PM said that despite busy schedules, and three (3) kids, he and Sam, ensure they still find time for each other.

Cameron said, "We have one night every week where we either stay in and do nothing or go out on our own. We have a couple of favourite Italian restaurants."

The romantic PM says he still remembers every minute of his wedding and honeymoon night of June 1, 1996.

Asked in a Now magazine interview to name the best day of his life, he said, "Probably getting marrieda and the first night of my honeymoon.

"I can remember pretty much minute by minute."

Terrified girl jumps out of moving cab

In Seremban on Monday, a twenty-one (21) year old woman with her mother and sister, boarded the taxi in Jalan Bandar Tunggal to travel to Mantin.

However, a short distance away, the mother asked the taxi driver to stop outside a grocery store where she and her other daughter wanted to buy some provisions.

As soon as the two (2) passengers got down, the driver accelerated towards Jalan Temiang.

Frightened at being left alone and fear that she was being abducted by the cab driver, the woman opened the door and jumped out of the moving vehicle.

Passers-by rushed her to the hospital, where she was treated for her injuries.

Passenger boards wrong plane and run amok

A fifty-two (52) year old Filipino man, Carlito Frajes Cantalejo, ran amok on a flight after realizing he was on the wrong aircraft.

He also attacked an attendant of the Cathay Pacific flight from Bangkok, Thailand, April 19.

He told the court that he was to go to Libya but only discovered he was on his way when the cabin crew announced the flight was about to land.

He then threatened an air stewardess by holding a plastic pen to her neck, but was subdued by other crew members and passengers.

Cantalejo, who was remanded in custody, was charged with behaving in a disorderly manner on board an aircraft in Hong Kong.