After losing 2-0 to the United States in the women's World Cup, the coach of the North Korean team explained the defeat by saying his players had been struck by lightning.
Kim Kwang Min said the players had been hit during a training session in Pyongyang and that his defenders and the North Korean goalkeeper were the players worst affected.
He added: "The physicians said the players were not capable of participating in the tournament, adding "the fact that they played could be called abnormal, the result of very strong will."
Vultures not good cops
Plans by German police to use a trained vulture to locate dead bodies have run into trouble because the bird is having trouble distinguishing between human and animal remains and prefers to walk - not fly - on assignments.
Lower Saxony police hoped that Sherlock, a turkey vulture, could save valuable man hours by fly overhead in the search for missing people.
After months of training, they have discovered he is reluctant to take to the air and gets nervous when taken out of his zoo, hiding in bushes or woods.
Sherlock was to have been joined by two other younger vultures, named Miss Marples and Columbo, but their trainer says they only want to fight with each other.
Everybody must get stones
Competitors at a stone skimming contest have complained about a rule change that means they are no long permitted to bring their own stones.
After organisers at the Bishop's Castle Skimming Championship in Shropshire, England, decided they would provide stones, the current champion, Rob Long, objected on the grounds that the stones he was being offered were too rough and unsuitable for bouncing across water.
Mr Long, from Wales, said that selecting the right stones was "very much a personal thing, very much like Andy Murray's racket is very personal to him".
Mr Long won the over-60s competition with a 57 metre skim at the World Stone Skimming Championship in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland last year, thereby earning himself the official title of "Old Tosser".
Don't mess with Texas
After feeling something touching his arm during a flight to Alaska, Jeff Ellis looked down to discover he had just been stung by a scorpion.
Mr Ellis, a doctor who had boarded the flight in Seattle, managed to put the scorpion in a plastic bag with the aid of a paper napkin and then waited for possible side effects that could have included anaphylactic shock.
After surviving the ordeal, Mr Ellis, 55, explained his concern by saying: "In the movies, scorpions kill people."
An airline spokesman said the aircraft had previously made stop in Austin, Texas and that the creature had probably boarded then.
jlangton@thenational.ae
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The nine articles of the 50-Year Charter
1. Dubai silk road
2. A geo-economic map for Dubai
3. First virtual commercial city
4. A central education file for every citizen
5. A doctor to every citizen
6. Free economic and creative zones in universities
7. Self-sufficiency in Dubai homes
8. Co-operative companies in various sectors
9: Annual growth in philanthropy
Specs%3A%202024%20McLaren%20Artura%20Spider
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THE 12 BREAKAWAY CLUBS
England
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
Dr Graham's three goals
Short term
Establish logistics and systems needed to globally deploy vaccines
Intermediate term
Build biomedical workforces in low- and middle-income nations
Long term
A prototype pathogen approach for pandemic preparedness
Rashid & Rajab
Director: Mohammed Saeed Harib
Stars: Shadi Alfons, Marwan Abdullah, Doaa Mostafa Ragab
Two stars out of five
RESULT
Huddersfield Town 1 Manchester City 2
Huddersfield: Otamendi (45' 1 og), van La Parra (red card 90' 6)
Man City: Agüero (47' pen), Sterling (84')
Man of the match: Christopher Schindler (Huddersfield Town)
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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