World War II Bomb Kills Three In Germany

BERLIN — Three experts working to defuse a bomb from World War II were killed when the device exploded, injuring six others, police said Wednesday.

Some 7,000 residents from around the area in the central German town of Goettingen, where the 1100-pound (500-kilogram) heavy bomb was found, were still being evacuated when it blew up late Tuesday.

Construction workers had found the 65-year-old explosive device about seven yards (meters) below the ground on an empty where the city is currently building a sport arena.

The three dead men, aged 38 to 55, were experienced in defusing bombs and it was not clear why it exploded, Goettingen Police President Robert Kruse said at a press conference Wednesday. He said two other experts were severely injured and four others were treated for shock.

City spokesman Detlef Johannson said team was still preparing to remove the detonator when the bomb exploded.

Unexploded bombs from Allied bombardments and World War I are found regularly in Germany. Only a few days before, another bomb was found in Goettingen was successfully defused.

Every German state has dozens of specialists trained to defuse old bombs, and accidents are rare. Hundreds of police and fire fighters are usually involved in helping evacuate people before experts attempt to defuse a bomb.

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Blinded Everest Climber Left to Die After Summit

A 28-year-old Scottish climber, Peter Kinloch, was 600 feet into his descent from the top ofMount Everest when he lost his eyesight. 12 hours and only 200 feet later, his fellow climbers decided they had to leave him.

Everest was the fifth peak of the Seven Summit Challenge for Kinloch, where climbers reach the top of the tallest peaks on all seven continents. Shortly after beginning his descent from the top of Everest, Kinloch told his fellow climbers that he could no longer see properly. An anonymous member of the group told the Daily Mailthat, "Descending, Peter surprisingly seemed to lose his co-ordination and took a few slips and stumbles," and he "had initial signs of frostbite on two fingers. His speech and thinking seemed to remain sharp and he did not evidence any signs of altitude sickness."

After 12 hours of being helped along by sherpas, the other climbers decided to leave Kinloch on the mountain. They were in Everest's "death zone" near Mushroom Rock, when climbers from his group gave him high doses of oxygen, injected him with a steroid to treat altitude sickness, and left him. His father told the paper, "We can take comfort in that he achieved one of his ambitions."

A full account can be read here, at Everest News

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The seven lives is back

               Cat survives machine washing

A Persian cat nearly gave his owners a heart attack  when they  removed him from the washing machine,  he was soaping wet and limping after surviving a wash. Everything happened in Sydney (Australia), where 'Kimba' entered into the machine and mixed with dirty clothes. Without knowing it, Lyndsay Rogers, the owner, turned on the unit. "It looked like a drowned rat," he says. After a trip to the vet, everything ended well. That is to say that cats have nine lives, even ...

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Marriage proposal during a visit to sewer

It could have been the top of the Eiffel Tower or even a simple dinner by candlelight, but the Briton Steven Sparks chose another place to ask his girlfriend to marry him: a sewer. During a visit to Brighton threw the question "Will you marry me?". Oblivious to the odors typical of the place, Carolyn Payne answered "yes" thrilled.

When they were in the sewers of the city, the guide asked if anyone had any questions. And Steven Sparks, 41, said: "I have a question for Carol."

At that point the man made the request and received from Carol, 29, a positive response.

"My fear was that the ring fell down the drain," joked Steven.

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Obama, Clinton Drool Over Soccer Team's Shoes

President Obama, Vice President Biden and Bill Clinton got to meet the U.S. World Cup Soccer Team at the White House  and all the trio could talk about was how dapper the players looked! From the pool report:

"I want to be on this team just for the shoes," Clinton said, marveling at the light brown numbers worn by the players and coaches, decked in white and blue warm-ups and tan dress slacks. "This is the only team that I've ever seen that had these cool shoes."
And:

"This is the best dressed soccer team I've ever seen," POTUS said, agreeing, "those are some sharp shoes."

Those are some sharp shoes!

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German World Cup Fans Prefer Soccer Success To Sex

Sports fans will give up a lot to see their team do well. In one recent survey, soccer enthusiasts said they would submit to week-long starvation if it meant their favorite country would win the World Cup. Some respondents even said they would forfeit their job.

The trend is no different in Germany, according to a new study. AFP reports that a Reader's Digest survey found only 5% of participants would choose sex over watching a German World Cup final game. Approximately 20% said that even an emergency wouldn't get in the way of their World Cup viewing.

While fans might prefer soccer to sex, it seems the two may go hand in hand. According to the article, Germany saw "a flood" of new babies nine months after the 2006 World Cup.

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Guatemala Sinkhole Is Massive, Swallows Buildin

 Torrential rains brought by the first tropical storm of the 2010 season pounded Central America and southern Mexico, triggering deadly landslides. The death toll stood at 15 Sunday but authorities said the number could rise.

Tropical Storm Agatha made landfall near the border of Guatemala and Mexico on Saturday with wind speeds of up to 45 mph (75 kph), then weakened into a tropical depression before dissipating over the mountains of western Guatemala.

Although no longer even a tropical depression, Agatha still posed trouble for the region: Remnants of the storm were expected to deliver 10 to 20 inches (25 to 50 centimeters) of rain over southeastern Mexico, Guatemala and parts of El Salvador, creating the possibility of "life-threatening flash floods and mudslides," the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said in an advisory Sunday.

Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom said Saturday night that the rivers in the country's south were flooding or close to it.

Colom said 4.3 inches (10.8 centimeters) of rain had fallen in Guatemala City's valley in 12 hours, the most since 1949.

As of Saturday night, 4,300 people were in shelters and authorities said the number could rise as figures come in from around the country.

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