
Attacking magpies can't stand the rain in Spain, say dazed locals
In scenes reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock's horror film, birds have been attacking people in the southern Spanish town of Linares.
Indignant residents have taken to protecting their heads with umbrellas after numerous attacks in several parts of the town in Jaén province in the Andalusia region.
The culprits have been identified as members of the Iberian magpie species. Authorities have tried to allay concerns by saying that the attacks are not malicious.
• Visitors to Spain's tallest mountain will face 'eco-tax'
The town council has issued a communiqué saying that they do not mean to cause harm but are 'an instinctive and temporary response typical of their breeding season'.
The episode began with the occasional isolated peck but has become a regular battle, locals told
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Daily Mail
12 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Moment terraced home EXPLODES in 'gas blast' as debris is sent flying into residential street
This is the moment a house in a Derby street exploded, sending out 'earthquake-like' shockwaves, has been described by shocked residents as a 'terrifying' experience. Emergency services were first called to reports of a possible gas explosion at a terraced property in Eden Street, Alvaston, at around 7.24pm on Tuesday, June 10. Police, fire crews and gasworkers remained at the scene more than 17 hours later. One man was seriously injured and remains in hospital and a dog was also found with injuries overnight. Residents in the area went from enjoying a normal Tuesday night to, within minutes, being at the heart of a serious incident - with some residents evacuated with no idea when they'd be allowed back again. One of these residents was Christina Harrison, who has lived in Eden Street, just four doors from the incident, for nine years. She described the terrifying ordeal, saying she thought the explosion happened in their house, and now waits for permission from the police to enter her home once again. 'I've never heard anything like it before,' she said. 'We'd just had tea and I was with my daughter sorting the kitchen out - I'm so lucky she was with me at the time. The bang went off and I just didn't know where to run. A man has been taken to hospital after a suspected gas explosion in Alvaston. 'I thought if I ran in any direction the house would collapse, I was sure that the explosion had taken place in our house itself. 'We made our way into the living room and out onto the street, that's when we realised that someone's house had essentially exploded. 'The damage was really bad - the whole house is destroyed. All I could think about last night was the poor family affected by this. It's just a horrible thing to go through.' She added that her daughter now feels unsafe in her own home and has been unable to go to school. 'We were evacuated last night at around 9pm and we tried to get a hotel but we couldn't, they were all booked. Luckily we had a friend who offered us a place to stay. 'My daughter couldn't go to school because she was too frightened and she keeps telling me that she doesn't feel safe. 'Now we just have to wait to be let inside our home again, but it's been 15 hours and we are still waiting.' Mary Stocking, 76, of Lincoln Avenue, said: 'I heard something last night but I didn't think anything of it, I just thought it could be anything but I feel a bit naive now. You just never think these sorts of things will happen so close to home. 'My prayers are with everyone who was affected. I should imagine the people living on the road are quite shaken as well. 'The firefighters were there within minutes and then loads of ambulances came, so it must be severe. 'It's such a tight-knit community, we all look after each other and I'm sure it'll be the same in the next few days.' Another local resident, Gill Jennings, who visits the shops nearby every morning, said the explosion 'made the ground shake' from her home on Nunsfield Drive nearly half a mile away. She said: 'We were sitting at home watching TV, I'd put the kettle on and I just remember feeling a shake underneath my feet, followed by a bang. 'The whole street went outside to see if everyone was OK. I thought it was a car backfiring outside the house, but I didn't think it would've been so far away. It's so shocking, we were all just petrified. I hope everyone is alright.' Another resident said: 'It felt like the ground was moving, it was like an earthquake. All our electric went off for a moment and we had to turn it back on again at the fuse board.' The A6 London Road was closed overnight while crews worked 'tirelessly' to ensure the safety of those in the local area, according to Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service group manager, David Diggins, who added that teams are expected to remain on-scene throughout the night and into Wednesday (June 12). Speaking at the scene on Tuesday morning, he said: 'We'll be working with demolition teams and building control and hope that will progress fairly shortly. What we do know is that there are impacts to the wider community. 'We will need to isolate the gas and electrics but we are supporting those individuals on Eden Street. 'We hope that by the end of the day we'll have a lot of the work done to potentially get them back into their properties. This is a prime example of where things can go wrong in the home. There may be impacts in the short term to gas supplies. 'What the future looks like is unknown at the moment and Cadent will be able to update us once they've been able to get into the ground, cap some gas and then update the next multi-agency meeting.' Derbyshire police have since confirmed that a joint investigation into the cause of the explosion is due to start on Wednesday. A spokesperson for the force said: 'A joint police and fire service investigation into the cause of an explosion at a property in Derby is due to start today. 'We were called to the incident in Eden Street at 7.24pm on Tuesday. One man has been taken to hospital with serious injuries. 'A dog with some injuries was also rescued from the property. An investigation into the cause of the explosion will be begin later today. Eden Street remains closed.'


Reuters
13 hours ago
- Reuters
Austrian school shooter: Neighbours recall withdrawn young man
KALSDORF BEI GRAZ, Austria, June 11 (Reuters) - Neighbours and officials painted the picture of a withdrawn young man who attracted little attention before he achieved international notoriety by shooting dead 10 people at his former school and killing himself in the Austrian city of Graz. Authorities have so far given virtually no details about the 21-year-old Austrian media have referred to as Arthur A., other than that he was Austrian and failed to complete his studies at the Dreierschützengasse high school in Graz. In the commuter town of Kalsdorf bei Graz about 15 km (9 miles) from Graz where he lived, residents on his estate of neat, grey three-floor apartment buildings with dashes of orange were stunned to learn the quiet neighbour they barely noticed was behind Austria's first mass school shooting. "He was totally inconspicuous. He didn't attract any negative attention, nor did he integrate into our community in any way," said Manfred Komericky, mayor of the town near Graz airport and home to around 10,000 people. The family's letterbox had been taped over by Wednesday afternoon, any trace of their name no longer apparent. Of over a dozen residents spoken to by Reuters, few wanted to speak at all. Some said they had seen the man. None said they knew him. Neighbours said the suspect lived with his mother in a ground floor apartment at one end of the estate with leafy gardens over which a large concrete grain silo looms. Planes taking off from the airport can be seen in the distance. Several balconies and gardens on the estate boasted model storks signalling that families had welcomed babies recently. Komericky said Kalsdorf had around 40 clubs and associations but that the young man had never really been noticed at them. Austrian newspapers Kronen Zeitung and Heute published pictures of a slight youth with a long fringe they described as the alleged perpetrator, one of which showed him holding a cat. According to Heute, investigators said he did not have a personal profile on social media. Police declined to comment. Details of his life after he left school were scarce. Heute said he struggled to find work. Police found a non-functional pipe bomb and a discarded plan for a bomb attack at his home. Thomas Gasser, 38, a supermarket manager who lived in the building opposite the suspect for years, described him as small and generally decked out in a cap and headphones, covered up. Contact with the family was minimal, Gasser said. "It's just that we hardly ever saw them," he explained. Officials said the suspect opened fire on pupils and staff at the school with a pistol and shotgun before shooting himself in a toilet in the building. Austrian media reported that he felt bullied, though police have not confirmed this. Police said that the suspect left behind a farewell note and a video message before he entered the school grounds. Citing investigators, Kronen Zeitung said the man asked forgiveness from his mother in the video while thanking her for looking after him. The massacre on Tuesday was the bloodiest episode in the postwar history of Graz, and eclipsed a previous nadir: the 2015 killing of three people and injuring of many more by a man who drove his vehicle into a crowded Graz shopping street. The news that the school shooting suspect lived in Kalsdorf was an unwelcome reminder of those days - because the driver in the vehicle attack also lived in the same Graz suburb, residents said. Contemporaneous media reports confirm this. Helmut, a 65-year-old pensioner from Kalsdorf, said he was completely shocked by the coincidence. "I don't understand it," he said. "Why do they always come from here?"


BBC News
15 hours ago
- BBC News
Appledore: North Devon residents evacuated over suspected bomb
Residents have been evacuated in part of north Devon after a suspected bomb was and Cornwall Police said it was called to Bidna Yard, in Appledore, shortly after 10:10 BST on force said a cordon was put in place and a small number of residents were evacuated, but are now allowed to return to their homes."The Royal Navy Bomb Squad attended and have transported the device to another location for a controlled explosion to be carried out," it said.