Dutch police use rats to catch criminals
Police in the Netherlands have recruited ten brown rats to sniff out gunshot residue to support its forensic firearms department. Force spokesman Ed Krasewski says these little creatures – often described as vermin – are “cheaper and easier to train than dogs” and have a “highly developed sense of smell”.
Arctic sanctuary
The Finnish government has adopted a new Arctic strategy calling for the North Pole to be set up as an international sanctuary, in response to protests by Greenpeace activists and the Save the Arctic movement. The Arctic, which Greenpeace has called “the most vulnerable place on earth”, experiences the lowest level of protection of any ocean.
Tea but no sympathy
The Bombay High Court has criticised police who arrested a man for drinking tea in a “suspicious” manner. Vijay Patil was arrested while enjoying a cup of ‘chai’ at a roadside stall. The case was thrown out by judges, who referred to the police behaviour as “bewildering”, adding: “We were unaware that the law required anyone to give an explanation for having tea.”
Chimp trafficker gets maximum sentence
A Cameroonian man and his two accomplices have been sentenced to prison following the trafficking of more than 500 endangered chimpanzees from the Republic of Guinea in West Africa. Often targeting young chimpanzees, poachers are threatening the species with near extinction – only 20,000 remain in the country.
China journalist freed
A Chinese journalist imprisoned for eight years because he leaked reporting restrictions over the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre has been released two years earlier than expected.
