Hi °C | Lo °C Four gunmen have been killed while apparently trying to steal the body of a cartel chief in Mexico.
The gunmen wanted to take the body of Angel Enrique Uscanga, nicknamed "The Pokemon", identified as the leader of the brutal gang. They shot at marines in the city of Cordoba, close to where authorities were keeping the bodies of Uscanga and four others who had died in a firefight with the military. The marines shot back and killed the four armed men.
Rare Beatles LP sale
A rare copy of a Beatles LP signed by all four band members has finally been sold – for the sum rejected at auction a few weeks earlier.
Chris Collins, from Eastbourne in England, and his sister, Liz Chambers, from Worthing, initially turned down a £12,000 (€14,700) bid for a copy of 'Please Please Me'. They had hoped to get £15,000 (€18,400) for the 1963 album, which was given to their late father during a drinking session.
Elephants die on track
A passenger train has killed five elephants from a herd crossing railway tracks in eastern India.
Dozens of elephants have died in India in recent years after being struck while crossing lines that often run through national parks and forests. India's wild elephant population was recently estimated at about 26,000.
Meteor theft arrest
A man has been arrested following the theft of 100 meteorites from a science education centre in the US.
Video surveillance showed two thieves breaking into the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute near Rosman, Carolina, at around 3am on Christmas Eve.
Shipshape 'cures'
Victorian surgeons used unorthodox medical practices on ships, treating travel sickness with alcohol and vinegar, according to newly published records in the UK.
More alarming treatments were also used, such as draining blood from a patient to clear impurities from the body, it was revealed in the Royal Navy Medical Journals 1817-1857, published by family history website Ancestry.co.uk.
Hunt for new galaxies
Two Australian sky surveys named Wallaby and Dingo are expected to uncover an unprecedented 700,000 new galaxies in the new year.
A huge new radio telescope facility will scour space to provide new clues about galaxy evolution. The €80m Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder is located in a remote desert region of Western Australia
Irish Independent
