oddly enough

oddly enough

Israel nabs repeat cheese smuggler from West Bank

JERUSALEM

When Israeli health inspectors spotted a mail truck crossing into Israel from the West Bank, something didn’t smell right.

Further examination discovered the source of their suspicion — cheese.

The agriculture ministry said the truck contained 661 pounds of cheese stuffed into cans, bottles and other unsanitary containers.

The driver, a Palestinian in his 40s from east Jerusalem, was arrested in the incident. He is an employee of Israel’s mail service and admitted to smuggling the cheese in hopes of reselling it.

The ministry said the same man was caught a month earlier, committing the same offense. The cheese was not refrigerated, had no health certificates and was unfit for consumption.

It said the bootleg cheese posed a public safety concern and was destroyed upon a veterinarian’s order.

Chimp turns drone-buster in Dutch Burgers’ Zoo

ARNHEM, Netherlands

Beware! Chimp Tushi at the Dutch Burgers’ Zoo is a real drone-buster.

When the zoo sent a drone over the chimpanzee enclosure for a better look at how their 14 apes live, the response was swift.

With the unfamiliar intruder coming close to them, 23-year-old female Tushi waited in a tree, gritted her teeth and with two whacks from a long branch, downed the drone. No sweat.

Zoo spokesman Bas Lukkenaar said, “We can write the drone off. It cost about $2,100. Then again, it doesn’t surprise that Tushi did this. She is very handy with sticks.”

With the camera still rolling on the ground after Tushi’s strike, the zoo got some close-up footage anyway — of chimps coming to inspect their kill.

Egypt court sentences belly dancer for ‘insulting’ flag

CAIRO

An Egyptian court has sentenced a popular Armenian belly dancer to six months in prison for “insulting the Egyptian flag” after she reportedly wore a tight dress in its red, white and black color scheme.

The court in Agouza, west of Cairo, said that Sofinar Gourian, known popularly as “Safinaz,” was fined almost $2,000. The case had been initiated by a private complaint.

Insulting the flag was made illegal by decree under Egyptian President Adly Mansour who ruled for a year after the army overthrew an elected but divisive Islamist president in 2013.

Gourian, who lives in Egypt, had argued that she did not insult the flag intentionally, and as a foreigner was less aware of Egyptian laws.

Associated Press