WhiteBoard News for Wednesday, January 29, 2003

Jukkasjaervi, Sweden (Ananova):

A version of William Shakespeare's Hamlet is being staged in a topless theatre made out of ice.

The theatre in Jukkasjaervi, northern Sweden, is modelled on his Globe Theatre in London, but has no roof.

Temperatures dipped as low as -31C during rehearsals undertaken by the Norwegian Sami theatre group, Beaivvas, in their native language.

The theatre is 26 feet high and has a diameter of 112 feet.

Thirty performances of the play will be staged until April 6. Forty-five other productions will also be staged.
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Tirana, Albania (Reuters):

A famous Albanian comedian averted a highway robbery by making the bandits laugh, an Albanian newspaper reported Thursday. 

The gangsters who aimed Kalashnikov rifles at Sejfulla Myftari's car recognized his shaved head and bulging eyes when he stepped out of it, the Shekulli daily said. 

"Oh thanks, I haven't seen a Kalash (Kalashnikov) in ages -- will you let me hold it please," Myftari said, reaching to pat one of the guns as if it were a much-missed toy. 

The bandits laughed and told Myftari and his friends to leave quickly so that they could hold up another car instead. 

Armed hold-ups were common in Albania when the impoverished Balkan country plunged into anarchy in 1997, but they have become rare in recent years. 
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London, England (AP):

It gives new meaning to the term "letter of the law." 

A British police force announced Friday it has come up with a new measure to combat crime _ a polite letter asking persistent offenders to mend their ways. 

On Friday morning, 22 men and women in Wiltshire county, southern England, received personal letters from Inspector Geoff Miles telling them they have a choice _ get back on the straight and narrow or be targeted by police. 

The letters were hand delivered to a group of repeat offenders who have been convicted of offenses including burglary, violence and drug and alcohol-related crime. 

"I'm sure it will come as no surprise to you that, due to your criminal activity, your name appears on the above data and has highlighted you as a persistent offender," said the letters. 

The letter helpfully suggests that the offender "make it a priority in any New Year's resolutions you make from 2003 onwards, to cease forthwith your criminal activities." 

Wiltshire Police say the program is experimental, but it will be closely watched by other forces keen to cut down on time spent pursuing repeat offenders. 

"Of course, I'm hoping they will say: 'You're absolutely right officer, I will stop my criminal ways,'" Miles said. "But we are being realistic. I'm sure some will be angry. These are career criminals but we are career police officers. ... Sending these letters will not do any harm." 
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Edinburgh, Scotland (Ananova):

An ambulance has been given a parking ticket while the crew helped a wheelchair-bound pensioner from her flat.

A traffic warden issued the £60 ($98) fine as the vehicle waited for its patient on double yellow lines during Edinburgh's rush-hour.

The paramedics had been sent to a sheltered housing complex to take the woman to her regular hospital appointment.

Capital Parking Systems who employ the private parking attendants say the traffic warden decided the ambulance was not on an emergency.

However they say the fine was a mistake and are promising to improve training, reports the Daily Record.

The Scottish Ambulance Service described the fine as "surprising". A spokesman said: "Our staff do an essential job of caring for patients and ensuring they get to hospitals on time."

The fine comes a week after it was revealed a hearse was ticketed as it waited to take a coffin to a funeral.
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Kansas City, Missouri (AP):

A teenager was catapulted at least 25 feet in the air during an auto accident but grabbed onto overhead utility wires like an action hero and dangled for about 20 minutes before a rescue crew brought him down by ladder. 

Joe R. Thompson III, 18, was treated for bruises and scratches at a hospital and was released. 

"God was definitely in control," he said. 

Thompson lost control of his Jeep on Monday evening after another car suddenly turned in front of him. Thompson's Jeep clipped the other car and rolled over and over, possibly five times, witnesses said. 

The Jeep's fiberglass top was ripped off, and Thompson, who was not wearing a seat belt, flew through the air, bouncing off three power lines and falling onto what he thinks was a telephone wire and grounding wire. His leg caught in one wire, and he grabbed for the other. 

"I just kept saying a prayer over and over," he said Tuesday from his home in the suburb of Blue Springs. 

Sgt. Ray Myers of the Blue Springs police said Thompson was "bear-hugging" the wires when help arrived. 

The wires were insulated, but the power lines above him had to be turned off before the rescue ladder could be raised. 

The driver of the other car, Justin B. Elam, of Olathe, Kan., came immediately to check on Thompson. 

"I just started saying, `Dude, turn off my car.' He looked around at first, he couldn't find me. Then he looked up and saw me," Thompson said. 

Meanwhile, Thompson's father had rushed to the scene. 

"I was told he was hanging on for dear life," Joe Thompson II said. "I didn't know they meant he literally was hanging on for dear life." 

The father said his son was talking the entire time. 

"We asked him how long he could hold on, and he said, `I can hold on as long as it takes.' His arms were turning blue because it was cold, but otherwise he was fine," the elder Thompson said. "And don't forget, this is a great story to remind people to wear seat belts." 
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Plainville, Connecticut (AP):

It's not every day you see a hand reaching up through your bedroom floor. 

That's just what a Plainville woman saw Monday when she woke up, watching as her pocketbook was dragged toward a hole in her bedroom floor, police said. 

The woman screamed and called police, The Herald of New Britain reported. 

Jimmy Tran, 32, sawed through his ceiling and the floor of the apartment above his, police said. When he got through a carpet under the woman's bed, he reached around for valuables, police said. 

Tran was charged with burglary, criminal mischief and criminal attempt to commit larceny. 

He was released on $5,000 bond. 
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