Dolphins join fight against Somali pirates in Gulf of Aden

A pod of dolphins has hampered an attempted Somali pirate attack on a convoy of Chinese commercial vessels in the Gulf of Aden, Chinese media reported on Tuesday.

International Radio China reported that more than 1,000 dolphins had encircled several Chinese ships sailing through the Gulf of Aden on Monday, creating a live barrier between the commercial vessels and the Somali pirates.

The China Daily reported that the dolphins "suddenly leaped out of water between the pirates and merchants when the pirate ships headed for the Chinese vessels." The pirates were unable to approach the Chinese commercial vessels and had to retreat...

--RIA Novosti

Cat survives trip from China to N.C. in crate

After Eric Congdon opened a crate from China and discovered a cat inside, coming up with a name for the furry stowaway was easy.

China the cat had chewed through one of the boxes before it left Shanghai on April 3 and spent at least 35 days on a ship inside the container filled with motorcycle gear.

"I saw something in the container move," Congdon said. "I turned up the headlights on the fork lift to get a better look."

That was when he saw the cat cowering in a corner, weak but still alive. Congdon, owner of Olympia Moto Sports in Hendersonville, said he and a co-worker called the county's animal services when the cat would not let them near...

--USA Today

Falling woman saved by pile of human waste

A Chinese woman survived a plunge from a sixth-floor balcony thanks to a convenient pile of excrement which broke her fall, local media said.

The accident happened when the woman was hanging out laundry on Monday in Nanjing, capital of the eastern province of Jiangsu, the Kuaibao tabloid said on its Web site (www.kuaibao.net).

"Workers happened to be emptying the building's septic tank, which had not been tended for a long time and had regularly blocked sewage pipes," the newspaper said...

Reuters

World's tallest man (and saver of dolphins) gets married

BEIJING, China (AP) -- After searching high and low, the world's tallest man has married a woman two-thirds his height, a Chinese newspaper reported Wednesday.

Bao Xishun, a 7-foot-9-inch (2.36-meter) herdsman from Inner Mongolia, married saleswoman Xia Shujian, who was 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 meters) tall, several days ago, the Beijing New reported.

Bao's 28-year-old bride is half his age and hailed from his hometown of Chifeng, even though marriage advertisements were sent around the world, it said.

"After a long and careful selection, the effort has been finally paid off," the newspaper said...

--CNN