Reuters: Crocs keep man up tree for 8 days 15 August

The air rescue operation for the dog had been previously called off when authorities deemed it too dangerous.

Australian aborigines consider children’s dream to be messages about the future, sent by the spirits. Ombee is a young aborigine of the Kidja tribe, and he has dreamt about a crocodile. The initiation time has come, and the old Jerry will explain to him that he will have to challenge a crocodile to become a man. Together with his uncle, he will leave for a long journey to learn how to survive in the bush and, at last, how to confront the crocodile...

In the two hundred million years since the crocodile first appeared on Earth, it has never ceased to fascinate and to frighten. Worshipped as a god or feared as a demon, it has inspired some of man’s most extraordinary stories, legends and beliefs. In ancient Egypt, one of the most powerful divinities was Sobek, the crocodile god. Still today, for certain peoples in Mali, Chad and Burkina, this reptile is sacred. For western societies however, the crocodile is first and foremost a symbol of terror. Massacred for his skin, he was threatened with extinction in the 1950s. Fortunately, certain populations quickly began to realize the key role the crocodile played in their own habitats. After a period of carnage came an era of overprotection. Reserves were created throughout the world. In the French city of Pierrelatte, visitors tremble, in total safety, at the five hundred specimens housed in the most important crocodile farm in Europe. Legends surrounding the crocodile have thus been revived all the way to Asia, in Papua, New Guinea and in Australia’s aborigine tribes. This unique reptile will continue to haunt our dreams and feed our imaginations for as long as man exists, and for as long as there are crocodiles.

The man seized the group of ten travel agents in the northwest city of Xi'an on Wednesday. He released nine before being shot dead by a police sniper. The Australian government has urged holidaymakers to heed travel warnings ahead of the Beijing Olympics.

Residents said they heard a loud crash and felt the building shake when the vehicle drove through the side of the garage. The man was taken to an area hospital.

Scott Wright, 34, was swimming at the south end of the beach when a small shark bit his arm, leaving him with deep gouges. Australia's Bondi beach is popular with tourists from all over the world as well as with revellers over Christmas and New Year holidays. It was the first shark attack at the beach in 70 years.

Scott Wright, 34, was swimming at the south end of the beach when a small shark bit his arm, leaving him with deep gouges. Australia's Bondi beach is popular with tourists from all over the world as well as with revellers over Christmas and New Year holidays. It was the first shark attack at the beach in 70 years.

News from Reuters

The activists were detained by the crew of the Yushin Maru 2 when they scrambled on board to deliver a protest letter from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.