UFO Over Southern Tablelands, NSW
dailytelegraph - A prospector who went to find gold in the hills thinks he may have found something better - evidence that aliens really do exist.
Adam Cainero believes he captured a photograph of an alien spacecraft hovering above an escarpment near Majors Creek, in the Southern Tablelands near Braidwood.
After an unsuccessful weekend fossicking for gold Mr Cainero and a friend were making the long trip home when he stopped to take a snap of the steep mountain they had driven down.
When he got home, Mr Cainero said he realised he had found gold of another kind after all.
"I just took a picture of the mountain range and the sun was in my eyes so I just kind of pointed and shot," Mr Cainero said. "Then we looked at the picture - we were, like, no way."
With its shape and its position in the sky, Mr Cainero said he immediately knew the black object was a UFO.
"We always see really weird things as we go out to places where there is no one around," he said.
There had been talk among fossickers about UFOs being in the area, he said. "A lot of people I know who go into the bush reckon they have seen one," Mr Cainero said.
Earlier this year The Daily Telegraph revealed the suburbs around Gosford, on the Central Coast, were the state's biggest hot spot when it came to UFO sightings, with dozens of cases reported every year. Each month people turn up to meetings to share their UFO experiences.
The region was the scene of one of Australia's most baffling UFO cases - a series of sightings in 1995 and 1996 - reported by police and many other credible witnesses.
Residents saw shiny UFOs hovering above water.
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Two Maids Jailed, to be Lashed 700 Times for Sorcery
emirates247 - A Saudi court gave heavy jail sentences to two Indonesian housemaids and ordered them lashed 700 times with a whip on charges of practising witchcraft to extort money from their employers, a local daily reported on Monday.
The two maids, aged 33 and 25 years, had used clothes and other personal items to cast a spell on the man and his family in Riyadh since they started working for him nearly three years ago, 'Alyoum' newspaper said.
The court in the Saudi capital was told that the two maids used their magic skills to control the family’s life and drain their employer’s financial resources.
“They also controlled his behaviour and the health of all family members…the family started to look feeble and pale and could not do anything to end their ordeal,” the paper quoted the man’s brother as saying.
“They succeeded in extorting much money from the family to send it to their families in Indonesia. They drained the family financially and physically.”
The paper reported the court sentenced the 33-year-old maid to five years in prison and 500 lashes and the other maid to two years in jail and 200 lashes. It also ordered their deportation after completing their jail terms.
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The Queen's Knickers Up For Auction
news.com.au - A pair of undergarments that reportedly belonged to the the Queen are set to go under the hammer in America.
The monogrammed item, reminiscent of shorts, reportedly came into the possession of a "famous Miami playboy named 'Baron' Joseph de Bicske Dobronyi" more than 40 years ago, celebrity website TMZ reported.
He received the garment from a friend after it was left on a private plane used when the queen visited Chile in 1968.
After Dobronyi's death in June, his estate began planning to auction off the royal garment which is expected to sell for $9000.
A pair of silk briefs that kept Napoleon Bonaparte warm during his exile on the South Atlantic island of Saint Helena was due to go on sale over the weekend for between €15,000 ($20,000) and €20,000.
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Plan for Creationist 'Ark' Park Draws Paleontologists' Ire
sciencemag - Kentucky scientists are slamming Governor Steve Beshear's (D) announcement yesterday that the state is partnering with Answers in Genesis (AIG), a creationism group, to create "Ark Encounter," a park related to Noah's Ark. Replete with what developers call a "full-scale" ark and models of dinosaurs, the $150 million amusement park in Grant County will be a follow-on to AIG's Creation Museum in Petersburg, which opened in 2007.
The governor says the for-profit developers behind the planned park will apply for tax breaks, which could provide up to $37.5 million in savings from the state. Governor Beshear says the park will create 900 jobs for the state. But Daniel Phelps, president of the Kentucky Paleontological Society in Lexington, says the park is "government entanglement with religion" and doesn't make the state attractive to scientists and technically minded individuals. "I don't envision people, especially those with science backgrounds, wanting to move to a state where the 'ark park' has government support," says Phelps, who works as an environmental geologist for the state.
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Moonlanding for Croatia in 2012
croatiantimes - Croatia is expected to make its mark on the Moon by the end of 2012 when Astronomical Society Vidulini from Istria plans to launch its space exploration vehicle - rover "Histrohod."
The robotic vehicle is the brainchild of Zeljko Mogorosa who has been working on its prototype for the past two years. "Histrohod" is expected to land at the same spot where Apollo 17 – the latest manned mission to the Moon – landed in 1972.
Through a group of mobile devices, "Histrohod" will send televised segments down to Earth.
"This is a big challenge for our society and we are extremely proud that our association and our small Istria will become a part of space exploration," said the Society’s president Marino Rumpic.
The cost of building "Histrohod" is estimated at 20,000 Euros and is expected to be covered by various donors from around the world.
The Astronomical Society Vidulini started the first Croatian space program (Astronautika) and forms part of the international team Synergy Moon which is participating in the "Google Lunar X Prize" contest.
