A BLACK couple in Britain are in shock at the birth of their new baby – who is white. Little Nmachi Ihegboro has amazed genetics experts who have ruled out that she is an albino, reports The Sun.

Blue-eyed blonde Nmachi, whose name means “beauty of God” in Nigeria – her parents’ homeland – has baffled genetics experts because neither her father, Ben, nor mother, Angela, have any mixed-race family history.

Pale genes skipping generations before cropping up again could have explained the baby’s appearance. Professor Bryan Sykes, head of Human Genetics at Oxford University and Britain’s leading expert, called the birth “extraordinary”.

He said some unknown mutation was the most likely explanation, admitting: “The rules of genetics are complex and we still don’t understand what happens in many cases.”


Firm stand on ‘killer jelly’

POLITICIANS in Japan are to look at firming up safety standards on a popular savoury jelly that has claimed the lives of at least 22 people.

The Japanese government is to set up a safety standards panel for the jelly, “konnyaku,” because of the number of people who choke to death on it each year, reports The Telegraph.

Made from the starch of Devil's Tongue, a subtropical plant, the pulp is turned into a grey jelly that is used in a range of dishes in the orient. Unfortunately, people can end up choking to death on it because of its elasticity.

It is reported that some 22 people have died in the last 16 years after eating konnyaku and 32 others needed treatment after having the jelly lodged in their throats.


Is it a bird, plane... or donkey

HOLIDAYMAKERS in southern Russia must have thought it was a mirage when they looked up from the beach to see a donkey parasailing over the surf.

Sunbathers were distressed at the sight of the flying donkey, which brayed in fear as it glided above the bay for half an hour, says AP.

Authorities in Russia have launched an animal cruelty probe into the stunt, which was captured on amateur video.

The footage shows men attaching a parasail harness to the trembling mule. Reports claim that it was a promotional stunt for a local leisure firm.

The people responsible could face two years in prison if they are charged and convicted of animal cruelty. Russia Today reported the donkey was shell-shocked but survived.


Dutch priest’s own goal

A Dutch priest has been suspended for dedicating a Mass to the Dutch national soccer team – while wearing an orange cloak – ahead of the nation’s crucial World Cup final tie against Spain.

Priest Paul Vlaar from Obdam prayed for team spirit for the national team, while worshippers, also dressed in orange clothes, were singing soccer songs in the church.

It was decorated with orange flags, reports Reuters. The Haarlem-Amsterdam diocese said that Vlaar “failed to do justice to the holiness of the celebration of the Eucharist.”

Bishop Jozef Marianus Punt has imposed a period of reflection on the priest with immediate effect. As the Dutch lost the match 1-0, it seems Vlaar’s prayers went unheard.


Loyalty pays off

A devoted Filipina maid has been left millions in the will of her employer.

The 47-year-old woman, known only as “Christine”, inherited six million Singapore dollars (worth four million US dollars) from her late employer after more than 20 years of service, reports AFP.

“I am the luckiest maid in Singapore, with or without the money,” said Christine.

The maid refused to be named in public for fear of possible threats to her life in the impoverished Philippines, where wealthy people have been kidnapped for ransom and some killed by their abductors.

The windfall, including cash and a luxury apartment near the Orchard Road shopping belt, came from the estate of her employer Quek Kai Miew, a medical doctor and philanthropist who died last year at 66. The maid had also taken care of the doctor’s late mother.


Whale rocks the boat

TWO sailors were enjoying a leisurely cruise on their boat when a 40-ton whale thought to join them. The enormous whale flipped into the air and crash-landed on their boat off Cape Town, reports The Telegraph. Ralph Mothes, 59, and Paloma Werner, 50, were helpless as the beast thrashed around on their 33ft vessel before slipping back into the water.

Miss Werner said: “It really was quite incredible but very scary. The whale was about the same size as the boat.

We’d spotted it about 100 metres away and thought that was the end of it. Then suddenly it was right up beside us.

I assumed it would go underneath the boat but instead it sprang out of the sea. We were very lucky to get through it, as the sheer weight of the thing was huge.

There were bits of skin and blubber left behind, and the mast was wrecked. It brought down the rigging too.

Thank goodness the hull was made of steel and not fibreglass or we could have been ruined.” Moments before the animal leapt it had pounded its tail on the surface of the water in a 'lob-tailing'

ritual to communicate with other whales.

The shaken couple, who are experienced seafarers with the Cape Town Sailing Academy, used their engine to get back to shore in Table Bay.

Whales are a common sight in the Atlantic Ocean off the Western Cape coast at this time of year as they come near the shore to breed.