WEIRD NEWS

Headless German 
   
    A German court awarded a man 3,000 euros  ($4,100) after he lost the top half of his skull  because of faulty hospital equipment. The man’s  skull had to be replaced with plastic because  the cold storage where doctors placed the top  of his head during surgery turned out to be  defective. 
   
    Since the head was not kept cool enough by  the faulty fridge, it could not be reattached. The  man now has a plastic prosthetic skull.

    He sought compensation of 20,000 euros  on the grounds that the prosthesis gave him  headaches, adversely affected his balance and  made him extra-sensitive to the weather. 

    The court consulted experts who determined  that the operation was responsible for his current discomfort but not the loss of the top of  his skull. They determined the new skull was  better than the original and 3,000 euros was  sufficient compensation.     

Twins sue for mix-up

    Chinese twins mistakenly separated at birth  21 years ago have sued the hospital where they  were born after meeting each other for the first  time two years ago. The two believe the hospital  mixed them up, and genetic tests support their  suspicion. The men, who were raised as twin  brothers, have no blood relation to each other,  while the two strangers, who were reunited by  mutual friends struck by their resemblance,  were proven to be biological twins with 99.999  percent certainty. 
    The twins and their parents are demanding  1.16 million yuan ($154,000) in compensation  for the mix-up. The hospital said the claim is  “hypothetical” and that too much time has  passed since the twins’ birth.

Defective condoms recalled

    The department of health in South Africa  has recalled 20 million potentially defective  condoms. The condoms were approved by  an official accused of taking bribes from the  condom manufacturer. Unsafe sex is very risky  in South Africa, which has one of the highest HIV  infection rates in the world. It is estimated that  12 percent of its 47 million-person population  is infected with HIV. 
   
    Free condom distribution is a huge part of  the government’s effort to combat the spread of  the disease. A health department spokesperson  said the official has put millions of people at  risk by illegally OK-ing condoms that didn’t  meet quality assurance requirements, such as  strength, pressure and lubrication standards. 

    The government will no longer deal with  that particular condom company. The official  accused of taking the bribes, along with two  of the manufacturing company directors, was  arrested on charges of corruption and fraud. 

Fake identity claims a salary

    A French tax official created a fake identity as  a university professor to cheat the government  out of 600,000 euros ($820,000) by claiming a  salary for the past 15 years.

   Officials at the Education Ministry discovered  the official’s scam in June. They immediately  began pursuing legal and disciplinary action  against the tax official. 

    A spokesperson for the Ministry said he “desired action to be undertaken urgently to prevent  a recurrence of an abuse of this kind.”