The picture perfect storm

Photographs capture the terrifying beauty of clouds gathering over Greenland

Giant 'woodlice' take up residence in Britain

These frightening creatures may look like enormous woodlice, but are actually ancient Isopods that live deep under the waves.

The spooky one foot long Giant Isopods live up to 6,000ft down on the seabed where there is no light.

They survive in the pitch black and cold they survive by feasting on dead and decaying fish and other marine animals.


Isopods have been unchanged for 160 million years and now they are to go on display in the UK for the first time.

Experts at the UK's Sea Life Centre parks organised for nine of them to be transported from the US where they had been caught in lobster nets in the Atlantic.

Each scary-looking creature was individually wrapped in wet hessian and newspaper before being packed into a box of ice.

They were flown thousands of miles to London before being transported by truck to the Sea Life Centre in Weymouth, Dorset.

The nine Isopods - Bathynonomous giganteus in Latin - will spend time in quarantine before going on display in large dark tanks in Blackpool.

Special reflective glass will give the giant creepy crawlies the feeling they are deep at the bottom of the sea, while still allowing spectators to peer in.

Chris Brown, a marine biologist who is looking after the Isopods in Weymouth, said they had adjusted well to their new environment.

He said: "Isopods live on the seabed at great depths. There are lots of them down at the bottom of the sea but because of the depths they live at, they rarely turn up in fishing nets or lobster pots.

"At the moment they are being kept in a large quarantine tank in a shaded and dark corner at the Sea Life Centre in Weymouth.

"The tank has special coolers that keeps the water at a chilly 4C. After quarantine they will be taken to the Sea Life Centre in Blackpool."

The creatures are crustaceans related to the shrimp and crabs.

Pictured: The extraordinary moment a shoal of fish 'attacked' duck who came pecking around

This duck ran out of luck when he attempted to have a peck at a shoal of fish.

Because while a single carp may be no match for a duck, in this case safety in numbers saw the bird's attack foiled as the fish surrounded him.

The extraordinary pictures were taken in a park lake in Changsa, Hunan Province, China, yesterday.

Reports suggest the duck started to attack the fish first, before becoming overwhelmed as the army of supporters swam in for back up to launch the counter-attack.

It didn't take long before the duck fled the scene after conceding defeat.

Artist makes a splash at the United Nations... using 100 tons of paint

United Nations diplomats searching for bright ideas will soon be able to look to the ceiling for inspiration.

Spanish artist Miquel Barcelo has just completed a mammoth redecorating job - using 100 tons of paint - at its European headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

The 51-year-old artist has spent more than a year painting the chamber's 1,500 sq m domed ceiling and described the results as like watching 'the sea's surface above your head'.

Known as Room XX, the chamber will house the United Nations Human Rights Council after it is officially unveiled next week.

The eye-catching project is the first initiative of the newly formed Fundacion ONUART, an organisation dedicated to using Spanish contemporary art to the ends of diplomacy.

The redecorated chamber will become the UN's most modern negotiating room, using the latest materials and technology in audiovisual resources, conference services, interpretation systems, information technology and telecommunications.

Police officers facing jail after being caught on video 'kicking and throwing' their pet dogs

Two police officers are facing jail after they were caught violently kicking and throwing their pet dogs around their backyard.

Anja Mason and Craig Macleod were filmed by a concerned neighbour, who watched Tess, a collie pup, and Snoopy, a rottweiler, being abused at their house in Prestatyn.

Both officers have since been removed from front-line duties.

The pair watched in court as the video of the abuse was shown. Glenn Murphy, prosecuting for the RSPCA, said the DVD showed the dogs being kicked and hit.
Mr Murphy said Tess, who was just 14 weeks old at the time, was picked up by the scruff of her neck by Macleod, which was both excessive and unnecessary.

An RSPCA inspector had been unable to find evidence of abuse but told the neighbour that if she was prepared to do something about it, they may be able to take action.

She then took several hours of footage on her camera. In April the dogs had been seized by the RSPCA and they were now happily re-homed.
A vet who viewed the footage said in a report that it was not necessary to use violence as a training regime.

Mason, 29, and Macleod, 34, pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a collie, and Macleod alone to a Rottweiler.

Defence solicitor Joanne Stephens said neither Tess nor Snoopy was injured and a report described them as "lovely, happy dogs" with no ill effects.

'The dogs were fed and watered regularly and they were concerned for their welfare,' she said. They were exercised on a regular basis.'
She said Mason had suffered health problems after an operation and Macleod had been a little concerned that Snoopy had been "over-zealous" when his eight-year-old daughter called.

When he picked Tess up by the scruff of the neck he said he was trying to teach her not to chew something on which she could have choked.

Miss Stephens said Macleod had been told by a dog handler that squirting water at a dog was a deterrent. However, the solicitor said both defendants were remorseful "and ashamed of what the dogs were put through."

She added : 'They would accept on occasions being heavy handed, there was no intention to cause any pain to the animals. Both stand to lose their jobs as a result of their criminal conviction.'

Court chairman Wendy Gibbs said all sentencing options would remain open, including custody and a high-level community penalty. There were several instances of deliberate ill-treatment and frightening of both dogs.

'You caused pain and suffering and mental terror to both dogs, you risked injury to both dogs by kicking,' she told them.

Later a North Wales police spokeswoman said: 'Following today's appearance, both officers have been removed from front line duties and placed in non operational roles pending the result of the case.

'As matters have not yet been finalised in court, it would be wholly inappropriate to make further comment at present.'

Magistrates at Denbigh in North Wales adjourned the case until November 25 for a pre-sentence report.

Pictured: The incredible Siamese twin fish conjoined at the stomach

It is so incredibly rare that you would think Siamese twin fish attached at the stomach would never survive.

But at eight months old, these two Nile Tilapia fish in Thailand have found the perfect way to cope with life upside down... or the right way up if you're the lucky twin.

The bigger fish protects its smaller sibling on the bottom, while it in turn looks for food.

The Nile Tilapia fish is a common freshwater species found in tropical rivers, canals, lakes and ponds but these two were found in a Bangkok aquarium.

The fish can reaches a maximum of 2ft in length and can weigh up to 9lb.

Originally from waters stretching from Africa to the Cape Horn, the fish was introduced to freshwater irrigation systems so as to fight algae growth but has now become a pest.

Behind shrimp and salmon Nile Tilapia is the third most imported fish to the U.S.

It is not the first time Siamese twins have been discovered in the animal kingdom.

In July, a pair of barn swallows conjoined at the hip by skin and muscle tissue, were found in Arkansas.

The Arkansas Game & Fish Commission said it was a 'one in a million - probably more than that - occurrence'.

When discovered by officials the birds were not eating, and one died, while a veterinarian later put the other down.

Experts say finding conjoined birds is rare because they likely die before being discovered.

They believe the birds came from a double yolk egg.

The punk rock turtle with a bright green mohawk

He may be an endangered species, but this turtle clearly has attitude.

The punk rock-loving Mary River Turtle was photographed in the Mary River near Kenilworth, Australia sporting a fetching bright green mohawk.

But the attractive specimen, who has one blue eye, wasn't making a political protest - his green hairdo is just algae growing on his head.


The Mary River Turtle has become a popular figure with environmentalists who say the endangered creature is being further threatened by Queensland State Government's plans to build a dam on the river.

It is one of the more unusual species of turtles as it breathes through lung-like structures in its tail and needs shallow water to survive.

The hairsute creature was captured by amateur photographer Chris Van Wyk as it quietly waded in the shallows.