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OSLO, NORWAY — Norway will spend $315 million building the world’s first ship tunnel in a bid to improve maritime safety and cut journey times. The 1,700-meter-long Stad Ship Tunnel will carve through the solid rock of the Stad peninsula in western Norway, allowing ships weighing up to 16,000 tons to pass between two fjords. The tunnel will allow cargo vessels and passenger ships to navigate more safely through the notoriously stormy Stadhavet Sea, according to a press release from the Norwegian Coastal Administration. The team behind the tunnel expects that five ships per hour will be able to pass through it. A traffic light system will be used to show when it’s safe to pass. Construction on the project will begin by 2019 at the earliest, with completion expected by 2023.

A babysitter in South Carolina is behind bars after a loyal dog alerted the parents of a little boy she was physically abusing. The unsuspecting parents of a 7-month-old hired 22-year-old Alexis Kahn to look after the youngster, but it wasn't long until she and the family pet, a black lab and German shepherd-mix called Killian developed an unfriendly relationship. Killian had become protective over the youngster and would growl and bark at the sight of the nanny. Taking notice, the boy's parent's became suspicious and at one point set an iPhone to record audio and planted the device under the couch. What they found was shocking. Kahn can be heard on the recording shouting expletives at the crying boy and even slapping sounds as the boy's cries changed from fright to pain."We just could not believe it," the boy's father Jordan, told local media, adding that he immediately took the baby to the hospital to be checked out. The police were alerted after hearing the recording and was sent to court where she pleaded guilty to assault and battery. She was sentenced a maximum three years in prison and her name was placed on a registry for child abusers, meaning that she will never work with children again.

HARBIN, CHINA — Xiao Cui is an 18-year-old high school student from Harbin, China, but you probably won’t believe that, it’s all due to his mysterious skin condition. According to China’s People’s Daily, Xiao Cui first noticed the symptoms when he was in middle school, and his face has been getting saggier ever since, making him look a lifetime older than he really is. Doctors in China still have yet to figure out Xiao Cui’s condition, let alone finding a way to cure him. The 18-year-old student said he has no option but to accept his condition and just try to look on the bright side of life. Luckily, Xiao Cui’s condition does not give negative effects on his health. Xiao Cui isn’t the only person who’s suffering from his condition, Hu Juan, a 28 year old woman who looks like an grandma was diagnosed with an extremely rare connective tissue disorder known as Cutis Laxa, it’s a group of rare connective tissue disorders in which the skin becomes inelastic and hangs loosely in folds. Also there was 30 year old Yuan Taiping, whose sagging skin made him look at least five decades older. Xiao Cui said people sometimes poke fun at his looks and he admits he does get upset from that but he still tries to stay positive, especially having supports from his friends and family, even his teacher rates him highly. Now Xiao Cui is currently studying hard to pass his exams and hopefully get accepted at Beijing University or Tsinghua University, two of the most prestigious learning institutions in China.

CAROLINE COUNTY, VIRGINIA — A Nubian princess faces potential charges for a traditional offense compounded by an element of bias after she pulled out hammer on a pasty caveman and used it on his Porsche and boat at a gas station in Virginia. The incident occurred on the morning of April 1 at an Exxon gas station off Interstate 95 in Caroline County. The man, identified by police only as “Bob,” was putting gas in his Porsche when he noticed a woman was yelling at him, WTVR reported. The woman, later identified as 26-year-old Angela M. Jones of Newark, New Jersey, got in Bob’s face and told him she was “sick of fancy [people of European origin].” When Bob tried to ignore her, she started going at his boat and Porsche with a hammer. She then knocked Bob upside the head several times as he tried to stop her. The hammer broke during the ordeal. When Bob’s wife returned from the bathroom, Jones insulted her for her race and class before ejecting saliva toward in her face. In an interview with WTVR, Bob says he has no idea why Jones went after him and his wife, but he guesses she thought they were rich. New Jersey State Police were able to identify Jones after a witness took a photo of her vehicle. She is wanted in Virginia on charges that we can’t list here because they may alert a bot.

A prematurely born baby was rescued by a dog in Thailand after the canine found her inside a plastic bag at a dump site in Thailand. The dog, named Pui, brought the bag back to his owner’s house where the child was rushed to hospital and treated. Thailand media reports say the child, who weighed 2.2 kg, was most likely prematurely born at seven and a half months. Doctors say she is now in stable condition. Officials are appealing to residents in the community to help find her mother. Pui received a leather collar and medal from the local Red Cross chapter as a token of appreciation. Pui’s owner also received 10,000 baht for the dog’s heroic deed.

An angry Delta Air Lines passenger during a flight from New York to Palm Beach, Florida on Monday is just the latest person to cause enough of a commotion over reclining seats to successfully ground a commercial plane. The passenger, identified as Amy Caryn Fine, was reportedly attempting to sleep on her lowered tray table when a woman who was knitting in front of her tried to recline her seat back. Despite no reported injuries the 32-year-old began screaming and cursing and demanded the plane land immediately. The aircraft was diverted to Jacksonville, and upon landing Fine was escorted off by police. The incident represents the third time a plane was forced to land because of an argument over reclining seats in just nine days.

Here’s a quiz: Who gets preference, the passenger who wants to recline or the passenger who wants to use his laptop? Answer: Neither, get off my plane! A United Airlines flight from Newark to Denver was diverted after two passengers got in a fight over reclining seats. A man in the middle of the 12th row on United Flight 1462 used this device, called the Knee Defender, to prevent the woman in front of him from reclining. The man wanted to use his laptop, which would have been difficult if the woman reclined. But with Knee Defender, you just lower your tray table, then place the tiny plastic chocks on the arms. Now you can use your laptop in peace and even recline while you do so, if you wish. A flight attendant asked the man to remove the device, but he refused. They couldn’t decide who was more entitled, him to use his laptop? Or her to recline her seat? Especially since both had paid for Economy Plus seating, meaning they already had 4 more inches of legroom than the other sardines packed into coach. The flight was diverted to Chicago after the woman threw a cup of water in the man’s face. Then they were both kicked off the flight and the plane continued to Denver without them. The FAA has not banned the Knee Defender because it doesn’t pose a specific safety risk, but it might change its tune after one angry passenger makes the flyer one row back swallow them whole. What’s your take? Who was in the right?

STANLEY, UK — A mom and her 7-month-old son were forced out of their home in England for three days after a cluster of spiders burst out of bananas from a local supermarket. According to Metro, Gemma Price, 30, from Stanley in County Durham, picked a banana off from the bunch she bought from an Asda store on Monday. As Gemma peeled the skin off, a white egg sac — which she had not noticed before — broke, and a bunch of baby spiders started crawling down her hands and pyjamas.Price called Britain’s emergency number 999 and was told to evacuate immediately. She and her son moved to her mother’s home across the road. When Price called Asda’s Stanley branch, the store manager asked her to bring the spiders and banana to customer service for a refund. Price contacted the head office the next day. But they only told her to shake the spiders off of her son’s clothes and offered her a £50 voucher. Pest control specialists sprayed the property thoroughly. Three days later, Price and her son were allowed back into their home. Pest control later confirmed that the spiders were Brazilian wandering spiders, whose venom can kill an adult in two hours. Male patients often develop painful erections as they die an agonizing death. Asda said their bananas are washed, sprayed and manually checked for quality and stowaways before being transported to the UK. As incidents like this are rare, they understand how upset Price is, and they are in contact with her to find a resolution.An Asda spokesperson reassured customers that the chance of finding a spider in their bananas is low. It’s even less likely that a tropical spider could survive outside of its warm climate, Asada said.

’MURICA — Cockroaches can be found in sewers, walls, beds, floors, cereal and all sorts of nooks and crannies, but going by a recent video from electronic repair experts Tronics-Fix, they also nest inside Playstation 4s. The problem for gamers is that it causes the machine to malfunction. According to Gizmodo, who spoke to several repairmen about the problem, the problem is widespread. The PS4 is apparently the choice accommodation as its vents are ideally located for the bugs to come and go as they please. The machine’s power supply is also apparently warm enough to keep the bugs feeling toasty. The pests do eventually get zapped by the inner workings of Sony’s console, but then their corpses and poop melt into the hardware. What’s worse is that Sony reportedly won’t repair bug-ridden PS4s, but several independent repairmen, like Tronics Fix will.

A 23-year-old German man pushes the boundaries of body art with cheek holes and forked tongue. Known as Bodymoded Punky on social media, Joel Miggler has been dabbling in the practice of body modification for a decade. He started experimenting with body modification by stretching his lobe at the age of 13. Miggler has undergone 25 piercings of all shapes and sizes and has a multitude of tattoos. Probably the most bizarre features are his enormous cheek holes — one on each side of his face. And he wants to make them even bigger, from current 36mm wide to 40mm in the future. With plugs to close the cheek holes, eating and drinking doesn't seem to be a problem . The grotesque-look man has a girlfriend who is also into body modification. People’s reactions to his appearance are not always positive, but he doesn’t care those offensive comments. With the addiction to body art, he has no plans to stop anytime soon.

An Ohio boy punched his grandmother in the face in the middle of a Roses department store after she refused to buy him a toy, according to a report by the Smoking Gun. It's no secret that young children can often be difficult to handle when you take them out shopping during the holidays. Barbara Weeks, however, got more than she bargained for when her 11-year-old grandson did more than just cause a scene when she didn't buy him a toy he demanded. The boy really wanted what was no doubt the hot toy of the season, but his 60-year-old grandmother refused to buy it for him. The kid didn't take it too well, but instead of kicking and screaming like most children, he decided to take matters into his own hands, quite literally. He punched his poor grannie right in the face. When he attempted to land a second blow, his grandmother fled as quickly as she could. The unidentified minor was booked into juvie and charged with domestic violence.

Some 80 people were publicly executed for minor crimes on November 3 in seven cities in North Korea, according to South Korean media, in the first known large-scale public executions carried out under the Kim Jong-un regime. According to JoongAng Daily, about 10 people each were killed in seven cities, including Wonsan in Kangwon Province, Chongjin in North Hamgyong Province, Sariwon in North Hwanghae Province and Pyongsong in South Pyongan. They were executed for such transgressions as watching or illegally trafficking South Korean videos, being involved in prostitution or distributing pornography, or for being in possession of a Bible. JoongAng Daily reported that eight people, their heads covered with white bags, were tied to stakes at the Shinpoong Stadium in Wonsan where they were executed with machine guns. Some 10,000 people including women and children were gathered by authorities and forced them to watch the execution. Accomplices and relatives of those executed were reportedly sent to prison camps.

PYONGYANG — Living the life of an absolute dictator can be rough on the waistline, just ask North Korean Dear Leader Kim Jong Un. Kim has been packing on so many pounds that even China has taken notice, with Chinese netizens dubbing him Kim Fatty III. Other popular nicknames for the lumpy leader are Kim Fatty Fat and Kim Abundant III. North Korean officials have asked China to stop with the name calling before heads start to roll. China appears to have obliged. Searches for terms like Kim Fatty III (金三胖) and Kim Fatty Fat (金胖胖) turn up no results on Chinese search engines. Apparently, the tons of fun tyrant has ballooned from binge-eating and drinking to help deal with fears of assassination and his insomnia. It probably also doesn’t help that the double-chinned dictator consumes massive amounts of Swiss cheese. In the past there have been rumors that the plus-sized despot suffers from gout, and he has been seen walking with a cane — even though he’s only 32 years old. Kim has even reportedly asked scientists to develop a weight loss pill that works without diet or exercise. In the meantime, leave Kim and his rolls alone.

A Washington Examiner commentary suggests that the U.S. would likely deploy large groups of its navy and air force to Japan, Okinawa and Guam. A Stratfor analyst told Business Insider that they they’d also possibly maneuver submarines and ships closer to the North and target nuclear facilities through airstrikes.Helicopter-deployed buoys would listen for North Korean submarines, which could be destroyed by more advanced American underwater craft. Experts also reckon that the U.S. would not invade, but rather defend South Korea as the North Korean army charges the border. This scenario would also see U.S. special forces parachuting into strategic locations around Pyongyang for surgical strikes. If, in the extremely unlikely scenario — North Korea hits Guam or another U.S. territory or ally — with a nuclear strike, the U.S. has the option to respond via land, sea or air. Most agree that the resulting American retaliation would lay waste to Pyongyang and kill thousands, if not millions.

Florida police arrested Miley Cyrus look-alike Justin Bieber early on Thursday on drag racing and DUI charges. The 19-year-old was reportedly also busted for driving with an expired license and resisting arrest.After paying a visit to a Miami Beach club, Beiber, who is also a popular singer among teenage girls and their middle-aged moms, hit the streets to drag race with R&B singer Khalil. Speeding down a residential street, the singer hit blistering speeds of up to 60 mph before being arrested by police. Miami Beach police said the 19-year-old singer admitted during his arrest he had been drinking, smoking dope and popping antidepressants. His blood alcohol level was .04, well above the legal limit of .02 for someone driving under the age of 21.The singer spent the night in a Miami Beach holding cell and was "crying his eyes out," according to a New York Daily News report. He posted bail Thursday afternoon and was greeted by throngs of fans as he left the courthouse.We wonder, though, will the singer be able to capitalize on his newfound street cred. How will Beliebers react?

CLEVELAND — Justin Bieber got into a little scuffle after 11 p.m. Wednesday after Game 3 of the NBA Finals in a 13-second video obtained by TMZ. The footage starts out with Biebs, who looks like he’s wearing a Cavs shirt, and his entourage out in front of his hotel. The Canadian singer is face-to-face with a guy, who appears to throw a light right hand to the side of Justin’s head. Well...Canadians won’t stand for that type of abuse, so Bieber unleashes everything he’s got and punches the guy back with all his might. Unfortunately for Biebs, his punch only causes the guy to get angry. The man throws Bieber down to the ground without breaking a sweat. The guy recording the video can be heard at the end of the clip saying, “Oh s**t, I’m going to be on TMZ.” No doubt Bieber’s security stepped in afterwards to save him from a severe beatdown.

OKINAWA, JAPAN — Japanese researchers have come with special technology that can not only capture energy from waves, but also help protect coastlines. According to the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, a team led by Professor Tsumoru Shintake plans to set up energy-harvesting turbines near tetrapods, which are concrete structures placed along the shore to weaken the force of incoming waves and prevent erosion. The turbine has five flexible blades modelled after dolphin fins. It’s supported by a stem that’s anchored to the sea floor with mooring cables, which, like the blades, is flexible and can bend under pressure. Inside the turbine head is a magnet electric generator, which transforms wave energy into electricity. The electricity is sent back to the shore via cables, to feed into the grid. Using turbines on just 1% of Japan’s coastline can generate roughly 10 gigawatts of energy, equivalent to about 10 nuclear power plants. Apart from tetrapods, the turbines can also harness electricity near coral reefs. They’re built to be safe for marine life, with blade speed carefully calibrated so that any animals caught in them can escape unharmed. The team is currently preparing to install two half-scale model turbines that will power LEDs as part of a commercial demonstration.

A man named Wang from Shanghai overstayed his visa in the US and asked his 6-year-old daughter to draw on his passport, over the date of his overstayed visa. Perhaps it was because he’d heard of this other story where a man’s 4-year-old son doodled on his dad’s passport and got him stuck in Korea. Initially Wang insisted that the passport, which now sported a collection of flowers, clouds, and a variety of fruit, was taken by his daughter and used as drawing paper unbeknownst to him. However, officials didn’t believe him and under pressure Wang finally confessed that he’d asked his daughter to do him a favor and add all the decorations. Hopefully, his daughter still had fun.

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND — After reexamining old satellite data, scientists may have discovered ice around Mars’ equator. A team from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory analyzed data from 2002 to 2009 by Mars Odyssey’s Neutron Spectrometer (MONS), Science News reported. The neutron spectrometer can’t directly detect water, but by measuring neutrons, it can detect hydrogen signature, which could mark the presence of water or other hydrogen-bearing substances, according to Space.com. Researchers discovered an unexpected amount of hydrogen around the equator by reducing the blurring or “noise” in data using image-reconstruction techniques used for other spacecraft and for medicine, Space.com reported. This improved the spatial resolution of the images to 180 miles (290 km), from the previous resolution of 320 miles (520 km). More research needs to be done to determine if the signature is actual that from water ice. Having water on Mars could mean that future human missions wouldn’t need to bring water with them for drinking, cooling equipment or watering plants, thus reducing the number of resources needed for transport.

NEW ZEALAND — A New Zealand man of East Asian-descent found himself having trouble renewing his passport on the government’s online website for a strange reason – it could not detect his eyes. Aerospace Engineering student and DJ Richard Lee was born in Taiwan, but raised in New Zealand. A citizen of New Zealand, when it came time to renew his passport on December 6, he had some trouble with the government’s online portal. Lee’s standard passport photos looked appear fine, but when he tried to upload them onto the New Zealand government website, the site rejected his application. Lee attempted to submit the photos two more times, but again and again, the automated system responded with “Subject eyes are closed.” When Lee contacted Internal Affairs to find out what the real reason was, he was told “uneven lighting on the face” caused his photo to be rejected. Finding humor in the failures of the system’s facial recognition technology, Lee used a Snapchat filter to add some absurdity to point out the website’s gaffe. After retaking his photos soon after, his new shots were accepted, and his passport finally renewed.

THAILAND — A British national says she was denied entry into Thailand last month after making what's probably the dumbest passport-related mistake we've ever heard of. Faye Wilson had been attempting to make her way to the south-east Asian nation from Australia, but was stopped by immigration officials who were curious as to why her passport was missing several pages. The embarrassed 28-year-old hairdresser was refused entry into the country after lying to Thai authorities, telling them she'd "lost" the pages, according to a Daily Mirror report. The real answer: she'd ripped them out herself to use the pages as toilet paper.Wilson says that during a drunken night out a few years back, she found herself lacking the stuff so she reached for the only paper she had at the time, that is, the paper attached to her passport. Ripping out two or three may have saved her from undue embarrassment that night, but it caused some serious problems down the road. Thai immigration officials sent her packing back to the UK via Dubai, presumably at some serious expense. The 28-year-old was eventually able to make her way back to Thailand to reunite with the friend she'd abruptly left behind, but she's no doubt learned one serious lesson.

PESCADERO, CALIFORNIA — Officials in San Mateo County, California are advising local residents to be wary of mountain lions after one of the big cats ran off with a small family dog. According to local media KTVU, Pescadero homeowner Victoria Fought said the incident occurred early Monday morning as she slept with her daughter Catalina and their dog, Lenora, a 15-pound Portuguese Podengo ex-rescue dog. Fought had left her French doors slightly ajar to let in some fresh air. The mountain lion walked in around 3 a.m., and Fought woke up as Lenora barked aggressively. She saw the shadow of an animal enter the room and take Lenora from the bed. Fought’s daughter said she knew something was not right as Lenora let out a bark she had never heard before, but she kept her eyes closed. Police and California Fish and Wildlife officials confirmed that paw prints near the Fought’s house were those of a mountain lion. Blood stains from Lenora were found on the doorstep.

LAS VEGAS — Hyperloop One announced last week that it plans to execute a full test within the next three months at Apex Industrial Park in Las Vegas, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The test run will cover 500 linear meters, said Nick Earle, the company’s senior vice president of global field operations. “It will levitate, catch the right speed and slow down,” Earle said. “Then what we’ll do, is over the next few months extend that into a few kilometers,” he said. In May 2016, the company successfully tested its levitating electromagnetic motor on an open air sled, reaching speeds of 116 mph, according to Wired. Earle also told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the company is planning to have a full Hyperloop system ready to transport freight by 2020. The hyperloop is based on the idea by Elon Musk of levitating pods that would travel in near-vacuum tubes at speeds of over 700 mph, powered by an electric propulsion system, according to Wired. According to Musk’s calculations, a hyperloop trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles would take only 36 minutes, Wired reported.

A Vietnamese tourist who tried to buy a phone for his girlfriend while visiting Singapore as a tourist got trapped in a scam run by an unscrupulous cell phone shop owner that has tarnished Singapore’s “clean” reputation.The scam works like this: The customer, usually a tourist, buys a phone for a reasonable price. Then the shop has the customer sign an “agreement,” usually in English. Finally, after the victim’s credit card has been swiped, the victim notices there’s an extra S$1,500 charge, which is explained as the cost of the “warranty.”When the customer complains, the shop owner goes gangster and threatens him or her by saying “You signed this. You are on camera as having signed it. No refunds, lah!” Pham Van Thoai, a Vietnamese tourist who had this scam pulled on him, is a factory worker who said he makes just US$200 a month. Pham, 28, became so distraught he broke down in tears and actually got down on his knees and begged the shop to refund his purchase. The owner mocked him in a scene caught on video. The sad video of the tourist begging went viral, prompting Singaporeans to raise funds to cover the man’s losses.What’s more, the name and address of the unscrupulous salesman — a Mr. Jover Chow who lives on Henderson Road — was posted on the web alongside some less-than-flattering pics of the scammer. The Singapore Straits Times reported that, as of 9 a.m. on Thursday, Singaporeans had raised S$12,938 (US$10,000) for Pham, and that Pham has refused to accept the money. “I lost US$550. So I will accept only US$550 donated by kind people. Nothing more. I’m grateful for all your kindness but I do not want to take more than what I’ve lost,” he told the Chinese-language Lianhe Zaobao newspaper.

INNISFAIL, AUSTRALIA — An Australian teen keen on a pretty British backpacker almost lost his arm, and his life, trying to get her to go out with him. On March 19, Lee De Paauw, 18, was doing his best to charm Sophie Paterson, 24, a woman he’d just met. After drinking 10 cups of boxed wine by the Johnstone River, he told the girl that backpackers were more likely to get attacked by crocs than Australians. Calling him out, Paterson dared De Paauw to prove it. The young man then foolishly dove into the water, and almost instantly, his arm was between the powerful jaws of a saltwater crocodile. Sinking its teeth into his left arm, the 3.5 meter-long crocodile pulled De Paauw six meters out, preparing to deliver a fatal death roll. His adrenaline surging and thinking he was a goner, De Paauw instinctively punched the reptile in the snout, and then gouged it the eye, a move that forced the croc to release its grip. With his arm fractured and useless, De Paauw then used his good arm to get to shore, miraculously surviving the attack. De Paauw suffered two broken bones and two nasty gashes in his left arm, but after undergoing surgery, doctors were able to save it. The cocky teen also managed to secure a movie date with the blonde backpacker he so desperately wanted to impress. Meanwhile, a trap has been set to catch and remove the crocodile from the area. In an interview with Channel 9 News, De Paauw said “I don’t want the crocodile harmed. I want it to live a happy life.”