Funny old world: the week's offbeat news

Chihuahua to the rescue
A chihuahua saved a hiker who fell eight metres (26 feet) into a glacier crevasse high in the Swiss Alps.

The lapdog's "extraordinary" heroics surely saved his master, the Air Zermatt rescue service said, refusing to leave the spot where the man disappeared into the crevasse, leading rescuers straight to him.

While the man was able to call for help with a walkie-talkie, rescuers struggled to locate him.

"The glacier surface was wide and the hole was barely visible," they said.

But then they spotted the tiny shivering Chihuahua perched on a rock, refusing to budge.

"Thanks to the dog's behaviour, the crew was able to abseil down to the casualty and save him."
Doggone luxury
In the past, stricken alpinists could count on a sup of warming brandy from a St. Bernard dog. But these days, the gentle giants are more likely to be getting a massage, a manicure or a spot of hydrotherapy at the new Barryland theme park over the mountains at Martigny, where Switzerland's national dog is a major tourist attraction.

Helicopters have now taken over their mountain rescue role, allowing the St. Bernards to enjoy their retirement as pampered pensioners or care dogs.
Leaping mad
This involves crossing canals by clambering up a 12-metre (40-foot) pole -- roughly the height of a four-storey building -- so you can land (or be catapulted) to the other side. The uniquely Dutch sport combines pole-vaulting, long jump and, when misjudged, some unplanned swimming in the soup.

Farmer and fierljeppen world record holder Jacob de Groot told AFP that the sport may not have caught on elsewhere because "in the rest of the world there are not so many canals and also maybe the people are not so crazy".
Centre Court steal
Polish tennis ace Iga Swiatek powered through the women's singles at Wimbledon, bagging as many of the tournament's trademark towels as she could carry.

"No one talks about it, but we love your towels," she admitted after dispatching Russian Polina Kudermetova on Monday.

"Every time I come back 10 members of my family want the towels. Sorry Wimbledon, I am not sure if I'm allowed."

But the 24-year-old makes sure to keep some for herself. "I have lots at home. If I play on the circuit for another 15 years, I will have to build another room to keep them in," she laughed.