Painting sow Pigcasso hogs limelight at SA farm

South Africa: Brandishing a paintbrush in her snout, Pigcasso enthusiastically tosses her head to create bright, bold strokes across a canvas propped up in her sty. The sow was rescued from an abattoir as a piglet and brought to an animal sanctuary in Franschhoek, in South Africa’s Western Cape region in 2016, where her new owners noticed her love of colour and paint brushes. Her paintings can sell for almost $4,000, with the proceeds going to animal welfare. She has even had one of her artworks turned into a watch face for Swiss watchmaker Swatch. Reuters

Mother forgets baby at airport, flight returns

London: A Saudi Arabian Airlines flight had to make a last minute turnaround because a passenger forgot her baby behind at the airport. The flight to Kuala Lumpur returned to its gate at the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, after the panicked woman alerted the cabin crew that she forgot to bring her child on board. It is unclear whether the plane was already in air or if the flight had not yet taken off. IANS

UK’s ‘black hole’ coin in honour of Hawking

London: The UK’s Royal Mint on Tuesday unveiled a new commemorative 50 pence coin inspired by the late legendary British physicist  Stephen Hawking’s seminal work on black holes. Hawking, one of the world’s best-known theoretical physicists who died aged 76 last year, joins the ranks of scientists such Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin to have a commemorative coin in honour of one of his greatest discoveries that black holes should not be all black. PTI