The hearts of three female gorillas at London Zoo were set racing when they were shown a picture of their new foreign lover.
The three singletons got a sneak preview of the 12-year-old stud Yeboah, who will be joining them this autumn from La Boissiere Du Dore zoo in western France.
Mjukuu, 10, Effie, 16, and Zaire, 34, have lacked male attention since the death of silverback Bobby in December.
Staff at the zoo offered the animals a tantalising glimpse of his hulking 20-stone replacement to see if they would make an association between the face in the picture and Yeboah's face when he arrives.
Tracey Lee, team leader of the zoo's mammal south department, said: "It would be nice to think they'll recognise him. I wouldn't be surprised if the penny drops when he arrives."
Staff at the French zoo are also showing German-born Yeboah pictures of the females so that he can get to know their faces too.
It is hoped that Mjukuu, the biggest flirt of the trio, will get pregnant very quickly. (PA)
Combating crime by 'lonely' elderly
Tokyo police will try to rein in a wave of shoplifting by lonely elderly people by involving them in community service, a police spokesman said yesterday.
One out of four elderly shoplifters in the capital blamed their crime on loneliness, Japanese media quoted a police survey as saying. Another eight per cent said it was because they had "no reason to live".
More than half the elderly shoplifters said they had no friends and 40 per cent of them lived alone, media said.
Elderly shoplifting cases in Tokyo reached all-time highs last year, nearly catching up with the number of cases involving young offenders. (Reuters)
No Muslims at Black Eyed Peas concert
Muslims in Malaysia have been barred from attending a concert by US hip hop band the Black Eyed Peas sponsored by Guinness which is owned by the world's biggest spirits group Diageo.
The move comes after a Malaysian Islamic court sentenced a 32-year Muslim woman to be caned after she was caught drinking beer in a hotel and at a time when an opposition Islamic party has moved against beer sales.
The concert, part of celebrations of Guinness 250th birthday, asks on its website (www.arthursday.com.my) "Are you a non-Muslim aged 18 years and above?" and if the response is no, access is not allowed.
Muslims account for 55 per cent of the 27 million people in this Southeast Asian country and are barred from consuming alcohol although the rules are regularly flouted, especially in big cities like the capital, Kuala Lumpur. (Reuters)
US space shuttle launch delayed again
Nasa postponed shuttle Discovery's resupply mission to the International Space Station for a third time yesterday to review tests of a potentially faulty valve in the ship's fuel tank.
Launch of Nasa's 128th shuttle mission was rescheduled for 11.59 p.m. EDT today (0359 GMT tomorrow).
The agency had been hoping to fly at 0.22 a.m. EDT (0422 GMT) today but managers delayed the launch to allow more time to assess information collected during tests of the suspect valve.
Launch times are determined by when the space station flies over the shuttle's launch site at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, which happens about once every 24 hours.
"Shuttle teams decided they need more time to evaluate data before pressing toward launch," Nasa said on its Twitter text-messaging service. (Reuters)
Madonna booed by crowds
Pop star Madonna was booed by thousands of fans when she spoke against discrimination of gypsies in Eastern Europe during a Romanian concert. Madonna said it made her "sad" and nobody should be discriminated against.
Thousands in the crowd of 60,000 booed her. She did not react.
Gypsy musicians and a dancer featured in her show, held just metres from the giant palace of ex-communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. Their performance was applauded by the crowd.
There are officially some 500,000 gypsies, or Roma, in Romania, but the real number could be around two million. They face prejudice and discrimination there and in other East European countries. (PA)