■ United Kingdom
Schoolboys take Viagra
Six British schoolboys were taken to hospital after taking the anti-impotence drug Viagra in their lunch-break, school heads said Wednesday. One of the pupils, all aged between 12 and 13, is believed to have brought the Viagra tablets into an all-boys school in Winnersh, west of London, and handed them around to five of his friends. The school called paramedics to the scene when they heard about the incident which happened last Tuesday and the boys were taken to the nearby Royal Berkshire Hospital. "All six have subsequently been discharged and are not expected to suffer any ill-effects," said a spokeswoman from the local education authority. "All of the tablets have been accounted for. The school has a strict no drugs policy and a pupil will be temporarily excluded for actions which placed other pupils at risk," the spokeswoman said.
■ United Kingdom
Llamas protect owner
Ambulance crews called to the aid of a 72-year-old farmer who injured himself after tripping over a rabbit hole were left powerless to help him Wednesday after his herd of stubborn llamas leapt to his defense. Graham Bailey, who farms four South American llamas, called Milo, Bertie, Horatio and Felix, fell in a field on his farm near Kettering, north England, and was stranded for two hours before a passer-by heard his screams. Attempts to rescue the stricken pensioner were scuppered when the head llama led the animals in a circle and began dancing around to protect him. "The ringleader Milo stirred the others up," an air ambulance spokesman said. "When the ambulance crews arrived they couldn't get to him because the llamas were protecting him," the spokesman said.
■ Canada
GM to rename LaCrosse
General Motors Corp (GM) will rename its Buick LaCrosse in Canada because the name for the car is slang for masturbation in French, embarrassed officials with the US car maker said. Company officials, who declined to be named, said it had been unaware that LaCrosse was a term for self-gratification among teenagers in French-speaking Quebec. GM officials in Canada are working on a new name for the car, a sedan that will go on sale next year to replace the Buick Regal. The mix-up is reminiscent of another GM vehicle with an unfortunate name. In the 1970s, GM exported its Chevrolet Nova to Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries, only to be told that Nova translated into "doesn't go."
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