Robots wait tables at new restaurant

A new restaurant where all of the waitresses are robots has opened in China.

The Dalu Rebot Restaurant, in Jinan, northern China's Shandong Province, has six robot waitresses and can cater for up to 100 diners.

The 21 tables are set in circles and the robots follow a fixed route to serve diners in rotation.

After serving, the robots return to the kitchen to refill their cart for the next round.

Restaurant spokeswoman Wang Xianwei said that all of the waiting on tables was done by robots.

However, the food, mainly the Chinese version of fondue, was prepared by humans in the kitchen.

And people were also employed to welcome customers and explain to them how the restaurant worked.

The restaurant was developed by the Shandong Dalu Science and Technology Company which plans to further develop the concept.

Spokesman Zhang Yongpei said: "Next, we'll develop robots which can climb stairs and help with kitchen chores like washing the dishes.

"And our waitresses will become more sophisticated so they can go direct to a customer's table and even refill diners' drinks."

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Stradivarius snatched from sandwich shop

A world-famous violinist had her £1.2m Stradivarius violin stolen when she stopped to buy a £2.95 sandwich for her lunch.

Internationally acclaimed violinist Min-Jin Kym was on her way to catch a train when opportunistic thieves struck, reports the Daily Telegraph.

They stole her 314-year-old Stradivarius violin along with a Peccatte bow worth £62,000 as she bought a sandwich at London's Euston station.

Miss Kym, 32, had put her prized instrument - one of only 450 in the world - down as she chose her lunch at a branch of Pret A Manger.

Pret worker Hafid Salah told of Miss Kym's panic when she realised her violin had vanished.

He said: "She and her friend were on computers and iPhones and not looking at their bags.

"She came up to me at the counter and said: "Have you seen my bag? Call the police. Can you get the CCTV? You have to do something". She was really upset and panicking."

Det Insp Andy Rose said: "These items hold enormous sentimental and professional value for the victim but although they are extremely valuable, it would be very difficult to sell them on as they are so rare and distinctive."

South Korean-born Miss Kym has performed with some of the world's leading orchestras and released Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D Major on the Sony label.

Insurers have offered a £15,000 reward for information leading to recovery of the violin and bows. It was on long-term loan to Miss Kym and it is not known who owns it.

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Woman adopts 1,500 stray dogs

A Chinese woman has given up her job, her home and her car to adopt more than 1,500 stray dogs.

Ha Wenjin gave up her business career and sold her house, car and jewellery to set up her unofficial dog rescue centre in Tangquan County, Nanjing.

"At first I did this in my spare time, but as I gathered more and more abandoned pets, I had to work full time for them," she said.

She has taken on 10 workers to help her look after the dogs - and another two to help care for 200 adopted cats at a second centre she has set up nearby.

But her project was put at risk when local government officials, who don't recognise her work, reclaimed the land for redevelopment.

"I had to find a new place which was deserted and not close to any human habitat, as 1,500 dogs are not quiet," she said.

"And the place had to be very cheap to rent, as most of our income comes from donations."

Finances are so tight that she partly relies on volunteer days when people bring hundreds of 'pork buns' to feed the dogs.

Ha eventually found a site, in Houyu village, Pukou County, but desperately needs funds to get the new animal rescue centre up and running.

And she is hoping more volunteers will turn out help her move the dogs on four buses on 4 December - and to clean the vehicles afterwards.

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Duck has three legs - and four feet

A farmer in China has spoken of his surprise after one of his ducks turned out to have three legs and four feet.

Yang Fuyong, of Linchuan County, Guilin, southern China's Guangxi Province, said the duck was one of a batch of 600 he had bought as ducklings.

While vaccinating them, he noticed one of them had one too many legs - and two too many feet.

He has since sold the ducks but kept the unusual one for a pet.

"I have been raising ducks for more than 10 years but I have never seen anything like this before," he said.

"It has an extra leg behind the other two and that leg has two feet. I'm going to carry on raising it to see how it does."

An official at the local livestock husbandry station said the duck was almost certainly the result of a genetic mutation.

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