Cities plagued by rodents, emergency declared

The rodent population in six Peruvian regions has ballooned due to unusual weather patterns and the government declared a state of emergency on Tuesday to control the plague, including in the capital city, Lima.

The rodents are flourishing in some areas because of higher-than-normal temperatures, which favor their reproductive cycle, said Pedro Morales, a spokesman for the Senasa national agrarian health service.

The rampant rodents have affected nearly 150,000 people and 32,100 acres of land covered by crops, livestock and naturally growing vegetation, according to a resolution published in the government gazette El Peruano.

The plague has cost the South American country nearly $5 million and could pose a health hazard if the creatures spread disease via the food supply.

Government brigades are fumigating in some areas to thin the rodents' ranks. The state of emergency will last for three months but could be extended if the problem is not tamed.

Drunk deposits horse in bank for night

A German man called on his bank for an unusual service when he was too tired and drunk to go home -- he bedded down there for the night with his horse.

The man, identified as Wolfgang H. by German media, went to sleep next to cash machines in the local branch of the Mittelbrandenburgische Sparkasse in Wiesenburg southwest of Berlin after unsaddling his horse Sammy and closing the door.

A spokeswoman for the bank said that aside from an undesirable deposit made by his horse inside the building, the 40-year-old account holder had not breached any house rules. "The horse was otherwise very well behaved and kept a good watch on his master," she said Wednesday. "Perhaps we should have a supply of oats and water on the premises in future."

A police spokesman said that since the horse's droppings had been removed, the matter was now closed.