A kamikaze pilot at 80
The Japanese city of Minami-Kyushu was attacked for wanting to add the letters of 1,036 kamikaze pilots who died on suicide missions in the second world war to a UN archive. Not all kamikaze pilots died, and a few are still alive.
— Shigeyoshi Hamazono, who is now in his eighties, achieved the unique distinction of surviving three kamikaze missions.
— In the first two he developed technical problems with his plane and turned back. This did not lead to court-martial but to his being sent on a third mission.
— On this occasion he was intercepted by US fighters before he could find his target. They holed his plane but failed to cause it to crash. Instead, Hamazono limped home.
— The war ended before he could be sent on a fourth mission.
Big shots
Princes William and Charles began a campaign against poaching of endangered species. How many animals are being taken illegally?
Elephants: 50,000 out of 400,000 in the wild estimated to have been taken last year.
Rhino: 1,000 out of 20,000 in the wild in South Africa.
Tigers: 20 out of 3,200.
Source: CITES/Zoological Society of London
Wet wet wet
Chris Smith suggested that people should think twice about buying homes on the flood plain. How many properties in England are at risk from flooding?
— 5.2m homes fall within areas which can expect river flooding once in 100 years or from sea flooding once in 200 years.
— London has the highest number of properties in flood risk areas: 542,000.
— Since 2001, 208,664 new homes have been built on flood plains. Of those 38,026 are in serious flood risk areas.
Last year, 560 new homes were built in flood-prone areas in spite of objections from the Environment Agency.
Source: Environment Agency/Committee on Climate Change
Higher salaries
The government criticised university vice-chancellors’ pay. Who are the highest-paid?
Annual salary including benefits | |
Birmingham | £372,000 |
Oxford | £371,000 |
Bath | £356,000 |
Exeter | £334,000 |
Liverpool | £328,000 |
University ranking | |
Birmingham | 17 |
Oxford | 2 |
Bath | 9 |
Exeter | 10 |
Liverpool | 38 |
Source: Grant Thornton/Complete University Guide
Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment below.
Get 10 issues for just $10
Subscribe to The Spectator Australia today for the next 10 magazine issues, plus full online access, for just $10.
You might disagree with half of it, but you’ll enjoy reading all of it. Try your first month for free, then just $2 a week for the remainder of your first year.
Comments
Don't miss out
Join the conversation with other Spectator Australia readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.
SUBSCRIBEAlready a subscriber? Log in