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Conman Arrested in Cash Scam
 Thu Oct 28,12:19 PM ET

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - A conman persuaded an Ethiopian town's inhabitants to give him hundreds of dollars by promising to multiply the cash and make it "fall like rain" from the sky, police said on Wednesday.
The man took $695 from people in eastern Kazamile town on Oct. 18 claiming he could return it to them many times over with the help of a demon, Seargent Seyoum Assefa, a police spokesman in Gorgurtu District, told state-run Ethiopian News Agency.
"The imposter told his clients to cover their faces so that a demon who would descend from the sky to talk to him would not harm them," Sergent Seyoum said.
"As the unsuspecting people who expected that their money would come like rain from the sky covered their faces, the imposter disappeared from the area."
Police arrested the man and are questioning him.

Dealer Can Write Off Stolen Drug Money
Wed Oct 27, 9:38 AM ET

PERTH, Australia - An Australian court ruled Wednesday that a convicted heroin dealer can claim a 220,000 Australian dollar (US$165 million; euro 129 million) tax deduction for money that was stolen during a drug deal.
The Australian Taxation Office lost a bid in the High Court to overturn a lower court decision that Francesco Dominico La Rosa of Perth, the capital of Western Australia state, could write off the money as lost income.
The ATO had been trying to make La Rosa — who served a 12-year jail term for dealing heroin and amphetamines — pay tax on his 1994-95 income, which it estimated at A$450,000 (US$337,000; euro 263,000).
But La Rosa insisted his taxable income should be reduced because half that sum had been stolen.
The A$220,000 had been buried in La Rosa's backyard and was dug up to spend on a drug deal in May 1995, but was stolen during the transaction by unknown people, the court was told.
The ATO had argued it was against policy to allow stolen money as a tax deduction.
The federal government has vowed to change the law to bar losses incurred in deriving illegal income from being claimed as tax deductions in the future.

Theft Suspects Went Back to Nab Parrot
Wed Oct 27,12:51 PM ET

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Afraid a talkative parrot might prove to be a stool pigeon, three thieves returned to the scene of the crime to silence the bird — only to be caught by police, authorities say.
After making off with DVD players, computers, radios, TVs and other electronic gear, one of the burglars Monday realized that a parrot in the home had heard him use the nickname "J.J." for one of his accomplices and was repeating it.
"They were afraid the bird would stool on them," police Maj. Billy Garrett said.
They went back for the bird and were loading it into the getaway car when police arrived, authorities said. The chase ended a few blocks away when the men crashed their car.
The light-green parrot, a 6-year-old bird named Marshmallow, flew away when its cage broke open in the crash. Felicia Cobb and her children have not seen their pet since then.
Three men, ages 18 to 25, were arrested.

Texas Judge Has Party, Sentences Fugitive
 Tue Oct 26, 7:23 PM ET

By LISA FALKENBERG, Associated Press Writer
DALLAS - A judge welcomed a former fugitive back to her courtroom with balloons, streamers and a cake before sentencing him to life in prison.
"You just made my day when I heard you had finally come home," Judge Faith Johnson told Billy Wayne Williams, who had been convicted in absentia of aggravated assault after he disappeared a year ago. "We're so excited to see you, we're throwing a party for you."
Williams, 53, who has a criminal record dating to the 1970s, was accused of choking his girlfriend until she passed out. He failed to appear for his trial last November and was finally captured Thursday at a gas station in suburban Arlington.
Before he was brought into the courtroom on Monday, the judge directed staff members as they placed balloons and streamers around the courtroom. A colorful cake was decorated with his name and one candle to signify the year he spent on the lam.
"It seems like everyone wants to have a party, and it's fun for you people, but not for me," Williams told reporters as he was led away in handcuffs.
Seana Willing, executive director of the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct, said she found the incident troubling. "It's the kind of thing I look at and scratch my head and wonder, `What was she thinking?'" Willing said.
She questioned whether the party violated standards of decorum and impartiality.
"The whole purpose of it was to mock him, to make him feel bad. I guess she could have put him in the stockade, in the pillory, in front of the town square and let people mock him," Willing said.
Willing said the commission will investigate if a complaint is filed, or can decide on its own to look into the matter. Judges found guilty of misconduct face a range of discipline, from private admonition to removal from the bench.
She said Johnson had never been disciplined by the regulatory agency.
Calls to the judge's office were not immediately returned Tuesday.
Trent Touchstone, a supervisory deputy U.S. marshal, said Johnson took a special interest in Williams' case after he jumped bail that she had set following the 2002 assault.
"Put yourself in her position," Touchstone said. "She's going through a trial with a jury, with defense attorneys, with prosecutors and rolling along and one day the defendant decides not to show up, and everything comes to a screeching halt."

Report: Buddhist Monks Fall for Beer Girls
 Mon Oct 25, 4:40 PM ET

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - Two Buddhist monks abandoned their vows after they fell in love with a pair of teenage girls who sold beer across from their temple in central Cambodia, a newspaper reported Monday.
The two monks — Nang Pong and Vom Vong, both 19 — gave up their monastic lives Thursday after the chief monk at their temple accused them of secretly courting the girls in violation of Buddhist precepts, The Cambodia Daily reported.
The teenage girls earlier had been told to leave the monks the monks alone, Deputy District Police Chief Yung Sam was quoted as saying.
Ninety percent of Cambodia's 13 million people are Buddhist. About 60,000 monks live in more than 4,000 pagodas across the country.

Vietnam Operators Offer More Than Numbers
 Mon Oct 25, 5:10 PM ET

By MARGIE MASON, Associated Press Writer
HANOI, Vietnam - What's the best way to sue my neighbor? How big is Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum? Is surgery necessary to remove a bunion? Am I pregnant? For answers to these questions, call 1080.
Directory assistance in communist Vietnam goes a lot further than America's 411. It's a combination of a lonely hearts column, Dr. Ruth and general information service, with a force of female operators ready to take on just about anything, 24/7.
In a country where information — including the Internet and media — is tightly controlled by the government, the service fills a big gap. And its popularity attests to a level of telephone penetration that reflects Vietnam's growing prosperity — 9.3 million telephone subscribers in a nation of 82 million.
The service started in 1992 in Ho Chi Minh City, the former Saigon, as a way for the Communist Party to explain social and economic policies. More than a decade later, exchanges in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City alone field 75,000 calls a day asking for everything from college exam scores and soccer results to advice on finding love.
"One day I got a call from a man who said that two people were quarreling on Hang Bong street," said Tran Hong Ha, 30, an operator in Hanoi for 10 years. "That old man asked me to come there immediately because they were quarreling with each other very fiercely and he hoped that with my sweet voice, I could help..."
A sweet, clear voice is a must, along with a good education. Those selected then undergo intensive training on how to answer questions quickly and cheerfully.
In Hanoi, about 40 women in matching blue smocks and headphones sit side-by-side in a crowded room filled with shelves and cabinets of reference books and files.
They chat and type furiously on computers at their desks, and each sits before a large mirror.
"If they have a bad temper, they can look at themselves in the mirror and change their attitudes," said Bui Minh Chau, director of Hanoi's 1080 service. "It's very stressful. Sometimes the operators get shouted and screamed at by the client."
The job pays about $65 a month — par for the Vietnamese civil service — and isn't taken lightly. The army of operators have become final arbiters of many a dispute or barroom argument. (Ho's mausoleum? 10,344 square feet).
"Over the years, we have gained prestige among our clients for our accurate information," said Nguyen Xuan Phuoc, deputy director of Hanoi Telephone Company. "Some people, when they're in groups or discussions, if there's some topic they do not know or do not understand, many of them will agree to go to our service asking for the answers."
The service has become so popular in Hanoi that more than 80 phone trees have been added to provide recorded answers about flight schedules and other tourist information.
Doctors and lawyers dole out medical and legal advice, and psychologists tackle thorny questions most Vietnamese wouldn't dare ask in public. They can be reached during business hours by calling one of the automated numbers and selecting from a list of experts.
Sex is a big issue. In a country where it's never discussed openly in schools or homes, operators provide a confidential alternative. They also advise on marriage, pregnancy and drug addiction. Those contemplating suicide also turn to them.
Callers don't have to give names and their questions remain secret. "That's why many of the clients consider us a very reliable friend," Phuoc said.
They also can order songs to be sent over the phone for special occasions. The 10,000 on offer include everything from Elvis Presley's "Viva Las Vegas" to Britney Spears' "... Baby One More Time."
And it costs just 6 cents for the first minute and 2 cents for each additional minute.
Each city and province has a 1080 offering various levels of service, and it's become so popular in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City that busy signals and long waits are common.
The No. 1 request? It's still telephone numbers.

Deer Crashes Through Store Window in S.D.
Mon Oct 25, 5:10 PM ET

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - A store owner said it would take at least a day to clean up after a deer crashed through a window and knocked over displays and merchandise inside.
The doe darted through traffic and through a side window at Balloons, Bears and Bouquets in southwest Sioux Falls on Sunday.
"So if there's any gratification, it's that it was a smaller window versus a larger (front) window," said owner Ken Brunick.
Bystanders watched as the deer knocked over plants and displays in its search for a way out. Officers with the city's animal control department killed the deer and removed it.

Turkey Vultures Take Over Indiana Yard
 Mon Oct 25, 1:31 PM ET

MUNCIE, Ind. - Turkey vultures have taken over Gwendolyn Griem's backyard and made a mess of it.
Around 50 of the soaring, carrion-consuming birds have flocked to Griem's yard in a gated subdivision in Muncie. They have ruined her patio furniture, stressed the shrubbery and even damaged the roof of her home, Griem told the Muncie Star Press for a story Monday.
"Droppings are everywhere," Griem said. "They've made the patio unusable. The lawn people don't even like to mow it."
The birds have a 6-foot wingspan and can grow to be 32 inches tall, said Roger Hedge, an ecologist with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
Most of the birds should head south for the winter, he said.
"To have turkey vultures flock like that in town, that's beyond me," Hedge said.
Karen Gibson, a supervisor in Muncie's animal control office, said the birds are federally protected.
"You can't even trap them," she said.
Tim Dale, who operates a Critter Control franchise in Portland, has reduced the size of the flock by shooting fireworks into the air, but not all of them have been shooed away.
"They feel safe here, and now we're taking that safety away from them," he said. "They will be back to check it out next year, and we may have to chase them off once or twice. But they'll get discouraged and go."
The birds probably lost their previous roosting place due to development, Dale said.

Monk's Insect Powder Sets Off Anthrax Scare
 Mon Oct 25,10:31 AM ET

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (Reuters) - A Buddhist monk's war on insects shut down Canada's mission in Sri Lanka on Monday, when powder he used to preserve his passport from moths triggered an anthrax scare, police said.
The Canadian mission had been evacuated and would remain shut indefinitely pending security procedures, a spokeswoman for the Canadian High Commission in Colombo said.
"A Buddhist monk has come to the embassy with his passport, he has put some powder to preserve that passport from being harmed by insects," said Colombo Police Deputy Inspector General Sirisena Herath.
"In the embassy some people got panicky that it was some anthrax or something," he said. "It was a false alarm."
The bemused monk was carted off to a police station but would soon be released, Herath said.
The United States embassy in Colombo was shut briefly in August by an anthrax scare, after it received a letter containing a suspicious powder, but tests proved negative.

Stranger Takes Over Ga. Woman's House
Fri Oct 22, 5:20 PM ET

DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. - A woman came home from vacation to find a stranger living there, wearing her clothes, changing utilities into her name and even ripping out carpet and repainting a room she didn't like, authorities said.
Douglas County authorities say they can't explain why Beverly Valentine, 54, broke into an empty home and started acting like it was her own.
During the 2 1/2 weeks the owner, Beverly Mitchell, was on vacation in Greece, Valentine allegedly redecorated the ranch home, ripping up carpet and taking down the owner's pictures and replacing them with her own.
Mitchell was a complete unknown to Valentine, said Chief Sheriff's Deputy Stan Copeland. He said he had no idea how Valentine knew Mitchell was gone.
"In 28 years, I've never seen something this strange," Copeland said.
Valentine was being held in Douglas County Jail on a $25,000 bond, Copeland said. If convicted, she could face one to 20 years in prison. Copeland said Friday that he believed Valentine did not have a lawyer.
The case came to light when Mitchell, who lived alone, returned home Oct. 4 to find the lights on and a strange car parked in the driveway. Mitchell called police, who went in and found Valentine, who at first pretended she was renting the home.
Later, Copeland said, she admitted she broke into the house with a shovel and was squatting there. She was charged with burglary.
Authorities found a gun and $23,000 worth of Mitchell's jewelry in Valentine's car.
Valentine had the electricity switched over to her name and moved in a washer and dryer and her dog.
Copeland said she was even wearing some of Mitchell's clothes.
"There's a lot of people saying, 'What?'" Copeland said.
Valentine was asked what to do with the washer and dryer she moved in, and Valentine said she didn't care, so police will leave it up to Mitchell what to do with them, Copeland said.

Two Arrested for Hurling Pies at Columnist
Fri Oct 22, 5:59 PM ET

TUCSON, Ariz. - AP - Two men ran onstage and threw custard pies at conservative columnist Ann Coulter as she was giving a speech at the University of Arizona, hitting her in the shoulder, police said.
University police arrested the men but did not release their identities.
In her half-hour speech Thursday night, Coulter trashed Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry (news - web sites) and derided liberals and Democrats while saluting conservative students who attended her speech.
Coulter writes a column for Universal Press Syndicate. Her appearance was sponsored by the UA College Republicans.

Smuggler Arrested With $197K in Stomach
 Tue Oct 19,10:26 PM ET

By DAN MOLINSKI, Associated Press Writer
BOGOTA, Colombia - Before boarding a plane in Madrid, a Colombian smuggler ate a pricey meal that landed him in trouble upon his arrival in Bogota.
Customs officials in the Colombian capital noticed the man, whose name was not released, appeared to be in distress after arriving at Bogota's El Dorado International Airport.
"He looked nervous — sweating, and all that, and so we X-rayed him," Customs Police Lt. Sandra Gutierrez said Tuesday.
Inside his stomach were 40 latex-wrapped packets containing a total of $197,000 in large denomination bills, Gutierrez said.
Smugglers often transport drugs by inserting them into condoms and swallowing them. On a rare occasion, they even bring back drug profits into Colombia the same way.
It is against the law in Colombia for anyone to bring in or take out of the country more than $10,000 in any currency. Gutierrez said the suspect was arrested Sunday.
Colombia is by far the world's biggest producer of cocaine, which nets traffickers huge profits, most of it in hard cash. Many try to repatriate the profits back to Colombia, and must try to circumvent currency controls.

Man Drives Stolen Car Through Target Store
 Tue Oct 19, 8:14 AM ET

EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. - A man crashed a stolen car through the front of a Target store, drove around the store for a bit and then drove back out before police were able to arrest him, authorities said. No one was injured.
The driver, Patrick Tosh, 52, of Wilkes-Barre, told police he did not remember anything about how he ended up driving the Subaru Forester, which was listed as stolen, Stroud Area Regional Police Detective Douglas Knowles said.
Tosh drove through glass double doors at the Target in Stroud Township about 11 p.m. Friday, continued through the store, and drove back out another main entrance, police said. There were about 40 employees in the store at the time.
Tosh was arrested in a nearby parking lot a short time later.
Tosh, who was arraigned Saturday morning on charges including burglary, reckless driving, receiving stolen property and criminal mischief, was not driving under the influence and he had no known history of mental illness, Knowles said.
Employees said the store would be closed for several days while the damage is repaired.

Tourist Killed by Lightning on Peru Peak
 Thu Oct 21,11:43 AM ET

LIMA, Peru (Reuters) - A Russian tourist was struck by lightning and killed on the summit of Huayna Picchu, the imposing mountain that rises behind Peru's famous Inca citadel Machu Picchu, police and officials said on Tuesday.
Police identified the victim as Ahato Denis Pankiin, 35. He was probably taking a photo around the time he was hit, police officer Francisco Teran told Reuters by telephone.
"Witnesses say he was struck by lightning just when he was on the summit," said Jose Cahua, an official at the local prosecutor's office. The incident happened on Monday.
Witnesses said simultaneous bolts of lightning had hit Huayna Picchu and Machu Picchu.
It takes about an hour to climb the steep stone steps the Incas carved on Huayna Picchu, but the trek affords magnificent views of Machu Picchu's imposing gray stone ruins and the surrounding mountains, cloud forest and Inca stone terraces.

Driver Sees Red and Torches His Car
 Thu Oct 21,11:47 AM ET

TEHRAN (Reuters) - An incensed Iranian motorist doused his car in petrol and set it ablaze with a match after picking up a parking ticket, media reported Wednesday.
The ISNA student news agency posted photographs of the charred shell of the car on its Web site and quoted witnesses describing the driver's frantic but fruitless pleas to the parking attendant not to issue a ticket.
"Extremely angry, he took a jerrycan of petrol out of the boot and set fire to his car," ISNA quoted a witness in poor south Tehran as saying.
Fines have increased heavily since March in an attempt to bring Iran's reckless drivers into line. Road rage is common on the gridlocked streets of Tehran.

MIA: cargo plane loses engine in flight
 Thu Oct 21, 1:51 PM ET

CHICAGO (AFP) - Federal aviation officials were searching for an engine that fell off a Boeing 747 cargo plane in mid-flight, possibly over Lake Michigan in the Great Lakes region, officials said.
The Kalitta Air jet was en route from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport when the pilot radioed air traffic controllers to alert them to mechanical problems Wednesday.
Controllers instructed the pilot to make an emergency landing in Detroit, Michigan, officials with the Federal Aviation Administration said.
It was only at that point that officials realised that the jet had not suffered engine failure, but that one of its four engines had physically disappeared, an FAA (news - web sites) spokeswoman said.
The National Transportation Safety Board (news - web sites) and the FAA are collaborating to find the errant engine, which officials suspect may have ditched in the drink.
Lake Michigan, approximately 118 miles wide and 925 feet deep a its deepest point, is the second-largest Great Lake. It separates Michigan from Illinois, which is home to Chicago.

Woman advertises for husband on billboard
 Thu Oct 21, 3:08 AM ET

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A Chinese woman living in Sydney has taken the unusual step of advertising for a husband on a billboard outside a cinema in Sydney's eastern suburbs.
Helen Zhou, from Shanghai, said she had tried Internet dating but found men did not want to commit.
"People are happy to date but they don't want any commitment, only temporary relationships," the middle-aged Zhou told her weekly local newspaper, the Southern Courier.
Zhou spent A$5,000 (2,020 pounds) on the billboard which has a large headline "HUSBAND WANTED" and a lists of requirements, such as age up to 45, good health, non-smoker and drinker, caucasian, solid financial background and a good sense of humour.
"I'm not fussy," said Zhou, who describes herself on the billboard as a beautiful and intelligent woman seeking a "dream family with a fabulous partner".
"I guess I want a traditional sort of person, not really flash -- an old fashioned kind of guy, not one who spends every cent and doesn't worry about tomorrow."
So far Zhou's search for love has received few replies.

Indonesian Muslims Attack Pig Farms
Wed Oct 20,10:22 PM ET

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Muslims armed with machetes attacked several pig farms in Indonesia, slaughtering around 20 swine they claimed were giving of "offensive" odors, The Jakarta Post reported Thursday.
Police did nothing to stop the attack Wednesday in South Tatura, central Sulawesi province, the paper reported. The farms belonged to local Christians.
"The farms give out a bad odor and this is offensive, especially during Ramadan," said local Muslim leader Abdul Haris, referring to the Islamic fasting month where religious feelings often run high.
He said the farms were also polluting a local river, presumably with dung from the animals.
Muslims are forbidden to eat pork, which is considered unclean.
Police were not immediately available for comment.
The Muslims were armed with machetes and sticks, the Post reported. Losses from the attacks were estimated at around $8,000, the paper quoted a pig farmer as saying.
Central Sulawesi is around 1,000 miles northeast of Jakarta. Muslim and Christians fought bloody battles there in 2002 in which 1,000 people were killed.
Christians make up about 10 percent of Indonesia's 210 million people. More than 80 percent are Muslims, making it the world's largest Islamic country.
The two faiths generally live in harmony, but disputes are sometimes triggered over the building of new churches and accusations that Christians are aggressively trying to convert Muslims.

Satellite Crashes Back to Earth into Chinese Home
 Mon Oct 18,10:05 AM ET

BEIJING (Reuters) - The retrievable chamber of China's 20th recoverable satellite returned to Earth with a bang, crashing through the roof of a house, the Beijing News said Sunday.
"The capsule returned back to Earth safely Friday, but unfortunately it hit a four-story civilian house," the newspaper said, showing a photograph of a house in Penglai in southwestern Sichuan province that looked as if it had been all but destroyed, with wooden rafters, bricks and tiles scattered around.
No one was injured.
The newspaper gave no details but China regularly sends research satellites into orbit and last October became the third nation successfully to put a man in space when a single astronaut orbited the Earth 14 times.
In August, China launched a satellite that carried out land and mapping surveys for several days before returning to Earth.

Rabbits Run Owner Out of La. House
Wed Oct 20,11:54 AM ET

NEW ORLEANS - He wanted a bit of company, so he bought a pair of bunnies. He ended up with more company than he could handle. Given the run of the house, the little furballs did what rabbits are known for.
In less than a year, the man, whose name the Louisiana SPCA withheld on grounds that he was embarrassed enough already, had 73 rabbits.
They chewed the furniture. They burrowed into chairs, couches and mattresses. They processed food faster than their owner could clean up after them.
Finally, said SPCA Executive Director Laura Maloney, he passed out. Then he moved out and called his doctor for help.
The doctor called the SPCA, which chased rabbits through the house for much of the day Monday. Now — though a few have been adopted — it still has lots and lots, and is asking other area shelters for help.
"The rabbits were clean and healthy, even though the house wasn't," said Kathryn Destreza, director of animal services.
Maloney said the man was not cited and does not have the mental disorder called animal hoarding, Maloney said.
Hoarders collect strays and shelter animals in a misguided attempt to love and care for them, and rarely ask for help, she said. "He was a very nice man who recognized he was in a situation where he needed help."

Man Trying to Kill Mouse Shoots Girlfriend
 Wed Oct 20,10:48 AM ET

CONFLUENCE, Pa. - A man missed a mouse he was trying to shoot with a small-caliber handgun and wounded his girlfriend instead, state police said.
Donald Rugg, 43, of Confluence, was trying to kill the rodent with a .22-caliber handgun when his girlfriend, Cathy Jo Harris, 38, apparently went into the line of fire and was hit in the arm early Tuesday morning, state police said.
She was taken to Somerset Hospital where she was listed in fair condition Tuesday, said hospital spokesman Greg Chiappelli.
Neither Rugg nor Harris could immediately be reached for comment.
State police said they won't charge Rugg, but advised against people shooting firearms inside.

Man Survives After Shooting Nail Into His Chest
 Wed Oct 20,10:48 AM ET

SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Australian man building a shed accidentally fired a nail into a major artery near his heart on Wednesday but survived after emergency surgery, medical officials said.
The 3-inch nail had lodged in the 35-year-old man's aorta, the body's main artery leading from the heart, said a spokeswoman for John Flynn Hospital on the Gold Coast in the tropical northern state of Queensland.
She said the man was saved after a 12-minute helicopter flight to hospital for emergency surgery and would certainly have died if treatment had been delayed any longer. She said he was in a stable condition in the intensive care ward.
"I've spoken to the cardio-thoracic surgeon and basically he just took the nail out...he doesn't even know how he did it yet," the spokeswoman said, referring to the mystery over how the victim fired the nail into his chest.
The man, whose name has not been released, was using a nailgun to build a shed on his property at Canungra, about 70 km (45 miles) south of Brisbane, when the accident occurred, an ambulance official said.
The man, with the nail embedded in his chest, drove about 400 meters (1,312 feet) back to his home and became unconscious while his wife called for help. Few other details were available.
The hospital and ambulance service said they had never heard of any similar cases before.

The Kind of Robbers You Don't Mind Seeing
 Wed Oct 20,11:25 AM ET

BERLIN (Reuters) - Two clumsy German thieves bungled their bank robbery after one dropped his gun which fell apart when it hit the floor and a customer shouted "it's a fake," prompting them to flee the scene empty handed.
"The thieves were presumably concerned by the remarks from the customer and ran out of the bank," a police spokesman in the western town of Wuppertal said Wednesday. The masked robber scooped up the broken gun before running off.
"On their way out of the bank they dropped another gun," the police spokesman said. The gun left behind was real enough but did not function and could not be fired.

Lovers' passionate pitstop sends car off cliff in Argentina
 Tue Oct 19,12:15 PM ET

BUENOS AIRES (AFP) - A couple who parked for a bit of passion on wheels got the surprise of their lives after their raucous rocking sent their car over a cliff in the west of Argentina.
There were no serious injuries, police said Tuesday, but almost certainly some bruised egos as the 35-year-old man and 31-year-old woman plunged more than 300 meters (yards) into a ravine in Lujan de Cuyo, in the wine-making province of Mendoza.
Oddly enough, authorities said the couple did not notice when the car took off without a driver.
The man was able to walk out of the vehicle but firemen had to pry his out his stunned companion.

Peru School Raises Guinea Pigs for Eating
Tue Oct 19, 5:09 PM ET

By RICK VECCHIO, Associated Press Writer
LIMA, Peru - After 34 years of patient tinkering, researchers at Peru's most prestigious agrarian university have bred a new culinary export they hope will scamper onto dinner plates throughout America and the world: the super guinea pig.
The animal is a cuddly companion for millions of children in the United States. But in Peru, the rodent's birthplace, it remains a vital source of protein in rural communities, a mainstay of Andean folk medicine and a common religious sacrifice to the gods.
"It is well known that Peruvians eat guinea pig. Foreigners are more reluctant to eat it as they see the animal as a pet," said Gloria Palacios, director of La Molina National University's project to promote guinea pig exports.
"I think if they become familiar with the cuisine, maybe suddenly they'll give in and be tempted to try it," she said. "It is really delicious."
Peruvians consume an estimated 65 million guinea pigs each year. It is a dining experience that normally requires two hands to pick scant, sinewy meat from a bony carcass — often with the head staring up from the plate.
But earlier this year, La Molina university started exporting the "Peruvian Breed" — faster growing, plumper, tastier guinea pigs — to the United States, Japan and several European nations that have large Peruvian immigrant populations.
The 1,000 guinea pigs shipped out weekly — mostly to the United States — each weigh nearly 2 1/2 pounds, said Dr. Lilia Chauca, head researcher of the breeding project.
In comparison, she said, the guinea pigs raised on alfalfa and vegetable peels in nearly every rural Andean household weigh between 10 1/2 ounces to 1 1/2 pounds.
The meat is high in protein and low in fat and cholesterol and has a distinctive flavor, similar to rabbit. Chauca and her team of researchers at La Molina's National Institute of Agrarian Investigation started the super-size guinea pig project in 1970.
Archaeological evidence shows guinea pigs were domesticated in Peru as far back as 2500 B.C., and had deep cultural and religious significance. Guinea pigs are still a common tool of ritual healers, or "curanderos," who use the animals to diagnose illnesses.
A 17th century native chronicler, Guaman Poma de Ayala, wrote that the Incas sacrificed 1,000 white guinea pigs along with 100 llamas in Cuzco's main plaza each July "so that neither the sun nor the waters would harm the food and the fields."
From the beginning of the Spanish colonization, the Catholic Church brutally suppressed Indian religious icons. But the guinea pig was spared.
Geronimo de Loayza, the first bishop of Lima from 1545 to 1575, refused a request by Spanish priests to order the mass extermination of the rodents, fearing it would spark a rebellion.
The Spanish colonizers made Indian artists paint, weave and carve items with Catholic themes to decorate churches and evangelize the natives. The artists copied prints imported from Europe, but added Peruvian touches.
Today, churches in Lima and Cuzco still display Indian depictions of the Last Supper with Jesus and the 12 disciples eating roasted guinea pig.

Long-distance call: Germany has new record for cellphone throwing
 Mon Oct 18,11:47 AM ET

BERLIN (AFP) - A German has smashed the national record for the rarely contested sport of cellphone throwing by hurling his phone 67.50 metres (nearly 223 feet), the organisers of the event announced.
In the competition in Wehnde, Thuringia, on Sunday, Nico Morawa beat the former record of 65.80 metres, set four years by Heiko Scholl.
Both men are from Kamenz in the eastern state of Saxony.
Morawa, who is also spokesman for the association of German cellphone throwers, beat 70 competitors to win the event.
According to the association's website, the "sport" began when cellphone manufacturers were offering cheap phones during the industry's boom years of 2000 and 2001. When the phones broke, the Kamenz association came up with a new use for them.

TV Emits Distress Signal, Triggers Search
 Tue Oct 19, 9:44 AM ET

EUGENE, Oregon (Reuters) - TV hardly gets much better than this.
An Oregon man discovered earlier this month that his year-old Toshiba Corp. flat-screen TV was emitting an international distress signal picked up by a satellite, leading a search and rescue operation to his apartment in Corvallis, Oregon, 70 miles south of Portland.
The signal from Chris van Rossmann's TV was routed by satellite to the Air Force Rescue Center at Langley Air Base in Virginia.
On Oct. 2, the 20 year-old college student was visited at his apartment in the small university town by a contingent of local police, civil air patrol and search and rescue personnel.
"They'd never seen signal come that strong from a home appliance," said van Rossmann. "They were quite surprised. I think we all were."
Authorities had expected to find a boat or small plane with a malfunctioning transponder, the usual culprit in such incidents, emitting the 121.5 MHz frequency of the distress signal used internationally.
Van Rossmann said he was told to keep his TV off to avoid paying a $10,000 fine for "willingly broadcasting a false distress signal."
Toshiba contacted Rossmann and offered to provide him with a replacement set for free, he said.

Taxi Driver Gets Elderly Couple Home
Tue Oct 19,11:55 PM ET

EL PASO, Texas - Taxi driver Ismael Baeza's back seat passengers didn't appear to have any money and didn't seem to know exactly where they lived, but he didn't give up on getting them home. Baeza, 24, picked up an elderly couple Monday who wanted to go to their hometown in Bandera, west of San Antonio.
"About halfway through the trip, I found out that they didn't have the money to pay for the trip," Baeza said in a report in Wednesday's El Paso Times. "It was either drop them off at the next town or keep going. Something told me to just keep going. I couldn't leave them off in one of those little towns."
The trip took 10 hours and covered 500 miles from El Paso to Bandera and would have been a $1,200 fare for Baeza. Baeza's father, Sam, accompanied him and bought food and drinks for the couple along the way.
"I just took them all the way into town and thought, well, it's not about the money anymore," Baeza said Tuesday.
Bandera police believe the couple may have Alzheimer's disease (news - web sites) and aren't sure how they ended up in El Paso. Baeza said the couple told them they couldn't take a bus or plane home because of their parrot. Baeza said the parrot whistled all the way.
Once they were in Bandera, Baeza said he asked the man where his home was and the man said it was four hours away. That's when Baeza asked for police help. They identified the couple and handed them off to sheriff's deputies, who got them to their home in Bandera County.
"In my opinion, the man's a saint," Bandera police Sgt. Mark Burke said of Baeza. "In my job, I don't deal with many nice guys, but as far as I'm concerned, this guy walks on water."
Baeza said the couple gave him several hundred dollars in traveler's checks. He wasn't sure Tuesday if they were any good.
Police later discovered the woman had about $2,000 to $3,000 in her wallet.

Five Wildebeests Escape From Ind. Zoo
Tue Oct 19,10:20 PM ET

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Zookeepers, police and animal control officers followed five runaway wildebeests through a residential area Tuesday after they escaped from the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo.
Animal handlers were herding the zoo's seven wildebeests toward a barn where they are kept during the winter when five of the animals bolted, according to a press release from the zoo. The animals broke through a gate and jumped over a 4-foot-high fence and emerged onto a city street.
Wildebeests, which are native to eastern Africa, weigh between 300 and 400 pounds and can run up to 50 mph.
Zookeepers and officers in vehicles and on bicycles followed the wildebeests down the street, through a trailer park and an apartment complex.
Two of the animals that broke their front legs were euthanized after they were recaptured, zoo veterinarian Joe Smith said. The others were cornered in a back yard near a church.
Officials then shot the animals with tranquilizer darts and returned them to the zoo, according to the news release.
The wildebeests are a featured attraction at the Children's Zoo's African Veldt exhibit.

Brothers Reunited by Fate After 53 Years
 Tue Oct 19, 9:39 AM ET

LISBON (Reuters) - Two brothers from Australia and Argentina who lost contact for 53 years were reunited by chance after recognizing each other on a trip to their native Portugal.
They last saw each other in 1951 when Francisco Gregorio Silva, now 81, moved to Argentina, the daily newspaper Correio da Manha reported Tuesday. His younger brother, Mario Silva, 70, moved to Australia about 20 years later.
They were in Portugal this weekend as part of a program to bring migrants home for a visit and bumped into each other while boarding a tour bus at Lisbon airport Friday.
"I looked at him and saw the face of my father," Mario said. "The tears ran. For me, it was a very big shock."
"I was left speechless," added Francisco. "I wanted to say something, but the words would not come out."
The brothers said they would go to their hometown of Tunes, in the Algarve resort area in southern Portugal, to visit another brother, Antonio Joao.
Mario and Francisco said they now hoped to always keep in touch.

Prostitutes' Soccer Team Loses to Cops
 Mon Oct 18,10:03 AM ET

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - A soccer team made up of Guatemalan prostitutes, formed to call attention to their poor working conditions, lost 3-1 to policewomen on Saturday.
The women get paid as little as $2.50 for sex and complain of frequent police harassment, despite their profession being legal and widespread in Guatemala.
"We get much more attention from the public now our faces are known; people come up and congratulate us and tell us to keep up the good work," said Valeria, 27, who scored the prostitutes' goal on Saturday.
"It's good to feel the power of being united; when we work, we are more isolated in our rooms," said defender Beatriz, 37.
The prostitutes, the Stars of the Tracks, were kicked out of an elite amateur league last month because of allegations that their fans used profanity.

Laughing Bank Clerk Humiliates Robber
 Fri Oct 15,11:49 AM ET

ZAGREB (Reuters) - A Croatian armed robber abandoned a bank hold up after the cashier laughed at his order to stick 'em up, state news agency Hina reported on Thursday.
The masked robber entered a bank at Zagreb's main square in plain daylight and threatened the clerk with his gun.
"Knowing she was behind a bulletproof glass, the clerk laughed heartily, rang her boss to say she was being robbed and asked him to call the police," Zagreb police spokeswoman Gordana Vulama told the agency.
The humiliated robber turned and took to his heels, she added.

Greek Village Eyes Ukrainian Brides
 Fri Oct 15,11:46 AM ET

By Karolos Grohmann
ZACHARO, Greece (Reuters) - Lonely Greek bachelors desperate for wives after the local women left for the big city have decided instead to import dozens of Ukrainian brides.
In a few days a group of officials and 10 future grooms from the seaside town of Zacharo will leave on a matchmaking trip to Vynnitsya, in Ukraine.
The plan is to bring back women looking for a spouse to their peaceful and wealthy farming community and breathe new life into the town of about 4,000.
Dubbed by Greek newspapers as a "Love Bus" trip -- even though the only bus ride will be to Athens airport -- the group will be just the forerunner of other matchmaking visits.
"I found this town in Ukraine and we will go there to meet the prospective brides," mayor Panatazis Chronopoulos, a former police officer, told Reuters Friday.
"But we will not be fooled and just take anyone. We will take their CVs, meet them, and then we will decide."
Another 180 men from Zacharo have also put their names down for a bride. Even more are expected to follow.
Hundreds of young Greek women, scoffing at the idea of farm life, have abandoned this southwestern Greek seaside town for the excitement of Athens, leaving behind lonely men with almost no prospect of marriage or family.
Of a total male population of a few thousand, more than 500 aged between 18-45 are still single, town officials said.
"Everyone is leaving for what they think is the exciting city life," the mayor said. "They have not realized they will fall on hard times in Athens, ending up looking for a job."
Zacharo, located on one of Greece's finest sandy beaches, has no such worries. With thousands of acres of fertile land, some of the best olive oil in Greece and a thriving greenhouse business, it has hardly any unemployment.
"There are lots of jobs that are needed here like builders, plumbers, doctors, and people could earn a good living. But young people, mainly girls, still leave," the mayor said.
The town's only female councilor, who did not want to be named, said there were not even enough women candidates to run for the local council to meet the required state quotas.
"The girls and women are all leaving, unwilling to take over the family business," she said at her seaside cafe. "The girls who work in my cafe are not even from Zacharo because none of the girls from here want to work as waitresses."
Along the wide beachfront, a handful of young men ride their bicycles past other males, while in the town's cafes and restaurants, men of all ages gather to play cards or eat. Women under the age of 40 are a rare sight.
"What is there to do?" a young customer said. "I am 23 and if you look around there are no women here. I hope the mayor and the others come back with the Ukrainians and make things more exciting here."
Town official Giorgos Athanassoulis dismisses fears the foreign women could alter the town's character.
"This Greek-Ukrainian combination works. We have already eight who have married Ukrainian women and they have made good families," he said.
"In one case both sons married a Ukrainian and then the father also went ahead and married one."
Mayor Chronopoulos, who says he is flooded by calls from other Greek mayors eager to do the same, said the response for grooms has so far been massive in Vynnitsya with 400 women signing up.
"Now other Greek towns want to know how we set it up because they are also without brides."

Man Fights Off Repossessor with Chainsaw
 Thu Oct 14,10:11 AM ET

BERLIN (Reuters) - A German man tried to fight off a repossessor with a chainsaw and gasoline bombs before being arrested by police special forces, authorities said Thursday.
The 52-year-old man in the eastern town of Helbra barricaded himself in his single-family house when the repossessor arrived with a two-man police escort. He first drove off the trio by throwing petrol bombs and a barbecue lighting device at them.
The police called in reinforcements, a SEK special forces unit. When they stormed the house the man fired up his chainsaw and revved it but was quickly overwhelmed. Two police officers were injured, a spokeswoman said.
"We've had a number of repossessions before but never had anything quite like this," said police spokeswoman Birgit Bandermann, adding he faces charges of attempted manslaughter.

Breast Implants for Men -- What's Up with That?
 Wed Oct 13,10:42 AM ET

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Breast implants are becoming more and more popular with a surprising group of Shanghai citizens -- men.
The Shanghai Daily said Wednesday that most of the male patients seeking implants in China's financial hub wanted to impress women, or clients, or in some cases their boss.
The implants are similar to those used by women, but they are shaped differently and are stiffer.
Doctors warn that the surgery has certain risks and people with allergies or heart problems should find another way to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger (news - web sites), the newspaper said.
"To be frank, surgery is unnecessary," Liu Chunlong, from the Shanghai Ren'ai Hospital, was quoted as saying.
"Physical exercise can create the same effect and it is safer."
He said the hospital had received 40 patients this year and operated on 10, compared with just two or three such operations last year.
He said many of the patients had psychological problems.
"They ascribe the unhappiness in their lives to their weak muscles," he was quoted as saying.
"The surgery, in some instances, serves as psychological therapy."

Gross, Gross, Gross....
 Wed Oct 13,10:43 AM ET

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Reuters) - Emergency service workers had their stomachs turned when they cleaned up a smelly mess of spilled pig innards that blocked a busy Arkansas intersection for several hours on Tuesday.
Police said a truck spilled about 1,000 pounds (450 kg) of hog intestines fresh from a packing plant. The mess in the state capital, Little Rock, left several cleanup workers queasy.
"It was horrible. Oh, it was bad," said Sgt. Terry Hastings of the Little Rock police department.
The truck was carrying the entrails from a rendering plant to a facility where dog food is manufactured when the driver made an abrupt stop. The container was covered only by a tarp, which did not prevent the viscera from sloshing into the crossroads, police said.
Firefighters used bleach and fire hoses to flush away the mess.
When asked to describe the scene, Hastings was almost at a loss for words.
"Nasty, nasty. Phew," Hastings said.

Stray Dogs Invade Albanian Town
 Wed Oct 13,10:45 AM ET

TIRANA (Reuters) - An Albanian town had to call in police and hunters after a pack of 200 stray mountain dogs attacked at least nine people.
Headed by a clearly identifiable leader, the snarling pack overran the main street of the small northern town of Mamurras, its mayor said Wednesday.
"Even in the movies I have never seen a horde of 200 stray dogs from the mountains attacking people in the middle of a town," Anton Frroku told Reuters by telephone Wednesday.
He said the dogs bit at least nine people, aged from 20 to 60, dragging them to the ground and inflicting serious wounds.
"I was going to a cafe when the pack of dogs attacked and bit me. They kept biting and I fell to the ground," 32-year-old Agim Laku told News24 television.
People threw stones to break up the pack. Police and hunters killed 20 dogs, including the leader.

France tops the sex league
 Tue Oct 12, 9:17 AM ET

By Kate Kelland
LONDON (Reuters) - France is well positioned as the world's sexiest state, according to a global survey of lovemaking.
In a poll of more than 350,000 people published on Tuesday, condom maker Durex found that lovers across the globe are having sex an average of 103 times per year, but the French are living up to their romantic reputation with an average of 137 times.
Greeks and Hungarians followed close behind, with averages of 133 and 131 times a year.
Asian countries lag behind in the love stakes with the Japanese managing just 46 times per year and those in Hong Kong and Singapore just 79 times.
"As it was a Web-based survey, people could be very frank about their sex lives -- possibly even more so than with their partners," said Rosie Lodge, a spokeswoman for Durex.
"The results show the wide spectrum of sexual experience and attitudes across the globe and the high number of respondents ... shows that people are growing increasingly willing to talk about sex and their particular likes and dislikes."
Britons lead the pack when it comes to foreplay, devoting an average of 22.5 minutes compared to a global average of 19.7. The fastest lovers were the Thais with just 11.5 minutes.
But despite their efforts on foreplay, Britons appear to be among the least satisfied by their sexual experiences, with a third saying they had faked an orgasm in the last year.
The Macedonians were the most satisfied with only 13 percent saying they had faked an orgasm and the Japanese are the least satisfied at 40 percent.
The survey found that half of all respondents were more worried about HIV (news - web sites)/AIDS (news - web sites) than any other sexually transmitted disease.
But a troubling 35 percent of people who took part in the survey admitted to having had unprotected sex without knowing their partner's sexual history.
Those most likely to throw caution to the wind were the Danes and the Swedes, both on 64 percent, followed by the Japanese, Norwegians and South Africans, all at 58 percent.
When it comes to spicing up sex lives, pornography emerged as the most popular choice, with more than a third of lovers worldwide admitting to having used porn.
Pleasure-enhancing condoms were second and bondage equipment such as blindfolds and handcuffs third.

Woman jumps on crocodile to save man
 Mon Oct 11, 3:20 AM ET

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A 60-year-old woman jumped on the back of a crocodile as it dragged a man from his tent in northern Australia, but was then attacked by the crocodile, which dragged her towards the ocean until it was shot dead.
The 60-year-old woman and 34-year-old man suffered broken limbs, cuts and bruises in the attack by the 4.2 metre (12.6 feet) crocodile, said wildlife and rescue officials.
The attack occured around 4 a.m. (7 p.m. on Sunday British time) as the man slept in a tent with his wife and child on the shores of Bathurst Bay, 300 km (186 miles) north of Cairns in Queensland state.
"The crocodile walked into the tent and dragged the man out," said Stephen Pemberthy from the Royal Flying Doctor Service, which airlifted the injured campers to hospital.
"A 60-year-old woman in an adjacent tent heard the commotion and jumped on the crocodile," Pemberthy told Reuters on Monday.
The crocodile let go of the man and bit the woman, pulling her towards the water before another person shot it dead.
The injured campers managed to set off a rescue beacon, capturing the attention of government wildlife officials in the area who were eradicating wild pigs.
The wildlife officials evacuated the campers to a nearby ranger station at Lakefield National Park and the Royal Flying Doctor Service flew them to a hospital in Cairns.
The man suffered a broken leg and arm and cuts and bruises, while the woman had an arm broken in the attack.

Nearly 50 break out of jail using towel rope
 Sun Oct 10, 2:51 PM ET

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (Reuters) - Nearly 50 prisoners have escaped from a Rio de Janeiro jail using a rope made of sheets and towels in the city's second mass breakout in four days, officials said.
On Thursday, 69 people fled from a police detention centre on the outskirts via a tunnel dug from the jail's courtyard.
This time, 48 prisoners of the Benfica jail in the northern part of Rio made a hole in the ceiling of the cellblock and used a rope to climb the wall of the jail before dawn on Sunday.
A duty official at the state penitentiary secretariat said authorities suspected guards had been paid to turn a blind eye as a turret on the wall was not staffed during the escape. The guards were under arrest.
Corruption is widespread in Brazilian prisons as guards are poorly paid, while powerful drug gangs often use money and intimidation to free their comrades.

Man Pours Gas Down Toilet, Causing Blast
Thu Oct 7, 8:26 AM ET

SALT LAKE CITY - If you can't stand the heat, don't pour gasoline down the toilet. An apartment tenant made that $75,000 mistake Tuesday.
The man came home for lunch and found gas leaking from the tank of his car. He caught the gas, and decided to dispose of it by dumping it down the toilet.
But the pilot light of a water heater ignited the fumes, causing a small explosion. The blast destroyed the porcelain toilet, and the intense heat from the flames melted the remaining pieces.
The man and three other people were able to get out of the home before the fire spread.
Officials said gasoline and kerosene should never be poured into the drain or toilet or sewer system.

Man Allegedly Steals Own Car From Cops
Sat Oct 9, 8:53 PM ET

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - A drunken driver was arrested Friday morning after he stole his own car — from the police — and ran it into a ditch, officials said.
The 53-year-old man had been pulled over for "swerving all over the road," said Bjoern Ohlin, shift commander at the Flemingsberg police station, on the outskirts of Stockholm.
Police impounded the car and took the man back to the station for an alcohol test, Ohlin said. But after the man was fined and set free — as most drunk drivers are in Sweden — he took a taxi back to where police had left his car and took it back, using his spare key.
"When a patrol car was on the way to the site to help tow the car, it blew past them in the other direction," Ohlin said.
Police were able to pull the man over — again — but as they approached the car he took off at a high speed. He then swerved off the road into a ditch, flipping the car, Ohlin said.
He was being treated Friday with minor injuries at Huddinge Hospital in outside Stockholm. Ohlin said he will face charges of drunk driving and violating police orders.

Gadget Helps Bathroom-Bashful Women
Wed Oct 6,10:37 PM ET

By AIKO HAYASHI, Associated Press Writer

TOKYO - When Naoko Ito uses a public bathroom, she cringes in embarrassment at the thought that other patrons can hear the sounds coming from her stall. That's when she turns to the "Sound Princess."
Ito, like a rapidly growing number of Japanese women, presses a device installed in public toilets to simulate the sound of water flushing — and mask the cruder noises of nature.
"I usually use the flushing sound when I go to a public bathroom, such as at a department store, because I get a bit self-conscious," said Ito, a 60-year-old waitress.
The device — a curious mix of Japanese bashfulness and modern technology — is spreading rapidly through public buildings and has now become standard equipment for new construction.
Leading toilet producer Toto Ltd. has sold 500,000 of their "Sound Princess" — "Oto-Hime" in Japanese — since 1988, and the company says orders surged 125 percent in 2003 alone.
"The core of our clientele is schools and companies," Toto spokeswoman Kumi Goto said. "Japanese women are very embarrassed by the sounds they make in a toilet."
There's another reason behind the increase in the gadgets: ecology. Women in Japan have traditionally flushed several times to cover up their noises, so the Sound Princess is saving water and cutting down on public building operators' utility bills.
The Sound Princess is fairly simple. The user passes her hand over a sensor, and the convincing sound of a torrent of water comes from a speaker.
Such gadgets might seem a dainty, modern excess of a shame-obsessed society, but the Sound Princess has deep roots in Japanese culture.
The Japanese are notoriously fastidious: the daily bath is practiced with near-religious fervor, and walking inside with your shoes on is considered filthy. The Japanese word for clean — "kirei" — also means beautiful.
And what happens in a bathroom stall is, well, among the dirtiest things that humans do.
Going to the toilet has been considered embarrassing and even shameful for women since ancient times in Japan, said Noriji Suzuki, a parasitologist at Kochi University Medical School.
"Sometimes you see people talking to each other over a stall in Western countries, but that would never happen in our culture," he said.
The trend is not limited to women these days. Some schools have done away with urinals because boys are increasingly too embarrassed to use the stalls, since going there would tell onlookers exactly what's going to happen next.
Tadafumi Morioka, a spokesman for another Japanese toilet maker, INAX Corp., said his company also started selling a similar product in 1988 amid concerns of wasted water.
He said the installment rate of such devices in modern skyscrapers in Japan is 100 percent. INAX's sales increased 25 percent in 2003, Morioka said, although he refused to give precise numbers.
"Most of the demands for the device come from public facility owners and managers including department stores and elementary and junior high schools," he said.
But for now, "Oto-Hime" seems to likely to remain for women only.
"I still haven't heard of men who say they want 'Oto-hime' in men's rooms," said Goto.

Man stages fake heist to woo back wife
 Fri Oct 8, 4:59 PM ET

EDMOND, Oklahoma (Reuters) - An Oklahoma man desperate to save his marriage by appearing like a hero to his wife ended up in police custody on suspicion of staging a crime where he hired burglars and foiled their fake robbery attempt, police say.
Trent Spencer, 27, of Edmond, north of Oklahoma City, was charged this week with the misdemeanour crime of filing a false report, said police spokeswoman Glynda Chu.
According to police, Spencer, a high school teacher, paid two students $100 each to break into his house and try to make off with a stereo.
The masked students tied his wife with duct tape and her husband was in the house just in time to foil the supposed crime, police said.
Police said Spencer attacked the two in a choreographed fight, even hitting one with a board that he had cut to break in half. The plan was going well until his wife freed herself and called police, something Spencer did not anticipate, police said.
Police rushed to the scene and eventually tracked down the fake burglars.
"It was the most bizarre hoax we've ever had," Chu said. "It's sad because he was so desperate."

Fugitive phoney Florida doctor nabbed
 Fri Oct 8, 3:56 PM ET

By Jane Sutton
MIAMI (Reuters) - Police in Belize have arrested a Florida fugitive described by detectives as a fake doctor who drugged his cosmetic surgery patients with an animal anaesthetic and left a male bodybuilder with female breast implants.
Reinaldo Silvestre, 63, was arrested in Belize City, where he was teaching and practising medicine, the U.S. State Department said on Friday.
Silvestre fled after Miami Beach police charged him in 1999 with fraud, aggravated battery, practising medicine without a license and grand theft in connection with botched surgeries that left his patients permanently disfigured.
Police got a tip Silvestre was in Belize and U.S. Embassy officials worked with police in the Central American nation who arrested him. Silvestre was jailed pending extradition to Florida, said Ed Moreno, special agent in Miami with the Bureau of Diplomatic Security.
Miami Beach police said in 1999 that Silvestre had no medical license and operated late at night at a clinic on Lincoln Road Mall, a trendy strip of outdoor cafes and shops.
He anaesthetised patients with Ketamine, an animal tranquilliser known on the street as "Special K," police said.
They began investigating after a patient, described as a former model in her 20s, showed them a videotape she made of Silvestre operating on a male body builder who wanted pectoral implants to make his chest look more muscular.
"He ended up with female breast implants," police Capt. Charles Press said in 1999.
Police said the tape showed Silvestre jamming the C-cup implants into the patient's chest with "a spatula-type thing that you'd see in a kitchen" and sewing up the incision with crude X-shaped stitches. He said the patient awoke three times during the procedure and was told to go back to sleep.
The woman videotaped the operation at Silvestre's request because he had never performed a pectoral surgery and wanted to document his work, police said at the time.
The charges involved three patients, but police have said they suspect there were more mutilated victims who were too embarrassed to come forward.
Moreno said Silvestre worked at a hospital in Belize City and taught at a medical university where he coached students preparing to take exams for doctor licensing.

Autopilot Sinks Absent-Minded Skipper
 Fri Oct 8,12:12 PM ET HELSINKI (Reuters) - A Finnish commuter ferry captain has been suspended after crashing into a pier because he forgot to turn off the autopilot -- for the second time in three days.
The captain was given a second chance to prove his seamanship after an accident on Tuesday when two passengers and one crew member were injured after the Suomenlinna II hit the pier at its destination, an island just outside downtown Helsinki.
"He has been on this route for more than 10 years and we discussed carefully that he would be more sharp in the future. He did not manage it," Jorma Salopelto, head of Suomenlinnan Liikenne which runs the ferry, told Reuters.
Having on Thursday once again forgotten that the autopilot was engaged, the hapless skipper was unable to stop the boat from running ashore, completely demolishing the pier but without causing any personal injuries.
The ferry company said he had not been drinking on either occasion. It is not clear if or when he will return to his job.

Man Burned Alive for Stealing Gas Cannister
 Fri Oct 8, 8:04 AM ET

LIMA, Peru (Reuters) - Indian peasants burned alive a man accused of stealing a gas canister in the latest outbreak of mob justice in Peru's remote southern Andes.
Alejandro Noalca, 54, was taken to hospital and died hours later on Wednesday night, a hospital spokesman said on Thursday. Only the soles of his feet were burn-free.
Chilling television pictures showed townsfolk tying him to a lamppost, beating him and pouring gasoline over him out of soda bottles, apparently after a town "trial."
Noalca was later seen staggering away from the lamppost after his bindings burned through, but a woman poured more gasoline on him and the crowd set him alight again.
Police later took him to a hospital in an ambulance.
Percy Choque, the mayor of Azangaro where the incident happened, told Peru's CPN radio this was the eighth killing at the hands of a mob this year. Locals say these parts of Peru's highlands are largely forgotten by the state.
The attack happened in the department of Puno, where a mob of Aymara Indians in the town of Ilave stoned to death a mayor accused of corruption in April. Across the nearby border in Bolivia, another mayor suffered a similar fate in June.

Party Wants Lawmaker to Explain Obscene Sign
 Fri Oct 8, 7:44 AM ET

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong's main pro-Beijing party has demanded newly elected lawmaker and radical activist "Longhair" explain showing his middle finger in the legislature house just hours after he was sworn into office this week.
"This sort of behavior from a lawmaker is unacceptable and he needs to account for it," said Ip Kwok-him, deputy chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong, which has the largest bloc of seats in the legislature.
Leung Kwok-hung, who shouted pro-democracy slogans before and after he read his oath of office, found himself in trouble at a news conference Wednesday when he made the middle finger salute while referring to another legislator, Philip Wong.
The pro-Beijing Wong flashed his middle finger at demonstrators during a protest against a planned law banning subversive activities against mainland China last year and quickly drew public anger.
Recalling the incident, Leung made the gesture himself to show what Wong did and demanded Wong apologize.
Ip insisted that Leung's action was unacceptable.
"Even if he says he was just trying to show what Philip Wong did, that is unacceptable," Ip told Reuters. His party will demand that Leung explain his behavior in a legislative sub-committee meeting next week.
Leung, already embroiled in a battle to wear T-shirts to legislative meetings, was defiant.
"I tell you, they are mad. I was just showing reporters what Wong did, their complaint is irrelevant," Leung told Reuters.
"I am now challenging them to a public debate on whether I should apologize. If I lose, I will apologize."
Leung wore a black T-shirt printed with pro-democracy slogans and the image of Che Guevara for his swearing-in and has vowed to dress similarly in future legislative sessions.
Some of his more strait-laced colleagues have said such attire was not appropriate and the president of the legislature has called for all members to discuss the matter.

Ghostly Gangsters Shield Venezuelans from Crime
 Thu Oct 7,11:46 AM ET

By Fabian Andres Cambero
CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - As the setting sun casts long shadows over a Caracas cemetery, crime-weary Venezuelans pray at the tomb of the notorious thief Ismael, believing he and other dead gangsters can protect them against violent attacks and robberies.
Devotees of the Corte Malandra or Gangsters' Pantheon say the spirits of gangsters who once maintained a reign of terror in Caracas now watch over them in a city where murders and robberies are rife.
The Gangsters' Pantheon takes as its symbol a hawk on a motorcycle -- one of Ismael's tattoos -- to honor him, The Rat, Isabelita, Luis, Little Miguel, Antonio and other criminals who once preyed on poor hillside neighborhoods.
"The cult started with Ismael, a criminal who robbed the rich to help those who lived in his barrio," said Yamileth, a worshiper who works in a store selling spiritual and religious objects.
The roots of the Corte Malandra are unclear. Some say Ismael was Juan Francisco Carrillo, a thief murdered in the 1960s. Some say he died in the 1970s.
Believers say the spirits of the dead criminals are trying to make amends for their villainous past by protecting people and helping those who might be tempted into crime.
Police register as many as 100 murders each weekend in Venezuela, an oil-rich country where startling poverty sits beside huge wealth. Most crimes occur in ramshackle shantytown neighborhoods in the capital and most murders are settling of scores between criminal gangs.
The government last week began a new program to send National Guard troops into Caracas' most crime-plagued areas in an attempt to combat murder and robbery. Polls show many Venezuelans put security as one of their main worries.
Venezuela, though mainly a Roman Catholic country, has many cults based on rituals taken from African slaves and indigenous beliefs which count politicians and ex-presidents among their followers. Santeria -- a form of voodoo mixing Christian practices and African mythology -- is common.
Ismael "lived the bad boy life, so I think he can help many people escape from that life too," said Mayra Marin, a 43-year-old who become a devotee a few months ago.
The Gangsters' Pantheon is part of the Maria Lionza cult, which brings together a mysterious trinity of deities -- the mythical Amazonian goddess Maria Lionza, the historic Indian chief Guaicaipuro and the black slave rebel Negro Felipe.
Though based in Venezuela, the Lionza cult is starting to gain recognition in Cuba and Spain.
Nina -- who said she become a believer after spending four months in intensive care with a gunshot wound -- said she has seen retirees, army generals and high-ranking police officers paying their respects to Ismael's tomb. Even some modern-day criminals pay homage to the dead thief.
"People come to pray for boys who are in prison, kids with bad behavior, drug addicts and those who have strayed. Lots of young girls come to ask why their husbands are beating them," she said.
Devotees say anyone can pray at the tomb and pay for the favor with an offering of candles, a cigar, a glass of strong local anis liquor and a hot salsa song.
Figurines of the criminal "saints" are found more frequently in the spiritualist and amulet shops common in poor neighborhoods in Caracas. For less than $1 one can buy a statue of a muscular figure armed with a revolver and wearing dark glasses, basketball shirt and cap.
"One of the ways to make up for what they did in life is to help people through the cult," said spiritualist shopkeeper Yamileth, hugging a statue of Ismael.
But not all the followers of the goddess Maria Lionza believe the Gangsters' Pantheon belongs in the cult.
"What type of dark energy can come from this," said Raiza Lopez, a Tarot card reader at another spiritualist store. "We don't sell any of that stuff and we don't use it either. That would put us in touch with really bad vibes."

Anyone for Collagen Soup?
 Wed Oct 6,10:09 AM ET

LONDON (Reuters) - Could curry-flavored toothpaste help you snap out of your slumber of a morning? And could collagen-laced soup be the answer to those bags under the eyes?
A new generation of household and food products could turn conventional tastes and routines upside down, according to a report by market research firm Mintel.
The report suggests that instead of the jarring tones of an alarm clock, consumers could soon be waking up to a precisely-timed waft of lemon-mint or eucalyptus-mint.
Products like the "Wake up Arome," recently launched in Japan, could also be programmed to release welcoming scents after a day in the office or a calming fragrance just before bedtime, Mintel's David Jago said.
And a bewildering array of 31 differently flavored toothpastes, ranging from cafe au lait to Indian curry awaits the adventurous consumer who tries out the Breath Palette, also from Japan.
If you fancy sneaking more time under the duvet by cutting out your morning beauty routine, Collagen Soup could be just the trick. But again, you'll have to go to Japan for the instant packets, which contain 1,000 milligrams of collagen per serving.

Drunk Dozes Off in Sex Shop, Sparks Alert
 Wed Oct 6, 9:23 AM ET

BERLIN (Reuters) - A German man got more excitement than he bargained for in a sex shop when he dozed off in a video booth, got locked in overnight and was mistaken for a burglar by police as he tried to get out, authorities said on Tuesday.
"He'd had rather a lot to drink and had gone in to enjoy himself," said a spokesman for police in the southwestern city of Mannheim. "Seemingly the effects of the alcohol proved the strongest stimulus though. He fell asleep."
When the 50-year-old woke up in the dark inside the closed sex emporium, he struggled in vain to get out, only to set off the shop's alarms and alert police, who soon arrived.
"The officers initially thought he was a burglar," the spokesman said. "But he managed to provide them with proof that he was telling the truth."

Sex in a Bar Bathroom Legal in Italy
 Wed Oct 6, 9:22 AM ET

ROME (Reuters) - Making love in a bar lavatory does not breach public decency laws so long as the door is shut, an Italian court ruled on Tuesday.
A Swiss couple was accused of committing obscene acts after the owner of a bar in the northern Italian town of Como caught them having sex in the lavatory, Ansa news agency reported.
State prosecutors demanded a six-month prison term for the un-named male defendant and a five-month term for his partner.
But Judge Luciano Storaci threw out the case, saying public decency was not offended because the door was closed.
However, he fined the Swiss man 200 euros ($246) for breaking the lock on the lavatory after he was caught with his trousers down.
"If the barman had given me time to get dressed then nothing would have happened," Ansa quoted the Swiss woman as saying.

Man, 72, Marries for the 53rd Time
 Wed Oct 6, 9:16 AM ET

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - A 72-year-old Malaysian man married this week for the 53rd time and insisted he was no playboy despite some marriages lasting just days.
Kamarudin Mohamad's latest betrothal was also his first. He remarried his first "ex-wife" Sunday after divorcing her in 1958. She is now 74.
In between, he married 51 other women, including an Englishwoman and two Thais.
"I am not a playboy. I just love seeing beautiful women," the New Straits Times quoted Kamarudin, who hails from northern Kelantan state, as telling the paper.
He said all his previous marriages ended in divorce, except his last wife who died of cancer.
"My shortest marriage lasted for two days several years ago and the longest was with my last wife, a Thai woman from Songkhla, with whom I was married for 20 years."
Kamarudin is a Muslim and his religion allows him to have as many as four wives at a time. Traditionally, divorce can be accomplished simply by the husband announcing it to his wife.

Tax on Men for Violence on Women Proposed
 Tue Oct 5,10:55 AM ET

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - A group of Swedish parliamentarians proposed levying a "man tax" to cover the social cost of violence against women.
"It must be obvious to all of us that society has a huge problem with male violence against women and that has a cost," Left Party deputy Gudrun Schyman told Swedish radio on Monday.
"We must have a discussion where men understand they as a group have a responsibility," said Schyman, one of the party members to sign the motion for debate on the new tax.
Sweden already has the highest taxes in the European Union as a percentage of gross domestic product to pay for its famous but hard-pushed cradle-to-grave welfare program.
It is also one of the world's most advanced nations in terms of gender equality, but Schyman said in a headline-hitting 2002 speech that discrimination in Sweden followed "the same pattern" as in Afghanistan under the Taliban.

Driver Feared Death in 125 Mph Runaway Car
 Tue Oct 5,10:54 AM ET

PARIS (Reuters) - A mobile phone call may have saved the life of a panic-stricken French driver who found himself hurtling down a motorway at 125 mph but unable to slow down because of a mystery fault with his luxury saloon car.
The driver called police to say the cruise control of his Renault Vel Satis had jammed while overtaking a lorry, and that all attempts to brake or put the automatic into neutral had failed, police said Tuesday.
The driver became increasingly sure he was about to die as his top-of-the-range model raced toward a toll station on the A71 motorway between Bourges and Clermont-Ferrand, the police officer who took the call Sunday said.
"He was panicking. He was doing between 180 kph and 200 kph (110 mph to 125 mph) all the time. He was doing 140 kph (87 mph) and then the car just accelerated away on its own," officer Patrick Majerus said.
The driver, Hicham Dequiedt, veered left and right to avoid traffic and even switched at times to the hard shoulder reserved for rescue vehicles, in order to avoid vehicles in his path.
"He thought he was finished. I'm not surprised he was scared -- it's not easy to go through a toll station at 200 kph, the gap is pretty tight," Majerus said.
Police attempting to escort him along the motorway found they were quickly overtaken. Dequiedt eventually managed to cut the engine and came to a halt around 12 miles from the toll station, which had been evacuated as a precaution.
Renault boss Louis Schweitzer said he was mystified by the incident, telling LCI television: "As its been described to me, this incident surprises me and seems highly improbable."
A spokesman said Renault experts were inspecting the electronic speed control, brakes and automatic gearbox of the car. The results should be known by early Wednesday.

Stockings, High Heels for Women Riot Police
 Mon Oct 4,10:52 AM ET

By Mark Chisholm
KABUL (Reuters) - Fishnet stockings and high heels are not the norm for riot police, but this is Afghanistan (news - web sites).
Masouma was one of five women being trained by U.S. forces early on Sunday to cope with civil disturbances during the country's first ever presidential vote on Oct. 9.
Surrounded by nearly 200 men in dark blue uniforms, matching caps and black military-style boots, the small female contingent stood out with their colorful headscarves, lipstick, silver fingernails and gold earrings dangling under headscarves.
"We have asked our American friends to give us boots and hats so we have proper uniforms," Masouma told reporters during a break in training. All the women wore a blouse and a long skirt, but some had on stockings and high-heeled shoes underneath.
"They (the men) are well equipped, so we must be too." In an apparent breakdown in communications, U.S. Sergeant Damian George did not believe there was a major problem.
"The women expressed that they have been in high heels their whole life, and they feel they can accomplish the mission in those."
High heels or no high heels, there is a serious point to including women in the fledgling police force in this conservative Muslim country.
Men are not allowed to search women, and females are still under-represented despite new freedoms enjoyed since the fall of the hardline Islamic Taliban militia late in 2001. "We're trying to incorporate females into the police," George said on a field in central Kabul, as recruits in the background learned to handle their new plastic riot shields and batons. "We're trying to force the issue and get more females out there."

Islamic militants, many of them Taliban remnants, have vowed to disrupt Saturday's vote, and more than 1,000 people have already died in a wave of militant-related violence since August last year.
The election is a showcase for the administration of President Bush (news - web sites), who wants to portray Afghanistan as a foreign policy success story ahead of his own re-election bid in November as Iraq (news - web sites) remains volatile.
The U.S. military, which leads 18,000 troops in Afghanistan hunting Taliban and al Qaeda guerrillas, says thousands of Afghans will receive basic riot training in time for the poll.
But with only three days' training, it remains to be seen if the recruits will be effective in curbing civil disturbances such as the one that broke out in the western city of Herat in September after the removal of the provincial governor.
At least seven people were killed in the rioting.
U.S. officers say they have drawn on the lessons of Herat, and want to avoid unnecessary casualties in future.
"From my point of view we will be able to handle anything," said police commander Mohammad Zia, as an Afghan trainee in the distance hit a U.S. soldier on the head with his baton, despite instructions to aim for the arms and legs.
Germany is leading international efforts to build an Afghan police force, and the Americans are in charge of creating an Afghan National Army of some 70,000 soldiers.

Gold Fever Grips Slum
 Mon Oct 4,10:48 AM ET

MANILA (Reuters) - A mini gold rush has gripped a Manila slum district after residents said they found nuggets of the precious metal in a garbage-strewn river, baffling geologists who said it shouldn't be there.
Wilfredo Gallo, a traffic-control official who lives near the river in the Philippine capital, said the rush was sparked by his son who found 2.6 ounces of gold in the area last week.
"Papa, I saw something. It's the father of all gold nuggets," he quoted the boy as saying.
Gallo said he sold the gold for $445 and used the proceeds to buy a new television and a bicycle for his son.
By Monday, the stretch of river was crowded with people hoping to strike lucky.
Using plastic cups and wire mesh, they panned sand in the murky river, ignoring the garbage floating past.
A Reuters photographer saw a man pay a resident 2,000 pesos for a gold-colored nugget.
Geologists who inspected the site said the discovery could be a case of wishful thinking by the impoverished slum dwellers.
"No sample of gold was shown to our geologists. We don't know if it's gold or fool's gold," a geologist at the Mines and Geosciences Bureau said.

'Humming' Sex Toy Shuts Airport
 Mon Oct 4,10:42 AM ET

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A vibrating sex toy in a rubbish bin sparked a security scare and shut a regional Australian airport for almost an hour, officials said on Monday.
An emergency was declared at the airport in Mackay, 500 miles north of Brisbane in tropical Queensland state, after airport staff heard a strange noise coming from the bin, Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio said.
"It was rather disconcerting when the rubbish bin started humming furiously," cafeteria manager Lynne Bryant said.
Police evacuated the terminal and were about to call in bomb experts when an unidentified passenger came forward to identify the contents of a package left in the bin.
A police spokeswoman said the package was identified as an "adult novelty device."
Australia has been under heightened security alert since the Sept. 11, 2001, hijacked airliner attacks on the United States and security at major buildings and transport hubs has been tightened even further ahead of an Oct. 9 election.

Man Mistakenly Cuts Off Penis, Dog Eats It
 Mon Oct 4,10:41 AM ET

BUCHAREST (Reuters) - A elderly Romanian man mistook his penis for a chicken's neck, cut it off and his dog rushed up and ate it, the state Rompres news agency said Monday.
It said 67 year-old Constantin Mocanu, from a village near the southeastern town of Galati, rushed out into his yard in his underwear to kill a noisy chicken keeping him awake at night.
"I confused it with the chicken's neck," Mocanu, who was admitted to the emergency hospital in Galati, was quoted as saying. "I cut it ... and the dog rushed and ate it."
Doctors said the man, who was brought in by an ambulance bleeding heavily, was now out of danger.

Toddler Wanders Miles Across Desert
 Mon Oct 4,10:40 AM ET

TEHRAN (Reuters) - A 20-month-old boy wandered for 5 1/2 miles through the scorching desert of southeast Iran before his parents followed his footprints and found him sitting in an open irrigation channel, police said on Sunday.
Errant toddler Ali Esfandiarpour had been playing at home in a small village near the town of Sirjan when his parents realized he was missing on Tuesday afternoon. He was tracked down late that night.
"His family, relatives, and other villagers started walking out into the desert to look for him," said Abdolhossein Moghaddas, a police officer from the southeastern province of Kerman.
"Police and villagers followed his footsteps with torches until they found the boy sitting in an open channel used for irrigation. The boy started crying when he saw his parents," he added.
Esfandiarpour appeared unscathed by his trek.

Hound Shoots Hunter
 Fri Oct 1,10:56 AM ET

ZAGREB (Reuters) - A veteran Croatian hunter was shot by his own hound while preparing to go off into the woods, a newspaper reported on Friday.
Spaso Ivosevic, a hunter in central Croatia since 1957, cleaned and loaded his double-barreled shotgun as usual on Wednesday, the Jutarnji List daily said.
Ivosevic briefly leaned the gun against a wall near his house when his 2-year-old dog Lero, chasing chickens through the yard, stormed past and tripped over the shotgun.
It hit the ground and fired, showering Ivosevic with pellets.
The hunter was treated for a fractured leg bone, while the fate of Lero was not known.

Prisoners Break Out in Song -- Literally
 Fri Oct 1,10:19 AM ET

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Ten Kenyan prisoners broke out of a police cell by singing hymns and chanting prayers to drown the sound of their escape, a newspaper reported Friday.
The Daily Nation said the singing prisoners sawed through the iron bars of the cell window before scrambling to freedom in Machakos, a town south of Kenyan capital Nairobi.
"The robbers cut the grill and our officers have been in hot pursuit of them since morning. We know where they live and we will find them," said Charles Mathenge, chief of Machakos police station where the men had been detained awaiting trial.
But he denied the prisoners, due before court on charges of violent robbery, had made their escape by singing. "They were not singing at all, at least our officers would have heard them. We had other remandees in the cells and we have recorded their statements, no one has told us about singing," Mathenge told Reuters.
However, the Daily Nation said inmates in neighboring cells were woken up by the hymns.
"These people really disturbed us as they tried to preach the gospel," the newspaper quoted one inmate as saying.

 

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