4 Jul 2009 at 2:24am

AP - In the fight of pachyderms vs. people — the pachyderms now have the upper trunk.

New Zealand airline issues nude safety video
(AP)

3 Jul 2009 at 12:37pm

AP - New Zealand’s national airline has adopted a cheeky way to encourage passengers to watch its in-flight safety video: The cabin crew’s uniforms are nothing but body paint.

NYPD rookie makes arrest moments after graduation
(AP)

3 Jul 2009 at 5:42am

AP - A New York Police Department rookie just couldn’t wait to get started.

Illinois cabbie uses deodorant to disarm attacker
(AP)

3 Jul 2009 at 6:06am
AP - Police in suburban Chicago say a taxi driver who didn’t have Mace handy when he was attacked by a knife-wielding passenger instead disarmed the man with a can of aerosol deodorant.

Calif. students get X-rated version of class DVD
(AP)

3 Jul 2009 at 6:02am
AP - A Northern California elementary school teacher sent her students home for the summer with a video of class memories, only the DVD included six seconds of her having sex on a couch.

Great Train Robber is refused parole
(Reuters)

2 Jul 2009 at 3:09pm
Reuters - Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs lost his long-running bid for early jail release on Wednesday after the British government said he should not be allowed out on parole because he was wholly unrepentant.

Fireworks spread terror in war weary town
(Reuters)

1 Jul 2009 at 5:40pm

Reuters - Independence day fireworks sent terrified Congolese sprinting for cover on Tuesday in fear that war had broken out again in their eastern city.

Russia bans all gambling and shuts casinos
(Reuters)

1 Jul 2009 at 5:42pm

Reuters - Russia closed down its casinos overnight as gambling was banned nationwide, a move the industry says could throw a third of a million people out of work.

Man had boss killed to save job?
(Reuters)

30 Jun 2009 at 4:53pm

Reuters - Spanish police have arrested a man whom they suspect hired a contract killer to murder his boss in a desperate bid to avoid being laid off, newspaper El Pais reported on Tuesday.

Mosquito repellent firm in dock for mosquito breeding
(Reuters)

30 Jun 2009 at 4:51pm

Reuters - A Sri Lankan court threatened a mosquito repellent factory manager with six months in jail for failing to destroy mosquito breeding areas on company premises to stop the spread of dengue fever, an official said Tuesday.

Mung bean mystery stumps British military
(Reuters)

2 Jul 2009 at 3:50pm
Reuters - The British military is mystified after what was first announced as a major haul of opium poppy seeds amounted to nothing more than a hill of beans.

Housewife first up for 100-day live sculpture
(Reuters)

2 Jul 2009 at 1:49pm
Reuters - A housewife from Sleaford in Lincolnshire will be the first of thousands of people to stand for one hour on top of a plinth in London’s Trafalgar Square as part of a 100-day live sculpture exercise.

Air New Zealand staff bare all to get flyers’ attention
(Reuters)

2 Jul 2009 at 7:03am
Reuters - Air New Zealand has hit on a novel way to make sure even the most jaded flyers keep their eyes glued on its flight safety briefing.

Plenty of gut, little glory for stringers
(Reuters)

1 Jul 2009 at 8:44pm
Reuters - After supervising around 3,000 re-strings during the Wimbledon fortnight one might think Roger Dalton could put his feet up with a bowl of strawberries on Sunday and watch the men’s singles final in peace.

EU court okays Dutch, Italy to sell Bavaria beer
(Reuters)

2 Jul 2009 at 10:38am
Reuters - Europe’s highest court on Thursday upheld the right of Dutch and Italian brewers to sell their ‘Bavaria’ beer in Italy, rejecting a bid by a company making a rival beer with the equivalent name in German to stop them.

3 Jul 2009 at 8:38pm
Two friends were refused service at a McDonald’s drivethrough for health and safety reasons - because they were on a tandem bicycle.

Binmen refused to collect bin three inches out of position

3 Jul 2009 at 6:33pm
Binmen refused to collect a wheelie bin because a homeowner claims he left it three inches out of its required position.

Woman dials 999 to report missing hamster

3 Jul 2009 at 5:49pm
A woman dialled 999 to say her hamster had escaped from its cage police said as they asked the public to only use the service for genuine emergencies.

Michael Jackson’s death set to boost Dutch pension fund

3 Jul 2009 at 5:37pm

ABP a Dutch pension fund looks set to benefit from surge in song sales.

Britons head to nudist camps to top up tans

3 Jul 2009 at 4:29pm
Britons are flocking in record numbers to nudist colonies in to get allover body tans with enquiries rising 600 per cent since the heatwave began.

Video: Identical twins marry in bizarre ceremony

3 Jul 2009 at 3:27pm
It was a case of double vision when a set of identical twin brothers married another pair of twin sisters in a military ceremony in Pechora north Russia.

Murder mystery actress with agoraphobia was benefits cheat

3 Jul 2009 at 2:41pm
A benefits cheat Edwina Stocker who performed in her own murder mystery plays despite stating she had agoraphobia and a paralysed leg has been handed a suspended jail sentence

Video: UFO spotted over theme park in Virginia

3 Jul 2009 at 2:38pm
A writer who filmed a circular shape hovering in the sky says it looked like a space ship.

World’s first no star hotel slashes prices to £5.99 a night

3 Jul 2009 at 2:29pm
Economic gloom across Europe has seen the world’s first “no star” hotel slash its rates to £5.99 a night.

Twitter users can ‘buy’ followers

3 Jul 2009 at 1:25pm
Twitter users will be able to boost their popularity on the microblogging site by ‘buying’ groups of followers from a new company uSocial.

Rabbitobsessed US woman found in hotel room with a dozen bunnies

3 Jul 2009 at 12:36pm
An Oregon woman obsessed with rabbits has been returned to prison after police found her in a hotel room with more than a dozen bunnies.

Portuguese minister resigns after making cuckold gesture to opposition MP

3 Jul 2009 at 12:24pm
Manuel Pinho Portugal’s economy minister has resigned after making a cuckold gesture to an opposition MP during a stormy debate in parliament.

Scots ‘using chip fat instead of sun cream’

3 Jul 2009 at 9:44am
Scots are risking skin cancer by using chip fat moisturiser and baby oil instead of protective cream researchers claim.

Prison opens West End style restaurant behind bars

3 Jul 2009 at 8:41am
A West End style restaurant called The Clink has been set up inside a high security prison HMP High Down.

Sears Tower pushes fear of heights to the limit with glass balconies

3 Jul 2009 at 1:48am
The Sears Tower in Chicago the tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere is offering visitors a new way to push their fear of heights right over the edge.