Mum sues over 666 baby
A Russian woman is suing the state after local officials gave her baby daughter the birth registration number 666.
Natalia Serepova, 33, from Stavropol, protested the number her daughter Marianna had been given was Satanic.
But when local authorities refused to change the number, which every new born child in Russia is given by local authorities, Serepova filed legal action.
She said: "I will not have my daughter given this number. It is the seal of the AntiChrist. It is the number of the beast and Satanic. It soils the soul of any Christian."
A local court is due to hold an initial hearing on March 7.
Priests told to lose weight
A Romanian bishop has ordered his priests to lose weight.
Bishop Calinic fears his priests' fat tummies suggest they enjoy too many worldly pleasures.
He wants them to extend their fast over lent and recommends extended prayer sessions to reduce weight.
The bishop, in charge of the Arges region, said: "Oversized bellies only prove to people that priests have a good life and are not concentrating on their holy mission."
However, he says he is not recommending they take up sport, which was not appropriate for men of the cloth, adding: "Marathon prayer sessions will work much better."
His priests have all agreed to follow the advice, although some were quoted in the papers as saying they had always been "big boned".
Father Marioara, from Pitesti, says: "All the members of my family are a bit fat, it is genetic, and I do not believe I can lose weight no matter how hard I try."
Father Tintea said: "Being fat does not mean that I eat or live well, it is a matter of metabolism."
And Father Popescu added: "I do not believe that God dislikes big bellies. He brought into the world thin and fat people and makes no difference between them.
"But because I do not want people to believe I live an opulent life, I will try to lose some pounds during Lent as my bishop advises."
EU helps witches branch out
Romanian witches are carving out a lucrative new business - concocting spells to help locals get EU grants.
Until now the country's witches have confined themselves to love potions and spells to get cows to produce more milk.
But the EU expansion has seen funding for new projects flood into the country and now locals hoping to gain a slice of the action are turning to witches to boost their chances.
Witch Florica, from Pitesti in southern Romania, said: "It's a new type of spell that we had to work out of course.
"You cannot pretend you are a real witch if you cannot help a businessman get the European Union funds he wants.
"For example, only the other day I had a young businessman who came to me with his papers applying for European funds.
"I spread the cards on his documents, said my spells and splashed the papers with some potions. It only cost him about £40 for my charms but when gets the money thanks to my spells he will be happy and I will be happy because he will bring me new customers."
Witchcraft is a recognised profession in the new EU state and witches say they have adjusted their services as entrepreneurs turn to potions and spells to get the money they want.
Witches say that with entry to the EU and rights for homosexuals guaranteed in legislation, more and more gay men are also turning to them for help.
Witch Margareta from Pitesti said: "I have come up with a lot of new spells to help men to get together or for men to gain more feminine features.
"They are starting to use make up and wear jewellery and I am helping with spells to make them more attractive, make their thighs smaller and stop their moustaches growing."
Woman swallowed lover's false teeth
A Romanian woman needed medical help after she swallowed her lover's false teeth during a moment of passion.
The 38-year-old woman, from Galati, went to hospital with stomach pains claiming she had swallowed a foreign object but without saying what it was.
Doctors were surprised when the x-ray showed false teeth in her stomach.
Eventually she admitted she gulped down the denture while experimenting a 'special type of passionate kiss' with her boyfriend.
After spending two days in hospital, the foreign object left the woman's body the natural way.
Groom weds best man
A Loughborough man was horrified to learn that he had accidentally 'married' his best man.
Chris Adams, 33, had exchanged vows with bride Gemma Mortell, 19, in a Valentine's Day wedding.
But when the couple returned from honeymoon and checked the wedding certificate they had a surprise, reports the Sun.
Gemma had mistakenly signed her name in the 'witness' space - and best man Paul Hickleston had put his signature where the bride's should have been.
Chef Chris said: "I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw what we'd done. I've known my best man for over 20 years and he's a great guy - but I don't want him as my missus."
Gemma added: "When he told me Paul was down as his wife, I just laughed. I thought he was winding me up.
"But it's not funny. The wedding cost a lot of money. It was the biggest day of our life and we wanted it to be just right. We'd planned it for nine months."
The couple had feared their marriage might not be legal but the Rev Elaine Skinner, who conducted the ceremony, has reassured them.
"I've told them they have nothing to worry about - any mistakes can be corrected and I can issue a new certificate," she said.
Bat-like demon blamed for attacks
Men in parts of Tanzania's main city, Dar es Salaam, are living in fear of a sex attacks from a bat-like demon.
The attacks are being blamed by some on a demon called Popo Bawa, meaning winged bat, reports the BBC.
Some men are staying awake or sleeping in groups outside their homes. Others are smearing themselves with pig's oil to repel Popo Bawa.
Reports of the demon's existence have been common for many years in Zanzibar, where locals claim it originated.
Mbaruku Ibrahim, from Zanzibar, says the story of the demon is common there and people in his village on Pemba island sleep beside a huge fire outside their houses whenever it is said to appear.
The story goes that the bat is able to transform itself into a man at night and it has also been blamed for rapes of women.
Belief in witchcraft and superstitions is widespread in Tanzania, especially in rural areas.
Robber up to his neck in it...
A Romanian robber was caught after he fell into a cesspit beneath an outside toilet while being chased by police.
Police were pursuing the 30-year-old, from Moara Vlasiei village, Ilfov county, after he allegedly robbed a teenage girl.
He had managed to run away by jumping a few fences and climbing over some roofs untill he hid in an old lady's toilet.
But he was found there by the owner who needed to use the toilet during the night.
When he tried to run away the toilet's floor collapsed and he fell through the hole into the cesspit below.
A policespokesman said: "It was a really smelly business: we had to clean the robber and give him new clothes before even talking to him."
Wife bites hubby's manhood
A Chilean woman has been sent to prison after she tried to bite off her husband's penis.
The unnamed woman, from Osorno, told police that she had a jealousy fit and was unable to control herself.
She faces charges of grevious bodily harm and is currently in custody awaiting a trial.
According to Austral Osorno Newspaper, the husband is recovering after minor surgery in hospital.
A police spokesperson said: "The wife said that this was the only way to teach her husband a lesson.
"She said it was a proof of love and is sure the husband will understand and forgive her."
Nine babies in nine years
A Bournemouth policeman and his wife are celebrating their ninth baby in nine years.
Sgt Malcolm Warriner and Rayna, 32, now boast six girls and three boys, reports The Sun.
Rayna jokes they only need one more arrival to fill every seat in the family’s 12-seater minibus.
The Warriner family already consisted of Eryn, nine; Jackson, eight; Harrison, six; Callan, four; Taitum, three; and triplets Ilish, Rosemary and Meredith who are 23 months.
And on January 27, she gave birth to 7lb 11oz Avie at Poole Hospital, Dorset.
Rayna said: “I had a word with her in hospital to tell her to behave for her mummy.
“It seemed to work as she’s slotted in fine and even sleeps through the night - which is just as well. The other eight think she’s lovely. Luckily I just love having babies.”
The daily routine for ex-nursery boss Rayna and Malcolm, 45, starts at 7am and ends after midnight.
Malcolm said: “Rayna and I haven’t had a holiday for years or a night out together. But I don’t feel that I’m missing out. Our family is our life.”
See-through car
A Swiss car maker has invented a transparent car with a body made entirely of see-through material.
The new Rinspeed 'eXasis' was produced by Frank M Rinderknecht to mark his company's 30th anniversary.
It has a completely transparent body and floor made of a substance called Makrolon, developed in collaboration with the experts from Bayer MaterialScience AG.
It will be shown to the public for the first time at the Geneva Motor Show in March.
"Everyone who sees the eXasis for the first time raves about the glass car, but they actually mean our transparent high-tech plastic," says Ian Paterson, of Bayer Material Science.
The yellow chassis with the exposed wheels has room for two people, one behind the other, and because it is transparent there is an unrestricted view of the compact 2-cylinder 750 cc Weber engine, which, unusually, sits above the transmission.
The car weighs only 750 kg because of its lightweight plastic construction. It is fuelled by CO2-emission-reducing bio-ethanol.
Sex spies sought
Religious authorities in Malaysia are planning to recruit spies to tip them off on the activities of lovers.
They want volunteers who will be trained to keep surveillance at parks and secluded areas in Terengganu to nab dating couples intending to have sex.
The state government initiated the plan to avert soaring cases of 'close proximity and vice' among young couples, reports the Star newspaper.
Rosol Wahid, chief of the government's Islamic and welfare committee, said: "Some of these 'spies' could be waitresses or even janitors at hotels acting as auxiliary undercover agents for our religious department.
"Accurate details are required for the enforcement officers to act, otherwise they could be pouncing on married couples."
It is reported the vigilantes will be rewarded for their tip-offs.
Man catches shark bare-handed
An Australian man who caught a 4ft shark with his bare hands says he only did it because he was drunk.
Phillip Kerkhof, 41, says he only realised what an 'idiot' he'd been when sobered up the next day.
The bricklayer had been to the pub for "a fair few vodkas" before going fishing with friends from a jetty at Louth Bay, on the Eyre Peninsula.
When he spotted the 4ft bronze whaler shark, he climbed down a ladder and followed the shark as it swam around the jetty.
Then he stripped off and launched himself into the water.
"It was a bit of a fluke - I just got behind the shark and I went for a big grab," Mr Kerkhof said. "I guess you could say that it was the vodka spurring me on."
After a short wrestle, Mr Kerkhof pulled the shark on to the jetty, to the cheers of his watching mates. His only injury was a scratch where the shark bit a hole in his jeans.
Mr Kerkhof said after sobering up the next day he realised that he had been "a bit of an idiot".
Divorce over pumpkin pie
A Russian man divorced his wife of 18 years after finding she had been feeding him cheap pumpkins instead of courgettes.
Ivan Dimitrov, 47, was devastated to find the pies he had been eating for six months were made of pumpkins and not courgettes.
Mr Dimitrov, from Voronezh, said when he realised the truth, after finding pumpkin rinds in the bin, he immediately hired a lawyer to organise a quick divorce from wife Irena, 38.
He said: "She knows I absolutely hate pumpkins and she lied to me for months about it just because the pumpkins were cheap.
"What else has she been lying about? What man could trust a woman who fed him pumpkins for half a year."
Bored wardens shoot diplomat's dog
Bulgarian park wardens have sparked a diplomatic row after they shot a Russian diplomat's pet dog because they were bored.
The Russian consul in the Bulgarian city of Russe is demanding action after his beloved pet labrador Mecho was shot dead by the park wardens as target practice.
They were employed at a park near his residence and the dog, that was used to walking there with its master, ran to the park after getting out of the embassy unnoticed one evening.
Yuri Trushin said he only noticed the dog was missing the next morning. When he went out to look for him he found the animal's body peppered with gunshot wounds in the park alongside other dead hounds.
Trushin said witnesses had seen local park guards "entertaining themselves" the previous night by shooting at the dogs in the park.
He said: "I have written to the local police to express my anger, and also urged the Russian foreign ministry to get involved and do something over this.
"I am going to meet other members of the Russian diplomatic corps in the next few days to tell them all about the kind of travesties here."
Teacher 'snorted coke in class'
A US schoolteacher has been arrested on suspicion of snorting cocaine in front of the class she was teaching.
Two girls, aged nine and ten, said they saw Joan Donatelli, 59, dipping a pen cap into a plastic bag filled with white powder, then putting it to her nose.
Police confronted the substitute teacher at her home in Lewiston, New York, after finding traces of white powder in the classroom, reports Metro.
She handed over a small bag of powder and two pen caps and admitting to using cocaine in front of the children.
"She stated that she had a problem, that she had an addiction, something she's been struggling with," said Sergeant Frank Previte.
The school confirmed that Donatelli used to teach at the school full time, but is now retired, and acts as a substitute.
Personal subs launched
The world's first personal submarines have been launched with a price tag of £65,000.
Dutch designers claim the subs will make owners feel like they are "flying through the water".
The one-seater version is 9ft long, and the 11ft model seats two. Owners who really want to impress can get go-faster stripes and custom paint jobs.
The tiny C-Quester can dive to 50 metres and cruise beneath the waves at up to four knots using electric-propelled thrusters.
It can stay underwater for two-and-ahalf hours straight or 36 hours in the event of an emergency.
The vessel's high-strength pressure hull allows the pilot to submerge in a totally dry cockpit and surface straight from the maximum depth without risk of decompression problems.
Makers U-Boat Worx, which took three years to perfect the subs, said: "Never before has it been possible for the public to explore the underwater world with a one-atmosphere submarine."
But budding Jacques Cousteaus will need to get an underwater pilot's license before they get behind the wheel.
