Fiji

BBC: "A group of Freemasons have had to spend a night in jail in Fiji, after local villagers complained they were practicing witchcraft."

Penguin Protectors

Phil Mercer, BBC News: "Professional snipers have been brought in to guard a vulnerable colony of penguins in Australia."

Lucky Beggar

RIA Novosti:

A Nigerian lottery winner gave all her winnings to a street beggar an hour after being given the cheque, Ananova reported.

Forty-six-year old Rosemary Obiakor from Lagos won over 3 million naira (around 15,700 euros) in the country's national lottery.

In a ceremony, broadcast on local TV, Rosemary told reporters that she planned to donate all the money she had won to a "lucky beggar."

"I have heard a lot of stories about how people win the lottery, and they get broke in the short run and come across a lot of misfortune. I am scared, and so I'll give it to a lucky beggar on the street," she explained.

After cashing in her cheque, Rosemary handed the money to a woman begging with a two-year-old child, who was naturally delighted when presented with the bag of cash.

The beggar gave other poor people on the street money before disappearing with a promise to open a food shop.

Surprise

RIA Novosti:

The United States was unable to detect the presence of Russian strategic submarines in the Arctic before they test-launched two ballistic missiles, a Russian intelligence source said on Wednesday.

Russia carried out test launches of two Sineva intercontinental ballistic missiles from two Delta IV class nuclear-powered submarines, located near the North Pole, on July 13-14.

"The American radars certainly detected the missile launches but their location took them by surprise," the source said.

The first missile, flying a ballistic path, hit its designated target at the Kura testing grounds on the Kamchatka Peninsula, while the second, fired with a flat trajectory, destroyed a target at the Chizha testing site on the White Sea.

The source said that the launch area, covered by ice floe, was heavily patrolled by Russian attack submarines and the Americans were unable to detect the arrival of two strategic submarines before the launch.

"At the same time, U.S. reconnaissance satellites are unable to detect submarines under thick ice floe in the Arctic," he said.

The region around the North Pole is a perfect place for launches of ballistic missiles because it allows the submarines to arrive in a designated area undetected and to shorten the missile flight time to the target.

The RSM-54 Sineva (NATO designation SS-N-23 Skiff) is a third-generation liquid-propellant intercontinental ballistic missile that entered service with the Russian Navy in July 2007. It can carry four or 10 nuclear warheads, depending on the modification.

Russia plans to equip its Delta IV class submarines with at least 100 Sineva missiles.

Meriwether Lewis

"Was Explorer Meriwether Lewis Murdered?" - NPR

Small Salamander

University of Georgia:

Researchers from the University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources weren’t looking for anything new when they went exploring in the northeast part of the state. But they ended up making a big discovery of a tiny animal, finding a new species of salamander that could change what scientists know about some amphibians.

The newly discovered salamander, which is the second-smallest salamander species in the U.S. and one of the smallest in the world at just two inches long, is now under study by a diverse group of researchers from several U.S. colleges.

Extramarital Affairs

RIA Novosti:

Officials in the southwestern Chinese city of Meishan have been banned from having extramarital affairs, the China Daily paper said on Wednesday.

"Officials should persist in being upright and honest after work hours," the document, headlined "Behavior Standards for Officials of Meishan After Eight Hours of Work," says.

Offenders who are caught violating the rules twice will face a 1,000-yuan ($146) fine and media coverage. Repeat offenders will be refused the opportunity of promotion. It is unclear, however, how the rule will work in practice.

Having as many lovers as possible is a common practice among Chinese officials, the paper quoted Jin Weizhi, a former general manager of a state-owned dairy company, as saying.

"They are a symbol of your status," he said. He also admitted that he had extramarital affairs with 13 women.

Xu Qiyao, the former director of a provincial construction bureau, gained notoriety for having 146 lovers. He was sentenced to death on corruption charges in 2001 but is still widely referred to as "he who had the most lovers."

Monkey

The Wildlife Conservation Society announced the discovery of a new monkey in a remote region of Brazil.

Hitler's Tree

Spiegel Online:

Adolf Hitler marked his birthday 67 years ago by planting an oak seedling in the Nazi-occupied city of Jaslo in Poland. Almost seven decades later, the tree is the subject of heated debate as the city mayor, previously unaware of its history, calls for it to be felled.

Expatriates

Mercer:

Tokyo has knocked Moscow off the top spot to become the world’s most expensive city for expatriates, according to the latest Cost of Living Survey from Mercer. Osaka is in second position, up nine places since last year, whereas Moscow is now in third place. Geneva climbs four places to fourth position and Hong Kong moves up one to reach fifth. Johannesburg has replaced Asunción in Paraguay as the least expensive city in the ranking.

Frog Hunters

RIA Novosti: "A court in Russia's Far East has sentenced two Chinese nationals to nine months in jail for illegally crossing into Russia to hunt frogs."

Panama

"Panama Canal Project Opens a Tropical Window" - New York Times

Russia

Andrew Kramer of the New York Times: "PepsiCo will invest $1 billion in Russia over the next three years and open its largest bottling plant in the world outside Moscow, the company said Monday."

Casablanca

ABC Online, Australia: "The upper half of a woman's body has been found in a suitcase in a Moroccan train station, a police source said."

Jackie and Bobby

Jackie Kennedy reportedly had a four-year love affair with RFK. Jeane MacIntosh of the New York Post has the details.

Previous: Jackie

Money for Souls

RIA Novosti:

Religious leaders in Latvia have condemned a company that is offering people in the former Soviet republic the chance to pledge their souls as collateral for loans, the Delfi news portal said on Monday.

In order to receive loans of up to $1,000, clients have to sign a contract that states that the firm will own their souls in the event of them failing to return the sum.

"It is possible that this is simply the action of cynical financers who want to use the fear of losing one's soul to get rich," a joint statement by Evangelical Lutheran, Orthodox and Catholic leaders said.

"However, perhaps religious aims are behind this — Satanism, the occult or something of this kind — in an attempt to destroy human souls."

Northrop Grumman

Peter Pae of the Los Angeles Times:

Unassuming and devoid of the cigar-chomping flamboyance that distinguished aerospace executives in the past, Ronald Sugar — a former whiz kid from South Los Angeles — often shuns the limelight.

England

Approximately 30 chimps escaped from their enclosure at the Chester Zoo.

Indian Peacock

Photo credit: BS Thurner Hof

Fossils

Scientists discovered three new dinosaur species in Australia.

Las Palmas

Plotters planned to use a 13-foot zeppelin to help a detainee escape from prison.

Dinosaur Skin

NPR: "A rare discovery in North Dakota offers a peek at the skin of a dinosaur."

Belarus

RIA Novosti:

Belarus plans to create a gambling zone near its international airport in Minsk to attract foreign visitors as neighboring Russia and Ukraine have banned casinos, an official said on Thursday.

Black Bear

New York Post: "A New Jersey man packing his car for a business trip was waylaid by a hungry black bear who knocked him unconscious and stole his Italian sub sandwich, police said yesterday."

Yard Dogs

RIA Novosti:

Police in Russia's Far East said that they have found another child that has been raised by dogs, Ren TV reported on Thursday.

The police found 6-year-old Veronika Tishchenko in a house along with three adults in the town of Vyazemsky, Khabarovsk Territory, several days ago.

The girl was unable to speak and had spent her time playing with dogs in the yard of her home. Two years ago Veronika's brother was tragically killed by the yard dogs.

Previous: It's a Dog's Life

Poland

Polish customs officers found scorpions in a parcel from Hong Kong.

Bangladesh

ABC Online, Australia: "Police in southeastern Bangladesh arrested a man for beating an endangered Bengal tiger to death after it strayed into a village, a forest official said."

Thailand

An elephant killed a man and two women in three separate attacks at rubber plantations in southern Thailand.

Dangerous Pet

In Florida a Burmese python strangled a 2-year-old child.

Empire of the Ants

Matt Walker of the BBC:

A single mega-colony of ants has colonized much of the world, scientists have discovered.

Argentine ants living in vast numbers across Europe, the U.S. and Japan belong to the same interrelated colony, and will refuse to fight one another.

The colony may be the largest of its type ever known for any insect species, and could rival humans in the scale of its world domination.

Chocolate

RIA Novosti: "The world's first monument to chocolate, depicting a bronze fairy holding a bar of chocolate, was unveiled in Central Russia's Vladimir Region on Wednesday."