UK-Odd Summary

Did Venezuela's Chavez nudge Christ to pick South American pope?

CARACAS (Reuters) - Late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez's influence may have stretched into the afterlife and had a hand in Christ's decision to opt for a Latin American Pope, acting President Nicolas Maduro said on Wednesday. "We know that our commander ascended to the heights and is face-to-face with Christ," Maduro said at a Caracas book fair. "Something influenced the choice of a South American pope, someone new arrived at Christ's side and said to him: 'Well, it seems to us South America's time has come.'"

European lawmakers leave "green fairy" out of absinthe

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Charles Baudelaire and Ernest Hemingway may well turn in their graves. Absinthe, the green-tinged alcohol that fuelled poets, writers and artists in 19th century France, does not have to contain its most important ingredient to be labelled "absinthe", the European Parliament decided on Wednesday.

New York City 'cannibal cop' convicted of plot to kidnap women

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York City police officer was convicted on Tuesday of plotting to kidnap, cook and eat women following a trial that shed light on an underworld of people who derive pleasure from fantasizing online about cannibalism. A federal court jury also found Gilberto Valle, 28, guilty on a lesser charge of improperly accessing a law enforcement database to gather personal information about potential targets, including his now-estranged wife.

Champagne out, ebooks in as Britain updates inflation basket

LONDON (Reuters) - Champagne is losing its fizz for British consumers who would rather be curled up with a book downloaded onto their eReaders, according to government statisticians. The Office for National Statistics, which bases its monthly calculation of inflation on 700 goods and services priced in 150 areas of the country, said sales of books for digital devices represented a "significant and growing market".

Baseball-sized snail destroyed in Australia to protect crops

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A baseball-sized snail with an insatiable appetite for hundreds of plants including cocoa and papaya has been seized and destroyed by Australian officials, who said it posed a huge threat to local agriculture. The animal was found creeping across a Brisbane shipping container yard and identified as a giant African snail, an East African pest capable of growing up to 30 cm (12 inches) long and one kg (2.2 lb) in weight.

Cannabis-smoking ascetics light up Nepal festival

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Ringed by an endless stream of pilgrims at an ancient temple in Kathmandu, Hindu holy man Mahant Ramnaresh Giri sat naked and puffed on a pipe filled with cannabis, his body smeared with ash as he took part in Nepal's biggest annual religious event. Giri was one of more than a hundred such naked ascetics at the ancient Shivaratri festival, which brings an estimated one million devout Hindus flocking to Kathmandu's Pashupatinath temple each year for rituals to cleanse them of sin and earn a place in heaven.

China's heavy-handed censors will now have to endure Ai Weiwei's heavy metal

BEIJING (Reuters) - Dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei announced plans on Monday to release a heavy-metal album that he said would "express his opinion" just as he does with his art. The burly and bearded Ai said 81 days in secretive detention in 2011, which sparked an international outcry, triggered his foray into music.

Let them eat cake later - Americans hosting "fitness parties"

NEW YORK (Reuters) - From spinning birthday celebrations to pole dancing bachelorette bashes, U.S. gyms are offering fitness parties as new way to mark life's milestones - with a few friends and a good sweat. Gyms and fitness studios are often eager to host the festivities, which light up darkened rooms after hours and expose potential new members to their services.

Even for sperm, there is a season

(Reuters) - Autumn is the time of year most associated with bumper crops of new babies, and according to an Israeli study there may be a scientific reason for it: human sperm are generally at their healthiest in winter and early spring. Based on samples from more than 6,000 men treated for infertility, researchers writing in American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology found sperm in greater numbers, with faster swimming speeds and fewer abnormalities in semen made during the winter, with a steady decline in quality from spring onward.

Israeli kids hurt by teachers' name-calling

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Students at an Israeli high school were in an uproar on Monday after a teacher mistakenly sent them an internal email that spelled out what faculty members really thought about them. "Not too bright", "Liar", "Tactless", "Big Baby", "Anti-social", "Has a thing for boys" and "Sick-o" were some of the descriptions on an Excel spreadsheet that landed in students' email boxes.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/uk-odd-summary-165602701.html

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