Reuters: Oddly Enough

Black nativity angers Italy's "White Xmas" party

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:03:43 -0500

ROME (Reuters) - A nativity scene featuring a dark-skinned Jesus, Mary and Joseph that has gone on display in a Verona courthouse has created heated debate in a city with strong links to Italy's anti-immigration Northern League party.

More than 3,000 detained in porn crackdown

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:02:44 -0500

BEIJING (Reuters Life!) - Chinese police have detained some 3,470 people so far this year during a crackdown on online pornography and closed thousands of pornographic websites, state media said on Saturday.

Anger over elaborate emission cuts hoax

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:41:16 -0500

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada condemned on Monday a series of elaborate hoax emails and a fake website story that claimed the country would cut emissions of greenhouse gases by a much greater amount than previously announced.

Rotating house puts family in a spin

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 12:27:38 -0500

SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Australian family is turning heads with a rotating house that can guarantee a different view every time they wake up.

Teens ignore laws against texting while driving

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 12:28:31 -0500

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Karen Cordova, a 17-year-old high school student and part-time supermarket cashier, admits she sometimes texts friends while driving home from work late at night, lonely and bored.

"Secret agent" busted in late night car chase

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:33:51 -0500

BERLIN (Reuters) - German police arrested a man who claimed to be a "secret agent" after a high speed chase in pursuit of a car with a blue flashing light on its roof.

No more endangered eel at top supermarket

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 14:54:01 -0500

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Smoked eel on toast looks set to become an even rarer treat at Dutch parties, as the main supermarket group in the Netherlands plans to stop selling the endangered fish from 2010.

Alpine enthusiasts, "don't drink and ski"

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:31:01 -0500

PARIS (Reuters) - Britain on Wednesday warned its skiers and snowboarders to avoid excess alcohol when taking to France's ski slopes, after a spate of drink-related deaths and serious accidents.

Christmas cheer saves woman from speeding fine

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:53:26 -0500

BERLIN (Reuters) - A young woman in Germany who burst into tears when police fined her for speeding received an early Christmas present when another woman caught for the same offence paid the charge.

Cigarettes kill, but don't tell smokers?

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:52:03 -0500

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Cigarette pack warnings that remind smokers of the fatal consequences of their habit may actually make them smoke more as a way to cope with the inevitability of death, according to researchers.