A Russian priest was left cursing after he was tricked into giving a sacred blessing to a strip bar. Father Nickolai blessed the Studio 74 strip club in the city of Chelyabinsk after he was told it was a ballet school. The Orthodox priest claims he had no idea it was a strip club and that he had been tricked by the owners - who told him it was a hall for training ballet dancers.Studio 74 spokeswoman Anna Usmanova said: "Ever since we had this sacred act performed on our premises customers say they have experienced an entirely new atmosphere here and more people are coming in. The blessing seems to be working."
A US man has been credited with the ultimate nerd wedding proposal after hacking into his girlfriend's favourite video game.
Bernie Peng, 26, of New Jersey, reprogrammed Bejeweled so a ring and a proposal popped up when Tammy Li, 27, reached a certain score.
Mr Peng, who works as a programmer of financial software, said he spent about a month reprogramming the game.
"I thought it was pretty cool, in a nerdy way," he told the Star-Ledger.
He presented the game to a surprised Li, who played until she hit the score that triggered a digital pink sapphire ring to drop down with Peng's proposal.
"He set a pretty low score," said Li, who is now sporting an identical pink sapphire engagement ring. "He had all his bases covered."
The story was picked up by video gaming sites and spread across the internet until the manufacturer eventually heard about it.
Instead of being angry that Peng had hacked into their game, company officials were so impressed they offered to pay for part of the wedding.
"Most video game companies would frown on people manipulating their games," said Garth Chouteau, a spokesman for Seattle company PopCap.
"But it won him a woman," Chouteau said. "As a bunch of geeks we have to say, 'Bernie, hats off to you.'"
LECCO, Italy (Reuters) - An Italian man was given a suspended jail sentence for staring too intensely at a woman sitting in front of him on a train. A judge sentenced the man in his 30s, whose name was not revealed, to 10 days in prison and a 40 euro ($63) fine after a 55-year old woman filed a complaint for sexual harassment. His lawyer said on Friday he would appeal the sentence. The court will explain its verdict later. The two met on two separate occasions in 2005 on a commuter train going from Lecco, a town in northern Italy, to Milan. The first time, the man sat next to the woman but she felt he had moved too close for comfort. The next day, the man sat in front of the same woman and according to her complaint, stared at her for the whole journey. The two did not speak.
A man has been fined £225 for not closing his bin lid. Gareth Wilson-Corkhill's bin was so full with rubbish that the lid was open by four inches. Unfortunately for Gareth a council enforcement saw the bin and issued an on-the-spot fine. However he refused to pay the initial £110 fixed penalty and was taken to court. After it went to court he was hit with £100 prosecution costs and a £15 surcharge bringing his total bill to £225. Mr Wilson-Corkhill, 26, of Whitehaven, Cumbria, told The Sun: "I was in shock when I found out about the fine. I couldn't believe they would do that. I don't leave the rubbish on the floor. Every fortnight you can guarantee people's bins will be open more than mine. "I have my rubbish collected every fortnight. There are five people in my family, three children, me and my wife. Plus I have my daughter over on weekends. We recycle everything we can. We have a black box that is always full. "It's only an £80 fine for fly-tipping. I would have been better off doing that." He added: "I was told I would go to prison if I didn't pay the fine." A spokesman for Copeland council said: "We will continue to crack down on the problem of overflowing bins, which causes problems in the battle to reduce waste. Much of your waste can be recycled either via the kerb side recycling scheme, or the nearest recycling collection site." Mark Wallace, from the Taxpayers' Alliance, said the situation was "another sorry tale of a hard working individual's life blighted by petty bureaucracy".
Jeremy McIntosh (in mug shot right), who was dressed in drag, got so mad when a lingerie store refused to hire him that he rammed his car into the storefront, Michigan cops say.
Oakland County Undersheriff Michael McCabe said McIntosh was wearing "facial makeup, lipstick, blue Capri pants, red flip-flops, a flowery blouse and a matching flowery bra."
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A criminal in Manteca, Calif. made a mistake when attempting to rob a home on April 1. Erich Hans Urbat attempted to take a camera from outside of a suburban home; however, it happened to be a video surveillance camera. The video camera recorded Urbat loosening the screws and taking the camera and sent it to a tape inside of the home. The tape was later given to the police who recognized Urbat’s face. Urbat was arrested later wearing the same grey hooded sweatshirt he wore in the surveillance video. “Sometimes we just get really lucky, and they aren’t too bright,” Manteca Police Capt. Dave Bricker said.
A Bulgarian farmer has swapped his wife for a goat - because she couldn't give him kids. Stoil Panayotov exchanged his third wife with Elena the eight-year-old goat at a livestock market, reports the Daily Telegraph. The extraordinary deal was concluded in front of a stunned crowd in the market town of Plovdiv, central Bulgaria. "The day before a friend told me that he has had no luck with women and that he really liked my wife," says the 54-year-old. "The deal was reached when my wife gave her approval. The goat has given birth to three kids and my wife to none. "So this deal was more profitable to the goat owner, I got a second-hand goat and he got a brand new wife."
A German farmer who married a woman he met on the internet has asked for the marriage to be annulled after finding out 'she' was a he. Wolfgang Zober, 55, from Naumburg, said: "I don't meet many women as I am often out in the fields working all day, and so a friend suggested I try internet dating. "I was delighted when I contacted Randy Victoria, 38, and was delighted when I met her and realised she was as lovely as her photographs. "She even knew loads about farming - I didn't realise that was because she used to be a farmer herself. "We only had a kiss and cuddle before we married. But on my wedding night she told me she had a penis - and that her real name was Ralf. I was devastated. "The only true thing she did say was that she had two children, but she was the father - not the mother."
Romanian firefighters were shocked after a farmer was spotted using an unexploded missile as an anvil. The 122mm calibre missile, discovered by the man in his garden in Puieni village, Giurgiu county,a few months ago, had been used for sharpening hoes and scythes. Explosive specialists said the missile was still active and endangered not only the farmer's family but also his neighbours. A spokesman for the firefighters said: "We've had many problems because of these unexploded bombs which have been in the ground since the Second World War but this is really crazy. "How can you hit a bomb with the hammer? It could have exploded any time." The missile was destroyed in a controlled explosion by an army bomb squad.
The world's most expensive cup of coffee - made partly from cat droppings - is to go on sale at £50 a time. The brew is a blend of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee and Kopi Luwak, a south-east Asian bean collected from civet cat droppings that sells for £324 a kilo. Created by expert David Cooper, the blend is on sale at Peter Jones department store in London. It is believed to be the most expensive cup of coffee in the world, reports the Daily Telegraph. Proceeds go to the MacMillan Cancer Trust. Mr Cooper said: "These rare coffees have been slowly hand roasted for around 12 minutes to ensure that we maximise the potential of each coffee.
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Flybe has given the term low-fare airline an entirely new meaning: it is paying 172 people to fly back and forth across England and the Irish Sea to help it meet a target for passenger numbers at Norwich airport. Flybe was narrowly falling short of a target to deliver at least 15,000 passengers on the Dublin-Norwich route in the 12 months ending on Monday, which meant it would have to forego a 280,000 pound ($550,000) rebate from the airport. After the airport rejected a request for a partial rebate for almost hitting the target, Flybe hired 172 temps for 30-40 pounds each, plus a free bar and in-flight entertainment, though it admitted "it probably sounds like an early April fool."
A belly dancer was let off after parking on a double yellow line with her engine running to keep her snakes warm. She said she had to keep them cosy so they would not fall asleep before she took them on stage for her act. The woman, from London, claimed it was a genuine excuse for parking illegally outside the venue as she unloaded her gear. Caroline Shepherd, head of the National Parking Adjudication Service, told the story on Radio Five Live as a new parking fines system came into force. Presenter Nicky Campbell asked whether the unnamed woman had lost her appeal against the fine. But Ms Shepherd replied: "No, she won."
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's health chiefs barred hospitals and clinics on Wednesday from castrating would-be "ladyboys" amid growing concern about the operation being seen as a cheap and quick alternative to a full sex-change. In a letter to 16,000 private health units, the Public Health Ministry said doctors performing the operation outside formal sex-change therapy -- which requires rigorous physical and mental evaluation of the patient -- faced up to six months in jail. However, senior health official Tara Chinakarn admitted that policing the temporary ban might be difficult as cosmetic removal of the testicles was such a quick operation and easy to conduct in secret. "It's hard to track them down as it takes only 15-20 minutes to have the surgery," Tara told Reuters. Thailand is home to a large number of "ladyboys," or "katoey" in Thai, a term that covers anything from a transvestite to a man who has undergone a full sex change. The tolerance shown towards the "third sex," as it is often referred to, has led to the country becoming a world leader in sex-change surgery.
RIVERSIDE, Ohio — Police say a pastor who was reported missing from his home in western New York has been found at an Ohio strip club. A police officer patrolling the K.C. Lounge parking lot Friday morning in the Dayton suburb of Riverside spotted out-of-state license plates on 46-year-old Craig Rhodenizer's car. The FBI and New York authorities had been searching for Rhodenizer, who disappeared Wednesday after telling his wife he was getting his computer fixed at Best Buy. He is the pastor of a church in Lyndonville, New York Detective Matt Sturgeon said Rhodenizer was disoriented when confronted by police and said he felt "emotionally guilty."
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — A 77-year-old Illinois state representative is happy to be alive after a man with a gun pushed his way into her home and robbed her of $7. Wyvetter H. Younge was not injured in the robbery that occurred around noon Friday. Younge said she thought her son had knocked on her door and opened it, but instead found an armed man. He told her to get on her hands and knees, then grabbed her purse and ran. Younge, a Democrat, said she didn't recognize the man, who wore a red hat and red jacket and dark pants. She said she's going to pray for him. "This robbery and what's happening to this community is the result of a lack of a supportive system for our youth. We need jobs," she said. "This happened in broad daylight at noon. We need a mental health support system. This is further evidence of that."
A couple have been barred from returning to their £1m home wrecked by last summer's floods - because newts have moved in. John and Margie Histed have been forced to live in a caravan since their 18th-century house flooded, reports the Daily Express. Repairs were almost complete to their home at Dauntsey, Wiltshire, when a blocked drainage ditch caused it to flood again. And now they have been told they cannot unblock the ditch because the Environment Agency suspects great-crested newts might be living there. Officials have ordered a three-month survey to look for the protected species and it could take several more months to relocate them if they are found. In the meantime the Histeds have had to put their renovations on hold in case the property floods again. Retired doctor Mrs Histed, 67, said: "I know it's the law, but it's very frustrating and bordering on the ridiculous that the fate of newts takes precedence over humans. "Is it reasonable for us to just sit here and watch if the ditch floods our home again because there may be newts there?" The survey is not expected to begin before June and the work to relocate the newts until the autumn.
A Hungarian policewoman has been sacked after she was spotted in a hard-core porn movie. Livia Kovacs, 36, from the Budapest police force was spotted in the Triple X rated movie by a colleague who then told superiors. She has now been fired for bringing the force into disrepute and misuse of her police uniform. In the movies, she plays a dominatrix cop who uses her police handcuffs and a truncheon during a wild sex session. Kovacs said: "I don't care about being fired. Since news spread about my acting debut I have been flooded with offers from producers to do more films."
A German woman is suing doctors after she checked in to have wrinkles removed - and woke up with a new pair of breasts. Ingrid Bruelling, 33, had the operation in the German city of Kassel. She wanted to give herself firmer skin and remove the wrinkles after losing 16 stone on a crash diet. But when she woke up after the operation she found doctors had put two silicone implants into her breasts, increasing their size from a C cup to a D. Doctors said the woman should not complain as the best way to tighten the skin and remove the wrinkles was to make her breasts bigger.
A US man is facing public indecency charges after he was allegedly caught on film having sex with a picnic table. Police say Art Price Jr was seen with the table on four separate mornings, most recently on March 14 when a neighbour filmed it as evidence. The alleged incident took place near a school in broad daylight in the town of Bellevue in Ohio, reports the Daily Telegraph. The neighbour, who remains anonymous, said he saw Mr Price in his garden turning over a round metal table before performing a sex act upon it. Local Police Captain Matt Johnson said: "He was completely nude. He would use the hole from the umbrella and have sex with the table." He added he had never seen a case like it: "Once you think you've seen it all, something else comes around," Cpt Johnson said. Mr Price, 40, will now face up to four charges of public indecency. Brice Jacobs, another neighbour, told local reporters he was disgusted that Mr Price was not jailed immediately.
Brits take an average of 22 dates, three one-night stands and three long-term relationships before settling down, says a new poll. Couples revealed how long it had taken to find The One for entertainment website BT PodShow. Some needed as many as 50 dates with potential partners. And nine per cent reckon it takes at least ten one-night stands. Talking regularly and an active sex life were what people were looking for. Poor personal hygiene, no sense of humour and being bad in bed were the biggest turn-offs, the poll found. The good news for those still searching is this weekend is the best chance of the year to banish those single days. Relationship expert Jo Hemmings said: "The four-day Bank Holiday gives us double the free time of a normal weekend, so double the chances to enjoy ourselves and find love. "And the onset of spring, a full moon and an abundance of chocolate Easter eggs will all play their part."
A Chinese 'army major' who dated a string of girls and cheated them out of £16,000 has allegedly been exposed as a con artist - and a woman.
Police say Li Xu, from Anxian town, Sichuan province, had been disguising herself as an army officer for two years.
She was arrested after Liu Lian, of Datong city, Shanxi province, reported she had been cheated out of £11,000 by an army major named Li Zhanyu who she had met on the internet.
Li had described himself as a university-educated army major, reports Oriental Today.
Liu Lian said: "He said he wanted to date my daughter, but first needed money to break up with his current girlfriend. He also promised to find my daughter a good job."
But, after Liu wired the money, Li disappeared from her life.
Police caught up with him at an internet cafe in Kaifeng city. He reportedly told arresting officers: "You'll regret this. You'll pay for this. I'll call the leaders of the National Public Security Department."
Police thought he was a conman at this stage but their suspicions grew during questioning as they noticed his high-pitched voice and fair complexion.
A check-up by female police revealed Li to be a 25-year-old woman. She confessed she had cheated another two women with the same marriage con.
Li has been transferred to police in Shanxi province where she faces charges.
A Chinese woman forced her boyfriend to have breast-reduction surgery because his man boobs made her look flat. Xiao Feng, of Chongqing, threatened to break up with Zhang Jianguo unless he underwent surgery. Zhang, who is 5ft 7ins tall and weighs 15 stone, explained: "She said that whenever we went out, she felt embarrassed because my breasts were eye-catching compared to hers." Doctors at the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University sucked out more than 200ml of fat and tissue from his breasts, reports Chongqing Business News
A Taiwanese man hired an erotic dancer to perform at his 103-year-old father's funeral.
The stripper danced in front of Cai Jinlai's coffin for more than ten minutes at the funeral in Taizhong town.
Son, Cai Ruigong, paid her more than £80 to dance in memory of his late father, reports United Daily News.
Cai Ruigong says he promised his father a stripper for his funeral if he lived beyond the age of 100.
Cai Jinlai passed away at the age of 103 after a three mile walk into town to vote. He was the oldest person in his village and had more than 100 descendants.
His son said his father was famous locally for his interest in strip clubs: "He would travel around the island with his friends to see these shows," he added.
To paraphrase Mae West, "When you're good, you're good, but when you're bad, your health is better." That's the philosophy of physician Ken Davis, author of the book "Health Yourself: The Candy, Booze and Sex Prescription" (Health Yourself Books). He says all sorts of foods, drinks and activities have been labeled "bad" when, in reality, people who partake in them lead happier, healthier lives. For starters, there's booze: Dr. Davis cites studies which show tipping back a drink a day can reduce the risk of heart attack, Alzheimer's disease and diabetes. Frequent sex can lower your health risks for heart trouble, while candy may temporarily ease pain. One Harvard study even showed that folks who eat candy live almost a year longer than sugar-abstainers. Finally, coffee gets a bad rap but it can boost your memory, fight gallstones and protect your teeth from cavities.
Air Force pilots stationed on the Falkland Islands have devised what they consider a marvelous new game. Noting that the local penguins are fascinated by airplanes, the pilots search out a beach where the birds are gathered and fly slowly along it at the water's edge. Perhaps ten thousand penguins turn their heads in unison watching the planes go by, and when the pilots turn around and fly back, the birds turn their heads in the opposite direction, like spectators at a slow-motion tennis match. Then, the paper reports, "The pilots fly out to sea and directly to the penguin colony and over fly it. Heads go up, up, up, and ten thousand penguins fall over gently onto their backs."
TEL AVIV - An Israeli woman's fight with a stubborn cockroach put her husband in the hospital with burns, a broken pelvis and broken ribs, the Jerusalem Post reported. The woman, frightened by the insect when she found it in the living room, stepped on it, threw it in the toilet and sprayed a full can of insecticide on it when it refused to die.
Her husband came home from work, went to the toilet and lit a cigarette. When he threw the cigarette butt into the bowl, the insecticide ignited, "seriously burning his sensitive parts," the Post wrote. When paramedics were called to the home in Tel Aviv, they laughed so hard when they learned what had happened that they dropped the stretcher down the stairs, breaking the unidentified man's pelvis and ribs.
