Yahoo! News: Oddly Enough - Reuters

• German party mistakenly hands out porn pens to kids (Reuters)
(Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:12:19 GMT)

Reuters - To sweeten their first day at primary school German children are normally given a cardboard cone filled with sweets, but schoolchildren in Essen this year opened their cones to find pens which project erotic images. ... Read

• Tourist treat - famous toilets (Reuters)
(Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:59:40 GMT)

Reuters - For tourists tired of traditional sightseeing tours, one Berlin tour guide is offering something altogether different: a tour of Berlin's public conveniences.


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• Firm can't fire man for 1.8 cent theft (Reuters)
(Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:02:55 GMT)

Reuters - A German company that fired a man for the theft of 1.8 euro cents (two U.S. cents) worth of electricity had no grounds for sacking him, a court ruled, dismissing the firm's appeal against his reinstatement. ... Read

• Koranic teachers arrested over child begging (Reuters)
(Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:04:19 GMT)

Reuters - Senegalese security forces have arrested seven Koranic teachers for forcing children to panhandle, a police official said on Friday, days after the West African state announced a crack down on public begging. ... Read

• Man bites police over a pet peeve (Reuters)
(Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:20:20 GMT)

Reuters - Police arrested an 82-year-old man after he bit and kicked officers who had arrived to mediate in a dispute with a neighbor over a domestic pet.


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• Canadian parents more lenient than Italians and French (Reuters)
(Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:23:20 GMT)

Reuters - Canadian parents are more lenient with their children than mothers and fathers in France and Italy, according to a new study. ... Read

• Finance Ministry says defrauded by staffer (Reuters)
(Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:24:40 GMT)

Reuters - The Dutch Finance Ministry Thursday acknowledged it was defrauded out of more than 160,000 euros ($204,800) earlier this year by an employee of the ministry unit that handles the state's financing needs. ... Read

• Dutch colleges angry over sex job ads for freshmen (Reuters)
(Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:28:50 GMT)

Reuters - A number of Dutch colleges are considering legal action against the publisher of a move-in guide for new freshmen, after the company included an ad recruiting students for jobs as online sex workers. ... Read

• Cup of tea forces jet to make emergency landing (Reuters)
(Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:29:39 GMT)

Reuters - A British airplane en route to Poland was forced to make an emergency landing in Germany after a 56-year-old woman spilled a hot cup of tea on herself, German police said on Wednesday. ... Read

• Vuvuzelas banned from European soccer competition (Reuters)
(Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:30:13 GMT)

Reuters - Vuvuzelas have been kicked out of European competitions after UEFA said that the controversial plastic trumpets drowned out supporters and detracted from the emotion of the game.


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• Man arrested for trying to dazzle pilots with laser (Reuters)
(Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:48:08 GMT)

Reuters - A man appeared in court on Tuesday accused of trying to dazzle pilots with a laser beam as they were landing at France's second-busiest airport Paris Orly, aviation authorities said. ... Read

• Older people enjoy reading negative stories about young (Reuters)
(Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:48:38 GMT)

Reuters - Older people like reading negative news stories about their younger counterparts because it boosts their own self-esteem, according to a new study. ... Read

• Long-lived Dutch might be bad news for insurers (Reuters)
(Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:49:14 GMT)

Reuters - The Dutch are set to live longer -- good news for them but bad news for insurers that are expected to suffer from higher capital requirements and tighter profit margins as a result. ... Read

• Malaysia uncovers nearly 100 live reptiles in bag (Reuters)
(Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:52:27 GMT)

Reuters - Malaysian airport security arrested a convicted wildlife smuggler after finding almost 100 live reptiles in his luggage, the country's Wildlife and National Parks Department said. ... Read

• Mushroom hunter "massacre" claims 18 lives in Italy (Reuters)
(Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:52:59 GMT)

Reuters - At least 18 mushroom-lovers have been killed in accidents while hunting for their favorite fungi in the mountains and forests of northern Italy. ... Read

• John Lennon's toilet sells for $14,740 at auction (Reuters)
(Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:55:21 GMT)

Reuters - A toilet that belonged to late Beatle John Lennon fetched 9,500 pounds ($14,740) at auction on Saturday, around 10 times its estimate, the sale organizers said.


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• Politician raffles breast implants (Reuters)
(Fri, 27 Aug 2010 16:58:20 GMT)

Reuters - A Venezuelan politician is offering breast implants as a prize in a raffle to raise funds for his parliamentary election campaign.


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• Permission to laugh at election -- for now (Reuters)
(Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:38:08 GMT)

Reuters - Brazil's election is a laughing matter again, at least for now.


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• T-shirt explains Philadelphia's blunt speech (Reuters)
(Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:54:12 GMT)

Reuters - For Mike Monteiro, a transplanted Philadelphian who now lives in California, his T-shirt says it all.


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• Britain being "overrun" by street signs (Reuters)
(Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:29:27 GMT)

Reuters - The British government has declared war on the profusion of unnecessary road traffic signs, railings and advertising boards, saying they blight towns' English character.


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