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Smiley

Thai King sparks pink shirt craze

Clothing stores in Thailand have seen a rush to buy pink shirts, thanks to a fashion craze sparked by the country's King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Thais have been queuing in their hundreds to buy the shirts ever since the King left hospital last month wearing both a pink shirt and blazer.

The Phufa fashion chain said it had sold 40,000 pink shirts this month.

©AP
Clothing factories are working flat out to keep up with demand

Take 2

Mafia boss arrested while watching Mafia TV show

Italian police burst into the room of a suspected Mafia mobster in Sicily and arrested him as he watched a television show about the arrest of a Mafia boss, investigators said Friday.

©REUTERS/Carabiniere/Handout
Italian Carabinieri police accompany Michele Catalano (C) after his arrest in Palermo November 29, 2007.

Beer

Who would want 40,000 pints of stolen beer? Guinness asks

It couldn't have happened at a worse moment: just as Operation Freeflow was getting under way, putting more police on Dublin's streets as a pre-Christmas warning to drink-drivers, an opportunistic thief drove out of the Guinness brewery with 40,000 pints.

About 450 kegs of beer and stout were lifted from under the noses of security guards in what is believed to be the first raid on the historic St James's Gate Brewery at Victoria Quay along the River Liffey.

Sherlock

Sticky Situation: Chocolate Price Fixing?



©Getty Images

Toronto -- Regulators have launched an investigation into allegations that the Canadian divisions of Nestle, Cadbury, Hershey, Mars and others have teamed up in a price-fixing scheme in the multibillion-dollar Canadian business of chocolate bars, according to a media report.

Heart

Study: Shy Swedes are habitual huggers

While Swedes have a reputation of being reserved, a new study shows they'll hug just about anyone except their boss. Nine out of 10 Swedes embrace somebody at least once a week, with women aged 30-44 being the most active huggers, according to the study presented Thursday by the Swedish Red Cross.

Magic Hat

Lottery winner wasn't supposed to gamble

BOSTON - The winner of a $1 million lottery scratch ticket may not be so lucky after all: He's a convicted bank robber who isn't supposed to gamble. Timothy Elliott faces a Dec. 7 court hearing over whether he violated his probation when he bought the $10 ticket for the $800 Million Spectacular game at a supermarket in Hyannis.

Elliott was placed on five years' probation after pleading guilty in October 2006 to unarmed robbery for a January 2006 heist at a bank on Cape Cod. Under terms of his probation, he "may not gamble, purchase lottery tickets or visit an establishment where gaming is conducted, including restaurants where Keno may be played."

Magnify

Bracelet found in chicken after 25 years

FAIRMONT, Minn. - More than two decades after Aaron Giles lost his identity bracelet, he's finding how it was discovered tough to swallow. A meat cutter at Olson Locker in Fairmont came across the shiny object in a chicken gizzard and saw a name, address and phone number engraved on it.

Phoenix

Underground Prophet: Tube announcer sacked over spoof messages

An official announcer for London's Tube system has been sacked after making spoof messages mocking American tourists, peeping Toms and sweaty commuters.

©Transport for London

Roses

Women spend three years getting ready to leave the house

It's a figure which will surprise even the most impatient husband - women spend nearly three years getting ready to leave the house.

That's because the average time needed for all those last-minute outfit changes, twirls in front of the mirror and rummages in the handbag is an hour and 12 minutes for every big night out.

And with the typical woman needing 40 minutes to get ready for work every morning as well, the amount of time spent preening adds up to more than two years and nine months over a lifetime.

Wine

Undercover restorers fix Paris landmark's clock

'Cultural guerrillas' cleared of lawbreaking over secret workshop in Pantheon

©Alamy
Clock watching ... the Pantheon in Paris.

It is one of Paris's most celebrated monuments, a neoclassical masterpiece that has cast its shadow across the city for more than two centuries.