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Putin denies dancing to Abba hits

Putin not
© AFPVladimir Putin and seven other guests were at the gig, Bjorn Again says
An Abba tribute band says it has performed a private concert for Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Bjorn Again says it was paid £20,000 to play the gig 200 miles (320km) north of Moscow on 22 January.

Bjorn Again's manager Rod Stephen and other band members said Mr Putin danced to Abba hits and shouted "Bravo!"

The PM's spokesman denied the claim. Mr Putin - a former KGB spy who has a black belt in judo - is known in Russia and the West for his macho image.

Smiley

Escaped Prisoner Turns Up in Michigan Judge's Trunk

A Michigan judge says he's learned a lesson about locking his car after a 16-year-old prisoner who escaped from a courthouse cell was found hiding in the vehicle's trunk.

The Macomb Daily reports the teen had vanished Friday after appearing in juvenile court in Mount Clemens on a probation violation.

Sheriff's deputies searched for about an hour until a security officer became suspicious when he saw a picture that had fallen to the ground outside judge's car.

Smiley

Construction worker burglar allegedly leaves sledgehammer behind with his name

An officer in South San Francisco made quick work tracking down a San Bruno burglar Thursday, after he left a sledgehammer with his name on it in a vehicle he broke into, according to police.

Police Sgt. Mindy Lopez responded to 670 Gateway Blvd. at about 1:30 p.m. to investigate two vehicle burglaries that occurred overnight, according to the South San Francisco Police Department.

Construction worker Jerry O'Grady, 46, was identified as a suspect when Lopez located a sledgehammer in one of the burglarized vehicles with the name "Jerry O'Grady" written on it, according to police.

A review of the suspect's criminal record showed O'Grady was on active probation with San Mateo County law enforcement, allowing Lopez to conduct a probation search at his home, police reported. Stolen property from the burglarized vehicles was allegedly located throughout the residence.

O'Grady was arrested for burglary and possession of stolen property and booked at San Mateo County Jail, according to police.

Smiley

'Bin Laden' Applies for Island Job in Australia

Australian state Queensland's YouTube-based search for an island caretaker has yielded a video application from a man claiming to be Osama bin Laden.

Tourism Queensland is accepting applications via the video sharing Web site for the six-month position of Hamilton Island caretaker, which pays nearly $100,000, the Sydney Morning Herald reported Thursday.

The bin Laden application features video of the al-Qaida mastermind with subtitles citing the terrorist leader's familiarity with "sandy areas" and experience in "large scale event coordination" as reasons that he would be perfect for the job.

"I've got experience with videos and delegating tasks," the subtitles read. "My interests include arts and craft and renovating. I'm outgoing and fun-loving."

Roses

SKorean granny fails driving test 771 times

A dogged South Korean grandmother has failed her driving test 771 times, police said Thursday, but a local newspaper reported she will keep trying.

The 68-year-old, identified only by her last name Cha, has taken the test almost every working day since 2005 in the southwestern city of Jeonju. She failed again Monday for the 771st time.

"It was a record-breaking number here," Choi Yong-Cheol, a police sergeant supervising the test in the city's Deokjingu district, told AFP.

Smiley

Gordon Brown flies Union flag upside down at China ceremony

Image
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been left red-faced after the national flag was displayed upside-down at a ceremony with visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. Even worse, observers note teasingly that the gaffe reflects his current political woes, since traditionally flying the flag upside-down on a ship signifies that it is in distress.

The red white and blue flag, commonly known as the Union Jack, was proudly in place at a ceremony to sign a business deal in Brown's Downing Street office on Monday. But eagle-eyed observers noted that the flag was mistakenly attached upside-down on the wooden stick, placed on the table in front of Business Secretary Peter Mandelson.

Light Sabers

Masked Man Robs Stores With Klingon Sword

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Colorado Springs police are looking for a man who hit two 7-Eleven convenience stores early Wednesday, armed with a Klingon sword.

The first robbery was reported at 1:50 a.m., at 145 N Spruce St. The clerk told police a white man in his 20s, wearing a black mask, black jacket, and blue jeans, entered the store with a weapon the clerk recognized from the Star Trek TV series.

The robber demanded money and left with an undisclosed amount.

Cow

Downhill Ski Champ Vonn banking on her trophy cow in tough times

Super-G champion Lindsey Vonn
© AFP/File/Olivier MorinNewly-crowned women's world Super-G champion Lindsey Vonn, seen here on February 02, 2009, revealed Tuesday that she was banking on a bizarre prize in current harsh economic times.
Newly-crowned women's world Super-G champion Lindsey Vonn revealed Tuesday that she was banking on a bizarre prize in current harsh economic times.

Vonn received a cow after winning a downhill here in 2005, and spurned the offer of a replacement cheque for 1,500 euros to keep the beast.

She transported the French heifer named Olympe to farmer foster parents close to her winter training base in Kirchberg, Austria.

"It was a lot of paperwork and it was 10 hours by road, she wasn't happy," the 24-year-old American said.

Smiley

Satire: Cheney Dunk Tank Raises $800 Billion for Nation

Cheney
© OnionCheney tells more than 200 million Americans to "throw or get the hell out of [his] sight."
Organizers reported Sunday that the 44th White House Carnival was a rousing success, raising a record $800,000,066,845 for the federal government - $800 billion of which came from a dunk tank featuring former vice president Dick Cheney.

According to Secretary of the Treasury and carnival volunteer Timothy Geithner, the 5-foot-deep tank has provided a much-needed boost to the nation's flagging economy.

"We expected a big turn out, but this is unbelievable," said Geithner, adding that it's tradition for the outgoing vice president to work the dunk tank. "More than half the country has already gone, and there's still about 20 million people stretching all the way to Maryland waiting for their chance to sink Cheney. We'll be leaving this booth open for as long as it takes for everyone to get a turn."

According to carnival sources, a visibly irritated Cheney, clad in sandals and a white cotton robe, arrived at the one-day event shortly before 10 a.m. After removing his robe to reveal a black, 1940s-style bathing suit, the vice president reportedly touched his hand to the water, muttered something to himself, and was then helped up the tank's ladder by several members of his Secret Service detail.

Smiley

New York: Two Suspected Robbers - One Without His Pants - Nabbed By Police

Lackawanna police have arrested two men in connection with a bizarre weekend robbery that left both suspects locked inside the gas station after one of them pulled out a BB gun, detectives reported today.

And police say the younger suspect was caught after he fled through an emergency exit and later was spotted by Buffalo police running on South Park Avenue without his pants.