'Dead' woman, 101, wakes up in coffin

Mourners couldn't believe their eyes when a 101-year-old woman sat up and spoke - just as she was being put in her coffin.

Peng Xiuhua wanted to know why so many people were in her house in Lianjiang, Guangdong province, China.
Peng, who lived alone, had taken a tumble and hurt herself so her two daughters, who are in their 70s, were looking after her.
However, 10 days later her daughters could not detect a heartbeat and her body had gone stiff so she was declared dead.
The daughters gave her a bath, an undertaker dressed her and they were about to put her in her coffin when she came back to life.
Peng said: "I am a lucky woman. Not only did I get to see how many people care for me, but I also woke up before they took me to the crematorium."
SOURCE

Sacked workers hijack Twitter account

Staff at HMV used the company's official Twitter account to announce their own "mass execution" as administrators axed nearly 190 jobs.

The first indication that something was amiss came with a tweet that said: "We're tweeting live from HR where we're all being fired! Exciting!!"
The next message from the official Twitter feed read: "There are over 60 of us being fired at once! Mass execution, of loyal employees who love the brand."
A minute later one of the employees wrote: "Sorry we've been quiet for so long. Under contract, we've been unable to say a word, or - more importantly - tell the truth."
The next tweet said: "Just overheard our managing director (he's staying, folks) ask "How do I shut down Twitter."
Then 15 minutes later, all the offending tweets were removed. Shortly afterwards, administrators Deloitte put out a statement confirming the job losses.
The administrators, who were appointed on 15 January, are working on a rescue deal for the company ,which has 223 stores and more than 4,000 employees.
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Baby-Making Music: Russian Prez Vladimir Putin Hires Boys II Men To Help Russians Get It On

We couldn’t even make this up if we tried: Russian president Vladimir Putin has brought in the big guns to get Russia’s population on the upswing, and has hired Boyz II Men — yes, of “I’ll Make Love To You” fame — to play in the country on February 6. According to the Moscow Times, “President Vladimir Putin’s crusade to raise the country’s birth rate is set to get the support of three powerful voices on its behalf.” You see, Putin believes that the key to regaining Russian super power status is to get the birthrate up. He wants everybody in Russia to make at least three babies, and in 2007 he declared an official “Day of Conception” (which will be preettttty awkward at the hospital nine months later). And clearly Boyz II Men sings the perfect baby-making music.
So what does Boyz II Men think about Russia? “We feel really fortunate every time we visit Russia,” the group said. “It’s a beautiful country! We love our Russian fans, and we love the beautiful scenery in Moscow!” Ah yes, the beautiful scenery. No word on how the group feels about their status as Russia’s National Baby-Making Musical Group, probably because they’re too busy planning for their upcoming tour with New Kids on the Block (!) and 98 Degrees.
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Alligator found guarding drugs stash

An alligator-like reptile called 'Mr Teeth' has been found protecting a stash of marijuana in California.

Police found the 5ft caiman guarding £60,000 worth of marijuana inside a tank when they stormed a home in Castro Valley.
Caimans, usually found in the wetlands of Central and South America, are close relatives of alligators.
"We get guard dogs all the time when we search for grow houses and people stashing away all types of dope. But alligators? You just don't see that every day," Sgt JD Nelson said.
The reptile's owner was arrested and later charged with one count of possessing marijuana for sale.
He could also face citations from the California Fish and Game Commission, including possession of an exotic animal without a permit.
The caiman was taken to Oakland Zoo but sadly later died. Vets said it was in a poor condition.
SOURCE
 

Restaurant Owner Gives Lesbian Couple Anti-Gay Letter

Married couple Ariel and Shawnee McPhail recently enjoyed a meal at the Stingray Cafe in New Bern, North Carolina. After they settled the bill and were preparing to leave, cafe owner Ed McGovern handed the couple a letter explaining, basically, that God hates gays.
The letter read in full:

God said in the last days that man and women would be lover of self, more then the lover of God.That man and woman would have unnatural effection for one another. Then, the coming of the Son of Man, who is Jesus. So please, look at your life. See how it hurt every one around you. And ask the Lord to open your eye before it to late.The Love of ChristP.S. my daughter also was gay. It destroy her life and my grandson.

So that was great.
The McPhails are speaking out about the incident because “if we’re experiencing it, then other people are too and that’s not fair,” said Ariel McPhail.  When McGovern was reached for comment, he confirmed that he had given the women the letter. And that he’s previously given another lesbian couple a letter, because he is apparently on full-time lesbian watch.
McGovern claims he saw the McPhails kissing in front his restaurant prior to their coming in, though the couple says they were only holding hands. And that begs the observation that McGovern was offended enough to write a letter but not offended enough to refuse the couple’s money. Now those are some principles.
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Applebee’s server fired after posted bill where Pastor stiffs on the tip goes viral

An Applebee’s waitress was fired after posting a bill to Reddit on which a Pastor wrote “I give God 10%, why do you get 18%“.

On Wednesday 30th January, an Applebee’s waitress posted a photo in Reddit’s /r/atheism section of a bill her co-worker received from a pastor that had written “I give God 10%, why do you get 18%” on it. The thread skyrocketed, clocking in over 3800 points and 4500+ comments.

Image: gateflan/Reddit

If you’re wondering what the 18% charge is about, Applebee’s has a policy where 18% tip is automatically added to the bill if a server handles a table with 10 or more customers (which did happen in this case). Even though the pastor was upset about having the fork out the additional $6.29, she claimed that she put $6 in the tip jar, but didn’t realize that her bill (with her name written on it) would have made its way across the Internet.
Once Pastor Alois Bell had found out about her bill being posted to the web, she contacted the relevant Applebee’s branch and reported the incident. As a result, Chelsea (the waitress) was immediately fired on the basis that she violated the restaurant’s guests privacy policy, even though they openly admitted that what the pastor did was wrong.
They posted this on their Facebook page:

As a company that relies on literally hundreds of thousands of incredibly hard working Team Members, we can assure you that we and our franchisees value and support them and their efforts. However this unfortunate situation has nothing to do with work. The Team Member involved did not wait on the guest or party. Regrettably, and without the restaurant’s knowledge, she took it upon herself to take a Guest’s receipt, with the name clearly visible, and posted it online with her own commentary. That is a clear violation of our Guest’s privacy and against the franchisee’s company policy that the Team Member was provided when hired. We simply cannot accept behavior that compromises the safety and privacy our Guests have every right to expect and deserve. Please note that we are also not excusing the Guest’s behavior in this matter and the unacceptable comment she wrote on the receipt, which is offensive to us and all our hard working team members. To be clear, the 18% gratuity added to large party tickets was paid by the Guest’s party. This is a regrettable situation, and we wish it had never happened. we hope this provides you with some additional insight. Thanks again for the chance to explain.

In a Fox News interview, Alois Bell regretted her decision to write the remark about the tip in the first place, saying:

“My heart is really broken…I’ve brought embarrassment to my church and ministry.”

Chelsea also spoke about the issue to Consumerist, saying:

“I originally posted the note as a lighthearted joke…I thought the note was insulting, but it was also comical. I posted it to Reddit because I thought other users would find it entertaining.”

Unfortunately the joke didn’t go in her odds. Luckily for Chelsea, many organizations have since reached out to her, offering her jobs and financial assistance.
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Web designer takes revenge over unpaid bill

Erin Tennant, ninemsn

10:03am February 1, 2013

A screengrab from the Caribbean Dutch Pot Restaurant homepage.

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A web designer behind a Jamaican food restaurant has taken revenge over an unpaid bill by pasting a $1500 overdue notice onto the restaurant's website domain.

Customers who click onto the homepage URL for the Caribbean Dutch Pot Restaurant, in the US state of Maryland, are directed to a copy of the invoice with the bold red letters "Past Due Final Notice".
Independent web designer Julie Williamson, from Baltimore, said she posted the invoice online around November after spending several months trying to persuade the restaurant's owner, Donovan "Prince" Vassell, to pay up.
She said Mr Vassell had agreed to pay $1500 (AUD$1440) for website and marketing work she and her team did on a reggae music festival that his restaurant hosted last July.
He disputes this claim.
"It's really hurt me to my heart this whole thing," Ms Williamson told ninemsn when contacted by telephone.
"I had a hard time dealing with the fact that I did a lot of work — you can't even imagine — and he stiffed us on the invoice. It was worth more than $1500, but that was the price we settled on.
"Until he pays me, the invoice is staying up."
Mr Vassell said he had already paid Ms Williamson for all the work she had done and claims she posted the invoice to be "vindictive" after a romantic relationship they had ended on bad terms.
"I don't owe her any money. I don't know where she came up with this $1500 figure," the Jamaican native told ninemsn in a phone interview.
Mr Vassell added that he plans to sue Ms Williamson for defamation.
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Man stuck at airport for two months

Man stuck at airport for two months

Real life Tom Hanks stuck at Santiago Airport in Chile

If you've ever seen the movie 'The Terminal' with Tom Hanks you may be tempted to stay in an airport for a few months earning good cash and getting into a sordid relationship with an extremely hot woman. Unfortunately the reality isn't half as glamorous as Hollywood makes it out to be.
Just ask Spanish tourist Rodrigo Ben-Azul, who has been stranded at Chile's Santiago Airport for more than two months.
He'd flown to Chile from Spain to resolve a dispute with his family who live there. Unfortunately, he was unsuccessful and returned to the airport stone broke.
According to the local paper PubliMetro, he's a familiar sight at the airport as he searches for food and cigarette butts.

Just like Tom Hanks' character in the film, Rodrigo earns money by returning luggage carts to their storage area and pocketing the coins.
Apparently Rodrigo is waiting for his family to send him money so he can return home to Spain. He's still waiting...
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Rent a girl's bum as a pillow

Rent a girl's bum as a pillow

Tokyo 'cuddle club' allows patrons to rent a Japanese girl to sleep with

Heading to Japan on your gap year? Fancy sleeping with a stranger or hiring a human bum pillow for a few minutes? Well now you can! (Don't worry, you don't have to dress up as a gimp to partake - that's just for anonymous video purposes...)
Soineya, a 'co-sleeping speciality shop', opened last year in Tokyo's eccentric Akihabara district and allows patrons to sleep with a stranger, for a price of course.
According to Rocket News, Soineya, whose name literally means 'sleep together shop', isn't a brothel, but a cuddle club where after paying an admission of 3,000 yen (about £21 / $33), customers select from a menu of sleep durations.

For 1,000 yen (about £7 / $11) a pop, the customer can give the woman a foot massage, have the woman look at him or her, get petted on the head, or have the woman change clothing, among other things, according to a Rocket News translation of the Soineya website. Interestingly, it is more expensive to give a foot massage than to receive a foot massage.
One of the most popular services is the human bum pillows where a patron can rest their head on the bottom of its female staff.
However, don't get the wrong idea as there is no sexual conduct allowed in the sleeping shop.
Is this creepy or would you be keen to try it out? Post your comments below.
If you're heading to Japan then make sure you check out our Japan country section for advice and information on where to go and what to do.

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Tourist's dreadlocks stolen at nightclub

Tourist's dreadlocks stolen at nightclub

Man wakes up to find his dreadlocks stolen in South Africa

Have you ever woken up to find your dreadlocks gone and sold on the black market? No? Well apparently it does actually happen.
A man from Zimbabwe was partying hard in Johannesburg, South Africa, only to find that his head had been shaved after he passed out.
Mutsa Madonko had his locks left for dread as he was found unconscious by his friends. Apparently it took him 10 years to grow his dreadlocks.
Jasper Munsinwa, one of Mutsa's friends, said: 'When we found him he still had his cellphone and wallet with all his money inside.'

According to Sowetanlive.com, dreadlock stylists say there is high demand for dreadlocks in Johannesburg and few ask questions about where they came from.
Stylists say shoulder-length dreadlocks can fetch £50 and longer ones are worth up to £175.
Randburg stylist Lebo Masimong said women were the most vulnerable.
"You are an easy target if you walk around the CBD and your hair is loose. They don't care about your money or fancy phone. They are only after your hair."
Have you ever had your dreadlocks stolen on your gap year? Post your comments below.
If you're thinking of heading to South Africa (not for dreadlocks of course) on your gap year then take a look at our South Africa country page for advice and information.
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Cameron Diaz led 'cannibal cop' to dark fantasies

Emily O'Keefe, ninemsn

10:06am January 31, 2013

'Cannibal cop' Gilberto Valle.

A New York policeman dubbed the "cannibal cop" was inspired to explore dark areas of sexuality after seeing a bondage scene with Cameron Diaz in the movie "The Mask".

Gilberto Valle was a high school student when he first saw the 1994 movie scene and was so aroused by it that he began looking at pornographic internet sites and bondage images, his lawyer Julia Gatto said.
Mr Valle was arrested in October and accused of plotting to kidnap, rape, cook and eat several women, NY Daily News reports.
The police officer's fantasies of abducting and tying up women "appeared to have originated" with the “Mask” scene in which Cameron Diaz is abducted and bound, Ms Gatto said in court papers filed today.
Ms Gatto said her client had told his psychiatrist, Park Dietz, that his interest in cannibalism did not develop until he saw a roommate's pornographic DVDs while at college.
Those DVDs led him to darker websites that were his “gateway into cannibalism pornography", she said.
Mr Valle is accused of boasting on online forums about his plans to kidnap, kill and eat New York women.
But Ms Gatto will argue that he never planned to act on his fantasies and was just playing them out online.
"At trial Mr Valle will acknowledge that he has unusual, sexual fantasies which involve imagined acts of violence against women - a fetish that will be difficult for most jurors to comprehend," Ms Gatto said.
SOURCE

Man wears 70 items of clothing to avoid baggage fees

 

Man wears 70 items of clothing to avoid baggage fees

Guy goes to lengths to avoid paying excess baggage fees

You arrive at the airport, check in, only to be told that you're well over your baggage allowance. The question is, do you a) pay the usually exorbitant excess luggage fees or b) pull out 70 items of clothing and wear them all?
One passenger, who has not been identified, faced the dilemma at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in China.
He decided to pull out more than 60 shirts and nine pairs of jeans and struggled to squeeze into them all when his luggage exceeded the weight limit.
Wanting to board a flight to Nairobi, Kenya, the man was stopped in security by a metal detector and had to undergo a full body search. In his layers and layers of pockets, officials discovered batteries, thumb drives and device chargers. He was eventually allowed to board the flight despite looking a little like a sumo wrestler.
Have you ever done anything crazy in a last ditch effort to avoid baggage fees?
If you need help with your luggage then read what to take on your gap year with our gap year packing list. Also, jump on the message boards and chat about what travel kit you need.
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Man Catches ‘Prostitute’ Wife Having SEX With A Client In Matrimonial Bed

Man Catches ‘Prostitute’ Wife Having SEX With A Client In Matrimonial Bed

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A cheated Harare man will spend three months in jail for severely beating his wife after he caught her having sex with her lover in their matrimonialbedroom.
Odey Chipenhu (37) was initially slapped with a five month jail term of which two months were set aside for five years on condition of good behaviour. The remaining three months shall be effective.
Interestingly, the woman at the centre of the storm, Jennifer Muranda (27), had been arrested for loitering for the purposes of prostitution. It is further alleged that on the fateful day, she hooked up with another man soon after release from police custody. She proceeded home where she had sex with the man only to be caught red handed in the midst of their pumping game.

The case was heard before Mbare magistrate, Vicky Mashamba. State prosecutor, Ephraim Zinyandu hat it that on 29 September, Odey was at his workplace at Joy Centre Night Club where he is employed as a bar man. At around 4am, Odey was advised that his wife had been arrested for loitering for the purpose of prostitution.
The State had it that Odey sought permission from his employer so that he could attend to his wife. He then went to the police station where he was advised that his wife had been released. He however went straight home atHouse No. 5375 New Canaan, Highfield where he found his wife stark naked, having sex with her client.
He could not stomach the sight and he attacked the couple. Jennifer sustained serious injuries. She decided to report the matter to the police leading to the arrest of her husband.
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Man rents billboard in bid to find work

An unemployed graduate has spent his last £500 - on a billboard aimed at finding him a job.

Adam Pacitti, 24, of Ryde on the Isle of Wight, said he acted out of desperation after applying for more than 250 jobs in three months.
As well as the billboard, in London, Mr Pacitti, who gained a first class degree in media production at the University of Winchester, has also set up a website, employadam.com.
The site features a tongue-in-cheek video in which Mr Pacitti promotes his marketing skills.
In it, he says: "As you can see from my email inbox I have spent countless hours applying for jobs with no luck which is why I have launched employadam.com.
"I am looking for work in the ultra-competitive, cut-throat and slightly vacuous industry that is the media."
He continues: "So if I seem like your ideal candidate then please get in touch because, to be honest, I am getting desperate."
His website and billboard have become popular on Twitter and he has received thousands of messages of support.
Mr Pacitti gained previous success with an internet campaign to find a girl he dreamed of and drew a sketch of.
His search gained attention from worldwide media and he claims his website thegirlofmydreams.co.uk had more than four million hits.
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Long lost bike found inside tree

A 99-year-old US woman says she's finally found a bike her son lost half a century ago - inside a tree.

Helen Puz, of Vashon Island, Washington state, says she received the bike as a gift from neighbours after she was widowed in 1954.
"People were very sympathetic and generous," Mrs Puz told ABC News.
"We were given a girl's bike and my eight-year-old son Don seemed the natural one to ride it."
But young Don was apparently not too keen on riding a girl's bike and so conveniently "lost" it.
But Mrs Puz recently read about a bike that had been "swallowed up" in a tree and was now stuck in the trunk five feet off the ground.
She and the now adult Don visited the tree and confirmed the bike was indeed the one that Don lost so many years ago.
 SOURCE

News show screened background porn

Viewers of a 24-hour news channel got a shock in Sweden - when an erotic film was screened in the background.

It happened during a sober discussion about Russia's support for Syria on TV4 News, reports The Mirror.
As two journalists talked about Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, the pornographic film began playing on a monitor in the background.
Danyal EK, a 23-year-old student who was watching at the time, told The Local: "At first I realised I was looking at a naked woman and it quickly became clear she was having sex.
"It didn't take long before I realized it was a porn film. The image wasn't exactly in focus, but it wasn't hard to figure out what was going on."
The blue movie was shown for 10 minutes before the plug was pulled.
A spokesman for the TV channel said: "Put simply, it's c**p that it happened. We're going to do everything we can so that it doesn't happen again."
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Man loses court case over office affair

Man loses court case over office affair

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He alleged that the company was responsible for the pain and suffering that resulted from the affair because his wife met the man while working there
by a man who tried to sue FirstRand Bank after his wife allegedly fell in love with her colleague while working there, Beeld newspaper reported on Saturday.
“Mr [Ramnath] Dessie’s claim is, to say the least, bizarre. He argues that FirstRand is on one way or the other responsible for his pain and suffering as a result of his wife’s affair,” Judge Nigel Willis said.
“I know Johannesburg litigants can be imaginative, but this claim deserves a special prize. There is no such claim recognised in our common law.”
Dessie Ramnath, brought an application to court and alleged that the bank was responsible for the pain and suffering that resulted from the affair because his wife met the man while working at the bank.
Willis dismissed the claim and ordered Dessie to pay the bank’s legal costs.
“I am not completely sure that in this country we would allow people to claim damages because people fall in love at work,” Willis said.
“This happens all the time. It has happened, and will no doubt continue to happen until the cows come home.”
He said it was nothing new to hear “weird” cases in the High Court in Johannesburg.
“There should be a motto, ex curia Johannesburgensis semper aliquid novi: out of the Johannesburg High Court there is always something new,” Willis said.
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Couple quit jobs over saucy emails

An embarrassed couple have quit their jobs after their explicit emails about their love life became an internet sensation.

Melanie Anderson, a receptionist at an oil industry services company in Aberdeen, accidentally forwarded the intimate exchange with fiance Eric Knisz to their entire office.

It happened when she sent a short email to her colleagues at Integrated Subsea Services (ISS) Ltd to tell them that the sandwich van was outside.

Unfortunately, she accidentally wrote the message on top of the chain of private emails she had been swapping with Mr Knisz.

Within hours the email had gone viral, spreading first to other oil firms in Aberdeen and then to the rest of the world, prompting a series of jokes on Twitter with the hashtag #sandwichvan.

In the private messages, Miss Anderson wrote: " I totally fancy you," to which her fiance replied: "I love making love to you it's ace."

Bruce Webster, human resources director at ISS, said the couple were "absolutely mortified".
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Lightning blows breasts off NT's iconic Venus de Milo statue

Tom Findlay shows off the stone breasts which survived an 8m fall when struck by lightning. Picture: Michael Franchi Source:Northern Territory News

A LIGHTNING strike has blown the breasts off one man's iconic tribute to Northern Territory women. Literally.

Stonemasonry boss Tom Finlay, 48, was standing 50m from his voluptuous hand-carved Venus de Milo when a flash of white light and an "almighty kaboom" sent stone flying through the air, The NT News reports.

Mr Finlay - who carved the statue as a tributeb to NT women - said he was amazed her 30kg breasts had survived the phenomenon.

"There was a clap of thunder and the sculpture blew up like a rocket-launcher had hit it," he said.

All that is left of the original sculpture is below the hips. Picture: Michael Franchi

"Everything disintegrated but the breasts - all that's left is what's under her hips," he added.

The 1.5m high sculpture, made of local porcelanite, was perched on a 6m steel reinforced column.

Shattered stone was strewn about the small courtyard at Finlay's Stonemasonry - near the Stuart Hwy, at Yarrawonga - where the top half of the headless Venus was obliterated about on Friday.

Tom Findlay's first sculpture, of Venus, before it was destoyed by lightning.

But her breasts withstood the 8m drop on to the stone mural below. Only one nipple was damaged.

Mr Finlay said he had not yet decided the fate of the surviving breasts.

"I might mount (the breasts) and hang them in my office."

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RESCUERS were confronted with a bizarre scene when a woman became stuck between two walls in Portland, Oregon.

RESCUERS were confronted with a bizarre scene when a woman became stuck between two walls in Portland, Oregon.

It's unknown how the woman, 30-year-old Anita Mann, got there. She was wedged tight, and her feet were not touching the ground.

Firefighters used braces to support her and turned on a portable heater to keep her warm in the winter chill while they dropped an air bag into the opening to slightly spread the walls.

"She was in good spirits," Rich Chatman, of Portland fire department, said.

"We just tried to reassure her ... we weren't going home without her."

Rescuers cut a window-sized hole in the concrete wall then applied a soapy lubricant. Ms Mann  then wiggled toward the hole as the rescue team pulled her to safety.

She was taken to hospital for treatment.

The woman is freed after becoming stuck between two walls in Portland, Oregon.

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Cleveland stripper 'critical' after falling from balcony lap-dance fall

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A picture of Lauren Block as a waitress. Source: Supplied

A STRIPPER has been seriously injured after falling from a balcony during a lap-dance in the United States.

Cleveland police say the Lauren Block, 22, plunged about 4.5m during a performance for a customer.

The accident happened at Christie's Cabaret about 1am Wednesday United States time.

Police initially believed she may have been thrown off the club's balcony. But Pasquale Storino, 25, approached investigators and admitted he had been receiving a lap dance from Block on the club's second floor when she "grabbed the rail ... and tried to complete some sort of jump/dance move."

Storino said Block "accidentally went head-first over the rail".

Witnesses had earlier told police that two men had fled the bar after the woman fell from the balcony.

A police report says they will not continue to investigate the mishap.

SOURCE

France to turn off office and shop lights at night

PARIS | Wed Jan 30, 2013 6:15am EST

(Reuters) - French shops and office buildings will have to turn off their lights at night to save energy and reduce light pollution, the French environment ministry said on Wednesday.
From July 1, all non-residential buildings will have to switch off interior lights one hour after the last worker leaves the premises. All exterior and shop window lighting will have to be turned off by 1 am.
Local authorities will be able to allow exceptions for Christmas lighting and other local events.
The new law will save about two terawatt/hours of electricity a year - the equivalent of the annual consumption of 750,000 households, the ministry said.
Environment Minister Delphine Batho said it would also make France a pioneer in Europe in preventing light pollution, which disrupts ecosystems and people's sleep patterns.
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Chinese millionaire fights pollution with thin air

By Terril Yue Jones

BEIJING | Wed Jan 30, 2013 7:09am EST

(Reuters) - China's foulest fortnight for air pollution in memory has rekindled a tongue-in-cheek campaign by a multimillionaire with a streak of showmanship who is selling canned fresh air.
Chen Guangbiao, who made his fortune in the recycling business and is a high-profile philanthropist, on Wednesday handed out soda pop-sized cans of air, purportedly from far-flung, pristine regions of China such as Xinjiang in the northwest to Taiwan, the southeast coast.
"I want to tell mayors, county chiefs and heads of big companies: don't just chase GDP growth, don't chase the biggest profits at the expense of our children and grandchildren and at the cost of sacrificing our ecological environment", Chen said.
China's air quality is closely watched as it fluctuates dramatically from day to day but in recent weeks has registered far into the unhealthy zone.
Air pollution is measured in terms of PM2.5, or particulate matter 2.5 micrometers in diameter, which are absorbed by the lungs and can cause heart and lung disease. The World Health Organisation recommends a daily PM2.5 level of 20 and says that levels greater than 300 are serious health hazards.

 

Beijing's air quality frequently surges past a level of 500, and on January 12 soared to 755, the highest in memory.
"I go outside, walk for about 20 minutes, and my throat hurts and I feel dizzy", Chen told Reuters in an interview on a busy Beijing sidewalk.
He handed out green and orange cans of "Fresh Air", with a caricature of himself on them saying, "Chen Guangbiao is a good man".
"Be a good person, have a good heart, do good things," reads a message along the bottom of each can.
The 44-year-old entrepreneur, whose wealth is estimated at $740 million according to last year's Hurun Rich List of China's super-wealthy, is an ebullient and tireless self-promoter.
He is something of a celebrity in China, with more than 4 million followers on Sina Weibo, China's most popular Twitter-like microblogging platform.
He concedes that his canned-air effort is tongue in cheek, but says it's a way to awaken people to the importance of environmental protection. His campaign is attracting bemusement but also plaudits from the media and from people desperate to escape the smog.
"Beijing's air really needs to improve, so we need a good man like him to appear," said a 21-year-old resident surnamed Hu. "It reminds people to use less fuel and do what they can for Beijing's air".
The cans of air were free on Wednesday, but usually sell for 5 yuan (80 cents) with proceeds going to poor regions of China, and places of historic revolutionary importance.
Sales, which had been moderate, took off after the recent streak of bad air days, with 8 million cans sold in the last 10 days, Chen said.
(Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Robert Birsel)
SOURCE

Japanese husbands shout their love for wives in public

TOKYO | Tue Jan 29, 2013 11:31pm EST

(Reuters) - Love was in the air in a Tokyo park as normally staid Japanese husbands gathered to scream out their feelings for their wives, promising gratitude and extra tight hugs.
With modesty and reticence traditionally valued over outspokenness, expressing deeper feelings like love has long been hard in Japan.
That's why dozens of Japanese men gather once a year ahead of Jan 31, which in Japanese is a play on the words for "Beloved Wife," to let their feelings fly.
Declarations at the Tuesday night event ranged from a simple "I'll love you forever" to expressions of gratitude for homemade boxed lunches.
"I'm sorry that I've gained weight over the last seven years," a suit-clad man yelled. "But that's because the meals you cook are so delicious."
The event, now in its fifth year, was thought up by Kiyotaka Yamana with the support of a local flower shop to urged Japanese men to show their affection in more explicit ways.
"The economy is getting better in Japan and I see a lot of Japanese married couples getting more active in deepening their relationships," Yamana said.
Wives in the audience laughed and clapped, especially when one man got down on his knees to offer his wife a bouquet.
"He's very fabulous and manly today," said Yuko Todo, 33, after her husband Takeshi's performance. "It just reminded me how macho he used to be - I'd forgotten that in the eight years we've been married. My heart pounded."
(Reporting by Hyun Oh, writing by Elaine Lies, Editing by Michael Perry)
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