Following is a summary of current odd news briefs.
Taiwan’s Ma to win election? The stars have foreseen it
TAIPEI – The stars are aligning for Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou to narrowly win re-election at the island’s January 14 election, but he’ll only get by with a little help from his wife, according to a well-known Taiwan fortune teller. Chan Wei-chung, who has been divining destinies for 30 years and is an adviser to many of Taiwan’s glitterati, told Reuters Friday that Ma will have the edge but will need his wife’s help to offset the forces acting against him.
Women are a mystery to British physicist Hawking
LONDON – The biggest mystery in the universe perplexing one of the world’s best known scientists is — women. When New Scientist magazine asked "Brief History of Time" author Stephen Hawking what he thinks about most, the Cambridge University professor renowned for unraveling some of the most complex questions in modern physics answered: "Women. They are a complete mystery."
Colorado woman accused of damaging $30 million painting
DENVER – A 36-year-old woman was accused of causing $10,000 worth of damage to a painting by the late abstract expressionist artist Clyfford Still, a work valued at more than $30 million, authorities said on Wednesday. A police report said Carmen Tisch punched and scratched the painting, an oil-on-canvas called "1957-J no.2," at the recently opened Clyfford Still museum in Denver and pulled her pants down to slide her buttocks against it.
Maldives lifts ban on luxury resort spas
COLOMBO – A ban on luxury spas at hotels and massage parlors in the Maldives was lifted on Wednesday under pressure from the country’s key tourism industry a week after it was imposed as part of an effort to curb perceived vice. "We have lifted the ban and all the services will be available for tourists," President Nasheed told Reuters by telephone from the Maldives capital Male. "We wanted to give confidence to tourists."
U.S. twin births have doubled in three decades: study
ATLANTA (Reuters) – The number of twins born in the United States has doubled in the last three decades largely as a result of fertility treatments, with one in 30 infants born in 2009 a twin, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday. "The increases are quite widespread, affecting all age groups and all parts of the country," said Joyce Martin, a CDC epidemiologist and coauthor of the new study.
Give slim kids higher marks, says French diet guru
PARIS – Pierre Dukan, the nutritionist behind the popular but controversial Dukan diet, has suggested that France tackle child obesity by giving extra exam marks for slimness. Dukan, who has sold 8 million copies of his diet book worldwide, made the proposal in a 250-page book called ‘An Open Letter to the Future President’, which he sent out on Tuesday to 16 candidates for France’s presidential election.
Hello Heidi to bye bye bunga bunga in 2011 odd news
LONDON – Bunga Bunga, Zenga Zenga, a tweeting cobra and other wacky news capped a year that saw the capture of America’s most wanted man and the overthrow of dictators. 2011 was filled with animal antics that began with the introduction of Heidi, the cross-eyed opossum, as the latest feral German celebrity to capture hearts around the world.
For the not-so-serious drinker: Marshmallow vodka
NEW YORK – Vodkas flavored with citrus and berry have been around for years and recently some newer brands have been trying to create buzz with unusual flavors. But this holiday season, for the first time, the world’s largest vodka brand is trying to appeal to Americans’ sweet tooth with zany flavors like "fluffed marshmallow" and "whipped cream."
New Year’s Day to come early as Samoa leaps ahead
CANBERRA – If you are reading this on Friday you cannot be in Samoa. Friday, December 30, has been cut this year for the tiny South Pacific island nation as it ditched a time-zone alliance with the United States and moved its time zone 24 hours ahead to catch up with Asia, New Zealand and Australia.
