World Briefs

A man with terminal cancer who won £10,000 by betting on how long he would stay alive died just weeks before he was due to collect another £10,000 in winnings.

Jon Matthews, from Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, was diagnosed with mesothelioma - a cancer linked to asbestos - in April 2006 but decided to bet against his doctor's prognosis that he would be dead within months.

He won £5,000 by surviving until June 1, 2008 and a further £5,000 on the same date last year but died before he could collect a further £10,000 next month. (PA)

Ambulance apology

An ambulance service apologised after staff were asked to rate how "cool" Adolf Hitler was in a questionnaire.

The survey was sent out to 4,000 employees at West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) as part of a £10,000 study to identify what made good leadership.

Respondents were asked to rate how "cool" 10 famous leaders, including Hitler, were on a scale of one to five. (PA)

Claudia Schiffer bares all

Heavily pregnant supermodel Claudia Schiffer is poised to appear naked on the cover of Germany's Vogue magazine, snapped by fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, the publication said yesterday.

Ms Schiffer, 39, will be proudly showing off her bump in the magazine's June issue, which hits newsstands today. She is expecting her third child "in a matter of days," Vogue said.

Ms Schiffer, who first graced the cover of German Vogue nearly 20 years ago and has appeared 11 times since, said: "It was important to show how beautiful womanhood is."

The pose bears a striking resemblance to a controversial edition of Vanity Fair in 1991 when Hollywood film star Demi Moore, then seven months pregnant, appeared nude. (AFP)

Grey whale sighted off Israel

The appearance of a grey whale off the coast of Israel has stunned scientists, in what was thought to be the first time the giant mammal has been seen outside the Pacific in several hundred years.

The whale, which was first sighted off Herzliya in Israel on Saturday, is believed to have travelled thousands of miles from the north Pacific after losing its way in search of food.

"It's an unbelievable event which has been described as one of the most important whale sightings ever," said Dr Aviad Scheinin, chairman of the Israel Marine Mammal Research and Assistance Centre.

A population of grey whales once inhabited the north Atlantic but became extinct in the 17th or 18th centuries and has not been seen there since. The remaining colonies live in the western and eastern sectors of the north Pacific. (AFP)

Presidential candidate goes hungry

A Colombian presidential candidate has taken a new tack to fight his scant media coverage - chaining himself to a statue in the capital and declaring a hunger strike.

Voice of the Conscience Movement contender Robinson Devia, a relative stranger to the political scene, claimed he was the target of media discrimination in a "moribund democracy".

Chained to a statue of national hero Simon Bolivar, he called for a commission that would include the Organisation of American States to guarantee "fair and balanced information" around the May 30 vote.

Mr Devia obtained support from a million petitioners for his presidential bid and is credited with less than one per cent of voter support. Eight candidates remain in the race. (AFP)

Millionaire finds perfect son-in-law

A South Korean millionaire who advertised for a son-in-law has found the perfect man after sifting through 400 responses, a matchmaking agency said yesterday.

The 78-year-old identified only as Kim began looking for a husband for his 38-year-old only daughter last July, a spokesman for the Sunoo agency said.

Kim, who is worth 40 billion won ($35 million), had specified someone aged 37-42 who grew up in a harmonious family, with a good character and a stable job. Ten of the applicants were selected for interview.

The right man, a 41-year-old surnamed Lee, met the daughter for the first time last October and they will tie the knot on Saturday. (AFP)

Playboy's 3D centrefold

Playboy readers are going to need glasses for a close look at the upcoming issue of the magazine - 3-D glasses.

The centrefold picture in the June edition of Playboy will be in 3-D and a pair of 3-D glasses will be included with the issue of the magazine which hits US newsstands on Friday.

Playboy's first 3-D centrefold comes about six months after the magazine ran a photo spread featuring a cartoon character - a scantily clad Marge Simpson from the hit TV show The Simpsons.

Playboy founder Hugh Hefner said he "wanted to create a 3-D pictorial for the very first issue of Playboy, but didn't have enough money to include the 3-D glasses. (AFP)