World Briefs

A new ride at one of the UK’s biggest theme parks, in Surrey, has been moved after fears that it disturbed an ancient burial ground, prompting paranormal activity.

Workers creating the water ride at Thorpe Park for the new season said they started noticing ghostly sightings nearby, including what appeared to be a headless monk.

A paranormal detection agency was called in and found that an ancient burial ground or settlement could have been disturbed so park managers decided to relocate the ride to another area. The ride’s foundations would have been over 15 metres deep in an area of the park where stone coffins have previously been excavated.

Jim Arnold, of South West London Paranormal, said results were picked up immediately, with orbs, ghostly images in photography and reaction results being strongest around the site where Storm Surge was to be built. (PA)

Rip off!

Residents of Turkmenistan can benefit from the same high-speed internet as the rest of the world – as long as they pay $6,821 dollars per month, according to prices posted on the country’s provider yesterday.

Clients can surf the web with up to 2,048 kilobytes per second speed for the price, according to the tariffs posted on www.online.tm, the internet provider of TurkmenTelekom, a telecom monopoly in the Central Asian country.

Unlimited internet is also available at slower speeds, with the least expensive option of 64 kilobytes per second for a bargain price of $213 per month. The cheapest internet access in Turkmenistan costs $43 per month but only allows two gigabytes of traffic.

Turkmenistan, a former Soviet republic, is one of the most opaque and authoritarian states in the world. (AFP)

Flamboyant mayor

Billionaire playground Beverly Hills has had to lay off its ambassador to save money.

Actor Gregg Donovan has spent much of the past 12 years in top hat and tails giving directions, posing for photos, promoting local businesses and bellowing in dozens of languages, “Welcome to Beverly Hills! You have arrived.”

Many shops and residents are not happy at his departure, saying he had become the face of Beverly Hills over the years and a boon to business on Rodeo Drive. (PA)

Magic mushroom

An unusual Berlin museum exhibition combining reindeer, canaries, mice, magic mushrooms and a dash of Hindu mysticism drew nearly 100,000 visitors during its three-month run, organisers said yesterday.

The Soma show by Belgian-born artist Carsten Hoeller which wrapped up Sunday was a runaway hit for the Hamburger Bahnhof museum of contemporary art.

Soma was an ancient Hindu mythical potion known among Vedic nomads in north India in the second millennium BC. It was believed to impart happiness, invincibility and even access to the divine.

Mr Hoeller borrowed from modern studies to try to recreate Soma, using the urine of reindeer that have eaten hallucinogenic fly agaric mushrooms. (AFP)

Prince waxwork

Admirers of Britain’s Prince William will get the chance to find out how Kate Middleton felt standing by his side when their engagement was announced, with the help of a life-size model unveiled yesterday.

American artist Jennifer Rubell has created the wax model of Prince William, which will be displayed at a London exhibition from today, ahead of the couple’s wedding at Westminster Abbey on April 29.

The model is complete with a replica of Middleton’s sapphire and diamond engagement ring – and would-be royal brides can live out their fairytale fantasy by slipping on the ring and standing arm-in-arm with the Prince. (AFP)

Facebook vote

Facebook users are being asked to vote on whether one of the most iconic US couples ever should be reunited after a seven-year split.

Barbie and Ken, two half-century-old dolls marketed by the world’s biggest toy company, Mattel, split on Valentine’s Day 2004 after 43 years together, and now the public is being asked to weigh in on their future.

In fact, although after the big break-up, Barbie began a dalliance with an Australian surfer dude-doll called Blaine, fans of the two dolls, who have retained their youthful good looks and seamlessly changed with the times, can now vote on either doll’s Facebook page or on barbieandken.com on whether they should get back together. (AFP)

Holy orders

Israeli police have arrested four men in connection with the theft of Jewish religious items worth more than a million dollars from a synagogue in Milan.

The men, in their 20s, were arrested over the weekend, after smuggling the stolen Judaica into Israel.

Synagogues often have items made of precious metals which are used for ritual purposes or for decoration. (PA)