A poster depicting Russian President Dmitry Medvedev as Captain America, a skinny kid- turned-comic super hero, has appeared in Moscow causing Kremlin irritation.

Wearing a black leather jacket and leather gloves, the Russian President is shown in a spoof movie poster for Captain America: The First Avenger. The words “Captain Russia. The First Ruler” are emblazoned across the Moscow poster but instead of holding a shield, the Russian President is depicted with a huge iPad in his hands.

The Kremlin and the government have been touchy about attempts to hijack the images of Mr Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. A Kremlin official called the stunt “some sort of stupidity” but the artist behind the poster said it was his response to several placards posted around Moscow that depicted Mr Putin as James Bond. (AFP)

Hernia self-repair

A 63-year-old California man tried to operate on his own hernia by cutting open his stomach with a six-inch butter knife.

The man was apparently frustrated with the painful medical condition, and took matters into his own hands – alarming his wife, who immediately called 911.

The man was placed on a psychiatric hold and taken to hospital where he was reported to be in a stable condition. But doctors said he had probably only made his condition worse.

“It is absolutely impossible for someone to fix their own hernia,” said Sam Carvajal, a surgeon at Glendale Adventist Medical Centre, adding that repairing a hernia is relatively easy, and usually takes about 20-30 minutes for a trained surgeon. (AFP)

Mentally scarred?

An Australian woman injured when a hotel room light fitting fell and hit her on the face while she was having sex on a work trip sued the government yesterday, claiming compensation.

The woman suffered injuries to her nose, mouth and a tooth and was mentally scarred after the glass fitting fell from the wall over the bed and struck her in the face as she had sex, her lawyer said.

A government employee, she was staying overnight at a rural hotel ahead of a meeting and has lodged a case in the Federal Court claiming she should get damages because the incident happened while she was on official business.

ComCare, the government’s workplace safety agency, is opposing the claim, saying the sexual act was with an acquaintance who had nothing to do with work and was a “frolic of her own”. He said people on government business needed to eat, sleep and attend to their personal hygiene but “you don’t need to have sex”. (AFP)

Christ receipt

A couple in South Carolina claim they can see the face of Christ in a receipt from a Walmart store.

Jacob Simmons and fiancée Gentry Lee Sutherland say the dark grey mark in the shape of a face resembling Jesus was a response to a question asked by their preacher in church that week.

“We had a message on knowing God, abiding in him,” Ms Sutherland said. “(The preacher asked) ‘If you know God, would you recognise him if you saw him?’” (PA)

Champion tune

Queen hit We Are The Champions is the tune of choice for British Olympians if they get a place on the podium, a survey found.

The 1977 single by the rock act took the gold as the top choice of Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls asked what they would choose in place of the national anthem to accompany a medal win.

Runner-up in the poll for the July 26 edition of Time Out magazine was the stirring hymn Jerusalem. (PA)

Bear crash

There are many hazards to watch out for while cycling to work, but John Hearn was shocked to be knocked off his bike by a black bear.

Mr Hearn, from Panama City, Florida, said the nearly 300-pound bear smacked him off his bicycle and then fled into some nearby woods.

Passing motorists stopped to help Mr Hearn, who sustained minor injuries. The back tyre of his bike was also ripped off. (PA)