Get your garlic, crosses and stakes ready: a bloodsucking vampire is on the loose – or so say villagers in a tiny western Serbian hamlet.

People in Zarozje, which is nestled between lush green mountain slopes and spooky thick forests, say rumours that a legendary vampire ghost has awakened has seen fear – and a potential tourist opportunity – spread through the remote village.

A local council warned villagers to put garlic in their pockets and place wooden crosses in their rooms to ward off vampires, although it appeared designed more to attract visitors to the impoverished region bordering Bosnia.

Many of the villagers are aware that Sava Savanovic, Serbia’s most famous vampire, is a fairy tale. Still, they say, better to take it seriously than risk succumbing to the vampire’s fangs.

Anti-Islam film trailer can stay

An actress who appeared in the anti-Muslim film blamed for sparking violence in the Middle East has lost another legal bid to have the trailer taken down from You Tube.

A US federal judge in Los Angeles denied a motion for injunction by Cindy Lee Garcia.

It was not immediately known whether Ms Garcia’s lawyers would file an appeal.

Ms Garcia lost a similar legal challenge in state court when a judge rejected her lawsuit in September.

Innocence of Muslims, which depicts Mohammed in a negative light, enraged Muslims and ignited violence in the Middle East, killing dozens.

Ms Garcia said she was duped by the man behind the film, Mark Bassely Youssef, and the script she saw referenced neither Muslims nor Mohammed. She also said her voice had been dubbed over after filming.

Statue of Liberty visits on hold

The Statue of Liberty survived Superstorm Sandy with every crown spike in place, but its surrounding island was so badly damaged that the National Park Service does not know when the beloved tourist attraction will reopen or how much repairs will cost.

A tour of Liberty Island showed broken railings, torn-up paving stones, damaged equipment and flood-wrecked buildings.

The storm destroyed boilers, sewage pumps and electrical systems, said David Luchsinger, the superintendent of the Statue of Liberty and of the neighbouring Ellis Island (pictured).

“Our entire infrastructure on both islands, both Liberty Island and Ellis Island, was under water,” he said.

Mr Luchsinger estimated that 75 per cent of Liberty Island’s 12 acres was flooded, with water as high as eight feet.

Police probe Georgia’s former premier over fake passport

Georgia prosecutors yesterday summoned former Prime Minister Vano Merabishvili for interrogation over alleged use of a false passport at the state border, the interior ministry said.

“An investigation was opened into the use of a forged document and an attempt of illicit crossing of the state border,” a statement said.

President Mikheil Saakashvili’s closest ally and the general secretary of his United National Movement party, Merabishvili has rejected the accusation and denounced it as politically motivated.

Saakashvili’s allies have alleged persecution after the arrests of his former defence minister, the army’s top general and several interior ministry officials since the new government led by Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili was brought to power by polls last month.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.