Russia President Vladimir Putin came under criticism from rights activists yesterday after he compared Vladimir Lenin’s embalmed corpse to the holy relics of Christian saints.

In a Monday speech before a group of supporters, Putin spoke against the idea of removing Lenin’s mausoleum from Red Square in Moscow where his corpse is housed.

“Many say the mausoleum contradicts traditions. What contradicts traditions? Go to the Kiev Caves Monastery (in Ukraine) or look at (Russia’s) Pskov monastery or Mount Athos (in Greece). There are relics of saints there. You can see everything there,” Putin said.

Rare set of special dates

Couples may be rushing down the aisle on 12/12/12 today in hope of an auspicious union, but one Indian bride and groom can claim an even rarer set of special dates.

Brandon Pereira and Emilia D’Silva celebrated their engagement on 10/10/10, had a registered legal marriage on 11/11/11 and will finally have their big white wedding in Mumbai on 12/12/12.

“On 12/12/12 in the afternoon we will be man and wife,” D’Silva told AFP. She said she had declined Pereira’s offer of marriage many times before he persuaded her in their 10th of year of dating, when the first lucky date was approaching.

Pets to get obituaries

Animal lovers in Singapore will soon be able to publish tributes to their dead pets when the city-state’s leading daily launches a special obituary section.

From December 16, the classified ads section in the Sunday edition of the English-language Straits Times will have a segment devoted to pet obituaries, publisher Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) said.

The Pets Corner is a section of the classified ads that already contains a pet adoption column and a lost and found segment.

For pet obituaries, tributes of no more than 30 words will be published for free, subject to space availability.

Monkey is internet celebrity

A stylishly attired monkey became an instant internet celebrity, and triggered an animal welfare investigation, when it was found wandering in a Canadian furniture store car park.

The months-old rhesus macaque, named Darwin, spent the night at an animal shelter in Toronto after he was found wandering around an Ikea lot wearing a sheepskin coat on Sunday afternoon.

Darwin apparently opened his crate and the door of his owner’s vehicle and went for a stroll. His adventure, however, didn’t stop there.

Snap-happy Canadians took photographs of the cute critter and posted them online and Darwin immediately became a viral sensation on social media.

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