Israel's education minister gets the giggles in parliament
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A reference to "penetration" in a speech to parliament caused Israel's education minister to burst into a laughing fit that went viral on Tuesday on Israeli websites. Shai Piron, who is also a rabbi, could not get past the first sentence of his address, on a proposed law against smuggling cell phones into Israel's prisons, before beginning to chuckle.
Italian businessmen drop pants in tax protest
ROME (Reuters) - Five Italian businessmen stripped off their trousers and protested outside parliament on Tuesday, demanding the abolition of a tax collection agency they blame for the suicides of scores of their peers. The men posed for the cameras in their shirts and underwear, carrying signs that read "You are killing thousands of jobs".
Noah's Ark theme park wants to show the Flood was "plausible"
HEBRON, Kentucky (Reuters) - The Biblical account of Noah and his Ark poses a lot of questions, even for believers like the creators of the controversial Creation Museum in Kentucky. What is "gopher wood"? How did Noah fit all those animals on the boat? And how did he stand the smell?
Lola the performing donkey ordered to get off Brussels balcony
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgian police have demanded that Lola, a theatre-starring donkey, be removed from the balcony of a cultural center in Brussels after neighbors complained about her braying. Lola is staying on the first-floor balcony while she performs in a play at the Arab Cultural Center, located in the same building in the Belgian capital. Staff had laid out straw and a bucket of water so she could get some fresh air.
Ex-Microsoft manager plans to create first U.S. marijuana brand
SEATTLE (Reuters) - A former Microsoft executive plans to create the first U.S. national marijuana brand, with cannabis he hopes to eventually import legally from Mexico, and said he was kicking off his business by acquiring medical pot dispensaries in three U.S. states. Jamen Shively, a former Microsoft corporate strategy manager, said he envisions his Seattle-based enterprise becoming the leader in both recreational and medical cannabis - much like Starbucks is the dominant name in coffee, he said.
Church wine runs low in latest Venezuelan shortage
CARACAS (Reuters) - With no miracle in sight, Roman Catholic churches are being asked to ration wine in the latest shortage to illustrate Venezuela's economic troubles. "We're asking the priests and bishops to ration wine and look for alternatives during this emergency," said Jose Antonio Da Conceicao, a national church official.
Archaeologists seek ships sunk in Peruvian battle 400 years ago
LIMA (Reuters) - Two 400-year-old warships that sank in the Pacific Ocean after being attacked by a Dutch admiral and pirates may once again see land if researchers in Peru successfully raise them. Metal detectors and magnetometers and memoirs indicate the ships, part of a fleet that defended the Spanish crown when Peru was a colony, are some 150 kilometers (93 miles) south of the capital Lima, investigator and historian Jorge Ortiz said on Monday.
Slavia to ditch player for crying after rivals' failure
SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgarian club Slavia Sofia plans to offload a player who cried after they denied Levski Sofia the title by holding them to a 1-1 tie on the final day of the season, Slavia president Ventseslav Stefanov said on Wednesday. Levski seemed certain to win a 27th league title on Saturday but, in a dramatic finale, defender Dimitar Vezalov scored a bizarre own goal 16 minutes from time while rivals Ludogorets beat Montana to lift the trophy for a second straight year.
China says Xinjiang minorities too busy dancing to make trouble
BEIJING (Reuters) - Ethnic minority people in China's Xinjiang are far more fond of dancing, singing and being good hosts than making trouble, a top official said on Tuesday, dismissing the idea that the far western region is a hotbed of unrest. Many Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking Muslim people who live in energy-rich Xinjiang, chafe at Chinese restrictions on their culture, language and religion, and the region is frequently the scene of deadly ethnic violence.