The bride and groom grasped one another's dart launcher-clad wrists and stared into each other's starry eyes, as 50 armour-clad guests, including several "Jedis" and a white-caped "Elvis" in a rhinestone-studded ammo belt, stood reverently at attention. A couple of superheroes showed up late.
What better place to hold a Star Wars-themed wedding than a green patch of grass just outside the famed Comic-Con convention where thousands of fans congregated last week to revel in all manner of superhero and sci-fi lore?
The wedding ceremony, based on the language, costume and lore of a fictional Mandalorian race in the Star Wars movies, was the brain child of Tenille Kuhlman, 30, and Thomas Kuhlman, 39, avid fans who decided that the convention was a perfect place to gather far-flung members of their close-knit Star Wars fan club to celebrate their special day.
The couple met online two years ago, said Tenille Kuhlman, who said she was at first hesitant to embrace the Mandalorian lifestyle. "When I met him I knew what every Joe Blow knows about Star Wars. It just sort of turned into life for us."
Swiss to vote on banning minarets
Switzerland will hold a referendum on whether to ban building more minarets in the Alpine country, the government said yesterday.
A group of politicians from the Swiss People's Party (SVP) and Federal Democratic Union gathered more than 100,000 signatures to support the initiative, saying the minarets threaten law and order.
Switzerland has two minarets, in Zurich and Geneva, which would be unaffected by the vote. Neither issues a Moslem call to prayer.
The proposal has to be discussed by Parliament before being put to a popular vote and the process could take several years.
Separated twin dies of chest infection
One of a pair of Nepali twins once joined at the head died yesterday, seven years after surgeons in Singapore separated their fused skulls, a doctor said.
The twin girls, Ganga and Jamuna, seven, had been living in Nepal with their parents since their surgery hit international headlines in 2001. But Basanta Pant, a neurosurgeon at Kathmandu Model Hospital, where the girls undergo regular medical check ups, said Ganga died in hospital while being treated for a chest infection.
"We ventilated the girl for two days. But eventually she passed away because of a chest problem," Dr Pant said, adding that Ganga had been the weaker of the two since the surgery and Jamuna was doing well.
Doctors at the Singapore General Hospital donated their services for the delicate four-day operation to separate the twins' fused skulls and intertwined brains.
Astronaut says there's life in space
The US commander of space shuttle Discovery believes life probably exists somewhere in outer space, but there is a simple reason why aliens have not visited earth - the journey is too tough."We have seen some evidence that there is a possibility of some life on Mars in the past, so there is probably life all over the universe," astronaut Mark Kelly told a news conference in Tokyo yesterday, where he was joined by other members of the Discovery crew.
"From our experience, it is very difficult to travel through space, and I personally think aliens have not visited our planet."
Delayed passengers smash computers crash
Scores of Chinese air passengers smashed computers and desks and clashed with police yesterday after a night stranded at an airport without accommodation, state media said.
More than 170 passengers were due to leave Kunming, capital of southwestern Yunnan province, on three flights operated by China Southern Airlines late on Monday, but the flights were cancelled due to bad weather, Xinhua news agency said. "All the passengers had to spend the night on the planes or in the departure hall," Xinhua said. "No one came to tend to their food and board." The passengers clashed with airport police yesterday morning, smashing computers and desks, Xinhua said, blaming the melee on China Southern staff's "inappropriate working attitude".
At around 2 a.m., many of the passengers - including toddlers and people over 60 - took taxis to a hotel where China Southern said they could stay, only to be turned away once they arrived, Xinhua said.