US presidential candidate Barack Obama might be betting he can win next month's election, but he could really hit the jackpot in Colombia.
A Colombian lottery seller has printed Mr Obama's image on tickets, hoping to snag attention while celebrating Afro-Colombians with a nod to the Democrat's African heritage.
Less than two weeks before the US presidential election between Mr Obama and Republican John McCain, street vendors and stores in Meta province are selling the lottery stubs showing a smiling Obama. The average weekly top prize for the tickets is just under $300,000.
"We thought he's someone with worldwide recognition," Meta lottery director Magdalena Gonzalez said. "Hopefully someone so famous helps us sell more, but if we do not sell more than at least it is pays some homage."
Obama, the son of an American mother and an African father, already has had babies named after him in Kenya and a street was renamed "Obama Boulevard" in Uganda.
Ousted king gets 15 days to pay bills
Nepal's ousted King Gyanendra and his relatives must pay huge unpaid electricity bills within 15 days or lose the power supply to their homes, the Himalayan nation's state utility said yesterday.
Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) said unpaid bills for electricity supplied to 22 palaces and bungalows earlier owned by Gyanendra and his relatives amounted to $1.14 million since 2006, when protests forced him to end a brief period of absolute rule. The company did not say exactly how much the king owed, since the government has nationalised at least seven of those palaces including the main Narayanhiti palace in Kathmandu. But Gyanendra and his relatives still own many bungalows and palaces in Nepal that have not paid their power bills.
"We have given him 15 days to clear the bills," senior NEA official Deepak Prasad Upadhyay said. "If this is not done we'll cut off the power supply."
PM berated for lavish social life
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso is being accused of spending too much time hobnobbing in exclusive hotel bars.
Mr Aso, one of the country's wealthiest politicians, took office in September and held 32 meetings at upmarket restaurants and hotel bars during the first month of his premiership. His predecessor, Yasuo Fukuda, held only seven in his first month.
Mr Aso, the 68-year-old grandson of a former prime minister initially brushed off accusations that he was spending too lavishly and added that he footed the bills himself.
His deputy spokesman said the choice of hotel bars was partly for the benefit of the reporters who follow him around.
Poisoned 'Cup Noodle' makes woman ill
A Japanese woman was taken ill after eating instant noodles laced with the chemical used in mothballs, a health official said yesterday.
The woman, 67, vomited after eating the popular "Cup Noodle" snack, made by Nisshin Food Products Co Ltd but has since recovered.
The case follows a string of food scandals in Japan, most recently involving products made in China. The instant noodles, however, came from a factory in Japan.
The soup was found to contain paradichlorobenzene, a substance used in mothballs.
The incident occurred a week after reports that at least one woman was taken ill after eating frozen green beans imported from China containing insecticide.
Earlier this year, several Japanese were taken ill by Chinese-made dumplings that also contained insecticide.
Russia wants to fight pirates off Somalia
Russia, which sent a warship to Somalia's coast to combat pirates, asked the African nation yesterday for carte blanche to use force in its territorial waters.
Last month Moscow sent the frigate "Neustrashimy" - or "Fearless" - to the Gulf of Aden, and the Russian navy said that its ships would regularly head to zones where there was a danger from maritime piracy.
Some observers say Russia's navy is being used by the Kremlin to project its renewed power.
"To ensure freedom of actions to fight piracy directly in Somalia's territorial waters, the Foreign Ministry of Russia has requested the agreement of the Interim Federal Government of the Somali Republic to grant the Russian Federation 'cooperating state' status," the ministry said in a statement.