A German married couple, the Thalheim-Kunz-Hallsteins, lost a battle before the country's top court yesterday to defend the use of triple-barrelled names.
The plaintiff, a woman born Frieda Thalheim, had argued that a law passed in 1993 to ban couples from stringing more than two family names together violated their personal rights.
She had aimed to affix the last name of her husband, Hans-Peter Kunz-Hallstein, to her own maiden name, under which she had established a successful dentistry practice.
The Federal Constitutional Court ruled five-to-three that banning unwieldy names was "reasonable", noting that Ms Thalheim had the right to use her maiden name professionally and her legal, married name in other settings.
It added that names had the function in a society of tracing a family line and that endlessly complicated names would create confusion.
Coffin maker sets grim record
A 50-year-old Austrian man has built more than 700,000 coffins over two decades, setting a world record, his employer said yesterday.
Herbert Webter has built 707,335 coffins for his company, Moser, where he has worked since 1978 in the central town of St-Michael-im-Lungau.
His feat has been certified by Guinness World Records, his company said.
He will receive his certificate at a party in his honour during the International Funeral Home and Cemetery Fair in Salzburg on Saturday, Moser said.
'Best job' contenders treated to Aussie spas
Candidates vying for "the world's best job" as caretaker of an Australian tropical island soothed their last-minute nerves with spa treatments yesterday, organisers said.
The 16 hopefuls, selected from more than 34,000 applicants globally, were treated to facials, massages and pedicures a day ahead of an announcement on who is to get the dream role on the Great Barrier Reef's Hamilton Island.
Hailey Turner, one of two Australians in the running for the caretaker position, dubbed "the best job in the world" by co-ordinators Tourism Queensland, said the judging process had been one "big adventure".
The applicants were put through their paces this week, diving the waters of the Great Barrier Reef and lunching on local delicacies cooked by gourmet chefs under the watchful eyes of the judges.
Tourism Queensland will announce today who among the 16 has been selected as winner of the competition, which has attracted worldwide attention and garnered free publicity worth an estimated 110 million Australian dollars (€87 million).
Birthday in quarantine
A Frenchman quarantined in a Hong Kong hotel over swine flu fears celebrated his birthday in confinement with champagne and wine courtesy of the French consulate.
The consulate sent the gifts to the unnamed visitor, who has been detained inside the Metropark hotel along with around 300 other guests and staff since last Friday.
Quarantine was ordered after a Mexican who stayed briefly in the hotel last week visitor tested positive for the A(H1N1) virus.
"As one of our French citizens is celebrating his birthday at Metropark, the French consulate decided to offer some champagne and some French wine bottles," the consulate's head of public affairs, Paule Ignatio, said.
The quarantine, which was taken as a precautionary measure, is set to last until Friday evening.
'Lonely hamburger' to tempt Estonians in e-voting test
Estonians are to have their taste buds tickled by an e-voting test for European parliamentary elections offering them joke candidates such as the lonely hamburger and tiramisu.
Bidding to spice up the lacklustre campaign for June 4-7 elections to the European Parliament, organisers hope such fare will encourage young Estonians to participate in the new high-tech voting system.
Among the specialities on offer are traditional Estonian dumpling soup and the local karask scone, but those seeking more of an international flavour can opt to vote for spaghetti al pomodoro, tiramisu or a simple espresso.
The lonely hamburger is supposed to reflect independent candidates not linked to any party.
Estonia's electoral committee hopes the test poll, which will be available on the www.valimised.ee webpage from May 28 to June 3, will also iron out any glitches in the new online voting system.
The colourful menu is designed to attract more Estonians to learn how the system works and engage in the electoral process.
Estonia pioneered e-voting and plans to implement soon a system that will enable voters to cast their ballots via mobile phones from anywhere they can.
Rabbis urge Israel to limit foreign wives
Rabbis want authorities to reduce the number of female foreign workers entering Israel, as their male employers seem to easily succumb to their charms, a report said.
The plea follows an appeal lodged at a rabbinical court south of Tel Aviv by a scorned wife whose husband had an affair with a Filippina employee, said the Maariv daily.
"The authorities should apply restrictions to guard the honour of Israel's daughters," wrote Rabbi Nahum Gortald, the head of the tribunal.
There is no civil marriage law in Israel, and people of different religions must go abroad to marry.