Shop mannequins displaying underwear will have to take cover under a regulation passed by authorities in Vietnam's commercial capital.
The models must no longer be visible from shop fronts under the rule controlling various forms of advertising in southern Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, the Phap Luat Ho Chi Minh City newspaper said on its website.
"Putting the mannequin somewhere that people in the streets cannot see it is OK," the report quoted local official Le Quang Vinh as saying. "No one wears underwear in public places, and it runs counter to Vietnamese traditional custom." (AFP)
250 tortoises seized on train
Ukrainian customs said its officers have seized 250 tortoises that a passenger had tried to smuggle across the former Soviet republic's eastern border aboard a sleeper train.
"While officers were conducting a check aboard the Tashkent-Kharkiv train, a citizen of Uzbekistan was found to have hidden 250 tortoises behind a panel in the toilet and between berths two and three," it said in a statement.
The tortoises, valued at the equivalent of $2,300 (€1,657), have been confiscated. (Reuters)
Live alligator found in bag
Norwegian customs officials carrying out a routine check were shocked to find a live alligator in luggage on board a train bound for Oslo, officials said yesterday.
The 75-centimetre caiman reptile, which is on the list of endangered species, was found during a routine baggage control on Sunday on a train travelling from the Swedish city of Gothenburg to Oslo, Norwegian customs inspector Wenche Fredriksen said. "It was in a ventilation tube inside a bag," she said.
The reptile's owner, a 22-year-old man, said he bought the "pet" in Poland where he was a student and wanted to bring it home to Norway. The caiman was turned over to veterinary authorities who were to decide its fate. (AFP)
Smuggling mobiles into prison by kite
Two Brazilian teenagers were arrested on the weekend for allegedly plotting to smuggle cellphones into a prison using a kite.
According to police, the two unidentified adolescents were arrested late on Saturday with two kites and mobile phones inside a building in Tremembe, a town outside Sao Paulo, the G1 news website reported.
Police said the two confessed to planning the operation, and said they were to have received $175 through an ex-girlfriend of a prisoner. (AFP)
Moving the clock to save power
Bangladesh has moved its clocks one hour forward from for the first time to use more daylight time and save electricity.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had promised before her December election to address the nation's power crisis, often the cause of protests. With the move Bangladesh Standard Time is now GMT +7 hours instead of GMT +6 hours.
The government estimates that 250 megawatts of electricity a day could be saved by using more natural light in the evening.
The daylight saving measure will end on October 1. From 2010 on, clocks will be set an hour ahead on April 1 and go back on October 1.
The densely populated, impoverished country has a daily shortfall of 2,000 MW power against demand for 5,000 MW. Officials have said the shortfall will reach 8,000 MW a day by 2011. (Reuters)
Cracks coconuts with finger
A kung fu master has jabbed his way into the Malaysian records book after piercing four coconuts with his index finger in a little over 30 seconds, a newspaper reported yesterday.
Ho Eng Hui, 55, made it into the Malaysia Book of Records for coconut opening with his 30.81 second feat, the New Straits Times reported.
"Now, I will start preparing myself to get into the Guinness Book of World Records," Master Ho told the newspaper.
"This is not an illusion or black magic. I am able to do this after mastering the Chinese martial art technique of using the strength of my finger, from a martial arts master in Singapore."
Hundreds of people, many of them tourists, witnessed the record breaking coconut piercing in Malacca over the weekend.
Master Ho smashed his previous record of breaking three coconuts in 70 seconds. (AFP)