Japan's swimmers could face lifetime bans if they dye their hair, wear an earring or have brightly decorated fingernails.
Japanese officials have launched a strict policy to prevent athletes turning up for competitions looking more like rock stars than swimmers.
Male and female swimmers caught sneaking into each others rooms at the Japanese training camp, where the sexes have separate sleeping quarters, will also find themselves in hot water.
"The United States and Australia are also setting these criteria," the Japan Swimming Federation's executive director Masafumi Izumi told local media yesterday.
"We have had many recent controversies (in Japan) with marijuana in sport and at universities, and this is about swimming taking a stand on its own initiative."
The JSF's stringent new plan has been written into its charter following an executive board meeting on Tuesday and swimmers will have to sign a letter of oath.
Rule-breakers face being booted out of the team and sent home in disgrace, a suspension of up to five years or even a lifetime ban. (Reuters)
Man mimics 100 sounds
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Or is it a train? No, it's Chinese mimic Cheng Jiaqiang who can imitate about 100 sounds from birds singing and horses galloping to planes taking off and trains trundling along the tracks.
No sound is a challenge for the professional mimic who has been performing for more than 30 years and is now deputy head of the Beijing Art Ensemble of Golden Larks, a group of acrobats, singers and dancers that gives ensemble performances.
"I have very good qualities. My lips, teeth, throat, tongue and nose are all good," said Mr Cheng.
"My tongue is not thick and I can move it freely in whichever way I want to. I can imitate over 100 noises but around 30 is enough in one performance."
Mr Cheng comes from a long line of professional performers who were famous in China's acrobatic world and performed for Chinese leaders and even Hollywood star Charlie Chaplin and his wife. (Reuters)
Briton stages car crashes in cash scam
A Briton who cost the insurance industry some £1.6 million by staging almost 100 car crashes as part of a scam to win fraudulent payouts, was jailed for 4-1/2 years yesterday.
Mohammed Patel, 24, charged £500 a time to stage accidents which enabled fraudsters to claim an average of £17,000 from their insurers.
Police said he staged at least 92 crashes between 2005 and 2008, each time persuading the other driver to believe they were at fault.
The plot was uncovered after workers in an office block by the main A34 road in Cheadle, near Manchester, became suspicious about a regular number of crashes taking place at a nearby roundabout. (Reuters)
Elvis's hair sold for £11, 207
A pile of hair believed snipped from Elvis Presley when he joined the US Army in 1958 sold for $18,300 (€12,173), according to a Chicago auction house.
The King's hair was one of up to 200 items of Elvis memorabilia collected by the late Gary Pepper, who was the president of the Tankers Fan Club set up for Elvis fans.
The top price of $62,800 (€41,824) was paid for a cream collared cotton shirt with the monogram EP that came with a magazine showing the King wearing the shirt, or at least one similar. It had been expected to sell for between $2,000 and $4,000.
A red ultrasuede shirt, which was also expected to sell for between $2,000 and $4,000, and was also believed to have been worn by Elvis sold for $34,000 (€22,644).
Chicago-based Leslie Hindman Auctioneers posted the results of the auction on its website, saying the lot of hair sold for $18,300 which topped the expected price of between $8,000 and $12,000. All prices on its website included the buyer's premium. (Reuters)
Saudi murderer beheaded
A Saudi man convicted of murder was beheaded by the sword yesterday in the northern town of Sakaka, the interior ministry said.
Mohammed bin Saqer al-Quwaykabi was found guilty of shooting dead Faisal bin Shraytah al-Rawily following a dispute, the ministry said in a statement carried by SPA state news agency.
His beheading brought to 54 the total number of people executed in Saudi Arabia in 2009, according to an AFP count. (AFP)
Egypt foils hijack bid
Air marshals foiled an attempt by a Sudanese passenger to hijack an EgyptAir flight from Istanbul to Cairo yesterday and divert it to Jerusalem, an Egyptian security official said.
Minutes after take-off, the passenger took hold of a knife provided with meals for first-class passengers and threatened crew, the official said. But marshals managed to overpower him and the 87 passengers were able to continue their flight unharmed. (AFP)
Cutting profits
An Indian man cut off his genitals in an attempt to join the country's eunuchs and increase his begging income. He had been pleading for money on the Hindu festival of Diwali before going home and mutilating himself in Rajasthan state.
The 22-year-old had been befriended by eunuchs and used to go begging with them at childbirths, marriages and festivals. (PA)