A Russian official was branded an “imbecile” by the Kremlin after spotting an earthworm on his plate of salad at a reception for the German President and posting a photograph on Twitter.
Tver region governor Dmitry Zelenin posted a photograph of the small red worm on the edge of a plate of salad late Tuesday at a Kremlin reception for German President Christian Wulff and his wife.
“The beef came with live worms,” Mr Zelenin wrote, adding that, “That’s an original way to show that the lettuce leaf is fresh.”
But the Kremlin did not relish the joke.
The Kremlin’s top foreign policy advisor, Sergei Prikhodko, said he regretted that there was no rule on “firing governors for imbecility”. (AFP)
Band strikes false note
The opening ceremony for a state visit from Swiss President Doris Leuthard fell flat in Oslo yesterday, when a Norwegian military band performed the wrong piece.
Ms Leuthard stood next to her host, Norway’s King Harald, in front of the royal palace to listen to the band play the national anthems of their two countries.
But while Norway’s “Ja vi elsker” (“Yes, we love”) went off without a hitch, a rather unfamiliar tune filled the air instead of Switzerland’s “Swiss Psalm”. “There must have been a mistake in our routines. We will investigate,” Major Rune Wiik, the acting band leader, said.
King Harald has also apologised to Ms Leuthard for the blunder, the NTB news agency reported. (AFP)
Tate buys toilet roll
The Tate Gallery has spent £120,000 on works of art including a toilet roll with an inscription in felt tip pen.
Curators from the galleries are joined by specially invited guests to visit the Frieze Art fair, in London, every year and spend money from a special fund which enables them to buy works by up-and-coming artists. Among the work they bought this year was Slovakian artist Julius Koller’s work Universal Futurological Opening which features a toilet roll.
Tate director Nicholas Serota said: “We are grateful for the continuing support of the Outset/ Frieze Art Fair Fund which has enabled Tate to significantly extend its collection of works by new and emerging artists.” (PA)
Tax dance mania
In the land of dancing prisoners and airline cabin crews, Philippine tax collectors have also caught the toe-tapping bug.
Hundreds of people now queue to pay their business and property taxes in Cebu with the added incentive of watching the staff shake their hips, said city treasurer Ofelia Oliva.
“We say to them, paying your taxes is no longer a burden,” Ms Oliva, who leads the dancing, said.
She said daily local tax collections had risen 42.8 per cent to five million pesos ($115,700) since Monday. (AFP)
‘Magic potion’ scam
Two Cameroon nationals extorted $35,000 from Central Asian migrants in Moscow by touting a “magic potion” that promised to multiply bank-notes.
Russian police detained the men, aged 26 and 27, after they tricked two Tajik migrants into handing over the cash with a promise to triple the number of bank-notes using magic, a police source said.
“They promised to make $105,000 for the Tajik migrants with the help of magic and potions,” the police source added. (AFP)
Mister Donut falls foul
A Mister Donut store in Taiwan has been fined thousands of dollars for “smell pollution” after neighbours complained that the aroma of the sweet- fried pastries was overpowering.
The shop operated by food giant President Chain Store Corp. must pay 100,000 Taiwan dollars ($3,300) after inspectors checked out the complaints.
“Our team of odour inspectors ruled that the smell from the store was above regulated level after receiving complaints from nearby residents that it was too much for them,” an inspector said.
The Taipei odour inspectors have no sophisticated equipment to guide them, but rely on their noses. However, they operate in groups of six to ensure the fairness of their findings. (AFP)
Sea lion attacks boat
An angry sea lion attacked a rowing boat in New Zealand’s Otago Harbour, cracking the $40,000 vessel’s hull, it was reported yesterday.
The sea lion smashed into the University of Otago boat from beneath the surface of the water on Wednesday morning, breaking the hull in two places and causing panic among the eight-man crew.
“I saw this dark figure looming under the boat. I felt it hit and, seconds after, water came gushing up... it was panic stations,” rower Matt Smail told the Otago Daily Times.
The boat started taking on water and the crew headed to the nearest boat ramp, with the irate mammal following them. (AFP)