Thousands of Taiwanese couples have tied the knot in New Year weddings, the government and media reports have said.

Household registration offices across the island opened their doors on the holiday to serve more than 6,800 couples who were marrying on the first day of the year 100 in Taiwan’s calendar, said the interior ministry.

“The public often choose symbolic dates to get married and 100 symbolises happily ever after” in Chinese culture, the ministry said in a statement.

Last year, about 6,000 couples were married on September 9, which is the homophone of the phrase “everlasting” in Chinese.

The ministry said it was planning to launch a series of events to boost marriage rates with the island’s birth rate among the world’s lowest. (AFP)

Falling blackbirds spook Arkansas officials

Like an Alfred Hitchcock nightmare, a flock of more than 1,000 blackbirds rained on Beebe, in Arkansas, baffling wildlife officials.

The blackbirds began dropping from the sky on New Year’s Eve, officials said, alarming residents as they mysteriously piled up on homes and gardens.

Game authorities said they had no immediate answer as to why the birds fell from the sky, and that they would be tested today.

Some scientists said they could have been hit by high-altitude hail, or startled by fireworks. People from most of Latin America, including neighbouring Mexico and Central America, traditionally mark New Year’s Eve by setting off fireworks for as long as possible – a noisy celebration that might well have blasted the single flock of birds straight out of their roost. (AFP)

Centenarian ready to marry again

A 110-year-old Malaysian man who has been looking for a wife said he was ready to marry again after an 82-year-old woman responded to his wish, a report said yesterday.

Ahmad Mohamad Isa, who has 20 grandchildren and 40 great-grandchildren, told Malay-language newspaper Utusan Malaysia earlier this week that he wanted company and a wife to take care of him. The report grabbed the attention of 82-year-old Sanah Ahmad, a widow of 30 years and mother of nine, who said she was willing to do so.

“It doesn’t matter who she is, as long as she can cook for me,” Mr Ahmad told the paper yesterday.

“It is lonely to live alone and I am afraid to sleep alone. If I have a wife she can take care of me,” the centenarian, who has five previous marriages, said in an earlier interview. Four of his wives have died and he divorced the fifth. (AFP)

Filthy show

Filthy content is guaranteed for a New Year exhibition planned by the Wellcome Trust, Britain’s leading research charity.

Dirt: The Filthy Reality Of Everyday Life uncovers the grimy truth of human existence across centuries and continents.

The exhibition opens in March at the Wellcome Collection in London and builds on anthropologist Mary Douglas’s observation that dirt is “matter out of place”. The exhibition runs from March 24 to August 31. (PA)

Witches to pay income tax

Romania has changed its labour laws to officially recognise witchcraft as a profession, prompting one self-described witch to threaten retaliation.

The move is part of the government’s drive to crack down on widespread tax evasion in a country that is in recession.

In addition to witches, embalmers, valets and driving instructors are now considered by labour law to be working real jobs, making it harder for them to avoid income tax.

A witch called Bratara told Realitate.net, the website of a top TV station, that she plans to cast a spell using black pepper and yeast to create discord in the government. (PA)

Panda cow

A rare miniature cow with markings similar to a panda was born on a farm in northern Colorado.

Chris Jessen raises miniature cattle and also owns a miniature kangaroo on his farm in Larimer County. The so-called “panda cow” is thought to be one of only about 24 in the world.

The miniature panda cow is the result of genetic manipulation. A white belt encircles the animal’s midsection, and the cow has a white face with black ovals around the eyes, giving it a panda-like appearance. The mini-cattle are bred solely as pets.

Mr Jessen says panda calves can sell for $30,000. (PA)