Hundreds of shoppers in Spain braved chilly weather to queue outside shops in their underwear on the first day of the winter sales yesterday to take advantage of an offer of free clothes.
“Come in your underwear and get a free outfit”, so declared an offer by Spanish-based clothing retailer Desigual for the first 100 people to enter each of their stores in cities around the country – Barcelona in the northeast, San Sebastian in the north and Marbella in the south.
In Madrid, which launched its winter sales early, dozens of barely brave shoppers also did the same thing on Sunday. The lucky ones were entitled to a top item of clothing, for example a blouse or T-shirt, and one bottom item, such as a pair of trousers or a skirt.
Spain is struggling to emerge from an economic crisis with unemployment at almost 20 per cent, the highest in the EU. (AFP)
Two-headed calf
A cow in the ex-Soviet state of Georgia has given birth to a two-headed calf.
Farmer Irakli Dzhgarkava says the cow is refusing to allow her strange offspring to suckle, so they are giving it milk from a bottle. He says the calf eats with both heads.
People have been coming to the village of Martvili about 170 miles from the capital, Tbilisi, to see the greyish-brown calf since it was born on January 2.
Vets approve winners
All dogs in 15 high profile pedigree breeds from Pekingese to bulldogs which win at Crufts will need to be given a clean bill of health by vets before their award is confirmed, the Kennel Club announced.
The move aims to improve health in pedigree dogs and protect the sport of dog showing, which have both come under prolonged scrutiny in the wake of a BBC documentary which claimed dogs bred for shows were suffering a high degree of genetic illness.
The Kennel Club, which runs Crufts, said all Best in Breed winners at the world famous dog show in 2012 and at all the club’s championship shows after that will need a clean bill of health from the event’s vet before their award is confirmed and they are allowed to continue to compete in the final.
Bungling raider leaves big clue
A man suspected of stealing an all-terrain vehicle trailer left Alaska State Troopers with a big clue to his identity – his wallet.
The owner found the wallet in the snow and when troopers went to the address given on the ID inside, the black trailer was in plain view.
An arrest warrant has been issued for the 24-year-old suspect, a Fairbanks man, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported.
Bjork’s karaoke marathon
Iceland’s most famous export, the flamboyant singer Bjork, is hosting a karaoke marathon in her home town, Reykjavik, in a bid to pressurise the government to stop what she says is the sell-off of Iceland’s natural resources.
“We want to give the nation a voice, a chance to reclaim its energy resources by singing them back,” she said of the event, which has been dubbed The Voice of the People.
The event, which runs all day today, is designed to urge Icelanders to sign a petition intended to force a referendum on whether to overturn the sale of Icelandic geothermal company HS Orka to Canadian concern Magma Energy. So far some 28,000 Icelanders have signed the petition.
Woodland oil
An oil company has been successful in drilling for oil in an area of ancient woodland.
Northern Petroleum said it will carry out further tests in Markwells Wood, near Chichester, West Sussex, to determine the site’s potential but believes it could yield between 35 million and 61 million barrels of oil.
West Sussex County Council granted the company permission to search for oil in 2008 but environmental campaigners are concerned about the damage the drilling could cause to the area, which is part of the South Downs National Park.
Exit visa
A man who walked into a US police station and asked to be deported to Mexico got his request, but only after he stole a patrol car.
Originally deputies in Jerome, Idaho told Guadalupe Cruz-Vasquez to go away.
He then broke the window of a squad car and drove off, but ran out of petrol and was arrested. (PA)