Malaysian authorities said Friday they have taken action against "husbands for hire", local men who marry foreign women for money, allowing them to stay in the country and work illegally.
The "husbands", often impoverished middle-aged men including rubber-tappers and fishermen, agree to the fake marriages to allow the women to obtain a one-year permit to remain in Malaysia, an immigration official said.
Full StoryThousands of curious onlookers are flocking to central Indonesia to look at a "crop circle" in a rice field following rumors it was formed by a UFO.
Though clearly sculptured by humans — it looks like an intricately designed flower — the 70-yard-wide (70-meter-wide) circle has drawn so much attention that police have blocked off the area with yellow tape.
Full StoryA furious 36-year-old Italian woman has filed for divorce just a month after her wedding because her husband brought his mother on their honeymoon, ANSA news agency reported Wednesday.
As the couple set off for their honeymoon to France in December, the newly-wed was shocked to find her new mother-in-law at Rome's Fiumicino airport, all set to come on the trip, the agency cited her lawyers as saying.
Full StoryA desperate Turkish man living in Germany has turned to the police for protection from his insatiable wife's constant demands for sex, authorities said on Wednesday.
The man came to his local police station in southwestern Germany on Tuesday saying that he had been sleeping on the sofa for the past four years to escape the clutches of his wife of 18 years and mother of their two children.
Full StoryBefore there was Dr. Atkins, there was William Banting. He invented the low-carb diet of 1863. Even then Americans were trying out advice that urged fish, mutton or "any meat except pork" for breakfast, lunch and dinner — hold the potatoes, please.
It turns out our obsession with weight and how to lose it dates back at least 150 years. And while now we say "overweight" instead of "corpulent" — and obesity has become epidemic — a look back at dieting history shows what hasn't changed is the quest for an easy fix.
Full StoryA hacker took over French President Nicolas Sarkozy's Facebook account and posted a fake announcement that he was abandoning plans to run for re-election, his page said Monday.
"Dear compatriots, given the exceptional circumstances our country is experiencing, I have decided in my spirit and conscience not to run for office again at the end of my mandate in 2012," said the spoof message.
Full StoryA shriveled 30-year-old piece of confectionery, said to be from Prince Charles and Princess Diana's wedding cake, has sold for NZ$380 ($290) on a New Zealand Internet auction site.
Christchurch woman Katrina Greenslade auctioned the slice of royal history on auction site Trade Me, claiming it had been in family since 1981.
Full StoryA set of solid gold false teeth used by British wartime leader Winston Churchill during some of his most famous speeches sold for 16,000 pounds (19,100 Euros, 25,500 dollars) at auction on Wednesday.
Churchill had problems with his teeth and speech from an early age and the dentures were designed to compensate for the then-prime minister's distinctive lisp when speaking in public, London auctioneers Bonham's said.
Full StoryA New Zealand woman was temporarily partially paralyzed by a "love bite" on her neck from her amorous partner, doctors reported in the New Zealand Medical Journal.
The 44-year-old woman went to the emergency department of Middlemore Hospital in Auckland last year after experiencing loss of movement in her left arm while watching television, the journal reported.
Full StoryA new hotel has opened in the heart of Madrid proudly declaring that it's complete rubbish.
More of a wooden shack than a five-star establishment, the walls of the Beach Garbage Hotel are strewn with detritus dragged up by the tide, recovered from landfills or snapped up at flea markets.
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