£¨Ð»ªÍøËزģ©German woman attacked for "overpriced asparagus"

BEIJING, May 19 (Xinhuanet) -- A German man beat up a 24-year-old
womanbecause he felther pricingofasparagus sounded like
an overpriced,according to police Monday.

They said the vegetable vendor was beaten by the motorist because he was
angry at her asking price for asparaguswhich fluctuates wildly during the
short springtime season.

The springtime vegetable is sold for 10 euros per kilo--the highest in the
spring--early in the season.

According to the woman, the man screamed at the woman that her asparagus
was overpriced. He then punched her in the face and threatened to unleash his
attack dog at her. She fled and called police.

(Agencies)

Zambia reports first suspected A/H1N1 flu case

LUSAKA, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Health authorities in Zambia are still awaiting for results of a man developing symptoms of A/H1N1 flu, which is the first suspected case of the infectious disease ever reported in the southern African country.

A man, suffering from suspected A/H1N1 flu, was quarantined soon after he arrived at Ndola International Airport from South Africa on Tuesday.

Ministry of Health spokesperson Reuben Mbewe told Xinhua in an interview on Wednesday that the specimens have been taken to the country's best hospital -- the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) -- and results are still being awaited.

"The patient is so far responding well and the specimens have since been brought to the UTH," Mbewe said.

Meanwhile. Mbewe advised the public not to panic because there were also initial indications that the man could be suffering from a common flu.

He expressed confidence in the surveillance system put in place, which he said proved helpful in finding the suspected A/H1N1 flu case.

The government does not want to take chances and is doing everything possible to contain possible incidence in Zambia, the official said..

Last week, South Africa reported two suspected cases of A/H1N1flu which were later tested negative.

Swine flu scare: Spanish man locked in prisoners' ward

Special Report: World Tackles A/H1N1 Flu 

BEIJING, May 6 (Xinhuanet) -- A Spaniard suspected of having swine flu was quarantined in a prisoners ward after the doctor learned he was on a holiday in Mexico.

The man had gone to the hospital to complain of a
rash. He was confined for three days and warned that if he tried to leave he
could face legal action under rules to control epidemics, Spanish newspaper El
Pais said, quoting the man.

The rules came into effect in Spain in response to a
flu virus that has killed 26 people in Mexico.

The man was referred to Madrid's Carlos III hospital
immediately after the doctor learned the man had been to Mexico. The staff in
Carlos III hospital were so afraid of the virus that they instructed the patient
on how to take his own temperature from behind a window.

"It took me two days to learn how to read the mercury
thermometer. They'd tell me over the telephone 'Turn it that way and you'll be
able to see it,'" the man said.

The man said he suffered because of the heating in
his room, which had the windows permanently locked.

"I thought it was because of infection, because they
were afraid the virus might get out through the window, but it turned out that I
was in a ward reserved for prisoners and mental patients," he told El Pais.

(Agencies)

India still has one suspected influenza A/H1N1 case pending test results

Special Report:
World Tackles A/H1N1
Flu

NEW DELHI, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Indian health authorities are testing the
saliva and blood samples of a 28-year-old man found with symptoms of A/H1N1
influenza virus after he arrived last weekend from the United States, reported
the private Indo-Asian News Service on Sunday.

The samples have been sent to the National Institute of Communicable
Diseases in New Delhi while the patient has been admitted to a hospital in
Hyderabad in central India, said the report quoting hospital sources.

The man, who is a software professor, arrived in Hyderabad on Saturday from
San Francisco via Dubai.

He was the second man to be found with suspected A/H1N1 influenza flu
symptoms in the central Indian city, after a 26-year-old man, who had landed in
Hyderabad from Texas last Tuesday, was tested negative of influenza A/H1N1 on
Saturday.

On Saturday, three other people who were suspected to have been infected
with A/H1N1 influenza virus and quarantined in New Delhi were tested negative,
said health officials.

Man impersonating a firefighter battles a blaze

BEIJING, March. 17 (Xinhuanet) -- It looked like a
movie scene! A man dressedlike a firefighter helped to douse a fire that
engulfeda warehouse in New York city suburbs.

Posing as a New York City firefighter, the 39-year
-old manwasin full New York City Fire Department gear;
wearinga jacket, pants and a helmet with his name on it.

Police said the man was arrested after an
investigation revealed he was not a firefighter.

Volunteer Fire Department Battalion Chief Michael
Stark said he asked the man what he was doing at the Feb. 5 fire. He said it
seemed "kind of bizarre."

(Agencies

Rip Van Winkle: "I can't sleep"

BEIJING, March 17 (Xinhuanet) -- A man in U.S. Oregon
State said people usually think he is joking when he introduces himself as Rip
Van Winkle.

Yet his birth certificate is really that name. He
said his father and grandfather were nicknamed Rip, and his dad made things
official for him.

"I went to the doctor's office," said the 37-year-old
man, "my name is Rip Van Winkle, and I can't sleep."

The contractor owns and operates Rip Van Winkle
Residential Contract and Repair. He is proud of his name.

"It's cool, because you get a chance to be yourself,"
he said. "How many Rip Van Winkles do you meet?"

Rip Van Winkle is the name of the title character in an American story
by Washington Irving about a man who sleeps twenty year and is oblivious to social
changes.

(Agencies)

Man survives tumbling over Niagara Falls in Canada

OTTAWA, March 11 (Xinhua) -- A man survived on Wednesday after plunging over the world famous Niagara Falls and floating downstream in frigid waters for 45 minutes, Canadian Police said.

Police believe this is only the third time a person has survived an unaided and intentional plunge over the massive cataract, Chief of the Niagara Parks Police Douglas Kane told Canadian Television. Fatalities are much more common, he said.

The drama began at 2:11 p.m. local time (1811 GMT) when a witness saw a man, believed to be in his mid-30s, crawl over a wall and enter the rapids of the Niagara River. He went over the world-famous Horseshoe Falls, about a 56-meter drop, and ended up in the river below.

Rescue teams involving several Niagara emergency agencies attempted to extract the man, but he swam away further into the river and grabbed onto a log.

A private helicopter used the air washing down from its main rotor to push the man closer to shore. A firefighter went into the river and extracted the man, Kane said.

The man was semi-conscious under the effects of hypothermia and a head injury.

Police noted he willingly jumped in, and refused rescue attempts. He is now being treated in a Niagara Falls, Ontario hospital, and police said an investigation was under way.

At least 17 people, not including suicide attempts, are known to have gone over the falls.

Drunken man asks cop for hug, gets arrested

BEIJING, March 10 -- Police said a drunken man was
arrested after he cursed at an officer who refused to give him a hug.

The Ann Arbor News reported the 44-year-old man had
been yelling at people and walking in the street Thursday when officers
responded. The man agreed to return to his home in Washtenaw County's Superior
Township, about 30 miles west-southwest of Detroit.

But he then approached a patrol car and yelled at an
officer, asking for a hug and swearing at him when the officer refused, while
still blocking traffic.

The man was arrested and detained. He refused a
Breathalyzer test and may face disorderly conduct
charges.

(Source: chinadaily.com.cn/Agencies)

More odd news

Man stays alive 3 days lost in Arctic

BEIJING, April 22 (Xin***) -- A man survived in the Arctic for three days with the help of survival techniques after he went missing last week, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced Tuesday.

The man, whose name has not been released, was working on a scientific research project in Greenland's Arctic. He went missing Wednesday last before being rescued Saturday with the help of several international agencies.

According to the NSF, the 38-year-old U.S. citizen worked as a heavy equipment operator at the station for a sub-contractor of CH2M HILL, an engineering, construction and operations company that provides logistical support for NSF's scientific research efforts in the frigid Arctic.

Before his rescue, the man had last been seen on Wednesday night near a runway at foundation's research station at Summit, Greenland. He was reported missing on Thursday morning.

During the rescue operation, the missing man used survival techniques taught to all NSF and CH2M HILL-affiliated personnel in polar regions to stay alive, including digging a hole to get out of the wind and frequently moving his body to keep blood circulating, according to NSF statement.

The man is now being treated at a hospital in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, and is expected to recover.

(Agencies)

Man dressed like ninja linked to attempted robbery

BEIJING, April 22 (Xin***) -- A man impersonating a ninja used a sword in a bid to rob a Weymouth dry cleaner, according to police.

A convenience store clerk called police Monday after she noticed a man walking into the store wearing a ski mask and carrying a sword in a sheath on his belt.

The man immediately pulled his mask off after noticing the clerk. He asked her if she was calling about him, police said.

When the clerk said yes, the man left the store and walked into a nearby Galaxy Cleaners, police said.

There, police said he pointed a sword at the register and asked a clerk to give him all the money inside. The man left after she told him she couldn't open the drawer.

Police are on a lookout for the man.

(Agencies)

Man bits snake after attack

BEIJING, April 20 (Xin***) -- A Kenyan man survived a Python attack,
partly because he bit the snake after it tried to drag him into a tree.

According to local media Wednesday, Ben Nyaumbe, a local farmer, was
attacked by the 13-foot snake and fought him for several hours. The enormous
reptile wrapped him in its coils and hauled him up a tree, but Nyaumbe was able
to cover the snake's head with his shirt, and reach his cell phone, where he
called police for help.

The man's employer arrived with police and local villagers who tied the
python with a rope and pulled them both down from the tree with a thud. They
found that Nyaumbe had also bitten the python on the tail, causing his lip to
split open where it came in contact with the sharp tip.

When asked why he bit the python, the man explained: "I stepped on a spongy
thing on the ground and suddenly my leg was entangled with the body of a huge
python. I had to bite it."

(Agencies)

Man fakes savings certificate to shun marriage

BEIJING, April 18 -- A man in Weihai, Shandong province, provided a counterfeit savings certificate to his fianc in order to annoy her and get out of the relationship.

When Qu was asked to fix their marriage date last November, he sent her a certificate with a face value of 138,000 yuan.

When she tried a few days later to withdraw the money from the bank, bank workers called police because the document was a fake.

Qu told police that he paid 200 yuan to forge the certificate because he wanted to avoid marriage. He was recently sentenced to three years in prison.

(Source: China Daily/Yangtze Evening News)

Taiwan police arrest man "possessed by ghosts" for throwing money on expressway

TAIPEI, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Taiwan police on Sunday arrested a 43-year-old man for throwing 1,000 New Taiwan dollar (30 U.S. dollar) banknotes from a taxi on an expressway Tuesday and in downtown Taichung City Sunday.

The man, called Chen Ping-teng, admitted during police questioning that he may have thrown over one million New Taiwan dollars worth of banknotes on the road. Chen said the money was made by selling his housing properties and that he was "possessed by five ghosts."

Chen's mother said he was mentally unstable because of drug addictions.

Police found Chen also burned 1,000 New Taiwan dollar bills in a hotel room on Saturday. He still had 920,000 New Taiwan dollars left when he was caught.

Procurators in Taiwan said Sunday that Chen may have committed crimes likely to cause public danger as some drivers on the expressway pulled over or rode at full speed to pick up the money.

The case is under further investigation.

Saudi man splits up with wife through SMS

BEIJING, April 10 (Xin***) -- A Saudi man divorced
his wife via text message, *** it the first known case of snapping nuptial
ties through the modern technology in Saudi Arabia.

The man was in Iraq when he sent the SMS "I divorce
you" writtenthrice through a text message to his spouse. He followed up
with a telephone call to two of his relatives, the daily Arab News reported.

A court in the Red Sea city of Jeddah finalised the
split after summoning the two relatives to check they had received word of the
husband's intention, the *** said.

Saudi Arabia practises a strict form of Islamic
Sharia law, under which a man could divorce his wife by simply saying "I divorce
you" three times.

(Agencies)

£¨Ð»ªÍøËزģ©German man's skeleton found in tree after 29 years

BEIJING, April 8 (Xin***) -- The skeleton of a
69-year-old German man, who killed himself quietly 29 years ago because he
didn't want loved ones to see his body, has been found in a tree in the Bavaria
region.

Paul Ludwig, was found after bones fell 40ft to the
ground. A teenage boy made the grisly discovery as he was walking through a
forest in the town of Bruckberg.

He had tied himself to the top before shooting
himself with a rifle so his body wouldn't fall.

Paul disappeared in 1980 after being told he had
cancer.

(Agencies)

Man punished for mailing animal feces

BEIJING, April 7 (Xin***) --Aman in
Sioux Falls, South Dakota of the U.S.,was sentenced to probation, a fine
and restitution for sending a letter containing animal feces in the mail.

Jeffrey Dezeeuw, 45, pleaded guilty to a count of
mailing injurious articles.

According to prosecutors, the man smeared the
excrement on a traffic citation, a note and cash that he sent to the Minnehaha
County Clerk of Courts on July 21.

Dezeeuw was sentenced to three years of probation, a
500 dollar fine and ordered to pay restitution of 451 dollars.

(Agencies)