Austrians say outrageous Bruno ist pretty funny Skip related content
A shocking gay fashion reporter who dreams of being "the biggest Austrian superstar since Hitler" raised giggles when he hit Austrian cinemas on Friday despite having rankled some who say his jokes go too far. "Bruno," a film from British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, tells the story of a hapless television journalist from the Alpine city of Klagenfurt who takes his outrageous attitude and outfits to the United States in search of fame.
Drug lord's escaped hippo sighted in Colombia
BOGOTA (Reuters) - A hippopotamus that escaped three years ago from a zoo built by the late Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar has been spotted living in the wild near the Magdalena river, according to a local magazine. Preferring the wetlands of northern Colombia to luxurious captivity after being imported from Africa, two of Escobar's hippos ran from the zoo in 2006.
Berlin 'sex academy' offers tips for visitors
BERLIN (Reuters Life!) - Wannabe Latin lovers can improve their technique by playing with the erogenous zones of naked mannequins at a new interactive exhibition that has now opened in Berlin. The "Amora sex academy" that opened in Berlin on Thursday welcomes visitors with the wry slogan, "Finally -- an exhibition for those who always have to touch everything."
Turtles on runway delay NYC flights
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The speed of the world's biggest jets was no match against the slow and steady pace of a group of turtles who delayed flights at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport on Wednesday morning. A runway that juts out into a bay was closed for 35 minutes while 78 diamondback terrapin turtles, each weighing 2-3 pounds (1-2 kilograms), were removed, said a spokesman for airport operator The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
NY juror threatens to cut off finger of another
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Jury deliberations can sometimes be contentious, but in a case in New York one juror accused another of threatening to cut off his finger. The allegation was made on the sixth day of deliberations on Thursday in the Manhattan federal court trial of a lawyer accused of involvement in the fraud of collapsed commodities broker Refco Finance.
Briton tries to give away 52,000 euros in Spain
MADRID (Reuters) - A drunken Briton celebrated an inheritance by trying to give it away to strangers at a Spanish airport, government-run news agency EFE reported on Wednesday. The unidentified man, 59 years-old and dressed like a tramp, laughed as he started handing out a pile of 52,000 euros (45,000 pounds) in travellers' cheques and notes at Palma airport on the holiday island of Majorca before police stopped him, EFE said.
Australia's plan to ban Uluru climb sparks debate
CANBERRA (Reuters) - An Australian government proposal to stop people from climbing the famed Uluru, in deference to the wishes of indigenous people, sparked debate on Wednesday with lawmakers opposing the plan. A draft management plan for the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park called for a ban on people climbing the 348-metre (1,142 ft) rock, which is sacred to local Aborigine people and visited each year by 350,000 people, half of them from overseas.
Drunk badger disrupts traffic in Germany
BERLIN (Reuters) - A badger in Germany got so drunk on over-ripe cherries it staggered into the middle of a road and refused to budge, police said Wednesday. A motorist called police near the central town of Goslar to report a dead badger on a road -- only for officers to turn up and discover the animal alive and well, but drunk. Police discovered the nocturnal beast had eaten cherries from a nearby tree which had turned to alcohol and given the badger diarrhoea. Having failed to scare the animal away, officers eventually chased it from the road with a broom.
Lost in translation - Zhirkov faces English headache
MOSCOW (Reuters) - It could take new Chelsea signing Yuri Zhirkov a while before he can communicate with his team mates - because he did not take advice by the club's billionaire owner Roman Abramovich to learn English seriously enough. The 25-year-old Russian international, who joined the west London club from CSKA Moscow for a reported 18 million pound fee on Monday, said Abramovich had told him to learn English more than three years ago but he just ignored it.
Chimps' break for lunch forces public from zoo
LONDON (Reuters) - Chester Zoo, the country's most popular wildlife attraction, was evacuated on Sunday after 30 chimpanzees escaped from their enclosure. The animals made their escape at lunchtime and found their way into a keeper area where their food is normally prepared.
BERLIN (AFP) - A German gardener's house was left a smouldering wreck on Friday after he set it on fire while trying to get rid of the weeds with the help of a flame-thrower, police said.
