Miss England gives up crown over brawl reports Skip related content
Beauty pageant winner Miss England gave up her title on Friday after reports she had been involved in a nightclub brawl with another beauty queen. Rachel Christie, niece of former British Olympic gold medal sprinter Linford Christie, was arrested earlier this week after allegedly getting into a fight with Miss Manchester, Sara Jones, at a club in the northern English city, newspapers reported.
London commuters baffled by sex broadcast
LONDON (Reuters) - London commuters listening out for the latest news about train services got a broadcast with a difference when the noise of a couple apparently having sex was blasted out over a station's loudspeaker system. Instead of the usual messages about delays, passengers at West Ham station in east London heard a couple's love-making antics being relayed over platform loudspeakers during the evening rush hour on Thursday.
Malaysia irked by pregnant athlete's pull-out
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - A 16-week pregnant athlete faces sanction from Malaysian sports authorities for pulling out of December's Southeast Asian Games, local media reported Friday. China-born Yuan Yufang, a multiple gold medallist in the 20 kilometre walk at the regional games, had disappointed officials concerned at the loss of a genuine medal chance, The Star newspaper said on its website (thestar.com.my).
Driver suspected in Bank of France van heist
LYON, France (Reuters) - French police are looking for the driver of a security van suspected of driving off with more than 10 million euros (8.97 million pounds) after the man vanished, apparently after first clearing out his flat. The van disappeared early Thursday after the three-member crew took delivery of the cash at a branch of the Bank of France in the southeastern city of Lyon.
Who built Berlin Wall? Most Russians don't know
MOSCOW (Reuters) - More than half of all Russians do not know who built the Berlin Wall, one of the most enduring symbols of the Cold War, an opinion poll showed Thursday. Ten percent of people surveyed by pollster VTsIOM thought Berlin residents built it themselves -- even though its purpose was to prevent residents of communist East Germany from escaping to the West through the divided city of Berlin.
Day of the locusts for German investor critic
BERLIN (Reuters) - Back in 2005, German politician Franz Muentefering likened unscrupulous financial investors to locusts that chewed up firms and moved on. Now he is eating the winged insects. Muentefering, departing chairman of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), devoured a helping of grilled locusts with a selection of dips during a talk with schoolchildren in Freiburg, the Rotteck-Gymnasium school said on Friday.
Giant snake capture was a hoax - Florida agents
MIAMI (Reuters) - A man who caught a 14-foot (4.2-metre) python in a Florida drain pipe was charged with perpetrating a hoax after wildlife officers discovered he owned the snake and put it in the pipe in order to stage the capture. Justin Matthews, a professional animal trapper, later admitted that he had "staged the event to call attention to a growing problem of irresponsible pet ownership," the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said on Thursday.
Wife's free handbag a "symbol of derision," says Warner
LONDON (Reuters) - FIFA vice-president Jack Warner is returning a handbag given to his wife by England's 2018 World Cup bid because he says it has become "a symbol of derision, betrayal and embarrassment." Newspapers reported on Thursday that the CONCACAF president had written to FA chairman Lord Triesman to complain about media coverage of what was intended to be a goodwill gesture.
Scared of flying? Press the iPanic button
SYDNEY (Reuters) - People scared of flying can now press a button on their iPhone to help them deal with their panic. Long-haul airline Virgin Atlantic Airways has launched an application, or app, for its Flying Without Fear course which boasts a success rate of over 98 percent. Apps are a source of information, games and other novelty ideas for users of Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch devices.
Welcome to the sportsdirect.com@St James' Park stadium
LONDON (Reuters) - Newcastle United have angered fans with plans to rename their ground the sportsdirect.com@St James' Park Stadium until the end of the season. The Championship (second division) club said last month they were looking for offers for the naming rights to St James' Park, their home for 117 years.
