A Czech tourist agency is offering trips for teddy bears and other stuffed toys. The agency will take pictures of them at Prague's major sights and send them to the owner. For 150 euros, they can even have massages and aromatherapy in front of the Prague skyline.  

Funeral home workers in the Colombian city of Cali got the shock of a lifetime when an apparently dead 45-year-old woman suddenly started breathing and moving as they prepared her for burial. She was readmitted to hospital in a coma.  

Single people in China have come up with a way of pleasing their parents during the annual Lunar New Year holiday by renting fake dates. Many have no siblings due to the nation's one-child policy, and are pressured to marry.  

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, in the middle of a divorce battle, said he sent e-mail Valentine's Day wishes to all his girlfriends. The 73-year-old says he has never paid for sex that he is "no saint."  

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said that despite international efforts to find green energy solutions, "dried dung" and other alternative sources could not replace fossil fuels in coming decades. Russia's economy is heavily reliant on the export of fossil fuels.  

An Arab ambassador cancelled his wedding after discovering his wife, who had her face covered whenever they met, was bearded and cross-eyed. He had the contract annulled and demanded the woman pay him for gifts he had bought for her.  

Angry Vancouver residents have complained that Irish Olympic Games revellers are too noisy and police are receiving a steady stream of calls from bleary-eyed locals. Ireland has a team of six taking part in the Olympics.  

A man from the United Arab Emirates spent 24 million dirhams (4.65 million euros) for three camels at an auction near Abu Dhabi. Citizens of Gulf countries are passionate about camel racing, which is considered a national sport.

Cypriot police were amazed to discover that a motorist speeding at 110 kph in a 50kph zone was a school kid who had taken his mother's car for spin. It took 48-hours to locate him after the vehicle failed to stop when ordered to do so.

Bosses at a branch of McDonald's in Holland have been rapped for firing a worker who served her fellow staff member a cheeseburger instead of a cheaper hamburger, which had been paid for.

Argentina's president, Cristina Fernandez, recommended pork as an alternative to Viagra, saying she spent a satisfying weekend with her husband after eating barbecued pork. "Trying it doesn't cost anything" Fernandez said in the televised speech.

The only hippopotamus in Montenegro escaped from the nation’s zoo during floods. The two-ton female called Nikica broke out of her cage and swam away but a guard is keeping an eye on her and feeding her daily.

A new species of crab that looks like a strawberry has been discovered in Taiwan. A marine biologist found two of the creatures while researching the environmental impact of a shipwreck. They have red, clam-shaped shells with white polka dots.

Crying wolf AN award winning wildlife photo is being reviewed by judges after claims it was faked. Spanish artist Jose Luis Rodriguez's image is said to have broken rules by using a tame wolf rather than a wild one.   Snowball fight A VETERAN detective who pulled his gun during a mass snowball fight in Washington DC has been slammed by his boss for behaving in a totally inappropriate way. The officer's badge and gun have been withdrawn.   Poor kitty A CAT that was cruelly super glued to a highway in the USA was saved by a couple and is now recovering from injuries he suffered. Despite taking precautions, his paw pads and claws were torn off.   Sign recovered A 16FT-LONG sign stolen from the Auschwitz death camp has been recovered by police in northern Poland but it has been cut into three pieces. Five men were arrested on suspicion of the theft, which caused outrage around the world.   Judoka Minister THE 57-YEAR-OLD, black-belted Russian leader Vladimir Putin has offered to join the national judo team after showing off his martial arts skills to members of the squad, adding to his carefully-crafted macho image.   Divorce vouchers A BRITISH law firm is offering an unusual present for unhappy married couples this Christmas: divorce gift vouchers. Lloyd Platt & Company in London said it has received hundreds of enquiries since putting the vouchers on sale.  

Poor Joseph A CHURCH billboard showing the Virgin Mary and Joseph in bed together has sparked the ire of conservative Christians in New Zealand. A sad-looking Joseph lies next to Mary, under the words: "Poor Joseph. God was a hard act to follow."   Don’t flash A TEENAGER flashing her breasts in the middle of a New Zealand road paid for her drunken revelry when a distracted driver ran into her. She suffered only a few cuts and bruises but convicted for disorderly conduct.   Popular santoni JUST three days after Berlusconi, 73, was struck in the face with a souvenir model of the Milan cathedral, figurines of the sort traditionally produced for Christmas nativity scenes appeared, depicting him with a bloody nose. Black magic A TWO-YEAR-OLD Brazilian boy is seriously ill after 50 sewing needles were pushed into his body during a suspected black magic ritual. He will undergo an operation but some needles will be left because they are close to his liver.   Green dogs A PACK of wild dogs have turned bright green after eating suspected toxic waste in Russia. A local resident said "They are usually reddish... but I saw, running along the white snow, an almost completely emerald dog."

MORE than 10,000 starfish died after being washed on to a beach along the Norfolk coast during a storm. They are thought to have gathered to feed on mussels before being swept ashore during high tide.

THE Iraqi reporter imprisoned for throwing his shoes at US President George W. Bush found himself on the receiving end in Paris. The shoe-thrower was an exiled Iraqi journalist who spoke in defence of US policy.

NEWCASTLE United fans are angry with plans to rename their ground the sportsdirect.com@St James' Park Stadium. Sports Direct is controlled by...

PASSENGERS on the 9am train from Modiin to Tel Aviv were offered a talk from Professor Hanoch Gutfreund on "Einstein's love letters." The lecture...

TOP French chefs have taken to the Paris underground, cooking for commuters to prove haute cuisine can be cheap and simple. The chefs, each...

AN auction for a place in the crypt above Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe’s ended with zero bidders willing to meet the 500,000-dollar valuation. Widow Elsie Poncher...

A MAN who wore women's clothing to use his dead wife's gym membership has appeared in a Hong Kong court. Lau Siu-wah, 51, used his wife's card to exercise in the female-only section of the gym at...

AN American man accused of killing his former son-in-law is using a novel defense; at 1.5 meters tall and weighing in at over 130 kilograms, he claims that he is too fat to have run up and down the stairs necessary to have murdered the victim.

An American man who got out of bed naked and to brew some coffee in his own kitchen at 5.30am is facing indecent exposure charges and could be jailed. A woman walking past with her seven-year-old son called the police.

THE Department of Health is spending 640,000 pounds to sponsor episodes of the Simpsons cartoon series broadcast on Channel 4 in order to reach the target audience as part of its Change4Life campaign.