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Japan Travel Agent Forgets Booking, Forges Suicide Note

A Japanese travel agent who forgot to book a fleet of buses for a school trip tried to cover his tracks by forging a student's suicide note in a failed bid to get the excursion cancelled.

Regulators from the Japan Tourism Agency raided the offices of JTB Corp, the country's biggest travel agency, after a 30-year-old employee failed to order 11 buses for a high school in central Japan for its trip scheduled for April 25.

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Court Jails 'Nutella Gang' for 15 Years

A court in Fulda, Hesse, jailed three men from Hesse and two women for theft and receiving stolen goods on Friday.

A 37-year-old man was jailed for six-and-a-half years, his accomplice, also 37 for five years and three months and the third man, 35, for three years and nine months.

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Colorado Symphony Links up with Pot Industry

The Colorado Symphony Orchestra said Tuesday it will play a series of "cannabis-friendly" fundraising concerts sponsored by the state's burgeoning pot industry.

The state's only full-time professional orchestra hopes the unusual shows dubbed "Classically Cannabis: The High Note Series" will boost its audience as it struggles with dwindling attendance and shrinking budgets.

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Baby Wallaby Rescued from Facebook Sale

A man is facing charges after he allegedly attempted to sell a baby wallaby on Facebook, attracting bids as high as Aus$10,000 (U.S.$9,291) before he was caught, officials said Thursday.

The marsupial was rescued by Western Australia's Department of Parks and Wildlife after an officer posing as a potential buyer met the man in a car park in Broome, in the state's north.

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Rottweiler Registered to Vote in Britain, Police Called

A dog owner from northeastern England has been threatened with police action after his ageing pet Rottweiler was registered to vote in next month's European Parliament elections, it emerged Tuesday.

Russell Hoyle, 45, from Stockton near Newcastle, was asked to attend a police interview and risks a fine or even prison for the registration of his dog Zeus, according to the local Evening Gazette newspaper.

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Canada Fishing Community Fears Exploding Whale

A tiny fishing community in Canada's island province of Newfoundland faced an unusual threat Tuesday: a giant blue whale that washed up onto its shores may explode.

The massive mammal is one of nine endangered blue whales that is believed to have died in heavy ice off Canada's Atlantic coast several weeks ago.

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Thieves Take Everything _ Even the Kitchen Sink

Everything has been stolen — including the kitchen sink — from the kitchen of a model house in Kansas.

Police say thieves stripped the kitchen of the Clayton Homes unit in south Wichita, taking all the upscale appliances, the wooden cabinets from the walls and, of course, the sink.

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Landmark Urethane igloo in Alaska for Sale

The embodiment of an Alaska cliche is for sale.

The massive urethane igloo that's a must-stop for summer tourists heading up the Parks Highway en route to Denali National Park and Preserve can be had for $300,000.

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Austrian Driver Stumbles Onto 10-Foot Python

Austrian police are looking for the owner of a large python — and the driver who found it may think twice before picking the next spot to stretch his legs.

Police said Monday they were called to the scene about 100 kilometers (60 miles) west of Vienna after the unidentified driver stumbled onto the 2.5-meter (nearly 10-foot) reptile packed in a jute sack in a forest near a highway.

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Police: Man 'Armed' with Potato Arrested

Providence police have arrested a man who allegedly wielded a potato disguised as a gun during a robbery attempt last week.

WPRI-TV reports (http://bit.ly/QCQan7 ) 34-year-old Gary Deming of Cranston was arrested on robbery charges. Authorities say he pretended he had a gun when he demanded money from a convenience store and dry cleaner April 21.

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