With shoes made from lime tree bark, a few simple dance moves and a charming song, a group of Russian grannies from the foothills of the Ural mountains are aiming for Eurovision stardom.

Despite a lack of any obvious showbusiness attributes, the Buranovskiye Babushki (the Buranovo Grannies), a group of elderly village women, were chosen to represent Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Hungarian President Pal Schmitt resigned Monday because of a plagiarism scandal regarding a doctoral dissertation he had written 20 years ago.

Schmitt, who was elected to his largely ceremonial office in 2010 for a five-year term, said in a speech to parliament's plenary session that he is stepping down because the controversy is dividing Hungary.

An Australian woman found live maggots in her dried and fruit snack while on a Qantas flight from Los Angeles to Melbourne, Agence France Presse said Monday.

Victoria Cleven said she was horrified to discover live maggots in a snack she was tucking into as she made her way home last Thursday. At the time, she did not turn on her overhead light as the cabin was darkened.

Three people will share a record $640 million U.S. lottery jackpot, organizers announced Saturday, confirming that the winning tickets were sold in the states of Illinois, Kansas and Maryland.

"Three tickets matched all six numbers in the Friday, March 30, Mega Millions drawing," the company said.

Employers looking to ramp up productivity in these dog-eat-dog times might consider letting their staff bring Fido to the office, a scientific study published in the U.S. on Friday suggests.

Dogs at work can not only bring down stress levels among their owners, but they can also help make work more satisfying for other employees as well, according to the study in the latest issue of the International Journal of Workplace Health Management.

British billionaire Richard Branson may have lost his race to the bottom of the ocean, but not his sense of humor, declaring Friday a faux plan to top his adventure rivals by voyaging to the center of the Earth.

The impossible journey was announced, tongue jammed in cheek, with the seriousness of a real campaign.

Hungarian President Pal Schmitt cancelled all his engagements Friday, the news agency MTI reported, amid speculation he could resign after he was stripped of his university doctorate.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a close ally of Schmitt, told public radio that the president alone must decide whether he should resign from the largely ceremonial post after he was accused of plagiarism.

The jackpot in the Mega Millions lottery drawing Friday will reach $540 million -- the largest ever in history -- triggering lottery mania across the United States.

No gambler matched all five numbers and the Mega Ball since January 24, making it 18 drawings without a winner. The odds of winning the huge jackpot are just one in 176 million, while the odds of scoring any of the Mega Millions prizes are about one in 40.

French scientists say they have confirmed the folklore that a glass in your hand will make you feel sexier, smarter and funnier, even when others privately think you are a turkey.

Psychologists led by Laurent Begue at the Pierre-Mendes France University in the southeastern city of Grenoble carried out an unusual experiment in a local bar and then in laboratory conditions.

Green groups around the world are turning to social networking to drive their campaign for Earth Hour on Saturday, when lights are turned off for an hour to signal concern about global warming.

But here's the irony.