Offbeat
Latest stories
Burglar Alert! Hide Your Toilets

A New York burglar not only went to the toilet -- he took it with him.

The man broke into a Brooklyn apartment and, ignoring the more typical loot, seized the porcelain throne and staggered off down the block, the Brooklyn Paper reported Wednesday.

W140 Full Story
Dispute Over Thin Mints Gets Physical

Police say a brawl between roommates over Girl Scout cookies led to assault charges against one of them. According to the Naples Daily News, the Collier County Sheriff's Office reports that 31-year-old Hersha Howard woke up her roommate early Sunday and accused her of eating her Thin Mints.

They argued and deputies say that it turned physical with Howard chasing her roommate with scissors and hitting her repeatedly with a board and then a sign.

W140 Full Story
Dressed to Kill: Court to Clothe NY Mafia Don

A New York mafia don will be dressed to kill when his long delayed death-penalty murder trial starts -- thanks to a sartorially sympathetic judge.

Vincent Basciano, a Cosa Nostra wise guy known for his impeccable haircuts, can look forward to an entire new wardrobe in the tradition of famously well-turned-out killers like "Dapper Don" John Gotti.

W140 Full Story
Chinese Man Dies After Web Gaming Binge

A Chinese man in his 30s has died after a three-day gaming binge at an Internet cafe outside Beijing, during which he did not sleep and barely ate, state-run media reported Tuesday.

The incident highlighted the country's ongoing battle to stamp out Internet addiction, which affects tens of millions of Chinese, according to researchers.

W140 Full Story
ArabNet: 2011 Set to Be the Year of the Arab Entrepreneur

ArabNet, the largest conference for the Arab web industry is to bring together over 1,000 Arab web business leaders, investors, mentors and start-ups. The four-day event takes place in Beirut on March 22-25 under the Patronage of H.E. General Michel Suleiman, President of Lebanon and in collaboration with the Central Bank of Lebanon.

The event is set to play host to over 80 speakers from leading companies in the region and from around the world, bringing together the region’s top executives, entrepreneurs, developers, and investors to cover the industry’s latest trends.

W140 Full Story
Gadhafi Appears on TV amid Security Council and Arab League Meetings

Deep rifts opened in Moammar Gadhafi's regime, with Libyan government officials at home and abroad resigning, air force pilots defecting and a bloody crackdown on protest in the capital of Tripoli, where cars and buildings were burned. Gadhafi went on state TV early Tuesday to attempt to show he was still in charge.

World leaders have expressed outrage at the "vicious forms of repression" used against the demonstrators.

W140 Full Story
Ink-Jet Printers Inspire Scientists to Make Skin

Ink-jet printing technology has inspired scientists to look for ways to build sheets of skin that could one day be used for grafts in burn victims, experts said Sunday.

One technique involves a portable bioprinter that could be carried to wounded soldiers on the battlefield where it would scan the injury, take cells from the patient and print a section of compatible skin.

W140 Full Story
Giant Banner Near Kremlin Invites Russia's Putin to Jail

Russia's opposition activists invited Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to switch places with jailed oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky Sunday by hanging a giant banner across from the Kremlin.

The banner, measuring about eight by 12 meters hung from a bridge in central Moscow. "Time to change," said the caption below a photograph of a freed Khodorkovsky alongside one with Putin pictured in a cage.

W140 Full Story
Philippine Priest Warns On Card Games at Funerals

A Philippine priest has threatened to deny burial rights in cases where mourners at funerals are caught gambling, a tradition exploited by gaming syndicates who mount "fake" wakes.

Father Valentine Dimoc of the Saint Mary Magdalene Parish said authorities in the northern town of Lagawe had already passed an ordinance banning gambling at funeral wakes, but local officials and police were failing to enforce it.

W140 Full Story
Horse Semen on the Menu at N.Z. Food Festival

Long renowned for pioneering extreme sports such as bungee-jumping and heli-skiing, New Zealanders are now pushing culinary boundaries by serving up shots of horse semen to iron-stomached food lovers.

The equine delicacy will be on the menu at the annual Wildfoods Festival in the South Island town of Hokitika next month, along with other gastronomic delights such as raw scorpions, chocolate-covered beetles and deep-fried grubs.

W140 Full Story