A Croatian priest has run off with almost one million euros ($1.3 million) after illegally selling church property, officials said Tuesday, amid media reports the Catholic clergyman had fled with a married woman.

Franciscan priest Sime Nimac earlier this year signed a deal with a local firm to sell a plot of church land, the Split archdiocese said in statement.

Americans of all stripes watching Tuesday night's presidential face-off will be constantly toasting their candidate or drowning their sorrows as debate-related drinking games surge in popularity.

The election-related fun took off two weeks ago when U.S. President Barack Obama squared off against Republican Mitt Romney in their debut showdown, and the liquor and beer is expected to flow again among watchers of Round 2.

Barack Obama and Mitt Romney disagree on many things, but their teams reached consensus on one issue -- the room temperature in the hall at their second debate on Tuesday.

By bipartisan agreement, the non-profit Commission on Presidential Debates kept the room at a cool 62 to 64 degrees Fahrenheit (17 to 18 degrees Celsius), according to CNN, whose reporter Candy Crowley moderated the debate.

A senior Indian politician has dismissed claims that a colleague embezzled $134,000, saying the sum was too small to be taken seriously.

Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma spoke out in defense of Salman Khurshid, the law minister who has been accused of siphoning off government money allotted to a trust that he heads to help disabled people.

U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama cast an absentee ballot on Monday, twinning a campaign push for early voting with an affectionate morale boost for her husband who was hunkered down at debate camp.

"Hey, @BarackObama, I just dropped my absentee ballot in the mail -- I couldn't wait for Election Day! Love you! --mo," the first lady wrote on Twitter.

A U.S. pizza chain has been forced to tweak a "free pizza for life" contest after coming under fire for daring the crowd at a debate to ask Barack Obama and Mitt Romney to reveal their favorite topping.

Pizza Hut hoped for free publicity when it promised one large pizza a week for 30 years to anyone who asked the presidential rivals, during Tuesday's televised debate, whether they prefer sausage or pepperoni on their pizza.

An elephant trampled its keeper to death at a Japanese zoo on Tuesday as he tried to stop the gigantic animal from attacking its new-born calf, police and reports said.

Inthavong Khamphone, who was from Laos, had watched the elephants overnight with other keepers at Fuji Safari Park after the mother gave birth on Sunday, police said.

Primary schoolchildren in part of southern Vietnam were given a day off on Monday after a number of crocodiles escaped from a farm and were seen roaming around residential areas, reports said.

The reptiles were prowling around densely-populated neighborhoods after breaking free, according to Thanh Nien newspaper, which said the Kim Dong school had closed "to ensure safety for teachers and children".

U.S. dollar store chain 99 Cents Only wants to open a branch on the ultra-chic Beverly Hills shopping street Rodeo Drive -- even if high-end retailers there say it won't be able to afford the rent.

There is little sign of the global economic downturn on the exclusive street, which boasts luxury boutiques ranging from jewelers Bulgari and Cartier to designer clothing stores such as Giorgio Armani and Gucci, and perfumiers like Chanel.

A foreign pilot has been suspended from flying after landing an Indonesian passenger jet at the wrong airport in a "serious" breach of safety, a transport ministry spokesman said on Monday.

The Sriwijaya Air plane, carrying 96 passengers and six crew, was meant to land at Minangkabau International airport in the city of Padang, but instead descended to the Tabing air force base some 12 kilometers (seven miles) away.