http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?in_article_id=137454&in_page_id=2
a Chinese hair salon has been shut down and fined 500,000 yuan (£36,000) for holding two customers hostage and charging wildly excessive fees for haircuts.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/bizarre/5679870.html
German court has rejected an employee's demand that an irate customer pay damages for throwing a half-eaten kebab at her.

The claim stems from an altercation in June in which a kebab customer unsuccessfully demanded his money back. He says he then tossed the food behind the counter.

http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSHAR85774620080408
Supermodel Naomi Campbell has been banned from flying with British Airways after she was escorted off a flight last week and arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer, media reports said on Tuesday.
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Japan Develops Brain And Eye Pills For Gaming Fans
Gaming addicts with sore eyes and tired brains may be able to perk up with "Game Suppli," a new Japanese supplement developed specifically for the country's thousands of fanatic players.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/technology/tech-japan-gaming-pills.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

California is back to being Mexican! Ops! Not anymore.
Vodka Absolut had to remove an add it had put into circulation in mexico, after many protests in the U.S. The reason is the fact that the company used a map in which the borders between mexico and u.s. are the same as they were before the war that ended in 1848. The map shows Texas, California Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico - as well as some parts of Colorado and Wyoming - as part of Mexico. And Americans were not very happy about it.
http://www.elpais.com/articulo/sociedad/California/vuelve/ser/mexicana/gracias/vodka/elpepusoc/20080407elpepusoc_8/Tes (in spanish)

Robots seen doing work of 3.5 million in Japan
Robots could fill the jobs of 3.5 million people in graying Japan by 2025, a thinktank says, helping to avert worker shortages as the country's population shrinks.
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUST27506220080408
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"White nose syndrome" wiping out bats in the Northeast US
Some mystery syndrome is causing several species of bats in a four-state area around Albany, NY, and Pittsfield, MA, to die off at incredible rates.
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/04/08/whitenose-syndrome-w.html

Westminster council promises to sue souvenir sellers who reproduce street-signs
London's Westminster City Council has bought the copyright to the design of its street signs and intends virogously to pursue it against people selling T-shirts, keyrings and mugs that infringe upon the design.
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/04/08/westminster-council.html

Sheep Replace Lawnmowers In Italy (3 aprile)
Police are having to double up as shepherds in Italy after local councilors decided to scrap the city lawnmowers -- and use sheep instead. About 700 sheep have now been employed by Turin officials to keep the grass verges and lawns in city parks neatly trimmed. http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/04/sheep_replace_l.php

6 Insane Cults (That Would Probably Be a Lot of Fun)
http://www.cracked.com/article_16115_p2.html

Mapping East Africa’s Somali Pirate Activities
http://whiteafrican.com/?p=972


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