A sports reporter who was late for his plane to cover the Euro 2008 championships staged a bomb scare at Italy's Verona airport in order to delay its take-off.
Police said the 27-year-old German, who has not been identified, called them to say a b
omb had been planted on the Air Dolomiti flight to Vienna on Wednesday.
The airport was closed for about two hours and two incoming flights were forced to land at another airport.
The reporter arrived at check-in just five minutes before the scheduled take off, shortly after the phone call announcing the bomb scare.
When told he was too late to check in he said he had heard the plane was still not ready for take off, even though the airport officials had still not made any announcement of any delay.
"He changed his version several times, first claiming he had arrived at the airport on time and then admitting he only arrived five minutes before take-off," a police officer said.
The man's mobile phone was linked to the call. He was arrested and charged with causing an alarm and interrupting a public service.
JAPANA firefighter in Japan lost his job after city officials found out he had been driving ambulances and fire trucks for over 20 years without a driver's licence, according to an official in Takaoka City, central Japan.
The case came to light when the firefighter, in his 40s, who had been working for the city for over 25 years, hesitated to show his driver's licence during a regular inspection last week, said Shigeru Sawasaki.
"He was acting awkwardly when the inspection took place on the 5th," Sawasaki said. "And when the inspector took the driver's licence and checked, it belonged to a family member."
The firefighter, whose name the city declined to announce due to privacy concerns, had been bringing in his father's licence and showing it to the inspector while hiding the photo with his fingers, Sawasaki said.
The monthly inspection of driver's licences started last year, and before that, the firefighter had filed a fake licence registration number to Takaoka City in 1981.
AUSTRALIAA judge aborted a drug conspiracy trial last week after some jurors were found to have been playing Sudoku while evidence was being given.
Sydney District Court Judge Peter Zahra ended the trial for two men facing a possible life sentence for drug conspiracy charges. The trial had been running for 66 days and had cost taxpayers an estimated A$1m (£480,000).
The judge was alerted after it was observed the jurors were writing vertically, rather than horizontally. It had been assumed they were taking notes.
"Yes, it helps me keep my mind busy paying more attention," the jury foreman told the judge. "Some of the evidence is rather drawn out and I find it difficult to maintain my attention the whole time, and that doesn't distract me too much from proceedings."
Jurors in the trial are anonymous and no action can be taken against them for the puzzle playing. The foreman admitted to the judge four to five jurors were playing puzzle games for up to half the time the trial had been going.
A new trial is expected to begin in a few weeks.
MEXICOMen in the northern Mexican town of Escobedo are likely to have a happy Father's Day, thanks to a mayor who is handing out free Viagra and condoms.
Mayor Margarita Martinez says the handouts are part of a campaign aimed at raising awareness about male health problems. Martinez said a strong family "requires a healthy man, and a healthy sex life is part of general health".
The campaign includes four doctors and a team of nurses who give free health examinations and determine which men could be given the pills, donated by pharmacies.
Security guard Jose Isabel Rico was among the lucky recipients. "Of course I'm going to use the pills," he said. "We'll see what they do."
OH, REALLYAn Italian couple who were caught having sex in a church confessional box while morning Mass was being said have repented and made peace with the local bishop.
The couple, in their early 30s, were detained by police earlier this month after they made love in the confessional box in the cathedral in northern Cesena. They were cautioned for obscene acts in public and disturbing a religious function.
Their lawyer said the couple, who had been drinking all night, had since met the bishop and asked for his forgiveness, which he gave.
MOVERS & SHAKERSJUDGE ALEX KOZINSKI
A US federal judge who reportedly posted pornographic images on his personal website is calling for an investigation of his own conduct.
Judge Alex Kozinski says he has asked a court ethics panel to initiate proceedings after the Los Angeles Times reported that he posted lewd photos and videos on his website. He is presiding over a pornographic obscenity case but the trial has been put on hold.
OPRAH WINFREY
Talk show host Oprah Winfrey is the world's most powerful celebrity for the second straight year and for the fifth time ever, according to the 2008 Forbes Celebrity 100 Power List released on Wednesday. The annual list also included two couples among its top 10: actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, and newlyweds Beyoncé Knowles and Jay-Z.
MEGHAN McCAIN
The daughter of the Republican Party's presumptive presidential nominee is working on a children's picture book about her father, Senator John McCain.
The as yet untitled book by Meghan McCain, left, will be published by Simon & Schuster in the first week of September.
"I am truly excited about the opportunity to write a children's book about my father, who is not only a fantastic dad but also a great American," McCain – known for her blog, McCain Blogette,
http://www.mccain blogette.com – said in a statement from her publisher.
COMING UPA LESBIAN couple who were plaintiffs in the landmark California case that led to the legalisation of gay marriage are due to be the first to be married in San Francisco tomorrow.
Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon were married at City Hall in 2004. Four thousand gay couples eventually wed there before the Supreme Court stopped the practice.
A lawsuit by two dozen couples, including Martin and Lyon, eventually led to the California court allowing same-sex marriages. Now the city plans a repeat of the ceremony when gay marriage becomes legal in California tomorrow.
The full article contains 1093 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
