In a historic, but little noticed change in policy, the US Army is allowing scores of husband-and-wife soldiers to live and sleep together in Iraq's war zone.
The move is aimed at preserving marriages, boosting morale and perhaps bolstering re-enl
istment rates at a time when the military is struggling to fill its ranks five years into the fighting.
Long-standing army rules barred soldiers of the opposite sex from sharing sleeping quarters in war zones. But in May 2006, commanders in Iraq, with little fanfare, decided that it was in the military's interest to promote wedded bliss.
NORWAYA thief escaped undetected but may live to rue his decision to take a crocodile from a Norwegian aquarium.
"I think whoever did this knew what they were doing," said Bergen aquarium director Kees Oscar Ekeli, suggesting the young crocodile was smuggled out in a bag during the busiest hours on Saturday.
The stolen reptile, named 'Taggen' (Spike), is a 2.3ft-long smooth-fronted caiman also known as Schneider's dwarf caiman (Paleosuchus trigonatus). He is pictured with an aquarium handler, left.
Taggen eats "a good mix of fish and meat" and could grow to be about 8.2ft long. "It has a solid bite. Considering it is not bigger than it is, you could lose a few fingers, but no vital organs," Ekeli said.
CANADAA Canadian politician has formally proposed that the country's one cent coin, or penny, be scrapped on the grounds that it was "an expensive nuisance" and cost more to produce than it was worth.
Pat Martin of the opposition New Democrats said it cost C$130m (£65m) to produce 1.2 billion pennies last year, largely because so few of the small coins are actually circulated.
"Making cents, in fact, makes no sense at all… most Canadians believe the cent is an expensive nuisance," he said, adding that copper coins tended to end up "underneath people's beds, in cookie jars and old biscuit tins" before being donated to charities.
Martin said a string of other countries, such as Australia and New Zealand, had recently scrapped their lowest-value coins without any problems, and said these countries' rounding systems ensured the move was revenue-neutral.
NEW ZEALANDA policeman in a small New Zealand town did not let the fact that he was naked hold him back from chasing a thief trying to steal his car.
The off-duty constable was asleep at his home in Balclutha, in the lower South Island, when his wife
heard someone attempting to start the couple's car. His response was to charge outside with nothing more than a torch. The offender bolted with the officer in hot pursuit, NZPA reported, but was picked up soon after by a police patrol.
"The offender … startled by the sight of a naked constable coming towards him, took off," said a local police spokesman.
THAILANDThe ladyboys of Bangkok are being challenged. Thailand's health chiefs have barred hospitals and clinics from castrating would-be ladyboys amid growing concern about the operation being seen as a cheap and quick alternative to a full sex-change.
In a letter to 16,000 private health units, the Public Health Ministry said doctors performing the operation outside formal sex-change therapy – which requires rigorous physical and mental evaluation of the patient – faced up to six months in jail.
Senior health official Tara Chinakarn said: "It's hard to track them down as it takes only 15-20 minutes to have the surgery."
Thailand is home to a large number of ladyboys, or 'katoey' in Thai, a term that covers anyone from a transvestite to a man who has undergone a full sex-change.
AUSTRALIA Australia has opened its first geosequestration plant to bury carbon dioxide underground and curb the nation's greenhouse gas emissions.
The project's chief executive, Peter Cook, said the plant in the southern state of Victoria was the first in the southern hemisphere and one of only a few in the world. The CO2CRC Otways Project will capture and compress 100,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide and then inject it 6,500ft underground into a depleted natural gas reservoir. Geosequestration is an experimental low-emission technology that has the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal.
OH, REALLYA group of 72 Australian scuba divers has flattened the world record for ironing under water, starting from a pier near Melbourne with ironing boards, irons, and linen.
So-called "extreme ironing" has spawned a cult following in recent years. Website extremeironing.com espouses it as being the "latest danger sport that combines the thrills of an extreme outdoor activity with the satisfaction of a well pressed shirt".
The Australian group, who pipped the previous record of 70, are seeking entry to the Guinness Book of World Records after taking their linen to a depth of three metres.
"It was cold and I think they were bloody crazy," said local councillor Tom O'Connor.
MOVERS & SHAKERSKEVIN RUDD
Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was accused of subservience to the United States after a playful salute he gave George Bush at a Nato summit.
Australian television repeatedly broadcast videos of the gesture on the sidelines of the Bucharest summit and speculated about what it meant.
"We are not the 51st state of the United States of America and Rudd's salute carried a subservient connotation many Australians won't like," said Bob Brown, leader of the opposition Greens party.
But Rudd told Australian reporters in Bucharest "It was just a joke. I was just saying 'hi'. to the President of the United States."
MADONNA
Malawi's government has recommended that its High Court approve American pop star Madonna's adoption of David Banda, the child she met in a Malawian orphanage a year and a half ago.
Madonna began adoption proceedings in 2006 and the two-year-old has been living with the pop star and her film director husband Guy Ritchie in their London home since then.
Critics have accused the government of skirting laws that ban non-residents from adopting children in Malawi, which has been badly hit by Aids, leaving more than one million orphans.
But in a confidential report dated March 25, 2008, signed by Probation Officer S Chisale at the Ministry of Women and Child Development, the government said Madonna and Ritchie had proved to be suitable parents.
"In the best interest of the child, I do recommend that the petitioners to your Lordship for your consideration that they be granted an adoption order," the report said.
RYUKI OMURA
A pen is spun in the hand, flicked from the little finger to other fingers, then bounced off the thumb before being twirled in the palm.
Ryuki Omura, a 16-year-old Japanese high school student, has become the first nationwide pen-spinning champion with such slick manoeuvres.
Omura was among the 16 finalists chosen from 276 video entries to showcase his moves in Tokyo last week in a contest organised by the Pen Spinning Association Japan.
TED TURNER
US media mogul Ted Turner, who once called Christianity a "religion for losers," is joining forces with two Christian organisations to combat malaria in Africa.
Together with the United Methodist Church and Lutheran World Relief, Turner's United Nations Foundation will try to raise $200m to fight the disease.
"Together, we are announcing a new initiative to contribute to the internationally agreed goal of eliminating malaria death," Turner said in remarks prepared for delivery at a meeting of the UN General Assembly.
"Stopping malaria will go a long way toward giving people of all countries new hope and confidence that we can succeed in the fight against poverty."
Turner, 69, was attending a debate on the slow progress being made towards meeting UN Millennium Development Goals aimed at halving poverty by 2015.
Sub-Saharan Africa is the region worst hit by malaria. Most of the world's malaria deaths of more than one million occur there every year.
COMING UPThe Olympic torch arrives in Paris tomorrow but the organisers face more embarrassment. French athletes are campaigning to wear a badge marked 'For a better world' at the Beijing games in response to China's crackdown in Tibet.
The athletes say they will lobby the International Olympic Committee for permission to wear the badge, a symbol of their attachment to liberty, fraternity and other fundamental principles.
About 20 former and current French athletes, some already qualified for Beijing this August, unveiled the badge last week.
It is the result of reflection among athletes in France about how they should respond to the events in Tibet and human rights in China.
The full article contains 1462 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
