UK-Odd Summary

Luxembourg on Thursday dismissed a report suggesting a dire shortage of toilets in one of the world's wealthiest countries. "It's astonishing," Antoine Haag of Luxembourg's statistics office told Reuters when asked to explain why the country came top of a latrine-shortage list published in the report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Aristocrat offers dog as best man at gay weddings

LONDON (Reuters) - An eccentric aristocrat is offering his rich and famous dog Jasper -- who "is a bit gay" -- to act as "best man" at same-sex weddings at his country estate. "He is the perfect best man," Sir Benjamin Slade said of his cross-bred canine. "He will not be making any embarrassing speeches, he hoovers up all the leftover food and he is castrated."

Hole in pyjamas reveals Internet plagiarism

LONDON (Reuters) - Candidates for British universities have been caught red-handed copying their applications from the Internet after hundreds mentioned "burning a hole in pyjamas at age eight" on their online entrance forms. The phrase, taken from a Web site which provides examples of personal statements used by successful candidates, describes an early encounter with a chemistry set.

Google Earth urged to remove "Mount Hitler" name

BERLIN (Reuters) - The mayor of a small town in Germany on Thursday called on Google Earth to delete a reference to a nearby "Mount Hitler" from its geographic image service, saying it was misleading. Andreas Wiedemann, mayor of Bad Toelz, south of Munich, said the peak near the Bavarian town had been known as Mount Hitler for a short time during the Third Reich but had been given back its original name of Heigelkopf after World War Two.

Man bashes wife's Women's Day gift in red tape rage

BELGRADE (Reuters) - A Serb man was so enraged at the bureaucracy blocking the import of a car he wanted to give his wife as a Women's Day present, he went to the customs depot and smashed it up with a metal bar. Sasa Djunisijevic bought the Aixam 500, a microcar that may be driven with a motorcycle licence, last year. He wanted to give it to his wife on Thursday, but officials were still debating whether it was a car or a bike and had blocked the import.

Fans pay to chat with Jackson in Japan

TOKYO (Reuters) - Excited fans got the chance to meet Michael Jackson in Tokyo on Thursday -- but only those who could afford to pay 400,000 yen (1,770 pounds) for the privilege. Fans of the "King of Pop" screamed as he arrived by van at the venue in the Japanese capital for the event, at which he had promised to chat and take pictures with up to 300 guests, but not to sing or dance.

Legless panda needs a hand to improve sex life

BEIJING (Reuters) - An animal research centre in northern China has appealed to the world for help to fashion an artificial leg for a panda that lost a limb -- along with its sex life -- in a fight, local media reported on Thursday. In December, a resident of Dajiangou village in Shaanxi province stumbled upon a group of pandas fighting, the Beijing News said.

Missing words on new $1 coins mystify U.S. Mint

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In God We Trust. In machines? Not so much. An unknown number of new U.S. $1 coins bearing the image of George Washington are missing the words "In God We Trust" and other lettering along the edges, the U.S. Mint said on Wednesday.

Obese Mexican outside for first time in five years

MONTERREY, Mexico (Reuters) - A Mexican man who once weighed half a tonne left his house for the first time in five years on Wednesday after losing 440 pounds (200 kg) through diet and exercise. A crane lifted Manuel Uribe, 40, off the sidewalk and onto a lorry after friends and family heaved him from the house still sitting on his bed.

Name card promises dazzling impression

TOKYO (Reuters) - If you want to shine in a first meeting, a Japanese firm may have the answer -- a name card made of gold. Mitsubishi Materials is selling gold business cards of 99.99 percent purity. Each card costs 10,000 yen (45 pounds).