The Other Side of Life 24/7: Reuters Oddly Enough Report

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Reuters Oddly Enough Report

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03/6/2013

Reuters Election 2012 Daily round-up of the day's top news from the campaign trail, the White House and all the politics in between

Vietnam capital to reassign obese, rude traffic cops: paper

HANOI (Reuters) - Pot-bellied, short, or abusive traffic policemen will be barred from working on the streets of Vietnam's capital and assigned desk jobs instead as Hanoi police try to clean up their unsavory image, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Till taxes do us part: Chinese divorce to skip property tax

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - At Shanghai's Zhabei District marriage registration center, officials divorced a record 53 couples in a single day this week - that's about one every five minutes - as couples rushed to untie the knot to avoid tougher tax laws on home sales.

Rome exhibition takes aim at the Church as papal vote looms

ROME (Reuters) - As cardinals flock to Rome to choose the next pope, two artists have taken the opportunity to stage an exhibition taking aim at the wealth of the Roman Catholic Church and the sex abuse scandals that plagued Pope Benedict.

Missing Soviet war veteran lives as healer in Afghanistan

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Soviet war veteran reported missing in action during fighting in Afghanistan 33 years ago has been found living as a local healer in the province of Heart, news agency Ria reported.

German flight set to take off with comet tourists

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - A German travel agency is selling tickets for a flight to give 88 astronomy buffs a close-up view of one of two rare comets expected to pass Earth this year.

Washington state lawmaker backpedals after saying cyclists pollute by breathing

SEATTLE (Reuters) - A Washington state lawmaker has apologized for telling a bike store owner, in a spat over a proposed bike fee, that bicyclists can cause pollution - just by breathing out carbon dioxide.

California yacht owner sees his stolen vessel wash ashore on TV

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - An 82-foot Californian luxury sailboat owner was shocked on Monday to glimpse the vessel on a television newscast beached and bobbing in the surf 20 miles down the Pacific Coast from its Sausalito berth.

Yankees GM breaks leg in parachute jump for charity

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman broke his right fibula and dislocated his ankle upon landing from a parachute jump for charity in Florida, the team said on Monday.

What puts the Swiss in a "Swiss Made" watch?

ZURICH (Reuters) - How much are the words "Made in Switzerland" worth to consumers increasingly vigilant about the provenance of everything from what they eat to what they wear? The answer, luxury watchmakers say, is "a lot."