Reuters - The cash-strapped state of Rhode Island is hoping to turn residents’ patriotic fervor into a boost in tax revenue this July 4th, after passing a law that legalizes small fireworks for individual use.
Reuters - A lock of hair cut from Napoleon Bonaparte’s head after he died has sold for US$13,000 at an auction in New Zealand.
Reuters - An Austrian university is on the hunt for girls who recoil at the sight of spiders for research into how fear affects the processes of the brain.
Reuters - Ukrainian and German police have recovered a painting by 17th century Italian artist Caravaggio stolen from a Ukrainian museum, the Interfax news agency quoted Ukraine’s interior minister as saying on Tuesday.
Reuters - Britain’s financial regulator has fined and banned a former broker for manipulating oil prices by buying more than 7 million barrels while on a drinking binge.
Reuters - Modern festival-goers who dread ending up with a dead mobile phone battery after days stuck in a muddy field with no electric plug power points may now have a solution — power boots.
Reuters - Mexican singer Sergio Vega was murdered while on a national tour at the weekend, just hours after denying reports of his death, local media reported.
Reuters - A Russian fisheries official suspected of accepting bribes tossed 10 million roubles ($322,000) from his car after a police chase and a crash on a busy Moscow highway, investigators said on Monday.
Reuters - Sudanese police briefly detained more than 20 models, make-up artists and designers after a rare mixed-sex fashion show in Khartoum, participants said Saturday.
Reuters - China’s military officers have added matchmaking to their duties, after the government banned troops from online dating over fears that lonely hearts might let sensitive information slip, state media said on Monday.