US-ODD Summary

Police foil radio control zeppelin jailbreak

MADRID - Spanish police said on Friday they had foiled an Italian drug trafficker's plan to break out of jail in the Canary Islands using climbing equipment and a four-meter-long zeppelin. "The plan consisted of using a remotely controlled zeppelin to bring him night-vision goggles and climbing equipment with which to escape," a National Police statement said.

Game show looks to convert atheists

ISTANBUL - What happens when you put a Muslim imam, a Christian priest, a rabbi and a Buddhist monk in a room with 10 atheists? Turkish television station Kanal T hopes the answer is a ratings success as it prepares to launch a gameshow where spiritual guides from the four faiths will seek to convert a group of non-believers.

Would you pledge your soul as loan collateral?

RIGA - Ready to give your soul for a loan in these difficult economic times? In Latvia, where the crisis has raged more than in the rest of the European Union, you can. Such a deal is being offered by the Kontora loan company, whose public face is Viktor Mirosiichenko, 34.

Airline crew bares all to get flyers' attention

WELLINGTON - Air New Zealand has hit on a novel way to make sure even the most jaded flyers keep their eyes glued on its flight safety briefing. The national carrier's safety video for domestic services on its Boeing Co 737 planes show pilot and cabin crew dressed only in body paint.

Guns and booze don't mix, lawsuit argues

NASHVILLE, Tennessee - A well-known restaurateur is fighting back against Tennessee's newly enacted law that allows gun owners to bring their weapons into bars and restaurants that serve alcohol. Randy Rayburn, owner of three top-rated restaurants in Nashville, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday challenging the state law's constitutionality, arguing it creates a public nuisance by threatening the safety of the public.

Housewife first up for 100-day "live sculpture"

LONDON - A housewife from Sleaford in Lincolnshire will be the first of thousands of people to stand for one hour on top of a plinth in London's Trafalgar Square as part of a 100-day "live sculpture" exercise. "One & Other" is a work devised by sculptor Antony Gormley for the square's empty plinth, now a platform for temporary works of art.

"Great Train Robber" is refused parole

LONDON - "Great Train Robber" Ronnie Biggs lost his long-running bid for early jail release on Wednesday after the British government said he should not be allowed out on parole because he was "wholly unrepentant." Justice Secretary Jack Straw said he had rejected the Parole Board's recommendation to allow Biggs, 79, to be released.

Fireworks spread terror in war weary town

GOMA, Congo - Independence day fireworks sent terrified Congolese sprinting for cover on Tuesday in fear that war had broken out again in their eastern city. Officials had organized the display in Goma to highlight efforts to end more than a decade of conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo and to show a sign of normal life returning to the region, where a peace deal took hold in January.

Russia bans all gambling and shuts casinos

MOSCOW - Russia closed down its casinos overnight as gambling was banned nationwide, a move the industry says could throw a third of a million people out of work. The July 1 ban shut gaming halls, from gaudy casinos crowned by extravagant neon structures to dingy dwellings containing a handful of slot machines.

Man had boss killed to save job?

MADRID - Spanish police have arrested a man whom they suspect hired a contract killer to murder his boss in a desperate bid to avoid being laid off, newspaper El Pais reported on Tuesday. The head of audiovisual services at the Barcelona International Convention Center contracted a Colombian man who shot and killed the director of the convention center on Feb 9, according to police.