Topic: NEWS english - on June 18, 2004 at 1:57:00 AM CEST
Mother waits 31 years to sue zoo over killer hippo
Still thirsting for redress 31 years after her teenaged daughter was bitten to death by a hippopotamus, a Beijing woman is suing the city zoo for 440,000 yuan ($53,200) in additional compensation.
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Topic: NEWS english - on June 18, 2004 at 1:53:00 AM CEST
Wiry Japanese Man Ready for Eating Contest
He's taken on sumo wrestlers. No contest. Former NFL star William "The Refrigerator" Perry, three times his size, took up the gauntlet. Not even close. Nobody, but nobody, can eat hot dogs like Japan's Takeru "The Tsunami" Kobayashi. And, once again, he's in training to devour the field at one of competitive eating's most venerable battles - the annual Fourth of July hot dog wolfing contest on Coney Island.
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Topic: NEWS english - on June 17, 2004 at 6:15:00 PM CEST
German Dogs Get Their Own Lederhosen
Dogwear designer Hildegard Bergbauer, who also makes Tyrolean mountain hats and rainwear for canines, said the leather outfits were best suited for dachshunds and other small dogs but also looked good on poodles, spaniels and boxers.
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Topic: NEWS english - on June 17, 2004 at 11:58:00 AM CEST
The miracle of Älmhult
It started by piggybacking its deliveries on milk trucks, and was almost wiped out by a fire. Now it has 186 stores in 31 countries and has made its reclusive founder, Ingvar Kamprad, the world's richest man - while producing the beds on which 10% of Europeans were conceived. What is the secret of Ikea's success? And what exactly is a Mållen clip for?
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Topic: NEWS english - on June 17, 2004 at 11:46:00 AM CEST
Operator error and glitches plague space age robotic toilets
There are quite a lot of people who are pooh-poohing the city's five new automated toilets. The robotic restrooms have entries that slide open like elevator doors, seats that retract for high-pressure cleaning and a system that washes the floor after 50 uses.
But a random check by The Seattle Times found some problems.
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Topic: NEWS english - on June 15, 2004 at 8:54:00 AM CEST
72 Hours Of Poker
A Vermont man spends three days at a casino poker table in Foxwoods to capture the 72-hour record.
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Topic: NEWS english - on June 15, 2004 at 8:52:00 AM CEST
Army Reveals First New Uniform Since 1981
For the first time since 1981, the Army Monday revealed a redesigned combat uniform with a digital camouflage pattern.
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Topic: NEWS english - on June 13, 2004 at 8:17:00 PM CEST
A $3,300 breath of the Highlands
Macallan Scotch among world's most expensive Whisky maker offers rare single malt vintages. Macallan announced Friday that it will be offering 37 single malt vintages, aged from 1926 to 1972.
The price ranges from $1,695 for a 750ml bottle of the 1971 vintage, to $54,995 for the 1926 edition, of which only four bottles are available.
The series, available as a complete collection, is worth over $200,000.
That adds up to steep cost-per-sip rate.
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Topic: NEWS english - on June 13, 2004 at 8:16:00 PM CEST
New Peruvian Soft Drink Packs a Punch
Amid clanging machinery and the whiffs of steam on the factory floor, a new company is producing a soft drink that its creators pledge will transform this Andean country, if successful.
That is a big if, because while KDrink is filled with vitamins, calcium and proteins that attract health-conscious consumers, its most important ingredient is coca, the much-maligned green leaf used to make cocaine. That same leaf will provide the drink's kick.
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Topic: NEWS english - on June 13, 2004 at 11:46:00 AM CEST
Bank targets sex workers as clients
India's largest state bank is looking to expand it customer base by encouraging sex workers to deposit their nightly takings in a savings account.
The State Bank of India will relax some rules to accommodate potential clients from Sonagachi in central Calcutta, one of Asia's biggest the red light districts, its assistant manager, Ranajoy Ghosh, said.
"Tomorrow we will open accounts for 300 sex workers in Sonagachi, where an estimated 30,000 brothel-based sex workers are operating," he said.
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Topic: NEWS english - on June 12, 2004 at 11:17:00 AM CEST
FBI warns of possible eco-terrorist acts
The FBI has warned law enforcement agencies across the country that radical environmentalists may stage protests, possibly violent ones, this weekend in support of a jailed arsonist.
The FBI bulletin said the Earth Liberation Front reportedly was planning a "day of action and solidarity" that could include acts of eco-terrorism, said Tor Bjornstad, a police commander in Olympia, one of the cities mentioned as a likely target, on Friday.
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Topic: NEWS english - on June 12, 2004 at 11:11:00 AM CEST
India's asthma cure -- swallowing a live, stuffed fish
Indian drug inspectors will test this month a 159-year-old asthma remedy -- a live fish stuffed with a herbal formula that millions of patients have gulped down in southern India in hopes of a cure.
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