UK-Odd Summary

Sat May 3, 10:04 AM ET

Kentucky Derby champion loses his libido

TOKYO (Reuters) - The Japanese owners of former Kentucky Derby winner War Emblem are struggling to explain why the American thoroughbred has lost his libido. Even a private harem and a limitless supply of Viagra have failed to pep up the love life of a stallion his handlers freely admit has some personal issues.

Turkmenistan to move gold statue

ASHGABAT (Reuters) - A rotating gold statue of Turkmenistan's former leader is to be removed from the centre of the capital, state media said on Saturday, as his successor chips away at the late president's personality cult. Saparmurat Niyazov spent his 21 years in power building Turkmenistan into one of the world's most isolated regimes while imposing his mark on the gas-rich Central Asian state.

Prisoners scoop their way to freedom

CONAKRY (Reuters) - More than 30 prisoners escaped from a jail in southeastern Guinea by using spoons to scoop a hole in the baked earth wall of their prison building which had been softened by rain, prison authorities said. The 36 detainees made their escape this week after taking advantage of heavy rain which had fallen on the southeast city of N'Zerekore where the prison was located, the authorities, cited by state media in the West African country, said.

Blogger exposes life on the Underground

LONDON (Reuters) - Annie Mole's blog about the London Underground rail system began as a New Year's resolution to teach herself how to make an Internet Web site and has blossomed into a popular slice of commuter life. The criticisms, witticisms and daily observations posted on her "London Underground's Blog" www.london-underground.blogspot.com since she first began writing it in 2003 have struck a chord with commuters and the people who operate the rail system beneath the capital that is affectionately known as the "Tube".

Japan's Ganaha counts cost of garlic appeal

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan striker Kazuki Ganaha is counting the cost of his bid to overturn a ban imposed for taking intravenous garlic infusions. The 27-year-old was suspended for six games last year for breaking the J-League's anti-doping rules after coming down with influenza.

Venice to fine tourists who feed pigeons

VENICE (Reuters) - The days when Venice tolerated tourists feeding pigeons in St. Mark's Square are over. Starting on Wednesday, it's illegal.

Japan city suspends official for surfing porn at work

TOKYO (Reuters) - A city bureaucrat in western Japan was suspended from his job after officials discovered he visited porn websites at work almost every day, often spending hours gazing at nude photos, a city official said. The 57-year-old man, who was working in the construction division of Kinokawa City in Wakayama, surfed porn sites from an office computer almost every day for eight months from June 2007, spending up to three hours a day on the websites, said Kazuhiko Ueyama, a Kinokawa City official.

Ancient meteorite goes unsold in NY as dung sells

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Some dinosaur dung was snapped up at auction in New York even as a 4.5 billion year old meteorite which was supposed to top the sale went unsold. The two chunks of 130-million-year-old coprolite, otherwise known as fossilized dinosaur dung, fetched $960 (482 pounds) at Bonhams in New York on Wednesday, the auction house said.

It's just not cricket! Cheerleaders shake India

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Cheerleaders are taking Indian cricket by storm, but some are wondering if this conservative South Asian nation is ready for dancers with bulging breasts and gyrating bellies parading in packed stadia. Many foreign cheerleaders have been imported to India with this month's inauguration of the India Premier League (IPL), a shortened form of traditional cricket that transforms the game into a more glitzy U.S.-style sponsored sport event.

Angry mother slams writer Houellebecq

PARIS (Reuters) - If anyone was wondering where French avant-garde novelist Michel Houellebecq got his talent for character assassination, the answer is clear: his mother. In his seminal 1998 novel "Les particules elementaires", known in English as "Atomised", Houellebecq vented a lifetime of anger against his mother by portraying her as an egocentric, sexually promiscuous hippie who neglected her children.