Newsletter BOX: Reuters Oddly Enough Report

07/12/2013

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

Lithuanian capital to install public 'happiness barometer'

VILNIUS (Reuters) - The mayor of Vilnius plans to install a huge screen on the town hall to broadcast a real-time "happiness barometer" that will monitor the mood of the Lithuanian capital.

No kidding - goats help lure customers to Tokyo cafe

TOKYO (Reuters) - First, there were the maid cafes, their customers pampered by women in maids' uniforms. Then came the cat cafes, which allowed cat lovers to play with frisky felines while sipping a cup of coffee.

China central bank office mobbed by borrowers seeking free loans

BEIJING (Reuters) - About 1,000 hopeful borrowers overran a branch of China's central bank as a rumor spread that it was handing out zero-interest loans, media said on Thursday, illustrating how Chinese financial know-how badly lags growth in banking products.

Tired of helping the CIA? Quit Facebook, Venezuela minister urges

CARACAS (Reuters) - A Venezuelan government minister on Wednesday urged citizens to shut Facebook accounts to avoid being unwitting informants for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, referring to recent revelations about U.S. surveillance programs.

As glacier melts, secrets of lost military plane revealed

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - An Alaska glacier is exposing remains from a military air tragedy six decades later.

What would Jesus drive? Pope tells priests to buy "humble" cars

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis said on Saturday it pained him to see priests driving flashy cars, and told them to pick something more "humble".

Mighty python! Snake slips out of French postal packet

STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) - A French post office employee had the fright of her life when a meter-long (3.3-foot) python slithered quietly out of a parcel and rubbed against her.

Brazilian mob decapitates soccer referee after he stabs player

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - One man has been arrested in northern Brazil after a referee who fatally stabbed an amateur player over his refusal to leave the field was decapitated by a mob, police said on Saturday.

Ohio sinkhole swallows car, driver climbs out

(Reuters) - A sinkhole swallowed a car as it was traveling down a street in Toledo, Ohio, and the 60-year-old driver climbed out of the hole using a ladder supplied by rescue workers, a fire department spokesman said Thursday.

Smitten spies? Snowden gets proposal tweet from Russian agent

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A tabloid says Vladimir Putin is Russia's most eligible bachelor, but the president may have competition from an American half his age: Edward Snowden, the former U.S. spy agency contractor believed to be holed up at a Moscow airport.