Reuters - Beijing organisers are refitting the toilets at three main Olympic venues after complaints from foreign athletes about having to squat, an official said on Wednesday. Most toilets in China are still of the squat rather than sit-down variety, as spectators and competitors at recent test events in otherwise state of the art venues like the "Water Cube" aquatics centre discovered.

Reuters - A stroller sold in an Internet auction in Germany came complete with a deadly plaything - a pistol loaded with six bullets.

Among all the protests, pollution concerns and talk of boycotts surrounding the Beijing Olympics, a more basic problem has arisen for organizers: the toilets.

Japan has created an unusual government post to promote animation, and named a perfect figure Wednesday to the position: a popular cartoon robot cat named Doraemon.

Among all the protests, pollution concerns and talk of boycotts surrounding the Beijing Olympics, a more basic problem has arisen for organizers: the toilets.

Two sisters from Virginia who are selling a corn flake shaped like the state of Illinois on eBay say the online auction Web site canceled their listing.

Reuters - Ashley Alexandra Dupre, the call girl at the center of the Elliot Spitzer sex scandal, watched the potential earnings from her new-found fame drop by $1 million on Tuesday as old nude videos of her emerged.

Reuters - Mexican soldiers battling a violent drug gang and corrupt local police confiscated a sport utility vehicle decked out with extras worthy of a James Bond movie.

Key quote: 'With the economy, with the Bear Stearns thing happening today, why not a giant penis on the roof?'

Japan has created an unusual government post to promote animation, and named a perfect figure Wednesday to the position: a popular cartoon robot cat named Doraemon.Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura appointed the cat an "anime ambassador," handing a human-sized Doraemon doll an official certificate at an inauguration ceremony, along with dozens of "dorayaki" red bean pancakes - his favorite dessert - piled on a huge plate.Komura told the doll, with an unidentified person inside, that he hoped he would widely promote Japanese animated cartoons, or "anime.""Doraemon, I hope you will travel around the world as an anime ambassador to deepen people's understanding of Japan so they will become friends with Japan," Komura told the blue-and-white cat.The appointment is part of Japan's recent effort to harness the power of pop culture in diplomacy.

A hotel and grocery store are assessing the damage after a naked man ran amok

A hotel and grocery store are assessing the damage after a naked man ran amok

A hotel and grocery store are assessing the damage after a naked man ran amok

A hotel and grocery store are assessing the damage after a naked man ran amok

A hotel and grocery store are assessing the damage after a naked man ran amok

A hotel and grocery store are assessing the damage after a naked man ran amok

A hotel and grocery store are assessing the damage after a naked man ran amok

A hotel and grocery store are assessing the damage after a naked man ran amok

A hotel and grocery store are assessing the damage after a naked man ran amok

A hotel and grocery store are assessing the damage after a naked man ran amok