Following is a summary of current odd news briefs.
More than 100 graves robbed in Benin for voodoo rituals
COTONOU (Reuters) – Tomb raiders have dug up more than 100
graves at a cemetery in Benin since Saturday for what
authorities suspect is a black-market trade in human organs and
skulls for voodoo ritual fetishes. The incident is the most
serious case of grave-robbing in the West African state, the
world capital of voodoo where most of the country’s 9 million
residents practice a benign form of the official religion.
Read all about it: Pope has not canceled Christmas
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – And so it came to pass that in the
eighth year of Pope Benedict’s reign, some tabloid and social
media decreed that he had cancelled Christmas. The day after
Benedict’s latest book “The Infancy Narratives – Jesus of
Nazareth” – was published on November 20, Vatican officials
found some headlines they were not expecting.
Japanese man’s childhood dreams give birth to giant robot
TOKYO (Reuters) – Like many Japanese, Kogoro Kurata grew up
watching futuristic robots in movies and animation, wishing
that he could bring them to life and pilot one himself. Unlike
most other Japanese, he has actually done it. His 4-tonne,
4-meter (13 feet) tall Kuratas robot is a grey behemoth with a
built-in pilot’s seat and hand-held controller that allows an
operator to flex its massive arms, move it up and down and
drive it at a speed of up to 10 kph (6 mph).
British farmer hunts buried Spitfires in Myanmar
LONDON (Reuters) – A British farmer and flying enthusiast
who has spent the past 16 years scouring the jungles of Myanmar
believes he has finally found what he was searching for – a
horde of buried Spitfire fighter planes dating back to World
War Two. Rumors of a huge treasure trove of buried aircraft in
Myanmar have circulated for years but now geological surveys of
one specific site have lent credibility to the idea and David
Cundall plans to start digging as soon as possible.
