14.1 pounds 'Super Tonio' born

He is called 'Super Tonio,' and at a whopping birth weight of 14.1 pounds, the little fellow is causing a sensation in this Mexican resort city.

Cancun residents have crowded the nursery ward's window to see Antonio Vasconcelos, who was born early Monday by Caesarean section. The baby, who weighed 14.5 pounds Wednesday, drinks 5 ounces of milk every three hours, and measures 22 inches in length. Read more...........'Super Tonio' causes sensation in Cancun

Singapore's crime-free image goes down the drain

SINGAPORE - It is considered one of Asia's safest cities, but authorities in Singapore have a theft problem -- spurred by a surge in metals prices.

Thefts of drain covers, prayer urns, copper cables and other metal items doubled in Singapore last year, police said today.

While the overall crime rate in Singapore dropped 10 per cent last year, metal-related thefts jumped, with 1092 cases in 2006 compared with 526 cases in the previous year.

"Most of the stolen metal items are sold to Karung Guni men," said Tan Puay Kern, the senior assistant commissioner of police, referring to Singapore's rag-and-bone men. He added that thieves had made off with lightning conductors, street signs, and the housings for cable-television equipment. Read more..........Singapore's crime-free image goes down the drain

'Ghost Brides'

Beijing - Chinese police have arrested three men for killing two young women to sell their corpses as "ghost brides" for dead single men, a Chinese newspaper re-ported, warning that the dark custom might have claimed many other victims.

Yang Donghai, a 35-year-old farmer in western China's Shaanxi province, confessed to killing a woman bought from a poor family for 12 000 yuan (about R11 000) last year.

She thought she was being sold into an arranged marriage, but Yang killed her in a gully and sold her corpse for 16 000 yuan, the Legal Daily reported yesterday. He and two accomplices then killed a prostitute and sold her for 8 000 yuan before police caught them. Read more.........Trio nabbed for selling murder victims as 'ghost brides'

Aussie surfie sells his life on eBay

SYDNEY — A 24-year-old Australian surfer who sold his life, including baggage from a painful break-up, on eBay says he is still not quite sure why he did it.

Nicael Holt sold his name, phone number and all his possessions, including clothes, CDs, a surfboard, a laptop, a wonky pushbike, childhood photos and a "nice lamp" given to him by an ex-girlfriend, on the Internet auction site.

The successful applicant bid A$7,500 (U.S.$5,790) last week to become Holt, right down to spending Christmas with his parents and inheriting "some tension with a former ex from a painful break-up."

The identity of the eBay auction winner is known only as "ridderstrade."

National Lamb Day

WELLINGTON, New Zealand) - New Zealanders' love affair with sheep gained official recognition Friday when the agriculture minister declared Feb. 15 "National Lamb Day." New Zealand has 4 million human inhabitants and 60 million sheep. Read more..........New Zealand declares National Lamb Day