Oddly Enough - Reuters

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - The Swedish Academy is concerned its decision to award Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio the Nobel Prize for Literature may have leaked ahead of the announcement, a prominent member of the academy was quoted as saying on Friday.

FREETOWN (Reuters) - Demolition teams wielding axes and machetes this week smashed up popular beach bars, one still bearing a sign saying "Paradise," as part of an improvement scheme to develop tourism in Sierra's Leone's capital Freetown.

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - All over sunny San Diego, tough economic times have forced people to cut back on their $4 lattes and sushi dinners.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Tennessee man has been indicted for hacking into Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's personal e-mail account, the Justice Department said on Wednesday.

JUBA, Sudan (Reuters) - South Sudan's president shut down a police investigation Wednesday that saw scores of young women arrested for "disturbing the peace" by wearing tight trousers.

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - How long will an unchained bicycle last on a city street before someone steals it?

NEW YORK (Reuters) - For the golf enthusiast who still has $1 million to spare after the Wall Street meltdown: a backyard golf course custom-designed by champ Jack Nicklaus for Christmas.

HARARE (Reuters) - A Zimbabwean soccer player drowned in a crocodile infested river during a ritual to cleanse his team of bad spirits before a match, a state newspaper said on Tuesday.

TOKYO (Reuters) - A bald, naked man who said he was a British tourist went swimming in the moat of Japan's Imperial Palace on Tuesday, climbing the palace wall, throwing rocks and splashing water at police before being taken into custody.

LONDON (Reuters) - Being too tired for sex is less of a problem for married Britons than for U.S. or Australian couples, and Brits place more importance on agreeing on how to handle their in-laws, online dating company eHarmony has found.

BEIJING (Reuters) - The world's tallest man, China's Bao Xishun, became the world's tallest father this week with the birth of his first child, a boy whose initial height seems a compromise between his gigantic dad and average-sized mum.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Reptiles, monkeys, rodents and other exotic pets are growing in popularity but should be discouraged in homes with small children or people with immune system problems, according to a report published on Monday.

PARIS (Reuters) - A dropped 'h' landed English-speaking French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner in trouble on Sunday after he was mistakenly quoted as saying Israel could gobble up Iran if it wanted to.

CANBERRA (Reuters) - The parents of a 7-year-old boy who broke into an Australian outback zoo and fed a string of small animals to its resident crocodile are likely to be sued after police said the boy was too young to be held responsible.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Almost half of U.S. workers do not respect their boss and only half believe they are competent, according to an online survey released on Friday.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. researchers have found a way to make efficient silicon-based solar cells that are flexible enough to be rolled around a pencil and transparent enough to be used to tint windows on buildings or cars.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A researcher who figured out that Coke explodes sperm and scientists who discovered that people will happily eat stale chips if they crunch loudly enough won alternative "Ig Nobel" prizes Thursday.

CANBERRA (Reuters) - The parents of a 7-year-old boy who broke into an Australian outback zoo and fed a string of small animals to its resident crocodile are likely to be sued after police said the boy was too young to be held responsible.

BERLIN (Reuters) - Wild boars are breeding at a huge rate in Germany and wreaking greater havoc than in any other European country by destroying crops, killing pets and even attacking people, according to a new study.