WONFIFTY

A Polish fugitive has been apprehended after he revealed a “fatal weakness for sausages.” Marcin Kuszczak, 28, was wanted on a string of dangerous offences including armed robbery and serious assault, but had evaded police – until he stole a pound of sausages. Kuszczak was wanted by cops in Ilawa, Northern Poland, for a number of years. He had managed to stay below the radar until the fateful day earlier this year when he couldn’t resist the lure of pork and attempted to steal sausages from the local supermarket. A police spokesman said: "He was on file as a seriously dangerous criminal. But he seems to have had a fatal weakness for sausages."

A cat has been appointed ‘super-station-master’ at a Japanese train station. The nine year old female cat, Tama, wears a black cap and sits by the entrance of Kishi Station in western Japan and poses for photos with the tourists. The cat, a symbol of luck in Japan, has become a local celebrity. It has also turned the fortunes of Kishikawa, the once failing train company who operate the station, around. Railway spokeswoman Yoshiko Yamaki said: "She never complains, even though passengers touch her all over the place. She has patience and charisma, she is the perfect station master.” Tama has her own line of memorabilia, including postcards, erasers, notebooks and a book of photos called, ‘Diary of Tama, the Station Master.’

Two US men tried to break a world record by shaking hands for nine-and-a-half hours.
Kevin Whittaker, 31, and Cory Jens, 30, were hoping to beat the previous record of nine hours – held by two Germans - in San Francisco.
Although officials from The Guinness Book of World Records must still confirm the feat, Whittaker and Jens are confident they now hold the record.
Whittaker said: "I looked up what some of the weakest records were. I'm not going to break the 100-meter dash record, but I thought I could break this record. [But] it's not that fun, believe me. My shoulder is tired, in fact, it's extremely painful."

A British cat who has been missing for eight months has been found - in the US.
Jerry was spotted by a US woman watching a webcam, who saw him most evenings, bedding down on the doorstep of a hotel in Polperro.
She then posted a message on the forum of the Cornish village Jerry came from. Jerry's owner Abbi Rendell said: "Now we are trying to catch him there - but he is proving a bit elusive. "But at least I know he is safe and well."

A British crematorium has launched a pay-per-view scheme to allow mourners to watch their loved one’s funeral online.
Southampton Crematorium are charging friends and family who can’t attend the funeral £75 to view the service live via a video camera placed discreetly in the chapel.
The company behind the scheme, Wesley Music, are also offering DVDs of funerals for £50 or audio recordings for £25.
Trevor Mathieson, manager of Southampton Crematorium, said: "The service is designed very much with the distant relative or ill friend in mind. Families are getting older and more dispersed and it is not always easy to get to a funeral these days. The webcast or DVD can let them be a part of the service."

A British businesswoman was stunned when she was charged £360,000 for four cappuccinos. Terri Patsalides, 59, was waiting to meet a traveller at London Heathrow Airport?s new Terminal Five building, was handed the huge print-out at the Giraffe Juice Bar. She said: "The baggage delay was so long I finished off four coffees. "When I got the print-out I told the waitress that although they were very nice, I thought £90,000 a cup was a bit over the top. "She went bright red when she saw my bill was £361,514.97 and said it should have been £12." A Giraffe Juice Bar worker said: "It was just a glitch on the computer system. The bill was cancelled and everyone had a laugh."

Students in Singapore are being offered lessons in seduction in a bid to boost the city's declining birth rate.
Pupils at two polytechnics can earn credits towards their final degree by choosing the love course, which has activities including holding hands, watching romantic movies and analysing love songs.
The curriculum focuses on the importance of family life as well as love and sexuality. Government minister Yu-Foo Yee Shoon recently warned young people not to put their career before establishing a family "because if you wait until then, sometimes it'll be a little too late".

Student at a Chinese university have been asked to plan a bank robbery for an assignment.
The pupils on secretarial course at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies have to devise a plot to rob a bank within seven minutes.
They have to come up with a robbery action plan for a team comprising a leader, a lock breaker, a driver, two robbers and a gunman.
Professor He, who came up with the assignment, says it's aimed at teaching students how to allocate resources economically and efficiently.
He said: "Students majoring in the arts usually do not have the training in thinking deliberately that students majoring in science do. So this also trains their thinking ability."

A Latvian man tried to save money on a seven-hour ferry ride by hiding his father and children in the trunk of his car.
The 37-year-old Latvian, who has not been named, crammed his two boys, aged eight and 10, and his 66-year-old dad into the vehicle.
They remained in high temperatures with poor ventilation for several hours before being found by police.
The man, who stood to save about £94 by hiding his family, was arrested aboard the ship sailing from Mallorca to Barcelona.
He has been charged with reckless endangerment.

A German town has removed all traffic lights in a bid to improve road safety.
The town of Bohmte has adopted the idea of 'Shared Space', which means both drivers and pedestrians enjoy equal right of way by removing all the traffic controls, including signs and lights.
The mayor of Bohmte, Klaus Goedejohann, said: "Traffic will no longer be dominant." The project has cost the town 1.2 million euros, with the European Union covering half the expense.
'Shared Space' was an idea developed by Dutch traffic specialist Hans Monderman.