Oddly news around the world

What a saucy sausage can do!

LONDON - A saucy radio advert for sausages which encouraged listeners to reveal "where you like to stick yours" was criticized by Britain's advertising watchdog on Wednesday.

The ads for Mattesons smoked sausages elicited 21 complaints from listeners who said they were offensive because of the sexual innuendo and should not have been aired when children were likely to be listening.

"Think about all the things you can stick this tasty, extraordinarily large sausage in," one advert said.

"Mmm... Pizza, pasta, stir fry. You have any ideas? Give me a call and tell me where you like to stick it."

Kerry Foods, which makes the sausages, said its adverts were intended to be tongue-in-cheek and were not designed to be offensive.

Reporting by Michael Holden

First class escape!

BRUSSELS - Three prisoners escaped from a jail outside the Belgian city of Bruges in a hijacked helicopter Thursday, authorities said.

Media reports said the escapees flew to the town of Aalter, then seized a black Mercedes from its female driver and robbed a service station before heading for the Belgian coast.

A Justice Ministry spokesman said no one had been hurt, and that the jailbreak had not been from the high-security wing, which had nets to prevent such escapes.

However, media said the escapees included one of Belgium's most dangerous criminals, Ashraf Sekkaki, who had more than 16 convictions for violence, including kidnappings for ransom.

The Belga news agency quoted the spokesman as saying that one of the accomplices who flew the helicopter into the jail had been left behind, perhaps because there was not enough room for all to get away in the helicopter.

Reporting by David Brunnstrom

Fields plow by naked girl!

PATNA, India - Farmers in an eastern Indian state have asked their unmarried daughters to plow parched fields naked in a bid to embarrass the weather gods to bring some badly needed monsoon rain, officials said on Thursday.

Witnesses said the naked girls in Bihar state plowed the fields and chanted ancient hymns after sunset to invoke the gods. They said elderly village women helped the girls drag the plows.

Writing by Bappa Majumdar

Another snake in the building incident!

BHUBANESWAR, India - A stray snake brought parliament to a standstill for several hours on Thursday in India's Orissa state, officials said.

A cleaner spotted the intruder, believed to be a king cobra, while sweeping in the morning and called the assembly's watchman.

The speaker of the assembly in the state capital Bhubaneswar adjourned the house as security personnel, wildlife officials and a member of a local snake helpline searched unsuccessfully for the creature with the help of a sniffer dog.

Reporting by Jatindra Dash

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