Fashion crackdown in Tehran

Man beats bookmakers by turning 100

A British man celebrated his 100th birthday with 25,000 pounds ($50,000) in winnings on Tuesday after he beat the bookmakers with a wager that he would live for a century. Alec Holden, from Epsom, south west of London, had placed a 100 pound bet with bookmaker William Hill almost 10 years ago that he would live to be 100 years old. The retired engineer said a daily diet of porridge and playing chess was the key to his longevity -- as was remembering to keep breathing. "When we started taking these bets, a 100 years old seemed to be an almost mythical landmark and we were prepared to offer massive odds," said Rupert Adams of William Hill.

Mystery fossil turns out to be giant fungus

Scientists have identified the Godzilla of fungi, a giant, prehistoric fossil that has evaded classification for more than a century, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

A chemical analysis has shown that the 20-foot-tall (6-metre) organism with a tree-like trunk was a fungus that became extinct more than 350 million years ago, according to a study appearing in the May issue of the journal Geology.

Known as Prototaxites, the giant fungus originally was thought to be a conifer. Then some believed it was a lichen, or various types of algae. Some suspected it was a fungus.

"A 20-foot-fungus doesn't make any sense. Neither does a 20-foot-tall algae make any sense, but here's the fossil," C. Kevin Boyce, a University of Chicago assistant professor of geophysical sciences, said in a statement.

Samples of the giant fungi have been found all over the world from 420 million to 350 million years ago during a period in which millipedes, bugs and worms were among the first creatures to make their home on dry land. No animals with a backbone had left the oceans yet.

Pregnant cow runs riot across city

A pregnant cow being chased by police and fire fighters caused 25,000 euros ($33,900) of damage on a three-hour rampage through the German city of Hanover. Uschi escaped from a farm late Monday and became increasingly violent as she encountered shocked drivers and pedestrians in the city. Pursued by the farmer, television camera crews and 30 police and fire fighters, the Charolais cow lashed out at cars, benches, garden fences and whatever else got in her way during the 5-km chase, authorities said. After more than three hours on the loose, Uschi was brought down by tranquilizer darts, without harming her unborn calf, fire services spokesman Martin Argendorf said Tuesday.

Naked man shot near U.S. embassy in Kyrgyzstan

Police guarding the U.S. embassy in Kyrgyzstan shot a naked man who approached the site "in a threatening manner," the embassy said Monday. "At approximately 3:00 a.m., a seemingly disturbed naked man approached the front guard booth of the embassy. The man threw a heavy object at the booth, cracking one of the windows," the embassy said in a statement. "Local ... police fired two warning shots. When he continued to ignore the policemen's commands, they fired two shots at the man, wounding him once in the leg." The embassy did not identify the man and said he was in hospital in a stable condition.