Some of the stranger stories from around the globe

ENGLAND: A thieving worker would have a break and a KitKat — before stealing small bundles of cash he hid inside the empty chocolate wrappers.

Protesters rallied across America for a third day over a New York grand jury’s decision not to charge a white police officer over the chokehold death of an unarmed black man.

A man who stabbed and injured two people on a US tour bus has been shot dead by police.

Putting his swimming career on hold after his second drink-driving arrest, Olympic champion Michael Phelps began a six-week programme today that he said “will provide the help I need to better understand myself”.

Houston firm offers space flights for pet remains

100-YEAR-OLD GERMAN TURNS TABLES ON TRICKSTER

Eleven years after she vanished without a trace, Brenda Heist approached police in Florida last week to explain that she had abandoned her two children on the spur of the moment, leaving behind her old life in central Pennsylvania to become a vagrant.

At least eight people died in the massive snowstorm that swept through the US north east and Canada.

A US teenager heading to a Sweet 16 party was killed after he stuck his head out of the emergency hatch of a double-decker bus and hit the underside of a highway overpass in New Jersey, police said.

A tourist bus flipped on to its side and skidded into a sign post in New York on Saturday, killing 13 people and critically injuring six others, officials said.

“Extremely dangerous” Hurricane Ike grew to fierce Category 4 strength today as it roared on an uncertain path that forced millions from the Caribbean to Florida, and Louisiana to Mexico, to wonder where it would eventually strike.

Homeowners fought desperate losing battles today against relentless wildfires sweeping across Florida’s Atlantic coast.

Wildfires fuelled by dry, windy weather damaged about 50 homes on Florida’s central Atlantic coast and driving hundreds of residents away as the governor declared a state of emergency.

AN Irishman yesterday pleaded guilty in federal court in Maine to robbing a Bank of America branch on October 4.

A man from Ireland today pleaded guilty in a federal court in Maine to robbing a Bank of America branch in October.

Governor Jeb Bush has called in the Florida National Guard to help fight wildfires that have scorched thousands of acres and blanketed highways with thick smoke, contributing to collisions that have killed four people.

A hurricane warning prompted a rush on petrol stations early today in south-east Florida, where people were advised to stock up on necessities and take safety precautions ahead of Tropical Storm Katrina.

BROWARD COUNTY in Southern Florida can’t be explained like any other place in America, even the vast sprawls of suburbia that you get only in America.

Thousands of residents desperate to return home after fleeing Hurricane Frances have ignored Florida’s plea to stay put, jamming main roads, delaying emergency workers and causing tempers to flare in the sticky heat.

MASTERS week has rarely been kind to John Daly.

A TRUCK carrying 80 million live bees has overturned on a Florida motorway, killing the driver and spilling its cargo across the road.

A truck carrying 80 million live bees has overturned on a Florida motorway, killing the driver and spilling its cargo across the road.

Washington

A shooting at a restaurant in Virginia, USA, in which a 37-year-old man was injured, has attracted a swarm of law enforcement officers, including a task force investigating the string of sniper shootings in the Washington DC area.

HIGH-OCTANE fear stalked the Washington area in the US yesterday after a man was shot dead at a Fredericksburg petrol station just 30 miles from where a sniper claimed his seventh victim on Wednesday night.

THE latest three attacks linked to the elusive Washington area sniper were carried out near major highways that would have allowed the killer to come and go quickly.

A man was shot at a petrol station today, and police searching for a sniper closed down a nearby motorway after reports a white van had been seen in the area.

A Maryland police officer stopped one of the September 11 hijackers for speeding just two days before the US terror attacks.

Blinding snow has been blamed for a 116-vehicle pile up just outside Washington DC.