Batman, Moron, Brest, Old Crow, Mafia enlisted as world’s strangest airport names

September 23rd, 2009 KARACHI - Senior Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leader Raza Rabbani has blamed the former President Shaukat Aziz's regime for the birth of hoarding mafia in the country. Interacting with party workers during an Eid Milan party here, Rabbani said 'peoples' rule' will wipe of the hoarding mafia if they continue their nefarious business.

September 12th, 2009 CARACAS - A 6.4-magnitude earthquake rocked several parts of Venezuela Saturday, but there were no reports of casualties or damage. Jesse Chacon, the minister for science, technology and industry, said the earthquake took place at a depth of about 15.9 km and its epicentre was located 28 km northeast of Moron in Carabobo state.

September 12th, 2009 LONDON - Responding to the sex scandal engulfing Silvio Berlusconi, Umberto Bossi, the key coalition partner in the Italian PM's government, said he believed Mafia had orchestrated all the dirty activities. "I think everything has been put in place by the Mafia," Bossi, the leader of the Northern League, said as he arrived at an event in Pian del Re in the north of the country.

September 11th, 2009 NEW DELHI - A man begged cops at the Beijing airport to stop his ladylove from boarding a flight to Shanghai, after they had a terrible quarrel. The police officers helped the two lovers reconcile, and they are about to get married soon.

September 8th, 2009 LONDON - Teachers in the UK believe children with certain names are naughtier than the others, a survey has found. Pollsters from the parenting club Bounty.com asked 3,000 teachers to come up with names that spell trouble for them.he 'Teachers Pest' list includes name like Callum, Chelsea, Connor, Jack, Brandon, Charlie, Courtney Chardonna; girl's name like Aliesha, Casey, Crystal, Jessica, Brooke and Demi and boys named Kyle, Liam, Jake and Brooklyn.

September 7th, 2009 KABUL - An explosion, believed to be a bomb in a car driven by a suicide bomber, went off early Tuesday close to the airport of the Afghan capital Kabul, an airport official said. The official told DPA that casualties were likely, as the blast was strong enough to break his office windows some distance away, but did not give any further details.

August 13th, 2009 KARACHI - Sugar prices in Pakistan have hit an all time high of 52 rupees per kilogram. The prime reason behind the sudden steep rise in the price of one of the most important daily commodity is a calculated strategy chalked out by major players of the sugar industry with help from important government personalities.

August 4th, 2009 SYDNEY - A former Boeing 747 jumbo is now the world's strangest hostel. The one-time Singapore Airlines plane is parked permanently near the entrance to Stockholm's Arlanda Airport, and it never leaves the ground.

July 28th, 2009 BEIJING - China's culture ministry has issued an order to all websites prohibiting them to run, publish or offer links to online games featuring mafia-like gangs, and threatened "severe punishment" for those who violate the ban. Such games violated regulations on Internet administration, because they "advocate obscenity, gambling, or violence", and "undermine morality and Chinese traditional culture", said a circular posted on the ministry's website.

July 20th, 2009 MELBOURNE - Delhi airport has been named among the world's worst airports for passengers to sleep in a new poll. The poll by website www.sleepinginairports.net, asked travellers to review the best and worst airports around the world for travellers needing some shut-eye.

July 13th, 2009 LONDON - Several MPs of the Labour Party have claimed that Prime Minister Gordon Brown is as ruthless and intimidating as a mafia boss. A senior Labour women has even claimed that Brown sends in brutal hitmen to 'bump off' colleagues standing in his way.

May 29th, 2009 LONDON - Ashton and Keira are the celebrity names that most British parents choose for their children, according to a study. Debra Chatfield at findmypast.com, which carried out the study, revealed that the research team analysed birth records, and found Brits to be using a lot of celebrity names.

April 26th, 2009 LONDON - The FBI is on alert for the biggest Mob reunion of all time with six of the world's most powerful Mafia bosses due to be paroled within months of each other. The big six mafia bosses are Domenico 'Italian Dom' Cefalu, George 'Big Georgie' DeCicco, Joseph 'Joe C' Caridi, Benedetto Aloi, Matthew 'Matty the Horse' Ianniello, and Anthony 'Fat Anthony' Rabito.

April 18th, 2009 LONDON - An entire mafia clan will once again be terrorising an Italian city, thanks to the laziness of a judge in signing off their sentences. According to reports, 13 members of the notorious Strisciuglio clan will be set free on Wednesday.

March 12th, 2009 MELBOURNE - Aussie actor Sam Worthington is tipped to replace Christian Bale as Batman in the third instalment of the caped crusader's franchise. The 32-year-old star is likely to make his mark in the US with the May release of James Cameron's Terminator Salvation, and again in December with release of Avatar.