NEW DELHI: It is a different kind of fetish all together for 32-year-old Nazim Baig of Lucknow, India who munches about 20kg of vegetables daily, plucked straight from the fields, just to satisfy his appetite. But his neighbours are not a happy lot, because Nazim steals the vegetables from their farms every night and often consumes them during dusk. The Asian Age today reported that Nazim, who lives in Maulaganj village, about 90 km from Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, eats about 15 to 20 kg of raw vegetables daily, when everyone is asleep.

Sydney: Paralympics gold medal winner Kurt Fearnley left his wheelchair yesterday and took the 1,504 steps, two-at-a-time, to conquer Sydney’s tallest building in a better time than most people with working legs can do it. The 28-year-old wheelchair marathon champion crawled up the fire escape at the 260-metre Sydney Tower in 20 minutes, compared with the all-comers record of 6 minutes 52 seconds. Fearnley has won this year’s Paris, London, Seoul and Sydney marathons and hopes to make it a clean sweep by crossing the line first in Chicago and New York.

London: A former World War II prisoner-of-war camp in Britain has been advertised for sale on eBay as a “unique leisure attraction” at £900,000 (RM4.9 million). The Harperley Prisoner of War Camp near Crook, in County Durham in northeast Britain, housed German and Italian prisoners during the 1939-1945 conflict. The complex of rows of grey huts was turned into a tourist attraction in 2004, but its present owners, James and Lisa McLeod, said their plans for further restoration had run out of cash.

SYDNEY: The 48,000 Australians who entered a competition to name a new cheesy version of iconic foodstuff Vegemite were not the only ones dismayed yesterday when they learned the winner was iSnack2.0. Marketing consultant Tom O'Donnell declared Kraft Foods Australia had made a “very stupid decision” in choosing a software-style name for a breakfast spread.

WELLINGTON: A giant pink doughnut, erected in the New Zealand town of Springfield two years ago to mark the premiere of The Simpsons Movie, has been destroyed by arsonists, according to news reports
yesterday. The 3.5-metre-diameter doughnut sculpture, unveiled in the tiny South Island township, 70km north of Christchurch, was set ablaze with the help of kerosene-based barbecue firelighters last Friday night.

WARSAW: Poland has approved a law making chemical castration mandatory for paedophiles in some cases, sparking criticism from human rights groups. Under the law passed last Friday, sponsored by Poland's centre-right government, paedophiles convicted of raping children under the age of 15 years or a close relative would have to undergo chemical therapy on their release from prison.

NEW YORK: Dalton Chiscolm is unhappy about Bank of America's customer service – really, really unhappy. Chiscolm in August sued the largest US bank and its board, demanding that “1,784 billion, trillion dollars” (US$1 = RM3.474) be deposited into his account the next day. He also demanded an additional US$200,164,000,  court papers show. Attempts to reach Chiscolm have been unsuccessful. A Bank of America spokesman declined to comment. “Incomprehensible,” US District Judge Denny Chin said in a brief order released last Thursday in a Manhattan Federal Court.

LONDON: A British store is launching a range of underpants for left-handed men, an innovation it says will save them both time and embarrassment in front of the porcelain. The new range, by UK-based Hom, will have a horizontal opening instead of a vertical slit accessed from the right-hand side, breaking a tradition that has lasted for 75 years. “In our view, this is a vital step toward equality for left-handed men,” said Rob Faucherand of Debenhams
store.