World Vignettes

Smooching away to the record booksALCALA DE HENARES Spain: On the firing of a gun, an estimated 1,600 couples packed the central square...

Smooching away to the record books
ALCALA DE HENARES Spain: On the firing of a gun, an estimated 1,600 couples packed the central square of a Spanish town and locked lips in a concerted effort to kiss their way to a world record. The couples in Alcala De Henares smooched for at least ten seconds on Tuesday in a bid to outdo the US University of Maine8217;s record for gathering together 1,420 kissing couples on Valentine8217;s day in 1996. The feat has not yet been recorded in the Guinness Book.

The record would be an added claim to fame for Alcala De Jenares, 50 km northeast of Madrid, the birthplace of 17th-century novelist Miguel Cervantes, author of Don Quixote.

Pet cloning
FORT WORTH Texas: An unidentified Texas couple are paying 2.3 million to have a local university clone their favourite dog Missy. Missy, an eleven-year-old Husky-Collie mix, is the perfect dog, said the couple, who told news organisations they could not bear to be without her when she dies. Missy has undergone genetic testing at Texas A M University in Bryan, which has an extensive genetic and cloning research programme. The two-year project to create her double has been dubbed 8220;missyplicity8221;.

Hair thief
ST PAUL Minnesota: First there was the strange and vicarious thrill of duping others into cutting off women8217;s ponytails. Now police say the suspect has taken matters into his own hands. Police say John O Sexton, 43, admitted trying to get people to trim unsuspecting women8217;s ponytails. He was charged on Tuesday with robbery for trying to cut off a woman8217;s thick braid himself. According to a criminal complaint, Sexton told police he had urges about hair.

Lucille Benoit said she and a friend were waiting for a bus late on Saturday when a stranger approached and asked if they wanted to sell their hair. They said no and went to a not her stop.

The man approached again, grabbed Benoit8217;s hair and hacked at it with scissors, she told investigators. She hit him and screamed, and he ran away with a handful of strands. Police found Sexton and scissors in a car a short time later.