14 November 2007: Feed the birds - $1000 a go

A New York City Councillor is fed up with things dropping out of the sky, and this time it's not Al Qaeda that bothers him; it's pigeons.

City Councilman Simcha Felder has called on the city to levy a fine of as much as $1,000 on people caught feeding pigeons, and to employ hawks to scare the birds away. Similar measures are already in force in London and are being introduced in Venice. New York tried a hawk previously, in 2003, but the programme was abandoned when the hawk attacked a small pet dog.

Councilman Felder is also proposing to distribute pigeon contraceptives to reduce their numbers, though exactly how the birds would be persuaded to cooperate with this wasn't made clear.

13 November 2007: Excuse me - haven't you forgotten something?

It's easy to forget little things when you go out, but a German man filled up at a petrol station, paid, and then went off without his car.

After the car had sat blocking the pump for about an hour, a woman working at the petrol station alerted authorities. Police contacted the man, who came straight back to fetch the vehicle.

"He just forgot about it and walked off home," said a police spokesman.

SaintFM thinks it was lucky for him his wife wasn't waiting in the car.

12 November 2007: Shark infested waters

A two-metre shark has been caught in a river in southern Iraq more than 160 miles from the sea.

A local man was fishing with his sons when they spotted a large fish thrashing about in his net. "I recognised the fish as a shark because I have seen one on a television programme," he said.

Locals blamed the U.S. military for the shark's unusual location. One local teacher said there was a "75 percent chance" the Americans had put the shark in the water.

9 November 2007: Green Bras

So many Japanese eat with disposable chopsticks the used implements are causing an environmental problem, but carrying around chopsticks for re-use has been difficult - until now.

A women's lingerie maker in Japan has unveiled a new bra with side pouches to hold compact chopsticks. Following the theme, the bra has cups fashioned to look like a bowl of rice.

The company also claims the chopsticks tucked in both sides of the bra will give lift to the breasts and "gently accentuate cleavage".

But before you rush off to buy one, the makers say for now this is only a 'concept design'. There are currently no plans to put the bra on sale.

8 November 2007: Green Chocolate

Lovers of chocolate can now help the environment.

English firm Ecotec has taken waste from the chocolate manufacturing process and turned it into an eco-friendly bio-diesel. Bio-diesel can replace conventional fuel in an unmodified diesel engine, thus reducing dependency on fossil fuels.

The chocolate waste used to be put into landfill, making its conversion into a useful fuel a double benefit.

But sadly one of the team confirmed that one hoped-for by-product of the new process hasn't materialised. "I'm afraid the exhaust doesn't smell of chocolate," he said.