WASHINGTON - A construction worker who fell about 40 feet down an elevator shaft is nearly unhurt, with no serious injuries. District of Columbia Fire and EMS spokesman Alan Etter said the man, who's about 25 years old, was working on a house under construction in Southeast Washington Friday morning.
LONDON (Reuters) - The government said Wednesday it would ban the sale of samurai swords because the weapons had been used in a number of serious, high-profile attacks.
BEIJING (Reuters) - Supposedly ancient Chinese terracotta warriors on show at a German museum are fakes, China confirmed Thursday, condemning the organizers for cheating the public.
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentine soccer great Diego Maradona wants to add an image of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to his well-known collection of tattoos of leftist leaders.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pregnant women may stand out a mile away with their characteristic backward-leaning stance, but that clumsy-looking position is a unique adaptation that evolved over millennia, anthropologists said on Wednesday.
REYKJAVIK (Reuters) - A teen-ager says he convinced the White House he was Iceland's president and managed to schedule a call with George W. Bush but was found out before he got to talk to the U.S. president.
SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Chilean producers of a grape brandy known as Pisco petitioned their government on Friday to stop an Argentine producer from selling the product in Europe under the same name, which Peru also claims as its own.
LONDON (Reuters) - U R dumped -- one in seven say they have suffered the same fate as Britney Spears' ex-husband and been told it's all over via text message or email, a survey said on Friday.
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Upset that a stray rabid dog was fleeing with a duck from his compound, a man in southern India caught the animal, wrestled with it and bit it hard in the throat before it was beaten to death, a newspaper said.
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's post office and police are trying to track down a "rogue elf" who wrote obscene letters to children on behalf of Santa Claus, a newspaper reported on Friday.
BERLIN (Reuters) - German fathers are staying home with their newborn babies in unexpectedly high numbers in the first year of a generous government subsidy meant to boost the country's low birth rate, officials said on Friday.
NORCO, Calif. - The equestrian community of Norco, known has Horsetown USA, has put its boot down: The chubby Bob's Big Boy mascot isn't Western enough, even with a cowboy hat.
TOKYO (Reuters) - Crimes by older people in Japan jumped threefold this year compared with a decade ago, domestic media reported on Friday.
GRESHAM, Ore. - A tow truck driver upset over a recent ticket tried to tow a police cruiser, authorities said.
BERLIN (Reuters) - Political prisoners in former East Germany were traded for oil, copper and silver in the 30 years before reunification and human trade with the West formed a lucrative economic linchpin, the author of a new study said.
HYDERABAD, India - Two men attacked an 80-year-old, self-proclaimed holy man in southern India and chopped off his right leg, apparently believing it had magical powers, police said Thursday.
LONDON (Reuters) - Hopes of a Led Zeppelin reunion tour faded on Friday when singer Robert Plant said he would tour with U.S. country singer Alison Krauss in May.
CINCINNATI - Today's crime tip: don't steal police officers' tips. Police arrested Vincent Balough, 46, on on charges of theft and obstructing official business.
NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Thailand (Reuters) - Brunei's Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah has installed a pool table in his hotel suite to ensure he can practice in luxurious surroundings for the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games nine-ball competition.
LEWISTON, Idaho - Police didn't have to look far to find a man suspected of stealing a woman's wallet just an inch down the page. On the front page of its Thursday edition, The Lewiston Tribune ran a photo of a man in a blue and black checkered coat standing in a convenience store.
CARACAS (Reuters) - A video of a Gucci- and Louis Vuitton-clad politician attacking capitalism then struggling to explain how his luxurious clothes square with his socialist beliefs has become an instant YouTube hit in Venezuela.
CLEVELAND - A contractor who helped discover bundles of Depression-era U.S. currency totaling $182,000 hidden behind bathroom walls said the homeowner should turn the money over to him or at least share it.
OBERLIN, Kan. - A postcard featuring a color drawing of Santa Claus and a young girl was mailed in 1914, but its journey was slower than Christmas. It just arrived in northwest Kansas.
BURLINGTON, Maine - A fire chief in Penobscot County has been charged with being drunk behind the wheel while driving a fire truck with its lights on and its sirens going.
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's post office and police are trying to track down a "rogue elf" who wrote obscene letters to children on behalf of Santa Claus, a newspaper reported on Friday.
TORONTO (Reuters) - A Canadian oil-field worker, stunned to get a C$85,000 ($83,700) cell phone bill, has had the charges reduced to C$3,400, but is still fighting them.