Berlin: A driving instructor who taught more than 1,000 motorists how to drive has said he never got a driver's licence because he was too nervous to retake the test after he failed the first time -- 43 years ago.
"I flunked it because I drove too fast at a roundabout and didn't come to a complete standstill at a stop sign," the instructor, identified by police as Wolf-Dieter R., told Berlin's B.Z. newspaper.
"I was too afraid to try again," he said.
He was caught by police after a minor accident with a Polish truck recently. He told police he never had a licence.
He said it was his first accident after four decades driving cars, tractors, and even tanks as a former East German army soldier. - (Reuters)
Heinola: An Austrian man and a Lebanese woman were crowned king and queen of karaoke at the world championships yesterday after treating a crowd in Finland to a Bon Jovi classic and the theme of the 1980s musical Fame.
Thomas Strubler won the men's contest with his version of This Ain't a Love Song, while Samantha Sayegh of Lebanon confessed to being "very excited and very surprised" to win the women's crown with Fame.
Entrants from across the globe at the second running of the event were judged on voice, rhythm, expression, presence and entertainment value during the four-day contest.
"We have enough turmoil in the world, we need this," said 61 year-old Irishwoman Margaret Graham who flew from Texas to watch her nephew perform in the town of Heinola, some 140 km from Helsinki.
The winners of the event walked away with 1,000 each but the money was perhaps not the point.
"It is something where anyone can be a star for three minutes. Whether you are a good singer or not, if you love it you are fun to watch," said a 28-year-old representing the Czech Republic who identified himself as Johnny Nighttrain.
Despite Japan's reputation as the world centre of karaoke, a contestant from Japan was eliminated in the early stages.
Cattolica: Most people get married flanked by friends but an Italian couple tied the knot in a shark tank surrounded by the creatures they want to save.
Daniela Consolaro (31) and Maurizio Andreosi (40), each wearing bubble-helmet immersion suits, were lowered in a cage into the shark tank at the aquarium in Cattolica on the Adriatic coast.
Fourteen sharks swam around looking bored as the couple - his nickname is Bull Shark and hers is Nurse Shark - responded "I do" to Mayor Pietro Pazzaglini, communicating via a phone link.
The couple wanted to draw attention to finning, a practice where fins are cut off for use in shark fin soup, considered a delicacy in Japan and elsewhere in Asia.
Environmentalists say the practice is severely depleting shark populations around the world.