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Global Bizarre

By Times Wires
Published February 28, 2008

ADVERTISEMENT [STRDEL/AFP/Getty Images] About 3,000 people gathered in Ghanteswara, India, to celebrate the marriage of monkeys Jhumuri and Manu.

Monkey nuptials

To get their freedom, crazy kids get hitched

About 3,000 dearly beloved gathered in Ghanteswara, India, to witness the union of Jhumuri and Manu. The priest who conducted the ceremony called it a "unique experience," and not just because the bride and groom were 2 and 3, respectively. It was because they were monkeys. Jhumuri's owner, Mamina, pledged that her pet would marry two years later in the same place she had found her. "I feel as if my own daughter is getting married," Mamina said. The couple received many gifts after the ceremony, but the main one was their freedom. They did not say where they intend to live once set free.

Creamy criminals

Police on lookout for delicious evidence

Israeli police suspect an inside job in the theft of 100 tons of chocolate spread from the company that makes it in the northern city of Haifa. "The thieves will try to resell the chocolate spread," a police spokesman told the Jerusalem Post. "We have launched an investigation." The thieves made off with 180,000 jars of the sweet spread, valued at $415,000. A company spokesman says it would have taken five large trucks to transport it.

Election news

No coverup for mayor, so she's out

Some of the 500 citizens of Arlington, Ore., were unhappy with how Mayor Carmen Kontur-Gronquist was handling issues regarding water and the local golf course. But that isn't why the town held a recall vote on the mayor on Monday. They did that because of the photos of her standing on a fire truck wearing only her underwear. The photos were taken before her election, and used for a fitness contest, but they ended up on MySpace, as does everything, and opponents said that was not a fitting depiction for a city official. She lost the recall election, 142-139.

School daze

No mohawks

School policy at Parma Community School in Parma, Ohio, says nothing about hairstyles, says Michelle Barile. So she can't understand why her son Bryan Ruda, 6, was suspended for having a mohawk. "They can't tell me how I can cut his hair," she said. School officials say the prohibition falls under guidelines involving grooming and causing disruptions. So Barile plans to enroll Bryan in a school that will allow his hairstyle. "It's something he really likes."

Lose the shoes

Third-graders at Martin Luther King Elementary in Hopkinsville, Ky., were the key suspects when an envelope containing $5 disappeared off a teacher's desk. So the teacher reacted in the logical way, having the students remove their shoes and socks, then patting them down. "The way they treat our students is ridiculous," said Zlatko Skuljan, whose daughter is in the class. The school's principal agreed, reprimanding four instructors involved.

Compiled from Times wire services and other sources by staff writer Jim Webster, who can be reached at jwebster@sptimes.com.

[Last modified February 28, 2008, 00:25:41]