‘Stalker’ quizzes German towns head to court over naming rights Sharapova BERLIN, Jan 22 case will now be heard in ties.” Rival Oberharz first (Reuters) - Two German a administrative court in filed suit in autumn 2009 at Aussie Open towns that straddle the for- Magdeburg. after the eastern city settled mer Iron Curtain are locked The dispute reflects lin- on the new name, saying in a dispute over their nearly gering tensions between that it had rights to the identical names. the formerly Communist name and that the similar The western German town east with western Germany names would confuse tour- - of Oberharz (“Upper Harz”) that flare up from time to ists. - Rus has brought suit against the time — more than 20 years “The name Oberharz eastern city of Oberharz after the country reunited dates to 1642,” Helmut MELBOURNE, Jan 22 (AFP) am Brocken (“Upper Harz in 1990. Martin, an official in the sian ace accused a New on Brocken”) to change its The eastern municipality western town, told Reuters. Zealand journalist of “stalking” her after name, arguing it is neither at Oberharz am Brocken in the “We chose the name “We want the name to stay he asked if she spent time with Anna a higher elevation nor on the state of Saxony-Anhalt was ‘Oberharz am Brocken’ to with us. We have the oldest Kournikova and frequented a club for “hot mountain Brocken. formed only last year when differentiate our town from claim to name — nothing Russians”. So far, three attempts to a group of villages incorpo- Oberharz,” said Hans Hen- like this has ever happened “You’re the guy from New Zealand, huh?” mediate the dispute between rated into a city and picked ning Friedrichs, a senior in Germany before.” The Sharapova said, when she recognised the the two municipalities that the name, which was similar official in the eastern city court has yet to schedule male journalist from this month’s Auckland lie just 20 km apart have to the name of the village in told Reuters. “It will be a hearings for the case and a Classic. “Oh God, you’re stalking me!” failed, judge Heinrich Risse the western state of Lower long and expensive court decision could take as long “It’s not stalking if you love someone,” the journalist said jokingly, to which Sharapova told Reuters. He added the Saxony. process for both municipali- as a year, Martin said. replied: “It can be slightly, trust me.” The - 23-year-old also fended off the reporter’s next question, asking whether there was a “hot Russians club where you get togeth er”. “No. I didn’t know I was part of it. But no,” she said. Huge parking fines inspired parking watch app

SYDNEY Jan 22 (Reuters) Monk one Australian man to create an iPhone app that lets users Burglars snort man’s caught with warn each other when parking officers- Massive are parking spotted fines lurking inspired near their cars. nun’s skeleton “The idea was pretty much born out of frustration,” said ashes, thought it was Joseph Darling of “ParkPatrol,” the app developed by his Sydney-based firm to help users avoid tickets that cost what he said was at least $82 Australian ($81) a shot — and often at airport more. cocaine “I could show you a list of maybe 20 to 30 parking tickets MIAMI, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Burglars snorted the that I had last year, in my town, just by being a normal driver. cremated remains of a man and two dogs in the mistaken he was transferring her remains to a mon- I must have spent thousands of dollars.” The final straw came belief that they had stolen illegal drugs, Florida sheriff’s astery in Cyprus. The remains were those when he was ticketed in his own neighborhood despite a park deputies said on Wednesday. of a nun who died four years ago. She was ing permit that he pays hundreds of dollars for each year. The ashes were taken from a woman’s home in the cen- not a saint in the Greek or Cypriot Ortho- The app lets users “sign in” and report sightings of parking tral Florida town of Silver Springs Shores on December dox Churches, but had once been a nun at officers with a single push of a button. Cartoon faces wearing a- 15. The thieves took an urn containing the ashes of her a Cypriot convent, police said. police cap then appear plotted on a map of the area, along with a notice thanking them. The app will also alert users if a park father and another container with the ashes of her two Revering the skeletal remains of saints is ing officer is spotted in their area and how close. Notification Great Danes, along with electronic equipment and jew- common in the Greek Orthodox tradition. options for 500 meters (1,640 ft), 200 meters and 100 meters elry, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said. A sect within the church may have vener- are available. The free app is available in English, German, - Investigators learned what happened to the ashes after ATHENS, Jan ated the nun even though she was not an Spanish, Portuguese and French. Roughly 80 percent of users they arrested five teens in connection with another bur- 22 (Reuters) - A Cypriot official saint. are in Australia, but it is also used in England, Spain, France glary attempt at a nearby home last week. monk caught at a Greek airport with In many churches, venerated relics are and Germany, Darling said. “With an active community, it’s “The suspects mistook the ashes for either cocaine or the skeletal remains of a nun in his bag- put on display for the faithful to touch or pretty accurate. We reckon around 90 percent,” he added. heroin. It was soon discovered that the suspects snorted gage on the weekend told authorities he kiss and a box for collecting donations Future versions, currently being finished, will include an some of the ashes believing they were snorting cocaine,” was taking the relics of a saint back to his from the faithful placed nearby. alert function for when parking time has expired. The company the sheriff’s report said. monastery. “It appears to be the work of charlatans is also finalizing an Android version. Once they realized their error, the suspects discussed The 56-year-old Cypriot was detained with a financial interest that is what I sus- Next on the drawing board? A similar app that allows returning the remaining ashes but threw them in a lake at Athens airport on Sunday after security pect,” Cyprus’s Archbishop Chrysostomos women to report sightings of handsome men. instead because they thought their fingerprints were on staff discovered a skull wrapped in cloth told journalists on Tuesday when asked the containers, sheriff’s spokesman Judge Cochran said. and skeletal remains in a sheet inside his about the monk’s tale. The monk was Police divers were trying to recover the ashes. The baggage. freed after being charged with theft and suspects were jailed on numerous burglary and other “They maintained it was a woman who desecrating the dead, a misdemeanor in charges. was a saint,” a Greek police official who Greece. He was also suspended from his declined to be named told Reuters on Tues- monastic duties for three months for going day, adding that the monk told authorities away without leave, Cypriot police said. ‘Obama’ robs Austrian bank VIENNA, Jan 22 (AFP) - A man who robs banks wearing a rubber mask of US President Barack Obama has struck again, Austrian police said Friday. The disguised thief robbed a bank in the town of Handenberg in Upper Austria just before the bank closed at 6:00 pm (1700 GMT), police said in statement. Police believe the same man, disguised by his Obama mask, has been carrying out such bank raids for the past two years. He threatened the bank’s employee with a gun, shouting: “This is a hold-up. Give me the money.” The robber — who apparently spoke with a local dialect — initially fled by foot with the money in a black shoulder bag. Witnesses said they then sped off in a dark car with a Salzburg region number plate. No one was hurt during the hold-up, police said. he statement did not say how much money the robber made off with, but the daily Kronenzeitung, in its online edition, put the amount at 10,000 euros (13,500 dollars). Fights, vodka at classic tennis press showdowns

MELBOURNE, Jan 22 (AFP) - Top recalled tackling US journalist Charlie announcing her retirement with a flour- press conferences, surely no player can seed Caroline Wozniacki’s table-turning Steiner. ish as she turned up drunk to the press hold a candle to recently retired Marat press conference stole the show at the “I had the presence of mind to stand conference. Safin. The supremely talented but , but bizarre scenes on a chair and punch downwards,” “I’m sorry. I’ve drunk two glasses of hard-living Russian turned up to his are nothing new at post-match tennis Clarke said. champagne on a bare stomach. I wanted press conference after winning the 2000 interviews. Sisters Serena and Venus Williams to be totally drunk here. I thought US Open with a tray of vodka. In 2009, Emotions can run high after a dif- would rather talk about their fashion it would be funny,” Pin said. Russian he fronted media with a huge ficult match, leading to some run-ins designs than their opponents, and Ser- Nikolay Davydenko also became the talk black eye at the Hop- with media. By comparison, “boring” ena once raised eyebrows when she of the press room with his offbeat inter- man Cup. “I won the Wozniacki’s performance — where turned up with a T-shirt which read views at the Australian Open last year. fight, I’m good, I’m she predicted a list of questions and “Can you see my titles?” Other players, Revelling in the media attention, okay,” he grinned, rattled off the answers — was rela- like Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Roddick, Davydenko waxed lyrical about drinking adding that the tively tame. don’t suffer media gladly, especially vodka, having children, life after tennis, “other guy” looked Probably the most infamous tennis after a loss, and monosyllabic answers his relationship with his wife, and why much worse. press conference, featuring none other can be the order of the day, or night. money is so important to Russians. At the 2004 French than John McEnroe at Wimbledon in “(2002) Wimbledon final wasn’t too Some conferences draw huge crowds, Open, Safin dropped his 1981, ended in a fist fight between close,” Hewitt snapped this week when and at other times the biggest names shorts on court to cele- journalists. asked about his battles with David Nal- will find themselves being quizzed by brate winning a spectacu- Rising tensions between English bandian, after losing to the Argentine just one or two reporters. lar point and was docked and American reporters, sparked by in five sets. On some occasions, the media tire of a point by the umpire. “I felt McEnroe’s on-court histrionics, spilled On the other hand, Roger Federer is waiting for players to arrive. it was a great point for me,” he told over when a British journalist asked a journalist’s dream, giving press con- American star Chris Evert was once journalists after the match. “I felt like the American about his girlfriend. ferences in English, Swiss-German and an hour late turning up for a press pulling my pants down. What’s bad The “Superbrat” unleased a verbal French, often spending close to an hour conference and as soon as she walked about it?” Unfortunately, most of the volley and stormed out, and punches fronting the media after a match. in, the assorted media pack walked out hundreds of press conferences at Grand subsequently flew among the press Frenchwoman Camille Pin went out in protest. Slam tournaments are not so entertain- corp. English reporter Nigel Clarke later in style at the last year, But when it comes to memorable ing.