Rick Roll'd

The first worm to infect the Apple iPhone has been discovered spreading "in the wild" in Australia.

The self-propagating program changes the phone's wallpaper to a picture of 80s singer Rick Astley with the message "ikee is never going to give you up".

The worm, known as ikee, only affects "jail-broken" phones, where a user has removed Apple's protection mechanisms to allow the phone to run any software.

Bad Luck......

Friday the 13th has traditionally been when the superstitious take extra care and double check everything they do.

Now experts at the Glasgow Science Centre are looking into the global phenomenon to determine if there is any science behind the superstitions.

You're Lion...

A German thief stole a van, only to discover after he sped off that there was a circus lion in the back. 

Caesar, Circus Probst's ferocious five-year-old star, was being transported a Mercedes van when the vehicle was stolen.

The thief drove off, but abandoned the vehicle with the engine still running after crashing into a road sign. It was unclear whether the thief's sudden awareness of the animal in the back of the van had inspired him or her to abort the mission.

Falling!

Autumn leaves are being dumped in landfill sites each year because they are being classed as “litter”, it has emerged. 

Councils say they are unable to compost even those from otherwise clean suburban streets because of fears they may be “contaminated” with rubbish and cigarette ends.

It means that local authorities in England and Wales are paying up to £1.5 million collectively in landfill tax every year just to dispose of autumn leaves, it is estimated.

Good Heavens!

A US judge has ordered South Carolina not to issue a vehicle number plate with a Christian image and slogan.

The state legislature had approved a licence plate with a cross in front of a stained glass window and the words "I Believe" written along the top.

Kim Jong-Bill.

Kim Jong-il, the North Korean leader known for shunning air travel has six luxurious private trains and 19 stations for his exclusive use, despite eight million of the country's people facing starvation. 

 The trains are equipped with conference rooms, bedrooms and high-tech communication facilities, intelligence sources have said.

There are also 19 stations across North Korea exclusively for Kim's trains, which have a total of 90 carriages Kim uses the trains when he makes inspection visits to local army units and factories or travels abroad.

Analysis by South Korean and US intelligence authorities was obtained by US spy satellites and U-2 reconnaissance planes and the testimonies of North Korean defectors, the South Korea's Chosun Ilbo newspaper said.

 

And.....Congratulations!

A woman in South Korea who has tried to pass the written exam for a driver's license with near-daily attempts since April 2005 has finally succeeded - on her 950th time.

Having spent more than 5 million won ($4,200) on application fees, Cha Sa-soon, 68, finally passed the written exam with a score of 60 on Wednesday.

It's the minimum score that will now allow her to take the driven part of the test, but it's enough.

"I believe you can achieve your goal if you persistently pursue it," Cha was quoted Earlier this year. "So don't give up your dream, like me. Be strong and do your best." 

Flip-Qing Heck.

The green jade seal, belonging to the emperor Qian Long (1736-1795) fetched £3.6 million, six times its estimate, at the auction on Wednesday following frantic bidding by eight competing collectors.

News of the sale was greeted with anger on the Chinese internet, where the country's growing nationalism frequently finds its voice.

"Bandits have seized our treasures and are now selling them off at auction for ridiculous profits. How can we tolerate such behaviour?" wrote one user of the Sohu Internet portal. "The Chinese government must get fully involved in this matter." The seal, lot 136, was the prize object in a 261-lot sale which raised a total of £8.3m.

Why Is Everybody Here?!

A Brazilian man who was thought to have been killed in a car crash shocked his mourning family when he turned up alive at his funeral. 

Relatives of bricklayer Ademir Jorge Goncalves, 59, had identified him as the victim of a car crash on Sunday night, police said.  

What family members didn't know was that Goncalves had actually spent the night at a truck stop drinking a sugarcane liquor known as cachaca with friends.

He did not get word about his own funeral until it was already happening on Monday morning - at which point he rushed to the funeral to let family members know he was not as dead as they thought.

Three Pointer.

Tony and Aimee West ordered a three-tier sponge cake decorated with white and dark chocolate icing and flowers.

The couple were astonished when they cut through a layer of chocolate icing but then hit a block of white polystyrene underneath.

Not Far Grom-it.

Google has unveiled its latest "doodle" on its homepage, celebrating the 20th anniversary of Wallace and Gromit.

When users click on the Google logo, they are directed to a results page featuring the Aardman Animations characters created by Nick Park.

Something Fishy's Going On...

Giant jellyfish have capsized a 10-tonne fishing boat after its crew tried to haul in a net full of the stinging creatures off the eastern coast of Japan.

Dozens of Nomura's jellyfish sunk the Diasan Shinsho-maru boat and sent its three-man crew into the sea, The Mainichi Daily News reported.

Crunch Time.

Christine Challinor, 70, was driving to church on Sunday morning when the beech crashed onto the bonnet of her Volkswagen Polo.

The front of the car was completely crushed by the trunk - meaning she would have been killed if the vehicle was just a few yards further along the road.

And This One Does....

A civilian passenger in an air force display plane accidentally activated the ejector seat while reaching for something to steady himself during a mid-air manoeuvre.

The novice flier instantly shot through the jet's perspex canopy and was blasted 100 metres into the sky by the rocket-powered emergency chair.

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