nobody's perfect
A farmer in China paid £1300 to marry a woman who refused to sleep with him after the wedding, complaining she felt unwell. Six days later she ran away but the farmer tracked her down in a neighbouring town. He then discovered his bride was a man when her false breasts fell off as they grappled together.

poker
Phil Sprung, a multimillionaire Canadian businessman, is suing the government for the return of his pets. Officials seized Tarzan the macaque monkey and other exotic pets during a 2001 raid at his ranch. His lawyer says Tarzan used to play poker with Mr Sprung and others at the ranch.

silence please
The BBC is to broadcast a live performance of an orchestra playing John Cage's 1953 work 4'33", which consists of four-and-a-half minutes of silence and has never been performed by an orchestra or broadcast on UK radio before. TV viewers will be able to watch the performance on BBC 4 later.

footnote
Marcel Duchamp - whose ideas had a profound influence on John Cage - considered silence to be 'the best work one can make. One cannot sign it and all the world profits.'