Wailing wall

JIANGSU - A middle school in Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu Province, plans to build what it calls a "vent" wall in the playground so their students can make up for the inferior state of the school's psychological health education, reports the Beijing Star Daily.

When feeling depressed or angry, students can go to the wall to release aggression by beating it, thus "venting" their feelings. The school says such acts should help students to alleviate the stress caused by study as well as frustrating human relations which children of their age may find difficult to handle. Some experts, however, have expressed concern that this approach may simply reinforce the students' violent tendencies.

Fine record

HELSINKI - Finnish richest man, Jussi Salonoja, 27, who was caught driving 50 miles per hour in a 25mph zone, has been fined a record 170,000 euros ($217,000) for speeding through the centre of the capital. Finnish traffic fines vary according to the offender's income and, according to tax office data, Salonoja's 2002 earnings were close to 7 million euros.

The final penalty could still change when the case is eventually heard by a Helsinki court, as was the case with Nokia executive Anssi Vanjoki, whose 116,000-euro speeding fine was slashed by 95 per cent due to a drop in income.

Mass disaster

MONTREAL - Crossing the US-Canada border to go to church on a Sunday cost a US citizen US$10,000 for breaching Washington's tough new security rules.

The expensive trip to church was a surprise for Richard Albert, a resident of rural Maine who lives so close to the Canadian border the US customs office is right next door to his house.

Like the other half-dozen residents of Township 15, Range 15, crossing the border is a daily ritual for Albert. The nearby Quebec village is where they shop, eat and pray. There are many such situations in rural areas along the largely unguarded 8,900-km border between Canada and the US .

As a result, Albert says did not expect any problems three weeks ago when he returned home to the US after attending mass in Canada, as usual.

Office affairs

LONDON - Whether it's a frisson by the filing cabinet, a gaze over bar graphs or hot flushes at the water-cooler, romance blossoms in the workplace for nearly two thirds of British employees, according to a survey among 1,072 workers last month.

Yet office love reduces productivity, with half of coupled-up colleagues admitting their work suffers as a result, according to the "Work-Love Balance" survey. Rather than focusing on the photocopying, three in 10 employees said they had "enjoyed physical intimacy" in their workplace, citing the lift and stairwell as the most expedient locations.

Despite the naughty nurse stereotype, health care and medical workers are the least likely to indulge in workplace romances, while the leisure and tourism industry is a libidinous hotbed which ensnares eight out of 10 employees, the survey found.

Pork deterrent

JERUSALEM - A prominent Israeli rabbi has proposed hanging bags of pork fat in buses to deter Muslim suicide bombers who may want to avoid contact with an "unclean" animal.

The idea signaled the extremes to which some Israelis may be willing to go to stop Palestinian bombers who have killed hundreds of Israelis in recent years.

Judaism, like Islam, considers pigs unclean. But the ultra-Orthodox rabbi has ruled that special dispensation can be given for placing bags of pork fat in buses and public places to try to prevent attacks.

Police had no immediate comment on the proposal. Asked about the deterrent capability of pig fat on Israeli buses, Palestinian sources called it an exercise in futility.

Say it again, Sam

NEW YORK - Frustrated actors have a new outlet for their creative urges that until now was only available to their singing cousins - Movieoke, Karaoke's cinematic sibling.

The brainchild of film-fanatic Anastasia Fite, Movieoke is just what it sounds like: a chance for those brave enough to take over from Robert De Niro in his, "You talkin' to me?" monologue in "Taxi Driver," or to strut their stuff alongside Ben Stiller in "Zoolander."

The weekly affair takes place in the Den of Cin, a basement space below an East Village pizza parlor and video store that offers a huge selection of films to act along with.

Guests select a specific scene from a movie that is then projected onto a big screen, while a monitor in front of them shows the scene along with subtitled dialogue.

Porno domain

WASHINGTON - Whitehouse.com, the pornographic website that features nubile "interns" rather than middle-aged presidents, announced last week that its domain name is up for sale.

The site claims 85 million visitors since 1997 - many of whom doubtless intended to visit whitehouse.gov, the official Web site of the president of the United States.

"Since launching the site, I've become a father, and no longer care to be involved in the adult content world," site owner Dan Parisi said in a press release. A White House spokesman declined to comment. (Star-Agencies)