A former bureaucrat has been appointed, at a cost to taxpayers of $1,500 a day, to oversee and make all the financial decisions at the Duffern-Peel Catholic school board. Norbert Hartmann was named to the post by Ontario Education Minister Kathleen Wynne. She said his salary, which is paid by the already impoverished Dufferin-Peel schools, is on-par with what was paid to previous supervisors who have been sent to balance the budgets of rebellious school boards. The two-member special assistance teams examining the mass of cuts being made in Toronto public and Catholic schools are also earning $1,500 a day, said a spokesperson for Wynne.

In a bid to curb widespread corruption in the public and private sector, the Russian government has warned that people who give or take bribes will "burn in the flames of hell. " The warning was carried in leaflets distributed freely in every home and also advises the public on what to do if they are asked for a bribe.

A Florida man figured that a 50-foot plunge was worth $20 when one is "broke. " Mark Giorgio, 47, was walking across the U. S. 41 bridge over the Manatee River Monday, when wind blew a $20 bill out of his hand, over the rail and into the river. Girgio followed his money and plummeted 50 feet into the river. He then pursued his bill and swam about 100 yards to fish it from the water.

A five-year-old boy in Teighmouth, Devon in England, wanting a real-life "Thomas the Tank" adventure, took a 60-mile train ride to the shock of his parents. It was reported that the boy, identified as Ben Ford, was walking down the road near his home in Teignmouth, Devon ahead of his parents, when he suddenly disappeared.