Ten Sears Canada stores opened in Ontario Monday, possibly in violation of the Retail Business Holidays Act since it was Victoria Day. The company had been forewarned by the provincial government it might face sanctions, but Sears nevertheless went ahead and opened although it maintained it did not went against the law because the openings were private-by-invitation only affairs and were closed to the public.

A New York town is reportedly considering banning the use of Silly String anywhere within 1,500 feet of a public celebration. The proposal to cut the use of the popular party product was made based on concerns from the local fire department, which claimed that the aerosol string sprayed from the canister has been causing damage to fire equipments' paint and weather stripping.

Stricter absenteeism rules had little effect on British students after truancy rates rose 33 percent. The British government has spend almost $2 billion to overcome the problem, but 63,000 more British students skipped classes in the '06-'07 school year, compared to '05-'06. Family holidays and ailments topped the list of the reasons why British pupils skipped school. Schools Minister Kevin Brennan said 3. 47 percent of the absences were attributed to illness, especially among female students and poor pupils on free school meals. This was followed by family holidays which accounted for 0. 7 percent of the absences. The family holidays ate up 6. 8 million schools days, although 90 percent of the students who availed of this had the school's permission.

A traditional symbol of Valentine's Day, red roses, has been banned by Saudi Arabia's muttawah until Feb. 14. Also included in the prohibition is the sale of other red items such as gift wrappers. Shop owners were advised by the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice to take off from their shelves the red flowers and similar reminders of Valentine's Day, which is considered un-Islamic and allegedly leads to relations outside of marriage.

On July 5, the first special flight that will allow passengers to fly in their birthday suit, naked that is, will take off from Erfurt in Southeast Germany to its destination in the island of Usedom off Baltic Sea. "All the passengers will fly naked, but they are only allowed to undress once they are in the plane. But then they will be able to enjoy the hour-long flight in the way God intended," Enrico Hess, the founder of the travel company OssiUrlaub, has been quoted as saying.