North Korea has developed a new weapon to combat its worst food shortage in nearly a decade - a noodle made of corn and soybeans that it says leaves people feeling fuller than ordinary noodles. Development of the noodle reportedly represents a sort of technological breakthrough because soybeans don't contain any starch and, therefore, are difficult to make into noodles.

A lesbian couple will make gay history by becoming the first legal Indian same-sex marriage accepted by the Coquille Tribe. The soon-to-be wed couple, Kitzen Doyle and Jeni Branting, had been in a committed lesbian relationship since high school.

German Education Minister Annette Schavan was criticized by the opposition for riding a military chopper instead of flying on a regular airline. For her trip to Zurich from Stuttgart to have a newspaper interview, German taxpayers had to shell out $39,179. If she flew on a regular plane, the ticket would cost only $496. 45 (329 euro). The trip covered 90. 72 miles (146 kilometers).

The nation that gave the world counterfeit toys, fake toothpaste and poisoned pet food also gave 3 billion television viewers a bogus fireworks show of Olympic proportions Friday night, according to media reports Monday. The spectacular fireworks telecast to billions of viewers around the world at the end of the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics Friday night were largely faked using computer animation and the audience wasn't told, the Beijing Times newspaper revealed.

A British Lord is selling his life - including his title, estate, luxury cars and little black book on eBay. David Piper, the 58-year old Lord of Warleigh, said he's taking the action to finance treatment for advanced prostate cancer. As of early afternoon Eastern, the online auction has a top bid of nearly $4 million. Among the items Piper has put up for auction: his 111-acre estate near Plymouth, his family's art collection, two Bentley automobiles and a black book containing the names of women who answered a 2002 newspaper ad for a mate.