No Halloween street party this time in San Francisco's Castro District. City officials encouraged residents, revelers, and tourists, on radio and television, to stay at home or party somewhere else.

It was in invitation no thief could ever refuse. The organizers of the Basel Shift Festival found this out when a thief ran off with the book titled "Steal this Book. "

An anti-pornography Austrian activist is demanding from officials in the Alpine city of Innsbruck the immediate removal of a large crucifix bearing a sculpture of a naked Jesus Christ. A local radio station reported that Martin Humer is pressuring authorities to remove the crucifix from a public square where it has been displayed for 20 years.

An 82-year-old Philippines man complained to the police after he was beaten up by his 76-year-old wife. The Sun. Star reported Friday that the seething Harding Velez was threatening to file criminal charges against his wife Gloria, who used a bamboo stick to beat him several times.

"Better convert it into fertilizer than let the consuming public suffer," stressed the National Meat Inspection Commission (NMIC) as it ordered Wednesday the burning of 10 tons (10,000 kilos) of rotten ham. The meat seized by police authorities during a sting operation at Pasay City, south of the capital Manila. The 10 tons of processed ham were contained in 20-foot long van and were being unloaded in front of the house of the consignee known as Susan Co. The foul odor coming from the van led to the discovery of the seized pork, which the NMIC declared as unfit for human consumption.