A four-ton iron bridge on an old rail line between Cheb and Stary Hroznatov in west Bohemia, has been reported missing, police revealed Tuesday. Police spokesman Ladislav Boehm theorized that it took the thief at least two months to cart off with the bridge, adding that these sections of the railway bridge are most likely to turn up in scrap metal shops.

A photographer had put out a call for a Gordon Brown lookalike, which she said was urgently needed. The artist was 37-year old Alison Jackson, who has been known to take and publish photographs of mirror images of such figures as Princess Diana, David Beckam, George Bush, and the Queen herself. The notoriety of her photographs stems from the fact that the photos she takes are of the lookalikes in compromising positions.

A 38-foot bridge weighing 200 tons in Khabarovsk disappeared overnight after scrap metal thieves were able to dismantle without anyone noticing. Local authorities say the bridge was the only road leading to a heating plant.

A television advertisement for a chain of electrical stores denying the existence of Father Frost, Russia's version of Santa Claus, has been banned by the Russian government. According to the BBC, the Federal anti-Monopoly Service found the advertisement for Eto electrical stores had broken rules for advertisers not to discredit parents and teachers when it declared that Father Frost was non-existent.

Aside from his extraordinary leadership skills which led to his being named "Person of the Year" by Time Magazine, Russian President Vladimir Putin will soon be recognized internationally for his athletic prowess. In particular his judo moves as he and an Olympic Japanese judo medalist will come out with an instructional video soon. Mr. Putin and Yasuhiro Yamashita shot the instructional video disc as a supplement to a judo manual. The disc is slated to be released on January or February, President Putin said Friday at the opening of a Toyota Motor Corporation's assembly plant near St. Petersburg.