Failing to free himself after his stick-on beard got caught in the rope he was using to descend from the ceiling of a shopping mall in Texas, Santa Claus had to eventually rely on the heroic efforts of firemen. Hanging 30 feet above from the ground inside the shopping mall, Santa had to be thrown a pair of scissors to cut his beard free from the rope but it only proved futile as Santa failed to extricate himself free from the rope.

A car thief called the police after he discovered a young boy asleep in the vehicle he had just stolen in a gas station in Melbourne, Australia. The police have expressed appreciation to the still unidentified car thief, who stole the vehicle in the Berwick petrol station when the owner left the engine running when he went to buy a newspaper.

In the most modern and possibly most bizarre move of the global fight against obesity, Santas in English malls are now encouraged to drop weight before Christmas of 2007. Reports said that the Bluewater Shopping Centre in Greenhithe, Kent has set up a Santa Boot Camp to slim down Mr. Santa and be a good model to children who adore him.

A 65,000 square meter mall worth $86 million opened in Soweto, and officials say the mall marks an economic turnaround in South Africa. The opening of Maponya Mall, which features 200 stores and eight movie theaters, is expected to boost the city's prominence and help it rise from a suburb of Johannesburg to its own city. The shopping promenade is expected to generate jobs and speed up the ongoing economic boom in Soweto. Johannesburg Mayor Amos Masondo noted Soweto is not just undergoing a facelift, "it is undergoing a racial reconstruction and the mood is one of excitement. "

Police found a body of a 41-year-old man in a wooded area next to a guillotine he built and used to kill himself. The man was from Melvindale, Michigan and was discovered by workers from a nearby shopping center. According to Dale Covert, Allen Park Deputy Police Chief, the man built a six-foot tall guillotine that included a swinging arm. Covert said receipts found at the man's home show he built the device himself.