Basketball coach Ron Hunter of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) went barefoot during a game and he did not expect the overwhelming support he obtained for an advocacy that intends to give pairs of shoes to thousands of African children. "When we started this I thought 40,000 was going to be tough," Hunter told the Indianapolis Star. "When they told me before the game we already had 100,000, honestly, I almost broke down in tears. "

A dentist in London has come up with a novel idea of helping save his patients the time and extra effort in coming to his clinic by giving them online check-ups over the internet. His new method, says Jerry Watson, involves examining his patients' teeth via webcam, advising them whether they have to see him personally or not.

Authorities in a Romanian church carved entirely out of ice has ordered a ban on candles from its parishioners to keep the structure from melting. The 200-foot church located in the picturesque Carpathian Mountains overlooking the Balea Lake had been fully-booked wedding and baptism ceremonies that candles have been burning almost non-stop damaging the church interior.

The world's first playable ice piano has been unveiled at the 20th International Snow-Sculpture Art Expo in Harbin city. According to local reports, the ice piano, which was designed and built by a local landscaping company, can automatically play more than 30 classic piano pieces.

Olympic organizers in Beijing have announced that there are 132 official reception hotels for this summer's games. The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games said there are 120 contracted hotels for the event providing 30,000 rooms for the duration of the games. The organizers said some 38 are five-star hotels, 45 are four-star, 22 are three-star and 15 are not yet star-rated. The average room rate for a double room in a five-star hotel in Beijing is $383 and $295 is charged on average in a four-star hotel.