A sculptor in England has been so humiliated after his latest opus intended to depict Saddam Hussein's wife had been mistaken for trash. Graham Hudson contemporary sculpture, a collage of oil drum, cable wheels, cardboard boxes, paint and adhesive tape is fast becoming a subject of ridicule among passers-by in Holland Park who have mistaken the work of art for rubbish.

A local convenience store was hit by two robberies in the same night, with the same clerk on duty during both incidents. Tommy Gutierrez behind the counter, was victimized twice when separate robbers barged into the Shell Station on Monroe NW between 9:45 p. m. and midnight Sunday.

The popular Internet classifieds site Craigslist was allegedly used by a woman to hire a hit man to kill a romantic rival. Police claim Ann Marie Linscott advertised she would pay $5,000 to have killed the wife of a Calif. man she was having an affair. Although the want-ad listed only a "freelance" job offer, those who answered the Craigslist posting were offered $5,000, plus the name and the address of the woman Linscott allegedly wanted "eradicated. " California police are now seeking the woman's extradition.

A talkative parrot who was never lost for words, lost his will to talk after straying in the wilds of Cambridgeshire for four days. According to his owner Cedric Tunnell, 66, Harley, an African Grey, loves to call them "Mom" and "Dad", could recite his telephone number and was constantly talking all of the time.

A farmer's wife from County Durham is claiming to be in the possession of a 77-year-old Electrolux that is widely believed to be the oldest functioning refrigerator in existence in Britain. Maureen Mace, 60, of Esh, County Durham said she bought the secondhand 4-foot fridge for $14 in 1969, although it has a manufacturer's stamp stating it was made in 1931.