As Christmas nears, Austrian children hoping for gifts from Santa Claus will also be watching warily for “Krampus,” his horned and hairy sidekick. In folklore, Krampus was a devil-like figure who drove away evil spirits during the Christian holiday season. Traditionally, he appeared alongside Santa around December 6, the feast of St. Nicholas, and the two are still part of festivities in many parts of central Europe. But these traditions

Body of Missing Man Found Dead in Oregon A San Francisco man who got stranded in the snowy wilderness with his family nearly two weeks ago was found dead Wednesday in a mountain creek, authorities said. James Kim’s body was discovered in Oregon’s snowy Coast Range two days after his wife and two daughters were rescued from their car, stuck on a remote road. Kim had set out on foot

Jennifer Aniston & Vince Vaughn Split Oh, wait.  I misread that.  They just split. Neither of the Break-Up stars was receiving enough publicity, explained their spokespeople.

Nasa says it has found “compelling” evidence that liquid water flowed recently on the surface of Mars. The finding adds further weight to the idea that Mars might harbour the right conditions for life. The appearance of gullies, revealed in orbital images from a Nasa probe, suggests that water could have flowed on the surface in the last few years. But some scientists think these fresh gullies could also have

From the BBC: The three main national networks, Rossiya, Channel One and NTV, all led their Thursday evening bulletins with extensive coverage of the radiation alert and reports from their London correspondents. The state TV channel Rossiya kicked off its bulletin in hard-hitting style. ”Panic in London,” observed its presenter. “British special services are monitoring five aircraft that may have traces of deadly polonium-210.” Later in the bulletin, the same

A Norwegian appeals court has ruled that striptease is an art form and should therefore be exempt from value-added tax (VAT). The owners of the Diamond Go Go Bar in Oslo had refused to pay VAT of 25% on entry fees as tax authorities demanded. The local authority had taken the club to court over its refusal to pay tax. Lawyers for the club’s owners argued that striptease dancers were