Fragrances are a popular gift choice at Christmas - but the latest edition to the market could leave you mouth-watering.



Fast food chain Burger King has released a body spray for men, called Flame.

The company has done its best to bottle the Whopper, claiming the fragrance "captures the essence of that (burger) love and gives it to you.

"Behold the scent of seduction, with a hint of flame-broiled meat."

A spokeswoman for the company's UK operations said the scent was not a gag - there was even a website, firemeetsdesire.com.


The tasty treat will not be available on this side of the pond, but it can be bought online for $3.99 (£2.58).

While there was no word on what vegetarians think about the fragrance, several customers could not be happier with their purchase.

Amanda Creek, from Virginia Beach in the US, wrote in a review of the product: "I received Flame in the mail two days ago. Yesterday I wore it to work for the first time.

"As a tattoo artist, our tip amounts vary greatly, but yesterday not one tip was less than $50!!!!! I know it had everything to do with wearing Flame - THANK YOU! "





SKY NEWS

Penguin at Edinburgh Zoo may pick up Norwegian knighthood

The King of Norway's private guard is lining up in Edinburgh to bestow a special honour on its longest serving member - a penguin.

After a decades-long military career which has seen him rise to the rank of Colonel-in-Chief, Nils Olav has learnt to take promotion in his stride.


Nils Olav, mascot of the King of Norway's private guard Photo: JAMES FRASER

But when he waddles out to inspect his troops at a special parade at the city's zoo he is expected to pick up a knighthood.

Members of the Norwegian King's Guard visit to the zoo to honour the distinguished bird every few years when they are in the city for the military tattoo.

The practice dates back to the early 1970s when a young lieutenant called Nils Egelien came up with the idea of having one of its king penguins as a regimental mascot and honorary member.

Over the years the bird has achieved repeated promotions and has been decorated for his long service.

But now the loyal penguin is in line to receive a title, with the personal approval of Norway's King Harald V.

Although guardsmen are remaining tight-lipped about what the latest gong will be, rumours of a knighthood are rife.

~~ Telegraph News ~~




Edinburgh zoo penguin and Colonel-in-Chief of the Norwegian king's guard Nils Olav inspects his regiment in Edinburgh, where he was given a medal by the Norwegian king. Photographer: David Cheskin

Cut-out cops

Cardboard cut-out policemen have proved so successful at getting speeding drivers to slow down in Romania that the project has been expanded - to include cardboard police cars.



Cardboard cut-out policemen have proved so successful at getting speeding drivers to slow down in Romania that the project has been expanded - to include cardboard police cars /CEN

Sibiu county police spokesman Radu Ionsecu said: "As the cardboard pic is a life sized photo of a real police car drivers immediately slow down when they see it.

"It works even better than the cardboard policemen because it's bigger and can be seen from further away."

He added that occasionally the cardboard cars were being replaced by the real thing to "keep drivers off the accelerator pedal".

Last year, 1,174 people died and 365 were severely injured in car crashes in Romania on national roads alone - a figure the police hope to lower after placing dozens of police car cardboards along these roads.

Teenager finds bat asleep in bra

A teenager who thought movement in her underwear was caused by her vibrating mobile phone found a bat curled up asleep in her bra.

Abbie Hawkins, 19, of Norwich, had been wearing the bra for five hours when she plucked up the courage to investigate.

When she did, she found a baby bat in padding in her 34FF bra. The hotel receptionist said she was shocked but felt bad for removing the "cuddly" bat. "It looked cosy and comfortable and I was sorry for disturbing it," she said.

She was sitting at her desk at work when she decided to investigate the strange movements in her underwear.

"I put my hand down my bra and pulled out a cuddly little bat.

"That shocked me very much at the time, but it scuttled off under the desk into the dark. I was shaking from head to toe.

"It looked quite cosy and comfortable in there so it was quite rude of me to take it out.

"When I realised it was a bat the first thing that occurred to me was how did it get in there.

"I felt quite sorry for it. Perhaps I should have left it there and given it a good home.

"I did not notice anything as I put my bra on. The night before I had had one or two drinks and I was getting ready quickly.

"The bra was in my drawer but it had been on the washing line the day before.

"When I was driving to work, I felt a slight vibration but I thought it was just my mobile phone in my jacket pocket."

The bat was captured by one of her colleagues and released.

~~ BBC News ~~

Terror theme boosts Beirut cafe

A fast-food restaurant in Beirut has adopted a terrorism theme to attract customers.

Diners at Buns and Guns eat to the sound of gunfire instead of muzak, weapons and ammunition decorate the counters, and camouflage netting hangs from the ceiling, reports the BBC.

Owner Yousef Ibrahim presents dishes like "rocket-propelled grenade" (chicken on a skewer) and "terrorist bread". Other meals include the Kalashnikov, Dragunov, Viper, B52.

"They accuse us of terrorism, so let's serve terrorist bread, why not?" Mr Ibrahim told Hezbollah's al-Manar TV.

Buns and Guns (motto: A sandwich can kill you) is located in a strongly Hezbollah-supporting area, where the group's militia is lionised by many.

"My goal was to make people laugh before they ask me why weapons. The important thing is that they laugh," Mr Ibrahim said.

He insists the only way his sandwiches could kill the customers is by their generous proportions.

"It attracts customers in an unconventional way. You noticed the moment I opened the restaurant, there was a lot of business," he added.

£95 burger launched

A fast food restaurant has launched the world's most expensive burger - a £95 gourmet special.


Burger King's new sandwich, named simply The Burger, makes Guinness World Record history by beating the American Double Truffle Burger which cost £65 in 1994.

It features the world's most succulent Japanese Wagyu beef with white truffles, onion tempura prepared in Cristal champagne and Italy's finest Pata Negra prosciutto

The burger will be served at the chain's Gloucester Road branch in West London or can be pre-ordered by phone.

Proceeds go to charity Help A London Child.

Burger King chiefs say it is aimed at people seeking "the ultimate burger taste experience".

But restaurant critics dismissed the burger as the latest stunt in a marketing craze which has seen Selfridges charge £85 for a sandwich and a Sloane Square department store ask £50 for a cup of coffee pre-digested by a Civet cat.

Aussie straps in beer, not child

A car driver in Australia has been fined for strapping down his beer rather than his young child.

Police said they were "shocked and appalled" when they pulled over the car south of Alice Springs in Australia's Northern Territory.



They said the 30-can pack of beer was strapped down between two adults in the back, with the five-year-old child unrestrained on the floor.

The driver was handed a fine of A$750 (US$709; £362).

The fine was for failing to ensure a child was wearing a seatbelt as well as driving an unregistered and uninsured vehicle.

'Blank' look

Constable Wayne Burnett said: "I haven't ever seen something like this before.

"This is the first time that the beer has taken priority over a child... The child was sitting in the lump in the centre, unrestrained."

When Constable Burnett handed over the fine he said the driver "just looked at me blankly".

"He didn't get it," Constable Burnett said.

"I asked him about the fact the child was unrestrained and the beer was, and he said he didn't know anything about it."



Superintendent Sean Parnell of Alice Springs police said the incident was a "timely reminder" to ensure "all passengers are secured".

Man complains after beer makes him drunk

A Romanian man has lodged an official complaint with the local trading standards agency after he got drunk on a single can of beer.

Iancu Boroi, 35, said he had bought the beer at a local supermarket in Arges in southern Romania but was so drunk after drinking just one can that he nearly passed out.

He said: "I am more than capable of holding my drink and it is ridiculous to think one can of beer can get me so drunk.

"There must have been something wrong with it and I am demanding compensation."

He has written to Romania's Consumer Protection Office demanding they investigate the case.