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Two Germans have set out on an unusual summer holiday, beginning a 500-kilometre swim down a river from central Germany to the North Sea with seven pet ducks.
Starting in the town of Kassel, 33-year-old Pia Marie Witt, 58-year-old Wilfried Arnold and their companions will swim down the Fulda and Weser rivers, hoping to reach the North Sea port of Bremerhaven by mid-September.
The pair say the journey is about self-fulfilment.
"It's our version of the pilgrimage to Santiago," Mr Arnold told German radio network Hessische Rundfunk.
Ms Witt and Mr Arnold aim to swim 10-15 kilometres per day - an order too tall for the seven runner ducks, which will swim for about 20 minutes a day, following by car or boat when exhaustion kicks in.
http://www.abc.net.a.../03/2972488.htm
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Hardcore porn was broadcast on the Indonesian parliament's internal information service, shocking journalists and bureaucrats who rely on the screens for updates on political events.
Hardcore images apparently taken from the internet filled the screens used by reporters, political staffers and visitors for about 15 minutes before security guards managed to shut it off, reporters said.
It was not clear how the images appeared on the screens but House Speaker Marzuki Alie said whoever was responsible would be punished.
"Whoever hacked the screens is insolent and will be reported to the authorities," he told reporters.
The incident is sure to embarrass president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who has recently backed calls for stricter controls on the internet following a national scandal over an online celebrity sex clip.
http://www.abc.net.a.../02/2971521.htm
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An annual lawnmower race has been cut to four hours from its usual 12 hours, becoming the latest sporting victim of recession-hit Britain.
Organisers struggled with entries for the annual race, with only 21 teams signing up - half the amount as last year.
Mark Constanduros, chairman of the British Lawn Mower Racing Association, says organisers were forced to reorganise and shorten the event.
"When we consulted all the teams, they just didn't have the money in order to do a full 12 hours this year but they wanted to do a race of some description," he said.
The event, held over a circuit measuring about 548 metres, involves different classes of modified lawnmowers: traditional with seat, buggy, and mini-tractors.
Whatever the class, the racing mowers take months of work to prepare for the event.
But it is harder for the racers to prepare themselves for the bumps along the course.
"Arms, legs, back, neck, even my nose is sore where my goggles rub, but I still keep doing it, I don't know why," racer Graham Harvey said.
The sport itself dates back to 1973 when Irishman Jim Gavin became disillusioned with the costs of motorsports and decided from his seat in the Cricketers Arms pub in Wisborough Green, West Sussex, to create a cheap, accessible form of motorsport.
Interest grew in the mid 1970s when former British racing driver Stirling Moss was attracted to the sport by the club atmosphere and fun of racing.
The first 12-hour lawnmower race was held in 1978 when the winning team included Moss and his facing driver partner Derek Bell, the five-time Le Mans winner.
Another well known enthusiast of the sport was the late actor Oliver Reed.
In more recent years the sport has gone global with racing also held in the United States, Australia, Holland, Luxemburg and Germany.
Organisers said they hoped to reinstate the 12-hour race next year.
http://www.abc.net.a.../02/2970885.htm