Minister rush

Vienna, Dec. 22 (Reuters): Slovakia?s economics minister could be barred from driving in neighbouring Austria after Austrian police fined him for speeding on a motorway, police said on Monday.

The car driven by Pavol Rusko was clocked by police going 220 kmph, well over the 130-kmph limit near the central Austrian city of Linz at midnight on Friday. ?He passed a police car... at much faster than the legal speed and the unit followed him, registering a top speed of 220 kmph,? police said.

The minister was given an on-the-spot fine of 700 euros ($935) and could end up paying a heavier penalty as well as possibly being banned from driving in Austria by a traffic court.

Guilt pangs

Geneva (Reuters): Christmas gift buyers should avoid coral jewellery, crocodile skin and Beluga caviar if they want to enjoy a guilt-free holiday season, the nature protection group WWF said on Tuesday. The Swiss-based body, the World Wide Fund for Nature, included the three on a list of 10 items whose commercial exploitation was endangering animal and plant species already threatened with extinction. Well-wishers imbued with the Santa Claus spirit should also avoid buying tiger products or tigers for pets, it said.

Taxi game

London (Reuters): A former taxi driver who spent her shifts thinking about a board game where players drive the streets of London has found her invention is now one of the top-selling toys at Hamley?s, beating out Monopoly and Twister. Rachel Lowe, 27, invented Destination London, a game where competitors use cabs as pieces and win by making the most fare money during a shift, when she drove cabs as she studied her law degree in Portsmouth in 2001. ?I used to look forward to a driving shift ? every time I went out, I came up with a new idea,? she said.