Dare to bare

Milwaukee, Dec. 25 (AP): Miss December is wearing nothing but a Santa hat and a smile. Oh, and holding one strategically placed cat.

Chandra Gates, 39, decided the Humane Society of Jefferson county was a worthy enough cause for the 39-year-old to bare nearly all for a nude calendar fundraiser.

“I’m shy about the picture but definitely proud of the cause,” said Gates, an animal activist. The Humane Society is one of countless non-profit organisations around the world selling tastefully nude 2007 calendars.

A group of women aged from mid 50s to early 70s in Yorkshire, England, pioneered the idea in 2000 when they sold a calendar of discreet nude photographs of themselves to raise money for cancer research.

Drug trace

Madrid (Reuters): Traces of cocaine can be found on 94 per cent of banknotes in Spain, a country that has one of the world’s highest rates of users, according to a study published on Sunday. The 100 notes tested were collected in gyms, supermarkets and pharmacies across Spain.

Christ fear

Berlin (Reuters): A German taxi driver who shouted: “Oh, for Christ’s sake, it’s Christmas Eve!” when a robber put a gun to his head scared the thief away. The teenager opened the parked taxi’s door in the western town of Bielefeld and demanded money on Sunday evening, police said. The driver refused and jumped out, shouting for help. The two scuffled briefly before the thief fled.

Angry row

Berlin (Reuters): A 50-year-old man angered by changes in a local rail timetable protested by lying down on the tracks in front of a train in the western town of Eltville.The man at a station in Eltville began screaming loudly about changes in the schedule. He then lay down on the rails in front of the station. Police arrived about 15 minutes later and carried him off the track.