Eideard

Authorities say a couple trying to beat the high cost of gasoline accidentally caused a fire that burned their apartment complex.

Fire Chief Richard Arruda says the couple had about 45 gallons of gasoline in nine plastic jugs stacked in a closet that also housed an air conditioning unit.

The gasoline fumes apparently set off a fire, which was quickly put out by a sprinkler system.

No one was seriously hurt, but residents of eight units of the complex were displaced.

How’s that go? Penny wise and…?

T-Mobile USA is suing Starbucks, accusing the coffee behemoth of a breach of contract by allowing AT&T to provide customers with free Wi-Fi access in its cafes.

In a complaint filed in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, T-Mobile says Starbucks “secretly” developed a plan with AT&T to provide Wi-Fi at its cafes, despite an exclusive partnership with T-Mobile. T-Mobile, which is seeking unspecified damages, alleges the companies broke an agreement over how Starbucks should transition the service from T-Mobile to AT&T, according to Reuters.

Sour grapes in your grande frappuchino?

Nepal’s religious authorities picked the country’s next “living goddess,” or Kumari, in a centuries-old tradition on Friday, priests and officials said, but the question now is who will appoint her as a deity.

Traditionally, the head priest of the now-deposed King Gyanendra appointed the “living goddess” but with the abolition of Nepal’s monarchy on May 29, that position no longer exists.

“We have requested the government for directives as to who should appoint Kumari now,” said Semanta Raj Chapagain, chief of the state-run Trust Corporation overseeing cultural affairs…

Religious authorities in the ancient temple town of Bhaktapur, on Friday selected a six-year-old child, Shreeya, to replace her predecessor, Sajani Shakya, who retired earlier this year, after being worshipped by devout Hindus and Buddhists for nine years as the Kumari of Bhaktapur.

Certainly, they’ll find some theocrat to offer appropriate advice. Although it does seem to be a job description in decline.

When President George W. Bush makes his final tour of European capitals next week, he can expect a less-than-fond farewell on a continent where leaders are already looking past him to his successor.

Behind the smiles and handshakes, there will be quiet relief among his European hosts who see an end to the Bush era as a chance for the next president to repair a U.S. image abroad that has been damaged by the Iraq war and other policies…

“Bush will travel in a little bubble from palace to palace,” said Joseph Cirincione, a Washington foreign policy analyst. “He’ll have welcoming ceremonies, photo ops, even some praise — and then he’ll be quickly forgotten…”

Mindful that Bush is even more unpopular across much of Europe than he is at home, the White House itself has no lofty hopes for Bush’s trip, which is expected to draw large protests in countries where anti-Bush sentiment runs highest.

No one even wants a t-shirt to remember this final tour.

Military engineers safely detonated a giant, rusting bomb from World War II discovered in London during construction work for the 2012 Olympic Games.

Major Matt Davies, of the Royal Engineers, said his team carried out a controlled explosion Friday on the 2,200-pound German bomb, which police said was the largest found in London in three decades.

It was discovered Monday by construction workers preparing a site for the 2012 Olympic Games. Davies said that if the bomb had exploded, it would have created a large crater and sent fragments flying over a half a mile away…

Thousands of bombs fell on east London during World War II and unexploded devices are found from time to time, particularly at construction sites.

There are all sorts of leftovers from bombing civilians. In any war.