Canada gets bitcoin ATM

Three young entrepreneurs have opened an automated teller in Vancouver, Canada, calling it the world's first ATM able to exchange the online currency bitcoins for any official currency. The machine resembles an ordinary cash ATM. However, instead of cash transactions, it swaps Canadian dollars for bitcoins, the virtual currency of the Internet invented in 2008 by an anonymous computer scientist known only by the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.

Occult scammers move online

Experts in the US are warning people to be wary of modern occult scammers who have moved online to hawk virtual voodoo dolls, revenge spells and other "haunted" items. While the idea of spending money for a magic spell - to help with an endeavor or to inflict pain on an enemy - has been around for centuries, experts say the anonymity of online transactions can encourage people who would otherwise never think of visiting a storefront psychic to fall for a con.

R&B star returns to rehab

Troubled singer Chris Brown is heading to rehab. A representative for the R&B star announced on Tuesday that Brown has decided to go to rehab to "gain focus and insight into his past and recent behavior, enabling him to continue the pursuit of his life and his career from a healthier vantage point". The announcement comes one day after he was released from jail after his arrest for allegedly punching another man in Washington, DC. The man says Brown fractured his nose after he tried to get a picture with the singer. Brown's attorney says he'll be exonerated. With the arrest, Brown faces the possibility of being in violation of his probation in California. He was sentenced to probation after his 2009 attack on then-girlfriend Rihanna.

Canine Cyrus video goes viral

A dog in the US has become an overnight celebrity after its female owner dressed it in a Halloween costume modeled after the set piece in singer Miley Cyrus' controversial music video 2. McKenna Ihde of Madison, Wisconsin, dressed her pug Tottie in a costume involving a wrecking ball suit and a Barbie, representing a nude Cyrus riding atop the ball, in a parody of the Cyrus video. Ihde entered the photo in an online costume contest, WISC-TV, Madison, reported last week. The pictures quickly spread through the Internet and were shown on national morning news shows. Tottie is vying for a $25,000 prize in the Petco contest, to be decided by votes on the store's Facebook page.

Metallica to play in Antarctica

Penguins living in the South Pole may be swapping happy feet for sore ears when veteran US heavy metal group Metallica takes to the ice next month for only the second ever concert in Antarctica. The band's founder and drummer Lars Ulrich last week confirmed the heavy metallurgists, who spawned such hits as Nothing Else Matters, The Unforgiven and Enter Sandman, will be heading south to play inside a dome near the Argentine base, Carlini, on Dec 8. The first "band" to perform in Antarctica - Nunatak - was made up of a group of climate change scientists who put on a show for an audience of 17 people in 2007.

Town avoids carnage by caramel

We've all heard of the expression "death by chocolate", but a fire at a sugar warehouse in southeastern Brazil may have led to a new catchphrase - "carnage by caramel" - had it not been for the brave efforts of firefighters. The blaze erupted on Oct 25 in the warehouse in Santa Adelia, about 370 kilometers north of Sao Paulo, triggering a flow of melted sugar that spread into the town. The caramel avalanche threatened nearby homes but no injuries were reported. About 28,000 tons of sugar were damaged in the flames, which were finally brought under control three days later by firefighters who built earthen dikes to contain the spreading caramel.

Parents track kids with app

Halloween is over for another year, but that doesn't stop parents worrying about the potential dangers their children can face trick or treating next year. Enter a new free iPhone app that can track kids and send alerts when they venture outside designated safe areas. The Track n Treat app enables children to send a time-limited link of their location via a phone number or e-mail. Parents can then track their whereabouts for the next four hours via a Web browser. Another free app, Family GPS Tracker for iPhone and Android, not only lets parents see where their children are in real-time but also sends alerts when a child strays outside of a set area.

China Daily - Agencies

(China Daily 11/03/2013 page4)