ODD News --- China lets it snow, lets it snow, lets it snow

China took credit Tuesday for the first snowfall of the winter in Beijing, saying it fired sticks of chemicals into the sky to seed clouds in a bid to end a persistent drought.

Snow fell in the capital Tuesday morning, dusting the gabled roofs of the ancient alleyways and settling briefly, only the second "precipitation" this winter following artificially induced rain Thursday, Xinhua news agency said.

"But the rain was not enough to end the lingering drought," it added.

Zhang Qiang, deputy director of the Beijing Weather Modification Command Centre, was quoted as saying it had fired 426 cigarette-size sticks of silver iodide to seed the clouds from 28 "weather rocket launch bases" in the city.

Beijing is enduring its longest drought in 38 years, according to weather bureau records, going without rain since October 24.

ODD News --- Economic blues helps Cupid find online targets

It's crippling for businesses but the credit crisis is giving Cupid a boost ahead of Valentine's Day as more people hunt online for mates to weather the economic storm.

Unlike other companies where revenues are dropping and layoffs are climbing, online dating seems to be resistant to the recession.

Internet dating sites usually see a spike in would-be Romeos and Juliets in the build-up to Valentine's Day but hard times this year have driven it higher.

"In a tough economy, you want someone to appreciate you for who you are and not because of your jobs or material possessions," said eHarmony chief executive Greg Waldorf.

There may also be practical considerations as well, added Markus Frind, chief executive of plentyoffish.com.

"When times are tough people want to get together to share the rent (and) buy groceries together to save costs," he said.

And the ballyhooed buildup to the romantic day is always good news for online dating sites.

"The advertising and media hype surrounding Valentine's Day has put pressure on singles to look at February 14 as the day of reckoning," said Digicraft dating site expert David Evans.

The push begins after Christmas, if not Thanksgiving.

"They (singles) have gone through the wringer of family reunions where the talk eventually turns to when are you getting married and when am I going to have grandchildren," he added.

Frind said there are also more determined and driven singles trying to find someone fairly quickly. The gloomy economy may also be testing the relationships of people who are already paired off.

"In a strong economy you may not see weakness in a relationship the same you do in a tough economy because the stress of the economic environment seeps into your relationship," said eHarmony chief Waldorf.

Use of free dating sites has been skyrocketing, according to Matt Tatham, a spokesman for online measurement firm (what's that) Hitwise.com.

"Because of the economic downturn it only makes sense that there is an upsurge in free dating sites," he said. "People are less inclined to want to spend money for a pay-based site, and at the same time they may have more time on their hands if they're working less."

"People are anxious right now," Match general manager Mandy Ginsberg said. "They want to find someone with whom to weather the financial storm."

Online hunting for a date is cheaper, she said, than mate-seeking in a bar or even at Starbucks.

While more singles hunt on the web, they're choosier, she added. "People are becoming more selective about going out on a first date because of the expense." she said.

"My 99-cent dating experiment" and "5 fun (affordable!) dates" were Match's most popular articles, the company said.

ODD News --- Sex, spies and videotape

Four Taiwan civil servants filmed visiting hostess bars in neighboring China have been blackmailed into becoming spies for Beijing, the government of the self-ruled island said Thursday.

Four civil servants on trips to China were filmed in hostess lounges and then blackmailed into becoming informants for Beijing, Taiwan Justice Ministry spokesman Luo Chi-wang said. He did not say what has happened to them since being uncovered.

Another 36 conducted themselves in "inappropriate ways" with Chinese officials, he said without elaborating.

China's Taiwan Affairs Council said it did not know about the case and could not comment.

Communist-ruled China has claimed democratic Taiwan since 1949, when Mao Zedong's forces won the Chinese civil war and Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists (KMT) fled to the island. Beijing has vowed to bring Taiwan under its rule, by force if necessary.

But since China-friendly President Ma Ying-jeou took office in Taiwan last May, relations have improved quickly, increasing the frequency of high-level visits between the two sides.

Last month, a Taiwan presidential office employee was arrested on suspicion of leaking secrets to Beijing, indicating the distrust that lingers between the two old foes.

China last year has executed a businessman accused of spying for Taiwan, despite a last-ditch effort by his daughters to appeal for clemency through diplomatic channels.

The Taiwan Justice Ministry said it had sent a letter to all government departments warning them to be careful.

"There have been some cases in the past, so we wanted to send a letter giving direction," a section chief in the ministry said. "Perhaps they need to pay more attention to their own actions and be careful not to fall into traps."

ODD News --- Clerics urge Valentine's Day boycott

KHARTOUM (Sudan) - Senior Muslim clerics have urged Sudanese youngsters to boycott Valentine's Day, saying it is a Western institution that could lead couples astray.

Members of the Sudan Ulema Authority, an influential body of religious leaders, called on young men and women to ignore the event on February 14 and resist the temptation to mark it by taking romantic strolls in parks.

"Valentine's Day comes from Western countries. I call on Muslims not to imitate Christians," said preacher Sheikh Hassan Hamid in a statement released to Reuters Wednesday.

"The money that is spent on Valentine's Day would be better spent encouraging young people to marry," he added.

The lovers' holiday has become increasingly popular in recent years among students and young people in the capital, with Valentine cards available in Khartoum shops.

North Sudan's conservative culture frowns on public displays of affection between men and women -- kissing and holding hands in the street are unheard of.

But young couples can occasionally be seen sitting, a decent distance apart, in parks and some of the city's flashier fast food restaurants.

Sudan's north is almost entirely Muslim, and Islamic sharia law has been enforced there since the 1980s. However, Christians and followers of traditional African beliefs dominate the country's semi-autonomous south.

Authority member Al-Muhalab Barakat said Sudan's young people should not waste their time wandering through city parks on Valentine's Day.

"This is just part of Western culture that should not be followed in Sudan," he said in a statement seen by Reuters on Wednesday.

"Youths who go to parks with young girls up to midnight can make mistakes."

Statements from members of the Ulema Authority are respected by Muslims, but they are not legally binding.

ODD News --- Koala love story wins hearts after deadly fires

A love story between two badly burned koalas rescued from Australia's deadliest bushfires has provided some heart-warming relief after days of devastation and the loss of over 180 lives.

The story of Sam and her new boyfriend Bob emerged after volunteer firefighter Dave Tree used a mobile phone to film the rescue of the bewildered female found cowering in a burned out forest at Mirboo North, 150 km (90 miles) southeast of Melbourne.

Photos and a video of Tree, 44, approaching Sam while talking gently to her, and feeding her water from a plastic bottle as she put her burned claw in his cold, wet hand quickly hit video sharing website YouTube (www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XSPx7S4jr4), making her an Internet sensation.

But it was after reaching a wildlife shelter that Sam met and befriended Bob, who was saved by wildlife workers on Friday, two days before Sam, in Boolarra, about 180 km from Melbourne.

Tree, who has been a volunteer firefighter for 26 years, said it was extremely rare to get so close to a koala so he asked his colleague Brayden Groen, 20, to film him.

"You can how she stops and moves forward and looks at me. It was like a look saying "I can't run, I'm weak and sore, put me out of my misery,"" Tree told Reuters.

"I yelled out for some water and I sat down with her and tipped the water up. It was in my hand and she reached for the bottle then put her right claw into my left hand which was cold so it must have given her some pain relief and she just left it there. It was just amazing."

INSPIRING LOVE STORY

Sam was taken to the Southern Ash Wildlife Shelter in Rawson. Her story was reminiscent of a koala named Lucky who survived the 2003 bushfires that destroyed about 500 homes and killed four people in the capital of Canberra. Lucky became a symbol of hope.

Colleen Wood from the Southern Ash Wildlife Shelter that is caring for Sam and Bob said both koalas were doing well while other animals like possums, kangaroos, and wallabies were also starting to emerge from the debris.

She said Sam had suffered second degree burns to her paws and would take seven to eight months to recover while Bob had three burned paws with third degree burns and should be well enough to return to the bush in about four months.

"They keep putting their arms around each other and giving each other hugs. They really have made friends and it is quite beautiful to see after all this. It's been horrific," said Wood.

"Sam is probably aged between two to four going by her teeth and Bob is about four so they have a muchness with each other."

Wood said about 20 koalas had been brought into her shelter in recent days, several of whom had bonded as koalas are known to clump together, but none had garnered the same attention as the new Internet star Sam.

Tree, a volunteer with the Country Fire Authority Victoria, has visited Sam since her rescue and was delighted to see she had found a boyfriend in Bob.

"They've really taken a shine to each other as they are both burned and share the same burned smell," he said.

"My heart goes out to the people in these fires and this was so innocent so people have used this to distract them from all the sad stuff that has gone on. It gives people a bit of hope."

ODD News --- Romance blooms at the office, U.S. survey !!!

Forty percent of U.S. workers have dated an office colleague, with 31 percent of them going on to marriage, according to a survey released on Tuesday.

Ten percent work with someone they would like to date and 18 percent have dated a co-worker twice or more at some time in their careers, the office romance survey for online job website CareerBuilder.com showed.

Those eyeing a co-worker was skewed between the sexes, with 14 percent of men but just 5 percent of women saying they would like to date a colleague.

Of those who dated a co-worker in the last year, a third said it was someone with a more senior position in the company. Of those, 42 percent have dated their boss, said.

Nearly three-quarters said they did not have to keep their romance a secret but 7 percent said they had left a job due to an office romance.

The survey of 8,038 full-time adult employees was conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com between November 12 and December 1, 2008.

The overall results have a sampling error of plus or minus 1.09 percentage points, it said. CareerBuilder.com is owned by Gannett Co, Tribune Co, The McClatchy Co and Microsoft Corp.