■ Russia
Drinking champ dies
Alexander Nakonechny triumphed at a vodka drinking marathon in Russia after guzzling three half-liter mugs of vodka in quick succession, but failed to collect his prize after dying on the spot. The weekend contest in the southwestern city of Volgodonsk also left four other male contestants fighting for their lives at the local hospital. Nakonechny's feat of winning the contest -- which earned him a prize of 10 bottles of vodka -- should have been cause for celebration. But prosecutors in Volgodonsk have slapped charges of causing death through negligence on the organizers of the drinking competition, who face
up to three years in jail if convicted.
■ United States
Time lists newsmakers
Major players in the Iraq war dominated the shortlist for Time magazine's Person of the Year award and film-star-turned-governor Arnold Schwarzenegger also made the cut, Time said. With most of the year's headlines about Iraq, President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, his deputy Paul Wolfowitz, Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice are all under consideration. Schwarzenegger is vying with them after an unprecedented election that recalled California Governor Gray Davis. The winner will appear on the cover of Time's Dec. 22 issue.
■ United States
Lewinsky's dating woes
Monica Lewinsky says her White House liaison is a liability on the dating scene. The intern infamous for her affair with former US president Bill Clinton said in next month's issue of GQ magazine that she dates occasionally but her romantic relationships have been short-lived. Lewinsky, 30, said, "If I were a guy and I'd heard all those things about a girl, I don't know that I'd want to take her out ... the one thing I don't do well with, with a guy, is ambivalence. I want to shake them and say, `C'mon, just like me! Do what I say!'"
■ United States
Elderly fish honored
Rome may be the Eternal City, but San Francisco could be home to an eternal fish. On Tuesday, aquarium officials at the Steinhart Aquarium honored an Australian lungfish, Methuselah, who arrived at the aquarium in 1938 as a fully grown adult. That makes it at least 65 years old. Aquarium officials had said Methuselah was the oldest fish in captivity, but learned they were mistaken on Wednesday. The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago has a lungfish, Granddad, that arrived as an adult in 1933. An eel-like fish with large scales, the Australian lungfish is rare even in its native waters. Methuselah, who is one meter long and weighs about 18kg, is known for its sly grin.
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