■ United States
330kph ticket raises doubts
People across the country are shaking their heads over the kid ticketed for allegedly riding his motorcycle at 330 kph, doubting he went that fast. Ever since a Minnesota Highway Patrol pilot clocked Samuel Armstrong Tilley going 400m in 4.39 seconds on Sept. 18, people in chat rooms, garages and biker bars have been buzzing about the alleged feat on scenic Highway 61 near Wabasha. David Edwards, editor-in-chief of Cycle World magazine, is among many who doubt Tilley's bike could have gone so fast. ``More likely, the cop with the stopwatch had an itchy trigger finger,'' he told the Star Tribune of Minneapolis. He said Tilley's bike would have needed an add-on turbo charger. State Patrol pilot Al Loney, a 27-year veteran, and his superiors stand by their report.
■ Germany
Social Dems trail opposition
Germany's governing Social Democrats emerged from local elections in the country's most populous state trailing well behind the conservative opposition, projections showed, but party leaders were relieved that they avoided major new losses. Sunday's vote for councils and mayors in North Rhine-Westphalia, a traditional stronghold of Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's party, was this year's last electoral test. Amid widespread anger over Schroeder's drive to trim the welfare state, his party has been battered in a string of state elections over recent months.
■ France
Raffarin wins Senate seat
Although his party suffered a setback, Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin won a seat in French Senate elections, a post that could be a useful fallback if persistent murmurs prove true that his days as government chief are numbered. Raffarin, who has consistently fared poorly in popularity polls as prime minister, won in his home district of Vienne in western France. Sunday's indirect election replenished one-third of France's 321-seat Senate and added 10 new seats as part of reforms to usher in a younger group of lawmakers.
■ Switzerland
Humongous fungus found
Swiss scientists have discovered what they believe is Europe's biggest fungus, stretching wide under an Alpine forest. The Honey Mushroom -- also known by its Latin species name Armillaria ostoyae -- was found lurking in the Engadine national park in the eastern Swiss Alps, said the Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research. Spanning 35 hectares, the fungus is believed to be 1,000 years old, the institute added. In terms of size, the Swiss fungus is beaten hands down by another Honey Mushroom growing in the US. Found in the Malheur National Forest, in eastern Oregon, that fungus covers 890 hectares -- making it the largest living organism ever discovered.
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