Maria Sharapova To Legally Change Her Name To "Maria Sugarpova"

Maria Sharapova plans to change her surname to ‘Sugarpova’ for the duration of the upcoming tennis Grand Slam, the US Open.

Former world number one Sharapova, the current richest female athlete in the world, has lodged an enquiry with the Supreme Court of Florida over a ‘quickie’ name change, which would then be changed back after the tournament concludes.

The idea, a publicity stunt for her outside business venture of branded candy, will reportedly also involve her sporting the ‘Sugarpova’ emblem – a striking pair of red lips – on her attire at Flushing Meadows.

The quite bizarre marketing move by Sharapova and her management company IMG looks likely to go ahead, too: there are no apparent legal barriers standing in her way.

Nonetheless, even with legal blessing she would likely also need the permission of the Grand Slam committee in order to see the thing all the way through, which would mean having stadium announcers, the umpire and even the scorecards address her as ‘Miss Sugarpova’ or ‘M. Sugarpova’.

Sharapova founded the company with her own money and it is estimated that 1.8 million bags of the sweets – which come with labels such as ‘flirty’, ‘sassy’ and ‘smitten’ – were sold worldwide last year.

The 2013 US Open begins on Monday and runs until September 9. Sharapova won the Grand Slam in 2006.

Wife SAWS Off Her Cheating Husband's Penis After Catching Him In Bed With Another Man

A woman has reportedly sawn off her husband's penis with a bread knife after catching him cheating on her with another man.

The Brazilian man and his penis were rushed to hospital but the organ could not be saved. The woman is believed to have waited several days before exacting revenge on her 28-year-old husband, who did not know she had found him in bed with a man at their home in Santos, southeast Brazil.

Then on Wednesday night she suggested the couple play out a sexual fantasy in which she would tie him up on the bed, which he readily agreed to, friends of the woman told Brazil's Globo G1 website.

But when he was completely immobilised, she took a bread knife from the kitchen and began to saw. The man was rushed to hospital, where doctors on Friday described his condition as stable.

But his penis "was not in a condition" to be transplanted, and he will probably have to use a catheter for the rest of his life, they said.

40 Pythons Found In Canadian Hotel Room

Little more than a week after a giant python crushed two young Canadian boys to death, police have recovered 40 of the snakes from a hotel room.

The reptiles were found in several plastic storage bins on Thursday night in a room in Brantford, Ontario, where a couple who had been evicted from their home were staying, police said in a statement.

Officers have opened a probe into the incident but they did not say where the couple were at the time or whether the pair would be charged with breaking local laws that prohibit owning pythons.

The snakes, which ranged in length from 30 centimetres to 1.4 metres, were in poor health and have been taken in by the Canadian Society for the Protection of Animals, where a veterinarian is monitoring them.

The find comes 11 days after Connor and Noah Barthe, aged six and four respectively, died in the eastern town of Campbellton, New Brunswick when an African python escaped from its terrarium and killed them.

The boys had been enjoying a sleepover with a friend, whose father’s private menagerie of exotic animals included the python.

Animal experts expressed astonishment at the tragedy, many of them noting that, while an African rock python is a dangerous animal capable of killing large prey, it would not normally attack humans.

The initial police investigation found that the snake probably managed to break out of its terrarium and then nosed through a ventilation duct which led into the boys’ bedroom.

Sham Marriage Exposed After Groom Turns Up With Three Different Brides

A man who attempted to set up a sham marriage to stay in the UK was caught by officials after his 'partner' failed to remember his name when booking the wedding and was then replaced by a different bride on the big day.

Chinedu Amadi, from Nigeria, had already raised suspicions among staff at Leicester register office when he struggled to remember his own address. His Hungarian bride also appeared to suffer a temporary blip in her memory as she failed to recall her future husband's name.

The fears of registrar Debra Webster were confirmed three months later when Amadi, 27, arrived for his wedding in January not only an hour late, but with a different woman. After being turned away, he returned to the same register office again – on Valentine's day. This time he was accompanied by a third woman, Hungarian Szilvia Basco-Porkolab, 38.

Despite his attempts to claim his bride only looked different because she had previously worn a wig, investigations by immigration officials revealed Amadi had paid a 'fixer' £5,000 to arrange a sham wedding to an EU national.

Authorities also found Basco-Porkolab had a mystery of participating in sham marriages, while the first bride was uncovered as Rubin Durgos, 39, of Coalville, Leicestershire.

All three brides along with Amadi were jailed on Thursday at Leicester Crown Court. Neil Bannister, prosecuting, told the court: "The offences came to light with the intended marriage, initially, between Durgos and Amadi.

"Durgos struggled to pronounce the first name of Amadi and he struggled to remember his address.

"Mrs Webster also thought the couple were being excessively affectionate and gained the impression they were trying too hard to demonstrate they were a couple."

Basco-Porkolab admitted two counts of conspiracy to breach immigration laws relating to sham marriages and was jailed for 34 months. Amadi and Durgos, admitting similar counts, were both jailed for 20 months.

Michael Jackson Glove: US Fights Dictator's Son

The US government is embroiled in a legal battle to stop a gem-encrusted glove worn by Michael Jackson falling into the hands of an African dictator's son.

The late singer's glove was bought with dirty money by Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo's son Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, the US claims.

The latest hearing in the 28-month-old case - "United States of America v One White Crystal-Covered ‘Bad Tour’ Glove and Other Michael Jackson Memorabilia" - will be heard in a Los Angeles courtroom on Monday.

In April 2011, US authorities seized assets worth some $71m (£45m) from Obiang Jr, who owns a collection of Rolls-Royces, Bentleys, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, a $38m (£25m) private jet, and a $30m (£20m) mansion in Malibu, California.

More than 70% of Equatorial Guinea’s population lives in poverty, but President Obiang and his cohorts have amassed huge fortunes through corruption, the US claims.

According to Washington's lawsuit, Obiang Jr, who was appointed forestry minister by his father, has "amassed over $300m in net worth, all while earning an income of less than $100,000 per year as an unelected public official appointed by his father."

Obiang Jr, 42, who first moved to America in 1991, is alleged to have laundered stolen public funds in banks across the globe.

Three years ago, the aspiring rap music mogul bought a number of items from Michael Jackson's estate, including the glove.

Last year, the French government seized a £68m mansion in Paris belonging to Obiang Jr, where they found millions more in luxury goods and cars, according to The Independent.

However, in April 2012, a California judge threw out the US government’s case, saying it had failed to prove that Obiang Jr had amassed his fortune by illegal means in Equatorial Guinea, where he had never been charged with any crime.

The US has now been allowed to file an amended version of its complaint.

Obiang Jr’s lawyers argued in a brief filed last month that the US still has no grounds to retain his pop souvenirs.

“The government still has not identified a single victim of extortion or bribery,” the papers said.

“In short, all that the government has is evidence that [the] Claimant spent money. Where the money came from is a matter of pure speculation.”

The Thriller singer died in Los Angeles in 2009 from an overdose of the surgical anaesthetic propofol.

Bank Robbers Dump Their Swag Bag Full Of Cash In The Street After Crashing Their Getaway Car

Bank robbers left a bag full of cash in the middle of the road after their getaway car was involved in a violent crash.

The drama unfolded in Sale, Greater Manchester, when a man carrying cash into a bank was approached by two suspects wearing balaclavas. The alleged offenders then held a knife to the man's throat before stealing the money and getting into a Red Honda Accord and driving off.

The Accord had been involved in a collision with a silver BMW leaving both vehicles badly damaged. A 21 year-old man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of robbery.

He remains in custody for questioning.

A second man, also in the car, is believed to have fled the scene. The occupants of the silver BMW are said to have suffered minor injuries. Part of the road was closed off whilst crime scene investigators combed the streets for evidence.

They recovered the bag of cash as well as other items from the car.

Verification: Edo Teacher Can't Read Own Certificate

                                  Watch video here:

IT was drama, Tuesday, at the venue of the verification of certificates of primary school teachers in Edo State, as a teacher in Asologun Primary School, Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area of the state, Mrs. Augusta Odemwinge could not read a sworn affidavit she purportedly tendered as part of her credentials.

The state governor, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, who paid an unscheduled visit to the state Staff Training Centre, venue of the exercise, said “if you can’t read, what do you teach the pupils, what do you write on the board?”

Chairman of the state Nigeria Union of Teachers, Mr. Patrick Ikosimi, who was also at the screening to monitor the exercise, said that the woman’s failure was “an embarrassment.”

On arrival at the centre, the governor took time to peruse some of the teacher’s credentials and documents presented.

When Mrs. Odenwingie took her turn during the exercise, the governor, who listened to her defence, asked her to read the affidavit she presented, but she stuttered, to the consternation of everybody around.

Ikosimi, who described Mrs. Odemwingie’s failure to read a document she presented as an embarrassment, said the union was in tune with the state government on the need to sanitise the school system.

He said: “We are committed to partnering the government to reposition education in the state. What this teacher has just displayed is a show of shame; it shows the decadence in the education sector.

“As the chairman of NUT, I had written to the governor that we are in total support of what he is doing.

“He should properly involve the NUT, so that together we can fish out the culprits, who are not viable as far as the system is concerned,” he said.