News In Brief

IT DIDN'T OWE US ANYTHING

Anyone else would toss a burned-out light bulb into the trash. Not Michael Atkinson. The manager of an Ipswich, England, electrical shop has put one away for safekeeping "until we can find out more about it." Why? Because the 25-watt bulb in question had burned continuously in a rest-room there for just under 70 years, which may be a record for longevity. It has an old-fashioned shape, but a manufacturer's label - if there ever was one - has disappeared. And without some proof of age, the Guinness Book of World Records won't accept Atkinson's bulb for a listing.

I RECOGNIZED IT RIGHT AWAY

The very sight of her $400 wedding dress made Linda Purdey so upset that she called the police. No, she hadn't discovered a stain on it. Rather, the garment was being worn in a southwestern England newspaper photo by a new bride, whose husband confessed to stealing it from Purdey's store. He's now awaiting a jail sentence.

Singapore is No. 1 in rating of most-globalized countries

Foreign Policy magazine is billing its ranking of the most globalized countries, compiled with the help of Chicago consulting firm A.T. Kearney, as first of its kind. The big surprise: The US didn't make the top 10, coming in at No. 12. The magazine defined globalization as "increasing levels of interdependence over vast distances." It then sought to evaluate that in four main categories: goods and services, finance, personal contact, and technology. The place that scored the best using those criteria was Singapore, followed by eight European countries and Canada. The top nations in the ranking:

1. Singapore

2. Netherlands

3. Sweden

4. Switzerland

5. Finland

6. Ireland

7. Austria

8. United Kingdom

9. Norway

10. Canada

Agence France-Presse

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