Etc...

APPEARANCES ARE DECEIVING

In Vilnius, Lithuania, hundreds of extra police have been stationed around the city since the new academic year opened last month. Reason: to try to intimidate the Baltic state's notorious fast drivers into slowing down in school zones. But if the plan doesn't work, there aren't likely to be any arrests. That's because the cops are only propped-up cardboard cutouts whose "uniforms" are painted the same turquoise-green as those worn by real officers. In appreciation of the protection offered by the faux fuzz, pupils are returning the favor. It's their job to collect and store them inside the schools for the night. The same idea was tried in neighboring Denmark in the 1980s, but the cutouts became popular as souvenirs and soon disappeared from the streets.

All parties in Norway profess to be happy about the trade of pro soccer player Kenneth Kristensen from Vindbjart to Floey, two minor-league teams. So whom did Vindbjart get in return? No one, actually. Floey agreed to ship to its rival ... Kristensen's weight in shrimp.

What do Bono, social activist and lead singer of the rock band U2, and Simon Fuller, the tart-tongued judge on the TV show "American Idol" have in common? They're among the most powerful people in the music industry, according to a list compiled by the British music magazine "Q." The magazine's 10 biggest names in the music biz:

1. Bono, of the Irish band U2
2. Doug Morris, chairman, Universal Music Group (a subsidiary of Vivendi Universal)
3. Eminem, rap singer
4. L. Lowry Mays, chairman, Clear Channel Communications
5. Kurt Cobain (deceased), of grunge band Nirvana
6. Thom Yorke, of band Radiohead
7. Lyor Cohen, president, Island Def Jam Group (Vivendi)
8. Clive Calder, chairman, Zomba Records Ltd.
9. Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono, Apple Corps. Ltd.
10. Simon Fuller, ex-manager of the Spice Girls
– Associated Press