News of the weird

Kissed off: Roberta and Mark Griswold of Michigan won a kissing contest at the Harley-Davidson Cafe in Manhattan last week, outlasting the eight other finalists with a lip-locking marathon of 29 hours. Mark Griswold attributed the secret of their success to "comfortable underwear". Couples had to remain standing throughout the contest, with their lips in contact. The contest was sponsored by Breath Savers mints.

Alimony acrimony: A Supreme Court judge in Jerusalem has ordered the release of a woman aged 62 who had been jailed for refusing to accept her husband's terms for a divorce. A religious court had sentenced the woman to two weeks in prison when she would not sign an agreement drawn up by her husband. She had insisted that he provide her with a pension and alimony - an action the judge described as "impertinence".

Fatal spell: A factory worker, Juan Escobar, 42, has appeared in court in New York accused of stabbing Lidio Canales to death with a hunting knife. Escobar told police he thought Canales, a cook, had seduced his wife with black magic and put a spell on him that was causing bad luck.