News of the weird

Unskilled labour: The Kingdom of Swaziland has advertised for a hangman - no qualifications needed. "We used to use a rotational hangman that we shared with Botswana and Lesotho, but now we want to have our own," Chief Maweni Simelane, the Minister of Justice, told Reuters. The last hanging in Swaziland was in 1984, but there are now eight convicts on death row.

Evil Empire: Baron Deacon, an ordained exorcist, attempted earlier this week to drive out the "dragons and serpents" from the US Congress. After the exorcism ritual, however, he admitted that he had been unable to rid the building of its evil spirits.

Safe and sound: The mayor of West Haven, Connecticut has given orders for a flashing sign on the beach to be turned off because its generator was making too much noise. The sign had been put up to warn people on the beach to be quiet. Mayor Richard Borer Jr said they hope to connect it to a quieter power source.