Free Republic

Five Iranians have been arrested after allegedly posing as police officers in order to rob motorists in northern Italy. ... The band of thieves allegedly set up fake control points at motorway service stations, where they would walk away with tourists' documents and money under the pretext of checking their authenticity.

Garlic may be the best weapon against a type of bacteria responsible for millions of cases of food poisoning in the United States every year, according to a new study. Researchers from Washington State University discovered that a compound found in garlic was 100 times more effective than antibiotics at killing Campylobacter, most common cause of food-borne bacterial illness in the United States. The compound, diallyl sulphide, which is responsible for the garlic smell that sticks to your hands when you cook, worked better and faster than the common antibiotic treatments for Campylobacter, erythromycin and ciprofloxacin. Eating massive quantities of...

Once, it was thought of as the gangster movie to end all gangster movies. Before he played Don Corleone, Marlon Brando had been all but written off after several flops. But of course that's exactly what "The Godfather," which opened in New Jersey 40 years ago this Saturday, was not. Instead, it was the gangster movie that began all gangster movies, at least as we know them now: not just its own sequels, "The Godfather: Part II" and "The Godfather: Part III," but also "Goodfellas," "Donnie Brasco," "Analyze This," "Scarface," "The Freshman," "Prizzi's Honor" and "Married to the Mob," not...

Rags to riches tale of kitty who went from living on the streets to lap of luxury once down-on-his-luck stray cat has become the world’s richest kitty — thanks to a childless widow who left him $8.5 million in her will. Tommaso the black cat, who once scoured the streets of Rome for food, can now afford a gilded litter box with the inheritance. In a handwritten will penned shortly before her death last month, Maria Assunta, 94, ordered that the money from her real estate empire should keep the green-eyed feline she rescued in the lap of luxury. Animals...

An 82-year-old Italian man who took a Viagra pill scared his wife so much she called the police. Giovanni di Stefano, from Palermo, was so excited his wife thought he would have a heart attack and dialled 999. "The police didn't do anything but their presence had the desired effect. He lost interest in his love life pretty quickly," said a family friend. Terrified wife Carla, 69, told police: "He is 82-years-old and so I thought so much love could have lethal consequences."