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Police officers in the UAE called in a Muslim cleric to tackle a mysterious case of a 'cursed' melon that washed up on the beach. The fruit, which had been impaled with pins and nails and had inscriptions carved over it, scared locals when it was spotted on the Al Khan beach in the city of Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates. Local police officers decided to call in a Muslim cleric to cleanse the supposedly voodooed melon.

That's a big one.

TOKYO — A black jumbo watermelon auctioned in northern Japan fetched a record $6,100 Friday, making it the most expensive watermelon ever sold in the country — and possibly the world. The 17-pound premium Densuke watermelon, one of only 65 from the first harvest of the season, was purchased by a marine products dealer who said he wanted to support local agriculture, according to Kyodo News agency. The fruit is grown only on the northern island of Hokkaido. In a country where melons are a luxury item commonly given as gifts, the watermelon's hefty price tag follows another jaw-dropping auction...

Researchers find 2,100 year-old melon By KOZO MIZOGUCHI, Associated Press Writer Fri Jun 1, 5:28 PM ET TOKYO - Archaeologists digging in western Japan have excavated what they believe to be the oldest remains of a melon ever found, an official said Friday. ADVERTISEMENT Based on a radiocarbon analysis, researchers estimate the half-rounded piece of fruit to be about 2,100 years old, said Shuji Yamazaki, a local official in the city of Moriyama. The remains are believed to be the oldest of a melon that still has flesh on the rind, Yamazaki said. Previously, the oldest such find was believed...

Indian policeman stand gaurd outside of the Durgiana Temple in Amritsar. Indian police shot dead an Islamic militant suspected of links to a triple bombing that killed 23 people in Hinduism's holy city of Varanasi and sparked a nationwide alert.(AFP/Marinder Nanu)