A mugger who attacked a woman in Japan fled empty-handed -- and with one finger missing -- after the intended victim chomped off his pinkie.

The 59-year-old woman fought back after a man snatched her bag as she arrived at her apartment in the northern city of Sapporo, police said Tuesday.

Yellow taxis, orange ferries and now blue bikes. New York's latest transportation initiative got an official color Monday -- plus $41 million sponsorship from Citi.

The program, which envisions 10,000 bicycles and 600 docking stations, will start in July, Mayor Michael Bloomberg confirmed as he announced the sponsorship deal alongside Citi CEO Vikram Pandit and other officials.

Russians prefer their Lay's potato chips dusted in caviar and crab flavors. The Chinese like their Oreos stuffed with mango and orange cream. And in Spain, Kellogg's All-Bran cereal is served floating in hot coffee instead of cold milk.

Americans might get squeamish at the thought of their favorite snacks being tweaked. But what works in the U.S. doesn't always work everywhere.

South Korean police said Monday they would propose a new law to punish drivers watching television, following a public outcry over the death of three cyclists last week.

The current law bans drivers from watching dashboard-mounted televisions while driving, but there is no specific penalty.

Paper plane flyers from Lebanon, Czech Republic, Poland, Turkey and the United States were crowned world champions in Salzburg, Austria after defeating rivals from over 80 countries over the weekend.

Czech "pilot" Tomas Beck won the longest distance category at the Red Bull Paper Wings World Finals on Friday and Saturday with a 50.37-metre (165.25-foot) throw, while Elie Chemaly from Lebanon achieved the longest flight time with 10.68 seconds, organizers of the tournament said in a statement.

France's future first lady took to the web to tweet her joy Sunday at the election of her partner, Francois Hollande, as France's first Socialist president in nearly two decades.

"Simply proud to accompany the new president of the republic and still just as happy to share Francois's life," Valerie Trierweiler announced on the micro-blogging social network.

Spring marks the start of the "fighting season" for humans involved in Afghanistan's decade-long war -- but for birds, dogs, camels and even kites it reaches its peak.

At dawn on Friday mornings in Kabul's central park, hundreds of people converge with decorated cages full of fighting birds, including quail and roosters, as well as dogs, for a day of bloody combat by proxy.

Police were Friday hunting for a gang of Sydney street robbers who throw faeces at their victims to distract them before grabbing their money.

They have been linked to at least three crimes so far, which involved them hurling the excrement just after people withdraw money from the bank, then offering to help clean it up. While doing so, they swipe their cash.

Aeronautics fans from 70 countries are competing in Salzburg, Austria over the next two days for the coveted world title... in paper plane flying.

The lucky 249 "pilots", who were selected among 35,000 participants in some 600 qualification rounds worldwide, will face off in three disciplines: longest distance, longest airtime and aerobatics.

The National Christmas Tree is dead.

The Colorado blue spruce passed away "due to complications resulting from transplant shock" just 14 months after it was planted in the Ellipse field outside the White House, the National Park Service said Friday.