The investigation in poisoned letters mailed to American politicians turns into a sideshow;  A guilty verdict in the trial of an ex-cop accused of scamming millions over terror fears;  And sad Pandas need comforting.  Around the world, I search for News…

American authorities released an Elvis Presley impersonator who they had previously arrested for mailing Ricin-poisoned letters to politicians. Paul Kevin Curtis of Mississippi held a zany news conference upon getting sprung, in which he discussed foot massages and a dog named “moo cow”.  And a fish.

Feds are now investigating another man in the Ricin case:  Everett Dutschke, failed conservative politician, charged in a child molestation case, and who was also involved in a long-running Internet feud with the initial suspect.  One of the recipients of the Ricin letters is a judge who is the mother of the man who defeated Dutschke in the 2007 campaign.

Ex-cop and British millionaire James McCormick has been found guilty of selling fake bomb detectors to countries that really, really need actual bomb detectors, such as Iraq.  McCormick charged up A$40 thousand dollars each for his bogus devices, which were copied from $20 novelty golf ball detectors he got from the US.  An Iraqi woman who was maimed by a bomb that went undetected by one of McCormick’s devices told the Old Bailey that the defendant is “morally bankrupt”.  He faces sentencing in May.

A car bomb went off outside the French Embassy in Tripoli, wounding two French Guards and several residents.  It’s the first major attack on a foreign embassy in the Libyan capital since the fall of Moammar Ghadafi.

North Korea has burned a lot of bridges lately, but it still needs food aid.  So, Pyongyang is asking Mongolia for a helping hand, which initially responded by putting the plea on the official website of the Mongolian president, who stated he wished to share in North Korea’s future economic reform.

Bloggers in China would love to know about one official's tan lines.  Fan Jiyue is the Communist Party chief of Lushan county where the big earthquake struck, killing scores of people, injuries hundreds more and leaving thousands homeless.  But when he appeared at relief efforts, he had a big white spot where his watch ought to have been.  That led to rampant speculation that Fan had hidden a luxurious timepiece, possibly a A$31 Thousand Vacheron Constantin; a watch that would be way beyond the means of ordinary Chinese.  Too specific?  Far fetched?  Several officials are under intense criticism for sporting high-priced bling at a time when there's growing concerned over income disparities in the supposedly Communist nation.

When that magnitude 6.6 earthquake hit southwestern China, it scared the Pandas in the nearby Bifengxia Giant Panda Reserve.  One fellow was caught on video trying to scoot up a tree to escape the shaking.  The director said handlers would spend more quality time with their big fuzzy buddies to soothe their frazzled nerves.