Disney tries to cash in on Seals who killed Osama bin Laden

Walt Disney withdraws an application to trademark the US navy Seals, whose members killed Osama bin Laden. And other "news you can lose".

The elite US special forces team that killed Osama bin Laden has now defeated Walt Disney.

Just hours after the unit carried out the raid in Pakistan, the Walt Disney Co filed an application to trademark "Seal Team 6" with the US Patent Office.

Now the US Navy has applied for a counter-trademark for the words "Navy Seal" and "Seal Team" that would give them exclusive use on such items as posters and clothing.

In the face of the navy move, Disney has now dropped its own application, which would have covered everything from video games to TV shows, Christmas tree decorations and sporting equipment.

A spokesman for Disney said: "Out of deference to the navy's application for these trademarks, we have withdrawn ours."

Vuvuzela etiquette 101

Blowing a vuvuzela at a sporting venue runs the risk of not just deafening your neighbours but also making them ill.

Research by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine claims that the plastic trumpets, which found fame during last year's World Cup in South Africa, can produce a shower of spittle calculated at four million droplets a second with every blast.

A team from the research institute calculated that 658,000 lung particles were expelled in every litre of air compared with 3,700 when shouting.

Ruth McNerney, who carried out the study, called for a "vuvuzela blowing etiquette" with the London Olympics in mind.

"Just as with coughs or sneezes, action should be taken to prevent disease transmission, and people with infections must be advised against blowing their vuvuzelas close to other people," she said.

PJs don't belong at school

Parents have been asked to stop wearing their pyjamas when taking their children to school.

Headteachers at 11 schools in Middlesbrough in north-east England have complained about the nightwear worn by parents for both the morning and afternoon drop-offs and pick-ups.

They have sent letters home asking them to wear "appropriate clothing". One headmaster said: "We all have the opinion that appearing at school dressed in pyjamas isn't the right way to go about things.

"It's about setting an example and having self-esteem."

Good idea. Shelve it

Japanese scientists have come up with a plan to solve the world's energy problems by building a belt of solar panels around the Moon.

According to the research department of Shimizu Corp, a belt of photovoltaic panels would be constructed and maintained by robots, with the 13,000 terrawatts of energy sent to Earth using lasers or microwaves.

The company says construction could begin by 2035, but admits the price tag would be so gigantic that "maybe this type of project could be out of range of cost considerations. We would have to find a new word for it."

Dictator in Aisle Four

A supermarket in China was asked to stay open until the early hours of the morning so that Kim Jong-il, the leader of North Korea, could buy salad dressing.

The Suguo supermarket in Yangzhou opened its doors at 4am and was greeted by the dictator asking: "Where can I find oil for a salad?" With many of his countrymen facing food shortages, exotic ingredients like olive oil are rarely seen in North Korea.

The 69-year-old "Dear Leader", who was on an official visit, left without making a purchase.