Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe Morality police halt wedding celebration DHAHRAN, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- Saudi Arabian morality police detained an Egyptian bridegroom at a shopping mall after he and his bride went there to celebrate their wedding. Advertisement The couple, who traveled from Egypt in their wedding clothes, surprised thousands of shoppers when they arrived at a complex in Dhahran in eastern Saudi Arabia, Gulf News reported Wednesday. The bride was dressed in a full-length white gown and veil. The groom, a teacher, was wearing a black wedding suit. The couple were followed by friends and a mob of curious onlookers as they strolled arm-in-arm through the shopping complex. The celebration ended when members of the Saudi Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice arrived and took the groom in for questioning. The bride was spirited out of the mall by friends. Advertisement The groom told authorities he wasn't aware of any rules banning public celebrations. The case has been submitted to the proper authorities, Gulf News said. Ohio couple get $2,400 water bill DAYTON, Ohio, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- A Dayton, Ohio, couple received a $2,400 water bill with the city claiming they used enough water in a three-month period to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool. Marc and Judith Hamilton, whose quarterly water bill for their 900-square-foot home is typically about $200, was billed for use of 630,000 gallons of water between December and March, and a plumber informed them their leaky toilet could not be responsible for the water volume increase, the Dayton Daily News reported Wednesday. The bill returned to normal after the spike in April, the Hamiltons saying they did not fix or change anything. A typical Dayton household uses 7,480 gallons of water per person per three-month period, the newspaper said. The Hamiltons live in the home with their three children. "No one knows where the water went, but they [the city] told me that's what the meter said," said Marc Hamilton, 42, a disabled veteran who needs running water for home health treatments. The couple is now enrolled in a program to pay down the bill, which Judith Hamilton says is causing a financial hardship for the family. Advertisement "The kids get no Christmas. Our money goes to the city of Dayton," she said. Treasure hunter finds 159 Roman-era coins LONDON, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- A British treasure hunter on his first outing with a metal detector said he discovered a cache of 159 Roman-era coins that could be worth $161,660. The 34-year-old man, whose name was not released, said he found the gold "solidi" coins, dating from about 1,600 years ago, while taking his newly purchased metal detector out for a test spin in some woods near St. Albans, England, The Sun reported Wednesday. The man said he took the coins back to the Berkhamstead, England, shop where he purchased the metal detector and learned they could be worth $161,660. The man will be declared the owner of the coins if they are classified as "treasure" by the British Museum. "Talk about beginner's luck. He had only been there 3 hours," the shop owner said. Philippine Catholics offered free weddings MANILA, Philippines, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- A Catholic official in the Philippines says the Catholic Church is offering free weddings along with free use of wedding rings, veils and cords. Retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz, who heads the National Appellate Matrimonial Tribunal, a Church office that handles cases of annulment of Catholic marriages, said Filipinos worried about the potential high cost of a church wedding should check with their local church and see about getting married on a day when the service is offered for free, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported Wednesday. Advertisement "In the Church, you can have weddings for free. Once or twice a month we have that. That's the norm," Cruz said after the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines released a survey indicating about half of the country's residents were turning against the idea of church weddings. "You don't have to wear white if you want the free wedding. Just don't come in swimming suits, and it's OK," Cruz said. "The veil, cord and ring can be provided by the Church. But of course, these must be returned afterward." Cruz blamed the trend of shunning church weddings on "globalization." "Globalization is not only a question of economic factors but of values systems as well. We are importing television programs, movies where people [are shown getting] married but then they separate," Cruz said. "So if there is that, why get married at all? It's pointless."
