LOS ANGELES. Megan Fox crowned sexiest woman in the world. Actress Megan Fox (photo) was named the world?s sexiest woman on the day before by an annual online poll, while the world?s most Googled woman, Britney Spears, barely scraped in at No. 100 after a shocker of a year. Fox, 21, who starred in last year?s hit movie Transformers, grabbed the title from actress Jessica Alba, 26, topping online men?s magazine FHM Online?s (www.FHMonline.com) reader poll of the 100 Sexiest Women in the World for 2008.

CHICAGO. Praise as good as cash to brain : study. Paying people a compliment appears to activate the same reward center in the brain as paying them cash, Japanese researchers said on the day before. They said the study offers scientific support for the long-held assumption that people get a psychological boost from having a good reputation.

WASHINGTON. Papaya genome bares evolution?s secrets. Papayas have extra copies of genes that make them sweet and nutritious, researchers reported on Wednesday in a study that can help shed light on how flowering plants evolved. They published the complete genetic sequence of the SunUp papaya, a tree genetically engineered to be virus resistant.

MOSCOW. Billionaire to set up magazine for snobs. Russia?s super-rich love to flaunt their wealth. Soon they will have a magazine called Snob to help them. Mikhail Prokhorov ? whose wealth is estimated at around $22 billion ? plans to spend $150 million setting up a magazine, website and television station called Snob , the general director of the new venture said on the day before. ?It?s for people who are successful and those who want to be successful,? said Andrei Shmarov, who will run Snob. Prokhorov, 42, made his fortune in the chaotic 1990s when businessmen bought up parts of former Soviet industries for a fraction of their real value. The Forbes Rich List ranked Prokhorov as the 24th richest person in the world. He is one of the owners of Norilsk Nickel, the world?s biggest nickel producer, and Polyus Gold, Russia?s biggest gold producer.

KINSHASA. Penis theft panic hits city. Police in Congo have arrested 13 suspected sorcerers accused of using black magic to steal or shrink men?s penises after a wave of panic and attempted lynchings triggered by the alleged witchcraft. Reports of so-called penis snatching are not uncommon in West Africa, where belief in traditional religions and witchcraft remains widespread, and where ritual killings to obtain blood or body parts still occur. Rumors of penis theft began circulating last week in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo?s sprawling capital of some 8 million inhabitants. They quickly dominated radio call-in shows, with listeners advised to beware of fellow passengers in communal taxis wearing gold rings. Purported victims, 14 of whom were also detained by police, claimed that sorcerers simply touched them to make their genitals shrink or disappear, in what some residents said was an attempt to extort cash with the promise of a cure. ?You just have to be accused of that, and people come after you. We?ve had a number of attempted lynchings. ... You see them covered in marks after being beaten,? Kinshasa?s police chief, Jean-Dieudonne Oleko, told Reuters recently.