Red Bull pulled in Germany after cocaine found

Published 9:04 pm Monday, May 25, 2009

BERLIN — Six German states have told retailers to stop selling Red Bull Cola energy drinks after a test found a trace amount of cocaine.

The bans started Friday after a sample test conducted by authorities in North Rhine-Westphalia state found 0.4 micrograms per liter in the drink.

Five other states also banned it from shops amid concerns over possible narcotics law violations.

Red Bull said its cola is “harmless and marketable in both the U.S. and Europe.” It said similar coca leaf extracts are used worldwide as flavoring, and a test it commissioned itself found no cocaine traces.

Toddler goes online to buy earthmover

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A New Zealand mom made some online bids on toys before napping. Then her 3-year-old daughter took over and bought a bigger plaything than expected — a huge earth-moving digger for a cool $12,300.

Pipi Quinland made the winning 20,000 New Zealand dollar ($12,300) bid on the Kobelco digger with a few mouse clicks at the auction site TradeMe while her parents slept.

Quinlan said she had made auction bids on several toy sets and assumed she had bought a toy digger. “It wasn’t until I went back and reread the e-mails that I saw $20,000 — and got the shock of my life,” she said.

Associated Press