Odd News Roundup: Australian's fight with a spider sparks police call; Thieves use mechanical diggers to tear open security van

Following is a summary of current odd news briefs.

Thieves use mechanical diggers to tear open Italian security van

Thieves used mechanical diggers on Wednesday to prise open an armored van on a highway in southern Italy and made off with more than 2 million euros ($2.3 million) in cash, police said. The blue security van had left the city of Bari and was carrying pensions to be distributed in post offices in nearby Matera when it was blocked on the road by two lorries.

'Why don't you die?': Australian's fight with a spider sparks police call

An Australian man triggered an emergency police response after a noisy exchange with a spider startled a passerby into reporting what sounded like a violent disturbance to the authorities, media reported. A neighbour was walking past a house in the west coast city of Perth on Wednesday when they heard a man repeatedly yelling "why don't you die?" and a toddler screaming. The neighbour then called the police emergency number, according to media reports.

(With inputs from agencies.)