A local man's extravagance has shocked the nation today.

While out shopping for groceries, the man impulsively stepped into a discount haberdashery shop and bought items that were not on his shopping list.

When asked to explain his actions, the man said, "I noticed they were having an end-of-year sale, so I popped in and bought a couple of things I needed."

It is understood the man spent $10 on underpants. The colour of the underpants is not known.

Later, in a demonstration of solidarity against excess, crowds of thousands of people gathered together and watched displays of brightly coloured fireworks.

Melbourne's The Age reports on the return of the Australian army's bomb-sniffing dog, Sabi, and the local Taliban minor leader who had looked after her.

Our wonderfully humanitarian Prime Minister, who can tell the difference between a three-ring media circus and a one-ring clown show better than most, managed to get this good news story held back until he could be photographed with the dog on his visit to Afghanistan two weeks later.

The locals knew of the PM's interest, the awarding of a medal to the dog, who probably would have preferred a Meaty Bite, and that the story had been picked up by media around the world. The PM and the dog were shown together on the local news, prompting one village elder to make the comment that it "must have been a very high-ranking dog."

Well, that, or a very low-ranking Prime Minister.