And Finally

France's notoriously heavy-handed police have been ordered to be on their best behaviour as up to 1.5 million tourists descend on Paris for the Olympic Games. Some 3,600 officers have agreed to take foreign language lessons — mostly English — to offer better assistance to visitors, The T

Police officers are facing disciplinary action after two criminal suspects allegedly "turned into cats" and escaped. The two were among 11 suspects arrested for alleged possession of stolen goods in the small South African town of Meyerton.

A woman who fell out with her then-boyfriend after a Coldplay concert has been ordered by a tribunal to repay him for the cost of her ticket. The Civil Resolution Tribunal in British Columbia, Canada rejected arguments that the $450 CAD (around €300 or £250) ticket was a gift and held it

A journalist has been ordered to pay €5,000 to Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni after mocking her height on social media. Giulia Cortese, 36, was found guilty of defamation after a 2021 post in which she described Meloni as four feet tall.

The man who attempted to assassinate Ronald Reagan in 1981 has apparently disavowed the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. John Hinckley Jr, who was released from psychiatric care in 2022, wrote in a social media post following the attack: "Violence is not the way to go. Give peace a chance."

Fake olive oil worth almost $1 million (around €914,000 or £767,000) has been seized from an alleged criminal gang in Italy. Italian police arrested seven people and raided more than a dozen garages and warehouses in the major overnight operation last week, CNN reports.

An art gallery which became embroiled in a discrimination row over a women-only exhibition space has admitted the supposed Picasso paintings displayed there were fake all along. A court ruled earlier this year that Tasmania's Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) could not lawfully bar men from its Ladie

A battle between Greek and Mayan gods has begun in the Mexican courts. Lawyers acting for indigenous Mayan groups have taken legal action seeking the removal of a 10-foot statue of Poseidon erected on a beach near Progreso, Yucatan.

A tourist threatened by a blowtorch-wielding "pirate" was unexpectedly rescued by two naked men. Nudists Pete Sferra and Lloyd Fishback were taking a clothes-free stroll through the Castro neighbourhood of San Francisco when they spotted the person they described as a "crazy kind of pirate guy".

Greek authorities have begun issuing €350,000 fines in a major crackdown on unlicensed tourist beaches. Tourist companies have been accused of effectively taking over entire public beaches by installing and renting out deckchairs and parasols at an expensive rate.

A prison in Brazil has swapped guard dogs for geese — which authorities say are cheaper and more effective. The São Pedro de Alcântara Penitentiary in Brazil's southern state of Santa Catarina recruited the nine "geese agents" late last year.

Satanists are seeking to volunteer in Florida schools under a new law which paves the way for religious chaplains to serve as school counsellors. Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis said at the time of its passage that the legislation would help to solve a staffing crisis in public schools.

Police were called to a German pub after a foreign customer inadvertently violated local custom by making 16 separate card transactions over the course of an evening. The 21-year-old Latvian customer ordered and drank 16 beers, paying for each one by card payment – which is not standard practi

A man has been jailed for four months after being found in possession of a small replica of the Master Sword from the Legend of Zelda game series.

A shop owner has been arrested and charged for giving his employees a raise. Myanmar's military regime accused Pyae Phoo Zaw, one of at least 10 arrested business owners, of inciting public unrest after news of his decision was widely shared on social media, The New York Times reports.