And Finally

A police dog reared from a puppy into an "absolute unit" has been retired before his first day of duty for being too "sweet-natured". Balou was eight weeks old when acquired by police in Bremerhaven, Germany, and was trained for nearly a year-and-a-half, The Times reports.

A mob boss is facing assault charges after allegedly biting off and swallowing a prison guard's finger. Giuseppe Fanara, 60, has been serving a life sentence in Sicily for nearly two decades after murdering a police officer.

A man has been slapped with a four-figure fine after stealing sand from a Sardinian beach. The man, who was not been named by the Italian island's authorities, was caught at the airport with a bottle containing around two kilograms of sand.

The family of the former Spanish dictator Francisco Franco have been ordered to return a palace in Galicia to the state. Although Franco's heirs have owned the property for more than four decades, the court of La Coruña said that the palace was donated to the state and not the fascist dictato

A tax break scheme to lure the wealthy to Italy has attracted super-rich Britons. The €100,000-a-year flat tax, which is payable on money earned abroad by anyone who changes their tax residence to Italy, has seen 784 high worth individuals make the move in the first two years, The Times reports

Police officers are facing investigation after letting an apparently drunk man walk away from a car crash without a breath test or arresting him. A video which went viral on Twitter shows what appears to be an extremely drunk man barely keeping himself upright after crashing his car into other parke

Aviation authorities have asked police to investigate reports from two pilots who said they saw a man in a jetpack above Los Angeles. The bizarre saga began when a pilot approaching Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Sunday night told the control tower that he "just passed a guy in a jetpack

Around 54 million people are being referred to prosecutors for failing to vote in recent elections in Egypt. Voting is mandatory in the north African country but only 14 per cent of voters turned out for Senate elections earlier in August.

A famous painting by Dutch Golden Age painter Frans Hals, valued at over £13 million, has been stolen for the third time in three decades. Two Laughing Boys with a Mug of Beer was stolen from a museum in Leerdam, near Utrecht in the Netherlands, earlier this week, The Guardian reports.

A group of lawyers have called on the Church of England to immediately reintroduce wine at Communion. The six barristers and QCs have written to the Archbishop of Canterbury in a row over whether the ban on wine at Communion during the COVID-19 pandemic is based on a misinterpretation of the law.

Police have had to open an investigation into themselves after a senior officer reported a theft – in her own station. Police chief Bernadette DiPino of Sarasota Police Department in Florida alleged that various items had been stolen from her handbag while she was in a meeting.

The Liechtenstein government has lodged an application with the European Court of Human Rights against the Czech Republic over a dispute regarding the sovereignty of Liechtenstein and the nationality of its citizens. Liechtenstein, an independent state since 1866, has objected to the Czech Republic'

A complaint has been filed with prosecutors after a herd of around 80 camels wreaked havoc when their owner released them into the wild. Residents of three villages in the Astrakhan region of Russia complained after the camels caused significant damage and distress following their release by 83

Thieves broke into a ninja museum in Japan this week and stole more than a million yen. The Iga-ryu Ninja museum, dedicated to the history and practices of ninja, suffered the break-in on Monday morning.

A police officer has been rescued by firefighters after getting his hands stuck in his own handcuffs. The core training sergeant for Northamptonshire's police force, Scott Renwick, admitted in a tweet that he got stuck in the broken handcuffs and had to be rescued by the local fire service.