And Finally

An absurd €19,000 insurance quote obtained by a teenager for a 14-year-old car has been decried as an "outrageous" tax on rural Ireland. Leitrem councillor Padraig Fallon told The Irish Times that an 18-year-old approached him to say he had been quoted €18,693.95 - including a €100 di

Music star Shakira is facing prosecution in Spain for allegedly avoiding €14.5 million in taxes between 2012 and 2014. The singer - made famous in Europe by her record-breaking hit "Hips Don't Lie" - allegedly used 14 shell companies to hide income while a Spanish resident.

Furious parents branded a Christmas grotto Santa Claus a "disgrace" after he ripped off his beard and swore at children. According to reports, the angry St Nick lost his temper after the fire alarm was triggered by a children's rave in the same building.

A developer who tore down a historic San Francisco house has been ordered to build an exact replica - and install a plaque outside explaining what happened. Property speculators have made a game out of tearing down historically protected homes, then retroactively applying for demolition permits, and

Neil Young has claimed victory in his pro-climate campaign against Barclaycard, who were due to sponsor his London concert with Bob Dylan. The music legend announced that the Hyde Park concert would go ahead next summer as an independent event, without backing from promoter British Summer Time (BST)

A comedian refused to perform at a charity gig on campus after being asked to sign a contract stipulating topics he was prohibited from making offensive jokes on, including race, sex and sexual orientation. Konstantin Kisin was presented with the "behavioural agreement form" alongside an invitation

A Chinese company has been criticised for allegedly fining employees who don't walk 180,000 steps per month. The unnamed real estate firm in Guangzhou fines employees 0.01 yuan (around 0.1p) for every step short of the target.

An angler who trembled like jelly as he reeled in a 5st carp claims he was cheated of a new British record after judges decided his catch didn't count because it was already too big when it was imported. Vinny Parker, 54, said he was "shaking like jelly" when he caught the 31.7kg fish, known as Capt

Dozens of pairs of designer trainers seized from a convicted gangster are set to be auctioned to raise money for fighting crime. A total of 55 pairs of trainers, together worth almost £20,000, were seized from Isaiah Hanson-Frost, 22, after his arrest.

A woman has been charged with theft – for allegedly stealing a yoghurt drink from her roommate. The unnamed suspect, who shares a house with five other women, was identified with a DNA test as being the thief.

A church in the Netherlands has held a continuous prayer service for more than a month – in aid of a refugee family facing imminent deportation – as police are unable to raid places of worship under Dutch law. The Armenian family had its asylum requested dismissed on appeal after it was

A town council has scrapped its long-standing ban on snowball fights after a sustained campaign by a local nine-year-old. Dane Best, who lives in Severance, a small town in the US state of Colorado, found out about the obscure, largely unenforced law during a school trip to town hall.

Public authorities have intervened to prevent a French couple from naming their baby boy Griezmann Mbappe after France's two World Cup winners. The couple have been referred to the French public prosecutor, according to the mayor of Brive-la-Gaillarde, a small town in southwest France.

Three US police officers are facing criminal charges for allegedly beating up a protester who turned out to be an undercover cop. Dustin Boone, 35, Randy Hayes, 31, and Christopher Myers, 27, are accused of beating a 22-year-old black police officer so badly that he couldn't eat and lost around nine

A man who had a heart attack after reading a false missile alert has taken legal action. James Sean Shields claimed the warning was a factor contributing to his medical emergency, while his girlfriend, Brenda Reichel, joined the suit on the basis she suffered emotional upset.