And Finally

The NYPD has been forced to fire its robot dog, the New York Times reports. Digidog, developed by Boston Dynamics, was obtained on a contract worth $94,000.

A border guard service dog has received a national honour in Turkmenistan on its inaugural new state holiday. President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has dedicated April 19th to the alabay, a symbol of national pride, Sky News reports.

A hand grenade discovered in a German forest, leading to a full-scale bomb disposal operation, has turned out to be a rubber sex toy. Police were alerted to the possible explosive after it was spotted by a woman jogging through the forest near the Bavarian city of Passau, DW reports.

A new law putting the US state of Georgia on daylight savings time all year round will reduce crime, officials have claimed. Governor Brian Kemp has signed Senate Bill 100, which provides that Georgia "shall observe daylight savings time year round as the standard time of the entire state".

A judge accused of selling judicial favours to the mafia had tens of thousands of euros stashed in his electrical sockets, Italian police have said. Judge Giuseppe De Benedictis was found to have around €60,000 (£52,000) in plastic bags stuffed behind his power switches, The Times reports

An Italian has broken the country's record for absenteeism after allegedly skipping work for 15 years. The public sector worker, dubbed the “king of absentees” by the Italian press, is reported to have accrued €538,000 (£464,000), despite not having turned up for work since 20

Wine tasters have pleaded with the French government to be vaccinated against Covid-19 as a priority. The Union of France Oenologists has written to the French prime minister to ask for wine tasters to move up the vaccination queue, The Telegraph reports.

Plans to limit the number of tourists visiting the famous Romeo and Juliet balcony in Verona have been blocked by a court. The city's mayor proposed installing turnstiles at the tiny courtyard where tourists congregate to take photos of the balcony after heightened fears of overcrowding with Covid-1

A celebrity psychic who said he lost his powers after a car accident is facing a £100,000 legal bill after a judge ruled he had been "fundamentally dishonest" in his claim for compensation. Maurice Amdur said an injury sustained in a collision six years ago left him unable to concentrate enoug

A landlord couple who refused to return a security deposit to tenants they accused of ruining the property with cigar smoke are facing a £100,000 legal bill. Nick Boakes and husband Harald Denker counter-sued after their former tenant Jonathan Hagmaier went to court for the return of the &poun

Marks & Spencer has lodged legal proceedings against Aldi over its iconic "Colin the Caterpillar" cake. The luxury retailer claims its discount rival has violated its intellectual property with its "Cuthbert the Caterpillar" cake.

A landlord who evicted tenants who he discovered had set up a cannabis grow house has admitted taking over the operation himself. John Sheahan, from Co Cork, was slapped with a two-year suspended sentence this week after pleading guilty to offences including possessing cannabis for sale or supply an

It is fortunate to be of high birth, but it is no less so to be of such character that people do not care to know whether you are or are not.

The largest rabbit in the world has been stolen from a garden in England, police have said.

French police are cracking down on secret restaurants where wealthy diners have been eating and drinking in breach of Covid-19 restrictions. The boss of one underground restaurant in Paris was arrested last week and over 110 of its guerrilla gastronomes were fined, TheLocal.fr reports.