'Emergency, is it Christmas Day?'
A confused woman has called the UK's emergency hotline on Boxing Day to ask if it was Christmas Day.
Mobile phone removed from prisoner's gut
A Kenyan death row inmate has been operated on to remove a mobile phone from his large intestine, a prison warder said.
Bugarach off! French fury at fanatics of 'alien garage' - the only place where they think world won't end in 2012
The mayor of a French village has threatened to call in the army to seal it off from an influx of New Age fanatics and UFO watchers, who are convinced it is the only place on Earth that will be spared Armageddon in 2012.
Elephant tails, bloody sheets and dried hedgehog found in traveller's bag
Surprised US Customs inspectors have found elephant tails, a dried hedgehog and chameleons in the bags of an African traveller arriving at a Washington area airport, authorities say.
Woman calls emergency line to report stolen snowman
An English woman has infuriated police after calling their emergency line to report the theft of a snowman.
Hide-and-seek: toddler gets stuck in washing machine
A Chinese toddler who climbed inside a washing machine during a game of hide-and-seek got stuck and had to be rescued by emergency workers with a power saw.
Drunk-driver who said he drank for warmth after accident let off
A man in the US has been acquitted of drunk-driving after claiming he consumed alcohol to keep warm after - but not before - he lost control of his vehicle on an icy road.
Free AK-47 with every truck: US car dealer
A US car dealership is trying to drum up business by offering an unusual perk for potential used-truck buyers: a free AK-47 assault rifle.
Transport minister gets driving ban for using phony licence plate
The Czech Republic now has a transport minister without a driving licence.
Longest snake living in captivity dies
An Ohio zoo says the longest snake living in captivity has died.
US man shoots himself while sleepwalking
Police say a Colorado man who told police he woke up to a "bang" and realised he had suffered a gunshot wound to his knee, likely shot himself while sleepwalking.
Give me my fees back, pleads debt-ridden uni student
A desperate US student who is up to his eyeballs in debt, about to become a father and has little hope of finding a job when he graduates next year, has offered to quit law school in exchange for a full tuition refund.
Sydney ghost hunter offers to investigate Kevin the randy poltergeist
Paul Tatnell For once, it's not crocodiles that are traumatising residents of the Top End ... it's randy poltergeists.
China's nine-day traffic jam stretches 100km
Thousands of vehicles are bogged down in a more than 100-kilometre traffic jam leading to Beijing that has lasted nine days and highlights China's growing road congestion woes.
Boy, 13, struck by lightning - on Friday the 13th
Friday the 13th proved suitably unlucky for one 13 year-old boy who was struck by lightning before being taken to hospital - at 13:13 on the dreaded date.
Doctors find pea sprouting in man's lung
Doctors say they have found a pea sprouting in the lung of a 75-year-old man.
Traffickers hide cocaine under rare 'guard dog' python
Italian police have seized a rare albino python in Rome in a raid on a group of drug traffickers who used the snake to guard cocaine and intimidate customers who owed them money.
McDonald's customer goes on rampage after being refused Chicken McNuggets
A US woman punched two restaurant employees and smashed a drive-through window - because she could not get Chicken McNuggets.
Drunk man grateful dog chewed off his toe
An American man says he's grateful his dog ate most of his toe while he was passed out drunk.
Tied up by a robber, woman used feet to type help message to boyfriend
A US woman who used her feet to type a computer message to her boyfriend asking for help after she was robbed and bound says she persuaded the robber not to steal her laptop.
Couple to swim 500km to North Sea with pet ducks
Two Germans have set out on an unusual summer holiday, beginning a 500km swim down a river from central Germany to the North Sea with seven pet ducks.
Store manager holds up armed robber to Jesus' values
A mobile phone store manager in South Florida dissuaded an armed man from robbing the store by telling him Jesus wouldn't approve.
Paralysed man eaten to death by maggots while his partner slept beside him
A paralysed Austrian man was eaten to death by maggots in his bed while his partner slept beside him, police said on Wednesday.
Father gets 14 years for sex with donkey
A Kenyan court sentenced a 30-year-old man on Wednesday to 14 years in jail for having sex with a donkey.
The shocking ordeal of 'The Tree Man'
Inside a dim living room in the heart of the Javanese forest, Dede Koswara blankly examines his bulky hands, which have morphed to the size of catcher's mitts.
Mystic beheads infant boy in ritual he believed would lend him supernatural powers
Police in southern India said Monday they had arrested a self-styled Muslim "fakir" for the gruesome murder of an infant boy in a ritual he believed would lend him supernatural powers.
Robber raids bank wearing fake breasts and clown pants: police
US authorities say a man robbed a bank wearing woman's blonde wig, fake breasts under a sweater and clown pants.
UK mayor apologies after trousers fall down during library visit
A lord mayor apologised on Wednesday after his trousers fell down during a visit to a local library.
UK woman spared jail over noisy sex
A British woman who made her neighbours' lives hell with noisy sex sessions with her husband has avoided jail again.
Prisoner on parole breaks back into jail
A Mozambican prisoner who had been released on parole broke back into jail after discovering he didn't like life on the outside, state media reported on Wednesday.
