And Finally

Pope Leo XIV has said he vetoed a proposal for the creation of an AI-powered virtual Pope because of its impact on "human dignity". The bizarre idea has been brought to light in a new biography by journalist Elise Ann Allen, which is out now in Spanish and to be published in English next year.

A law firm is suing Disney in a bid to use Mickey Mouse in its TV adverts. Florida-headquartered personal injury firm Morgan & Morgan has created a black-and-white animated advert based on Mickey's first cartoon, Steamboat Willie.

A group of virtual celebrities has won a libel case brought against an internet user who insulted their digital avatars. South Korea has seen a boom in the popularity of so-called "virtual idols", whose real identities and appearances are unknown as they interact with the public purely through a dig

Two men have been imprisoned in Zambia for attempting to use witchcraft to kill the country's president. Leonard Phiri and Jasten Mabulesse Candunde have been sentenced to two years' imprisonment after being found guilty of offences under the Witchcraft Act, the BBC reports.

The tiny Scottish island which hosts the World Stone Skimming Championships has been rocked by a cheating scandal. Easdale, which has a permanent population of just over 60 people, welcomed more than 2,200 people from 27 countries to this year's event.

A nightmare neighbour has been arrested and charged after allegedly tunnelling into an adjacent home following a dispute. Police in the Canadian city of Calgary said the bizarre incidents followed weeks of intensifying conflict between neighbours on two floors of an apartment building.

Albania has appointed an AI chatbot as a government minister who it says will be "free of corruption". "Diella" — meaning "Sun" in Albanian — has been put in charge of public procurement, The Guardian reports.

A prisoner accused of threatening to shoot an officer after being served a jacket potato for lunch has gone on trial. Nicholas Brock, 57, a far-right sympathiser from Berkshire, England is currently serving a sentence for possessing terrorist materials. He is alleged to have threatened to kill a pri

Residents of a Bavarian apartment block who called police over persistent late-night doorbell ringing were astonished to learn the cause was not pranksters – but rather a slug. The creature had been sliding across the metal bell plate, repeatedly setting off the buzzer and disturbing residents

Police in the Czech Republic have arrested the man suspected of repeatedly driving a Formula 1-style racing car along a motorway since 2019. The distinctive red vehicle, in full Ferrari livery, was traced to a property in the village of Buk, around 60km south-west of Prague, following the latest rep

A lawyer who shares his name with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is suing the social media platform for repeatedly deactivating his account. In eight years, Mark Steven Zuckerberg, a bankruptcy lawyer in Indianapolis, has seen his official Facebook page suspended five times and his personal profil

Anti-pickpocket activists in Venice have found themselves reported to the police for stalking and unauthorised filming of alleged pickpockets. A crime wave in the tourist hotspot has prompted calls for a crackdown by police — as well as the appearance of activist groups who follow and film sus

Chinese fast fashion giant Shein has said it is investigating how a shirt was advertised for sale with a doctored image of Luigi Mangione, the man accused of shooting a healthcare CEO dead in New York City. The now removed listing showed a smiling Mangione modelling a short-sleeved shirt in what may

The beloved costumed mascot of a popular US restaurant chain was arrested in front of bewildered children after being accused of credit card theft. Florida man Jermell Jones, 41, was dressed as the eponymous rodent mascot of Chuck E. Cheese — even wearing a giant foam head — when he was

North Carolina’s law enforcement watchdog is proposing new standards that would explicitly ban police officers from having sex while on duty, in uniform, in police vehicles, or with subordinates and trainees. The initiative, led by the state’s Criminal Justice Education and Training Stan