Our pick of the strange but true stories from around the world.
'Erotic' videos of banana-eating outlawed in China
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Algebra delays airline flight
A mathematics professor on an American Airlines flight was questioned by authorities after a fellow passenger mistook his differential maths equation for Arabic and told the flight crew that there might be a terrorist on board. Guido Menzio was removed from the plane, delaying the 40-minute flight from Philadelphia to Syracuse for more than two hours. "The lady just looked at me, looked at my writing of mysterious formulae, and concluded I was up to no good," Menzio wrote on Facebook after the delay.
Selfie topples Portuguese king
A young man attempting to take a selfie has accidentally knocked a 126-year-old statue of 16th-century Portuguese king Dom Sebastiao off its pedestal, completely shattering it. The man was arrested by police and will appear before a judge at a later date. The statue formed part of the ornate Rossio railway station in central Lisbon, a protected building under Portuguese law.
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Home Office worker accused of spiking mistress’s drink with abortion drugSpeed Read Darren Burke had failed to convince his girlfriend to terminate pregnancy
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In hock to Moscow: exploring Germany’s woeful energy policySpeed Read Don’t expect Berlin to wean itself off Russian gas any time soon
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Were Covid restrictions dropped too soon?Speed Read ‘Living with Covid’ is already proving problematic – just look at the travel chaos this week
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Inclusive Britain: a new strategy for tackling racism in the UKSpeed Read Government has revealed action plan setting out 74 steps that ministers will take
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Sandy Hook families vs. Remington: a small victory over the gunmakersSpeed Read Last week the families settled a lawsuit for $73m against the manufacturer
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Farmers vs. walkers: the battle over ‘Britain’s green and pleasant land’Speed Read Updated Countryside Code tells farmers: ‘be nice, say hello, share the space’
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Motherhood: why are we putting it off?Speed Read Stats show around 50% of women in England and Wales now don’t have children by 30
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Anti-Semitism in America: a case of double standards?Speed Read Officials were strikingly reluctant to link Texas synagogue attack to anti-Semitism
