Our pick of the strange but true stories from around the world.
Snoozing shepherd fails to count his sheep
A flock of about 1,300 sheep has been rounded up after escaping from their shepherd and descending on the Spanish town of Huesca, Aragon, in the middle of the night. Local media report the man was moving the animals to pastures in the Pyrenees when he fell asleep, allowing the animals to escape. Police were called in to help regain control of the flock.[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"content_original","fid":"95921","attributes":{"class":"media-image"}}]]
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Police baffled by wooden giraffe
Police in Long Island, New York, are trying to find the owner of a 12ft wooden giraffe found chained to a tree. Officers said a pair of workers discovered the toy with its legs duct-taped to the ground and its torso clamped to the tree. Police chief Gerard Larsen told reporters that no wooden giraffes had been reported missing in the area. "It's obviously stolen," he said, "but we don't know from where."
Man starts fire to escape sex noises
An Albuquerque man has taken the drastic step of setting fire to his own apartment in order to escape from the sound of his upstairs neighbours having sex. Reuben Cook told police he "tried to burn anything he could think of" in order to escape the noise by spending a night in prison. He was charged with arson and released from jail two days later.
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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
