Intelligent robot escapes twice from Russian lab - or did it?

Our pick of the strange stories from around the world.

'Runaway robot' faces the scrapheap

The Russian-made Promobot IR77 robot that allegedly escaped from its lab last week has made another break for freedom - and is now facing the possibility of being decommissioned entirely. However, tech experts suspect the "runaway robot" stories have been made up to generate publicity. Chris Mills at BGR says Promobot IR77 can only go around one mile per hour and would have struggled to get down kerbs and out of doorways.

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Woman's phone attacked by snake

A woman has had a close encounter with a snake while filming the reptile in her Alabama backyard. YouTuber Brian Lucas posted the video of his friend's mother talking to the serpent before reaching out and touching its tail. The snake reared up and struck at the woman's phone, narrowly missing her fingers. According to Reddit users, it was a non-venomous grey rat snake.

Father advertises to find wife for son

A man has taken out a full-page advert in an Idaho newspaper in an attempt to find a wife for his 48-year-old son. Baron Brooks said he was shocked and embarrassed by the $900 (£600) ad and had no idea his father, 78-year-old Arthur, intended to do such a thing. The advert says Brooks' future wife should have a short stature and conservative political views.