Celine Dion 'civil war' in New Zealand

A small New Zealand city is the site of a "civil war" over who can play Celine Dion's music loudest, Metro reported. In the city of Porirua, people drive to a particular spot and, using siren-type speakers, attempt to play music as loud as possible. Dion has "gradually emerged" as the best choice for the contestants who want to win, "much to the chagrin of everyone else", said the paper. "It's a headache," said the city's mayor, Anita Barker. "They love Celine Dion. They like anyone with a high pitch and great tone in their voice."

Woman tests sex toy in shop

A woman took shop staff and customers in Russia by surprise after she opened a sex toy for sale and started testing it out at the counter. The "brazen woman" opened the product's packaging, inserted batteries before lifting her coat and moving the sex toy towards her midrift, "seeming to take it for a spin", said the Daily Star. As she "removed the device", she was "shot a dirty look" by a fellow female customer, said the tabloid.

A US restaurant is charging some of its customers for their inability to control their children, Sky News reported. In the small print of its menu, the Toccoa Riverside Restaurant in Georgia tells its visitors of its "adult surcharge" – adding three dollar signs next to the words: "For adults unable to parent". One diner, who said they had $50 (£41) added to their bill because of their children's behaviour, said: "I remember thinking, 'no way is this real'."

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Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i news site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.