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Funny old world: The week's offbeat news

From why we follow our noses to trying to match Putin's pecs. Your weekly roundup of offbeat stories from around the world.

French police bust gang selling fake Bordeaux wine

French police have broken up a gang that had allegedly produced hundreds of thousands of bottles of fake Bordeaux wine in an elaborate counterfeiting operation, prosecutors said on Friday.

Assange lodges UK appeal against US extradition

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Friday filed an appeal against his extradition to the United States, as supporters denounced the British government.

French court jails serial rapist for 20 years

A French court on Friday jailed a man for 20 years over dozens of rapes and sexual assaults he committed over a 30-year period along the border with Belgium.

Berlin mosque flies rainbow flag for pride month

A mosque in Berlin on Friday became the first in Germany to fly a rainbow flag in support of the LGBT community, ahead of two major gay pride events in the city this month.

Metaverse years from being global phenomenon, says pioneer

Big brands are rushing to the metaverse but the path to profit is still unclear and mass adoption may be years away, one of the sector's biggest players, Sebastien Borget, told AFP in an interview.

Taliban's reclusive supreme leader attends Afghan clerics' meeting

The Taliban's reclusive supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada showed up Friday at a major gathering of clerics in the Afghan capital called to rubber-stamp the hardline Islamist group's rule over the country.

Nine protesters killed in Sudan anti-coup mass rallies

At least nine Sudanese demonstrators were killed Thursday as security forces sought to quash mass rallies of protesters demanding an end to military rule, pro-democracy medics said.

California passes sweeping law to reduce non-recyclable plastic

Garbage be gone: California Thursday passed an ambitious law mandating reduction of non-recyclable plastic by at least 30 percent in six years, while also placing responsibility on producers.

Flight trouble: Strained US airlines face July 4 test

US airlines are bracing customers for what will probably be another bumpy holiday weekend as the industry struggles to manage a surge in travel demand that probably exceeds its current capacity.

Washington blocks more than $1 bn in Russian oligarch's US assets

The United States on Thursday blocked a US-based company worth more than $1 billion linked to Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, saying the ally of President Vladimir Putin used it to funnel and invest shadowy funds.

DR Congo inters Lumumba remains after nationwide pilgrimage

The scant remains of DR Congo's fiery independence hero Patrice Lumumba were interred on Thursday after a nine-day homage that stirred traumatic memories and national pride.

France holding 10 suspects over Channel migrant disaster

French police are holding 10 people suspected of involvement in the November 2021 Channel drowning of migrants in which 27 people died, a judicial source said Thursday.

Prophet row murder sparks fury on Indian social media

The gruesome killing of a Hindu tailor has inflamed religious tensions in India and sparked a furious response on social media, including calls for reprisal attacks against the country's Muslim minority.

Thousands gather at all-male meeting to rubber-stamp Taliban rule

Thousands of Afghan religious scholars and tribal elders gathered in the capital Thursday for a men-only meeting the Taliban hope will rubber-stamp their hardline Islamic rule.

UK urged to cleanse 'stain' of dirty Russian money

For all its tough talk against Russia, the UK's government is failing to enforce its promises to clean up dirty foreign money, a hard-hitting report by MPs said Thursday.

Texans mourn migrants who died in sweltering truck tragedy

Texas residents gathered under a scorching sun Wednesday to mourn the 53 migrants who died this week after they were abandoned in a trailer in soaring temperatures, leaving tokens of flowers, candles and bottles of water.

Maximum life term for sole surviving Paris 2015 attacker

The sole surviving member of an Islamic State terror cell that killed 130 people in Paris in November 2015 was handed a whole-life sentence on Wednesday at the end of a trial that aimed to draw a line under the worst peace-time atrocity in modern French history.

Singer R. Kelly sentenced to 30 years over sex crimes

Disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison Wednesday for leading a decades-long effort to recruit and trap teenagers and women for sex.

Paris attacker sentenced to whole life in prison

The sole surviving member of an Islamic State terror cell that killed 130 people in Paris in November 2015 was handed a whole-life sentence by a French court on Wednesday, the toughest punishment possible.

Toll in migrant trailer tragedy rises to 53

The number of migrants who died in San Antonio, Texas after they were abandoned in a red-hot trailer rose to 53 Wednesday, US immigration authorities said.

Husband of slain Kenyan runner Tirop seeks plea bargain

The husband of slain Kenyan distance runner Agnes Tirop is seeking a plea bargain after initially denying a charge of murder, his lawyer said on Wednesday.

UK extends steel tariffs, breaching WTO obligations

Britain has extended steel tariffs for another two years to protect its ailing industry, the government said Wednesday, breaching World Trade Organization obligations.

French court blocks extradition of ex-Red Brigades members to Italy

A French appeals court on Wednesday turned down Italy's request to extradite 10 former members of left-wing Italian extremist groups exiled in France for their involvement in violence decades ago.

Anger, pain at vigil for migrants who died in tractor trailer in Texas

Dozens of people held a vigil for 51 migrants who died when they were abandoned in a suffocatingly hot tractor-trailer in Texas near the border with Mexico.

Spain to 'fully' cooperate with migrant death probes

Madrid will offer "total collaboration" with the Spanish and Moroccan investigations into the deaths of 23 migrants during a mass attempt to enter Spain's Melilla enclave, Pedro Sanchez said Wednesday.

Turkey seeks extraditions from Finland, Sweden under NATO deal

Turkey said Wednesday it would seek the extradition of 33 alleged Kurdish militants from Sweden and Finland under a deal to secure Ankara's support for the Nordic countries' NATO membership bids.

France awaits verdicts in marathon 2015 terror attacks trial

A French court is to hand down verdicts Wednesday against 20 men accused over the November 2015 terror attacks in Paris, after a marathon 10-month trial that reopened the scars of modern France's worst peacetime atrocity.

Lockdown in Indian city after gruesome sectarian killing

Hundreds of police were deployed in an Indian city on Wednesday following the murder of a Hindu tailor allegedly by two Muslim men after comments by a ruling party official about the Prophet Mohammed that have inflamed sectarian tensions.

Philippines' Ressa says 'business as usual' despite news outlet's shutdown order

Philippine Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa's news company Rappler was ordered Wednesday to shut down, a day before President Rodrigo Duterte is due to leave office, but she vowed to keep the site running.

Saudi artists marvel at surprise patron: their own rulers

In one of Saudi artist Ahmed Mater's best-known works, a silhouette of a gas pump morphs into a man holding a gun to his head –- a clear critique of oil's damaging influence.

Paris attacks trial: the 20 suspects

A total of 20 people have been tried over the November 2015 attacks by the Islamic State group on the Bataclan concert hall and other targets around Paris, with the verdicts expected on Wednesday.

Paris court to issue verdicts after marathon 2015 attacks trial

After the biggest trial in modern French history, judges are set to hand down verdicts Wednesday to 20 men accused over the November 2015 Paris attacks that left 130 people dead.

At least 52 inmates die in Colombia prison riot and fire

At least 52 inmates were killed and 26 more injured early Tuesday after a fire broke out during a prison riot in southwestern Colombia, the national prisons agency said.

US opens probe after 51 migrants die in sweltering trailer

The death toll of undocumented migrants who were abandoned in a scorching-hot trailer in Texas rose to 51 Tuesday, as President Joe Biden blamed "criminal" professional smugglers for the tragedy.

Epstein associate Maxwell gets 20 years for sex trafficking

Ghislaine Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison Tuesday for helping late financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse girls, capping the former socialite's sordid fall from grace.

Ghislaine Maxwell sentenced to 20 years for sex crimes

Ghislaine Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a New York judge Tuesday for helping the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse girls.

Iran court confirms Frenchman's 8-year sentence: lawyer

An Iranian appeals court has upheld an eight-year prison sentence against a Frenchman convicted on spying charges, his Paris-based lawyer said Tuesday.

51 inmates die in Colombia prison riot and fire

At least 51 inmates were killed and two dozen more injured early Tuesday after a fire broke out during a prison riot in southwestern Colombia, the national prisons agency said.

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