And Finally

North Korean authorities have cracked down on the phrase "I love you" as evidence of a "decadent lifestyle". According to Daily NK, factory officials in Hamhung, North Korea's second largest city, publicly condemned a love letter which was discovered in a young worker's bag during a routine ins

The Taliban has banned high-speed internet across much of northern Afghanistan in order to "prevent immoral activities". Fibre-optic internet access has been shut off in between five and 10 provinces, though slower mobile internet still works, according to Sky News.

Pope Leo XIV has said he vetoed a proposal for the creation of an AI-powered virtual Pope because of its impact on "human dignity". The bizarre idea has been brought to light in a new biography by journalist Elise Ann Allen, which is out now in Spanish and to be published in English next year.

A law firm is suing Disney in a bid to use Mickey Mouse in its TV adverts. Florida-headquartered personal injury firm Morgan & Morgan has created a black-and-white animated advert based on Mickey's first cartoon, Steamboat Willie.

A group of virtual celebrities has won a libel case brought against an internet user who insulted their digital avatars. South Korea has seen a boom in the popularity of so-called "virtual idols", whose real identities and appearances are unknown as they interact with the public purely through a dig

Two men have been imprisoned in Zambia for attempting to use witchcraft to kill the country's president. Leonard Phiri and Jasten Mabulesse Candunde have been sentenced to two years' imprisonment after being found guilty of offences under the Witchcraft Act, the BBC reports.

The Scottish island which hosts the World Stone Skimming Championships has been rocked by a cheating scandal. Easdale, one of the Slate Islands, in the Firth of Lorn, which has a permanent population of just over 60 people, welcomed more than 2,200 people from 27 countries to this year's event.

A nightmare neighbour has been arrested and charged after allegedly tunnelling into an adjacent home following a dispute. Police in the Canadian city of Calgary said the bizarre incidents followed weeks of intensifying conflict between neighbours on two floors of an apartment building.

Albania has appointed an AI chatbot as a government minister who it says will be "free of corruption". "Diella" – meaning "Sun" in Albanian – has been put in charge of public procurement, The Guardian reports.

Our weekly round-up of human rights stories from around the world. South Korean women file landmark lawsuit accusing US military of systematic role in sex trade

A prisoner accused of threatening to shoot an officer after being served a jacket potato for lunch has gone on trial. Nicholas Brock, 57, a far-right sympathiser from Maidenhead, Berkshire, is currently serving a sentence for possessing terrorist materials. He is alleged to have threatened to kill a

Residents of a Bavarian apartment block who called police over persistent late-night doorbell ringing were astonished to learn the cause was not pranksters – but rather a slug. The creature had been sliding across the metal bell plate, repeatedly setting off the buzzer and disturbing residents

Police in the Czech Republic have arrested the man suspected of repeatedly driving a Formula 1-style racing car along a motorway since 2019. The distinctive red vehicle, in full Ferrari livery, was traced to a property in the village of Buk, around 60km south-west of Prague, following the latest rep

A lawyer who shares his name with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is suing the social media platform for repeatedly deactivating his account. In eight years, Mark Steven Zuckerberg, a bankruptcy lawyer in Indianapolis, has seen his official Facebook page suspended five times and his personal profil

Anti-pickpocket activists in Venice have found themselves reported to the police for stalking and unauthorised filming of alleged pickpockets. A crime wave in the tourist hotspot has prompted calls for a crackdown by police – as well as the appearance of activist groups who follow and film sus