And Finally

A man who perpetrated a massive psychic mass-mailing fraud scheme which stole more than $175 million from over 1.3 million victims has been jailed for 10 years. Over two decades, Patrice Runner, 57, sent millions of letters purporting to be individualised, personal communications from well-known so-

Fatal motorcycle accidents have skyrocketed in a US state since it repealed a mandatory helmet law. Since Missouri scrapped a law requiring motorcyclists to wear a helmet in 2020, fatalities have increased by 47 per cent, Kansas City Public Radio reports.

The wrong couple were divorced after solicitors made a computer error. "Mr and Mrs Williams" were married for 21 years until separating in 2023. But they had not yet sought a divorce.

A teenager has landed in hot water after allegedly impersonating his school headteacher and faxing a resignation letter to school authorities. The 17-year-old student at a New York high school was arrested and now faces a charge of criminal impersonation, WSAZ NewsChannel 3 reports.

An American politician has been gently admonished for accidentally leaving a loaded firearm in a state legislature bathroom. Don Wilson, a Republican member of the Colorado House of Representatives, apparently placed the 9mm Glock handgun on a shelf and forgot about it, NBC News reports.

Italy's advertising regulator has banned a TV ad showing nuns receiving crisps instead of wafers at communion.

A prestigious art gallery has sacked a worker who secretly put one of his own paintings on public display. The Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich said the 51-year-old technical employee smuggled the 60cm x 120cm painting into the building and installed it on an empty wall.

A man who allegedly rubbed his bare buttocks on a public water fountain has been charged with property damage. Police found an incriminating photo after arresting the 56-year-old Tokyo man in connection with a separate incident of public indecency.

Music must be no slower than Hotel California and no faster than Radio Ga Ga, a new law in Russia's Chechnya region dictates. The Russian republic's culture ministry has declared that "all musical, vocal and choreographic works should correspond to a tempo of 80 to 116 beats per minute", The Moscow

The mayor of a small Italian island is offering free goats to anyone who can remove them from the island. Alicudi, a tiny island off the coast of Sicily, is said to be overrun by wild goats — with around 600 goats to 100 human residents, CNN reports.

The "black sheep" of a German brewing dynasty is suing his sisters because he was allegedly tricked out of his inheritance while hungover. Carl-Clemens Veltins, 61, claims that he is entitled to a stake in the 200-year-old Veltins brewery company in North Rhine-Westphalia, which produces one of Germ

A group of prisoners have launched last-minute legal action in a bid to be allowed to see a total solar eclipse in the US next week. Millions of Americans will be able to see a total solar eclipse on Monday 8 April, though only a partial eclipse will be visible from Ireland and the UK.

A new analysis of Japan's unusual naming law has concluded that everyone in the country will share the name "Sato" in around 500 years' time. Japanese law requires married couples to both adopt one of their surnames, with nearly 95 per cent of women taking their husbands' name.

A four-figure reward is on offer for the return of a life-sized bronze stag statue stolen from a London garden. 'Henry', said to be worth up to £10,000 (around €11,600), was abducted from the front garden of interior design expert Alison Cork MBE, the Evening Standard reports.

A wildlife rescue of a baby hedgehog turned out to be a hat bobble. The bobble was brought to the Lower Moss Nature Reserve and Wildlife Hospital by a concerned rescuer last week.