Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams each took home a record $3.6 million in prize money for winning U.S. Open titles, but both champions lamented that much of their prize was going to be taken in taxes.

Spanish second seed Nadal defeated Serbian world number one Novak Djokovic 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 to capture the men's crown on Monday, a day after Williams outlasted second-ranked Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 7-5, 6-7 (6/8), 6-1.

A Japanese prison housing a range of convicted criminals has unveiled a cuddly life-size mascot that bosses hope will help change the jail's forbidding image.

Officials say Asahikawa Prison in Japan's far north is too often thought of only as a dark place with imposing grey walls and not as a place of rehabilitation.

Authorities say an immigrant suspected of entering the country illegally attempted to make his journey in a shipment of red chile.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working at a New Mexico border checkpoint said the man was discovered last Thursday face down among a commercial load of the spicy stuff.

China's first authentic version of the giant Rubber Duck that has made a splash around the world and inspired fakes across the country made its debut on Friday -- but some complained that visitors had to pay to see it.

The inflatable yellow bird -- which has made appearances from Australia to South America since 2007 -- attracted huge attention in China after it arrived in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour to rave reviews, bobbing up and down in front of the city's distinctive urban skyline.

A delicacy for medieval monarchs, a plate for the poorest and a treat for Tito, animal testicles, with a pinch of humour, are back on the menu, at least at one Serbian food festival.

A visitor needs no road signs to reach the tiny central village of Lunjevica, population 500. They can follow the smoke and smells from the barbecues and kettles at the 10th unofficial testicle-cooking "world championship".

A U.S.-based website offering onions at heavily discounted prices in India has seen an "overwhelming" response as consumers there reel from sky-rocketing prices of the vegetable.

Groupon, which offers cut-price deals on everything from restaurant meals to shoes and watches, offered onions at nine rupees (14 cents) a kilogram on Thursday.

Congo's president has made an impression on a small town in recession-hit Spain -- after relaxing at its thermal baths for a few days he left local residents 10,000 euros ($13,000).

Denis Sassou Nguesso and his family spent four days at a five-star hotel in the southern town of Carratraca, which is home to around 800 people and is known for its hot springs and thermal baths, local resident Cristina Florido said.

A British music fan is auctioning off the urinals from Manchester's Hacienda, the legendary nightclub where stars including Madonna, New Order, the Stone Roses and The Smiths once played.

Mike Shepherd said the stainless steel urinals had not been washed since he bought them following the closure of the nightspot in the northwestern English city in 1997.

Young men ripped the heads off dead geese in an ancient folk festival in northern Spain on Thursday, clutching onto them as they dangled from a high wire until the birds' necks went snap.

On the annual Day of the Geese in the small Basque town of Lekeitio, about 20 participants took turns launching themselves from boats to grab hold of a goose hooked to a cable, which in turn was shaken up and down by those on shore.

Police in Prague say 15 human skulls have been found in a wooden box found on a street, and another was found in a garbage bin.

Spokeswoman Jana Roesslerova says police found the 15 skulls Thursday morning near a garbage container after they were alerted by a telephone caller. Roesslerova says each skull was numbered.