A woman has been banned from swimming in her community's pool because she wants to wear a mermaid tail.

Jenna Conti had been in the Aquatic Club pool with her custom-made tail once before with the staff's approval. But last week, employees told her it violated a policy against swim fins. On Monday night, the FishHawk Community Development board voted to keep her out of the pool because of the swim fin policy.

Sections of an innovative New Zealand cathedral being made from cardboard have gone soggy in the rain, but the project will still be completed next month, the Anglican Church said Friday.

The structure, which has walls made from cardboard tubes, is a temporary replacement for Christchurch's Anglican cathedral, which was destroyed in a February 2011 earthquake that killed 185 people in New Zealand's second largest city.

Traffic police in Nepal have declared a war on high-decibel honking, penalising erring drivers and seizing more than 1,000 shrill horns that have made life unbearable on often gridlocked streets.

In a nation where drivers tend to honk as easily -- and constantly -- as they breathe, police launched a drive earlier this month to tame the noisemakers, charging vehicles with blaring horns fines of up to 5,000 Nepali rupees ($53).

Dutch climbing specialist Robert Gesink can't wait for the Tour de France 18th stage -- and the free pushes he expects to get from drunken Dutch fans on the 13.8 km trek to the finish line.

The first of three stages in the French Alps, Thursday's ride begins in Gap and features a total of six climbs, including two ascensions of the Alpe d'Huez.

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on Wednesday was caught swearing on camera as he fumbled a long-awaited announcement on tax relief.

"Fuck me, what a wanker," Samaras said, apparently referring to himself, as he walked away from his podium in frustration before attempting to read the statement again.

Shedding weight is as good as gold under an unusual slim-down initiative in Dubai over growing concerns about rising obesity levels in the wealthy Gulf city-state.

Municipal officials are offering a gram of gold — worth about $45 at current prices — for each kilogram of weight lost in a 30-day challenge. The minimum drop is two kilograms, or 4.4 pounds, to cash in.

A wild boar went on a rampage in downtown Prague, terrorizing pedestrians and even smashing a window at a five-star hotel in the Czech capital before being sedated, police said Tuesday.

"On Sunday at 9:15 am, a citizen called the emergency line saying a wild boar was swimming across the Vltava river... towards a Prague hotel," city police said in a statement.

For thousands of years, thinkers have marvelled at the feat of engineering that is the honeycomb.

Each waxy cell is a perfect hexagon, its six wafer-thin sides providing not only strength to the honeycomb structure but also the smartest way to store honey.

Air New Zealand announced plans Wednesday to stage the country's first same-sex marriage at an altitude of 30,000 feet (9,150 metres), saying it wants to prove that love is truly in the air.

New Zealand passed a bill allowing gay marriage in April but it does not become law until August 19, when officials say they are expecting a slew of same-sex weddings.

One in four Australians believe humans co-existed with dinosaurs while one in three think it takes just one day for the Earth to orbit the sun, according to a "worrying" survey published Wednesday.

The Auspoll survey of 1,515 adults for the Australian Academy of Sciences showed basic scientific knowledge was declining on key questions, including human influences on evolution and the Earth's reserves of fresh water.