Pastafarianism, a movement set up partly to ridicule organised religion, has failed to win official recognition from Austria's religious authority.

The Kultusamt authority ruled Wednesday that the "Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster" was not a proper "Church" because it is not a Christian religious community.

The owner of a vacant luxury house teetering on a crumbling 75-foot cliff over a Central Texas lake has decided to burn the house and clear the lot of the debris.

Tom Hemrick, Hill County's emergency management coordinator, said Thursday the house would be burned Friday morning. Then a long-reach excavator will be used to clear the debris before the foundation slab is removed.

More than 300 Chinese space enthusiasts have booked tickets costing nearly $100,000 for a five minute trip to outer space, official media reported Friday.

The 305 buyers snapped up tickets for a trip with Dutch firm Space Expedition Corp (SXC) when they went on sale on Taobao, an online retail website, the state-run China Daily reported.

U.S. President Barack Obama says he's a "good, fun dad" who at times might cause his two teenage daughters to cringe.

In an interview aired Thursday, America's first father also joked that he sought a second term so the Secret Service could keep a close eye on 13-year-old Sasha and 15-year-old Malia.

Wearing a Hawaiian shirt, sunglasses and with a cocktail in hand, Russian President Vladimir Putin looks confident underneath the words "Greetings from Crimea".

This is just one of the many variations of Putin-themed T-shirts being snapped up by patriotic shoppers in Moscow, as the Russian leader basks in record popularity at home.

A 10-year-old Northern California boy is celebrating a milestone most people don't reach until they are in their late teens.

Tanishq Abraham has become one of the youngest people to graduate from high school. The Sacramento boy received his diploma at a private ceremony in front of family and friends on Sunday, and even got a congratulatory letter from the White House, KXTV in Sacramento reported.

Sporting a bone through his nose, a jaguar's tooth pendant, multicoloured feathers in his ears and tribal body tattoos, not many England fans would give credence to the footballing 'expertise' of Amazonian sorcerer Jaraquii.

But the striking indian 'Paje' believes England's World Cup opener in nearby Manaus on Saturday will be cursed by Italy striker Mario Balotelli.

A 37-year old Tennessee man was arrested for decapitating, then partially eating, his female victim, U.S. media reported Wednesday.

Authorities said Gregory Scott Hale was arrested on Monday and charged with the murder of Lisa Mary Hyder, the local paper Tullahoma News reported.

London Mayor Boris Johnson offered on Wednesday to be sprayed by water cannon to demonstrate that they are safe, after buying the riot control equipment for the capital despite having no permission to use it.

Water cannon were routinely used to disperse crowds during the civil unrest in Northern Ireland but have never been used on mainland Britain, and the issue is contentious.

You can put your shirt on Portugal not running out of team jerseys this World Cup -- all 1,000 of them.

With 20 outfield players in the 23-man squad, that averages out at a staggering 50 for each of them to sweat their way through in balmy Brazil.