A newly declassified CIA document confirms the existence of famed Area 51 in Nevada, but conspiracy theorists will be disappointed the spy agency offers no proof of alien spaceship landings in the desert.

Area 51 has long been fodder for science fiction films and wild UFO tales claiming the U.S. government imposed secrecy over the site northwest of Las Vegas to cover up evidence of extra-terrestrials touching down on Earth.

Rio de Janeiro's mayor says he'll pay "whatever it takes" to get Woody Allen to set one of his films in this sensuous seaside city, host of the 2016 Olympics.

"I'll pay 100 percent of the production," said Eduardo Paes in an interview published Sunday by the daily O Globo.

Sunderland manager Paolo Di Canio has revealed some of the strict rules he has introduced at the club, including the banning of mobile phones and tomato ketchup.

Di Canio succeeded Martin O'Neill in March and has vowed to get tough with his players, who begin their Premier League campaign at home to Fulham later on Saturday.

Whipping up a blackcurrant jus in Wellington's Rimutaka Prison, shaven-headed convict "Pete" rhapsodies about his new-found love of gourmet cooking, the swastika tattoos on his hand blurring as he whisks intently.

"You can get five dishes, five different flavors, from one fish," the New Zealander says. "I thought normal fish all just tasted the same but I've learned a lot."

Authorities in Guyana say smugglers have found yet another way to smuggle cocaine out of the country.

The Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit says a man was caught trying to ship 16 kilograms of the drug to the U.S. in hollowed out okra pods. Unit director James Singh said Thursday it was the first time he's head of someone trying this with okra, which is known as ochro in Guyana. Singh says on a one-to-ten scale he would give the smuggler a "four for innovation."

A Toronto area mechanic who posted a Twitter message seeking marijuana to alleviate boredom at work this week got an unexpected reply -- from police with an apparent sense of humour.

The young man also lost his job after his boss was alerted, Canadian media said Thursday.

Workers scaled an apartment building in Beijing on Friday to demolish a bizarre roof-top villa which captured worldwide attention but was deemed illegal by Chinese authorities.

At least six workers wearing bright orange jackets were visible on the 26-storey building's roof and were dismantling the elaborate house, which was built among rocks and trees.

A Chinese zoo ridiculed for disguising a dog as a lion has shut down temporarily for "rectification", media reported Friday.

The zoo's supposed "African lion" was exposed as a fraud when the dog used as a substitute -- a Tibetan Mastiff -- started barking, the state-run Beijing Youth Daily had reported earlier.

A Chinese zoo's supposed "African lion" was exposed as a fraud when the dog used as a substitute started barking.

The zoo in the People's Park of Luohe, in the central province of Henan, replaced exotic exhibits with common species, according to the state-run Beijing Youth Daily.

Benigno Aquino survived a deadly assassination attempt during his struggle to the top of bare-knuckle Philippine politics, but there is one foe the president cannot beat: flowers.

Aquino's spokeswoman Abigail Valte revealed Thursday the 53-year-old was taking a sick day due to his allergy to flowers.