A Belgian ex-policeman masquerading as a doctor in France was charged and jailed Friday for allegedly sexually assaulting at least eight female patients, prosecutors said.

The 57-year-old man, who was not named pending trial, was also charged with illegally practicing medicine as an alternative "energy therapist" without a licence, the head prosecutor in the northeastern town of Verdun, Yves Le Clair, told Agence France Presse.

A Japanese official mistakenly announced the launch of a North Korean missile instead of sending an alert about a strong earthquake that hit western Japan on Saturday morning.

An official at the transport ministry's western Osaka aviation bureau mistakenly e-mailed 87 airport offices that a North Korean missile had been launched, the ministry said.

A newly discovered species of orange-coloured mould has been named after soon-to-be Dutch king Willem-Alexander and his family, the scientists behind the move said Friday.

The mould was named after the Prince of Orange, the title given to the Dutch crown prince, "because what distinguishes this penicillin is its orange color, a very rare phenomenon," Pedro Crous, head of the Dutch CBS-KNAW fungal research center said in a statement.

The body of Hugo Chavez may not have been embalmed and put on display for eternity but on the arms, legs and breasts of devoted Venezuelans, "el Comandante" will live on forever.

As Venezuela prepares to elect Chavez's successor on Sunday, the booming personality cult surrounding the late former president is best reflected in the roaring trade of the country's tattoo parlors.

Strands from baby's first haircut. The first tooth. Tiny footprints sunk into clay. Some parents even tuck away the dried stump of the umbilical cord or the stick pregnancy test as a touching memento marking the milestones of their kids.

The latest? Breast milk jewelry.

When French reality TV star Nabilla uttered the words "hello? I mean hello?" in horror after learning that fellow female contestants had not brought shampoo with them on a show, she had no idea they would become so popular.

But after they went viral on the web, spawning countless parodies and even inspiring several ad campaigns, both the reality TV show's production company and the brunette herself decided to register the expression as a trademark.

Retired Italian porn star Llona Staller, better known as "Cicciolina", on Thursday said she would run for Rome's city council -- 34 years after the blonde bombshell started out in politics.

The Hungarian-born 61-year-old said she would be running for the historic Italian Liberal Party and would campaign to legalize prostitution, cannabis for medicinal use and civil unions.

Uruguay's President Jose Mujica offered belated apologies to his Argentine counterpart Cristina Kirchner on Thursday for disparaging remarks he made last week about her looks and those of her late husband.

"I have to make heartfelt apologies to the person whom my words hurt," he said in his weekly "Talk to the President" broadcast.

Estonian army chief Riho Terras apologized Thursday after photos surfaced of him performing a Knights Templar ritual in a white cape and army gear at a medieval monastery.

"There are rules about wearing the military uniform and nobody, including the commander of the defense forces, can violate the rules," the 45-year-old said on the army website.

Police in the far north-eastern state of Maine have arrested a loner who vanished from sight in 1986 and survived by stealing supplies from area camps, local media reported Thursday.

Christopher Knight, the 47 year-old man locals called the "North Pond Hermit," was arrested last week and charged with burglarizing an unoccupied camp near the town of Rome, the Portland Herald Press reported.