Colonel Moammar Gadhafi had a "slightly eerie obsession" with Condoleezza Rice, describing her as his "African Princess," the ex-U.S. secretary of state said in an excerpt from her memoirs published Thursday.

The late Libyan leader met Rice in the oil-rich north African country in September 2008, a historic meeting that signaled the once pariah state's return to the diplomatic table after decades of isolation.

An ultra-clean Chicago museum toilet with a calming night sky decor was named America's finest place to answer the call of nature Thursday.

The Chicago Field Museum's two family friendly restrooms were winners of the annual best public toilet contest run by workplace supplies company Cintas.

A Madrid-bound plane from Frankfurt made an unscheduled landing at Zurich airport after the crew reported an unpleasant odor and breathing problems, Swiss police said Friday.

The A320 landed at 0625 GMT and the 85 passengers and six crew disembarked without incident.

A 15-year-old boy stole a tram in the Russian Urals town of Zlatoust and picked up and dropped off passengers for around 40 minutes before being caught, police said on Friday.

The teen from the small industrial town in the Ural mountains took the tram for a ride after spotting the empty vehicle parked on a side track earlier this month, Pavel Pavlov, a senior police official in Zlatoust told Agence France Presse.

More than 100 Indian girls named "Unwanted" by their parents are to get new names this weekend as part of a campaign to tackle bias against women that has led to the country's huge gender imbalance.

About 150 of more than 200 girls called "Nakusa", which means "unwanted" in the local Marathi language of western Maharashtra state, will get rid of their first name for good on Saturday under an initiative in the district of Satara.

Germany's finance ministry has come up with a novel way of predicting which way the cookie will crumble for the future of the troubled euro.

Fortune cookies filled with positive prophesies for the common European currency, such as "Progress due to a stable euro" or "Progress for a united Europe", have been distributed in Berlin.

A group of audacious pickpockets has managed to nab the smartphone of Paris's chief of police while he was preparing to board a train, police sources said on Wednesday.

The thieves at the Gare de Lyon train station distracted Paris police prefect Michel Gaudin by asking him to sign a petition and swiped the mobile telephone from his pocket, the sources told Agence France Presse.

Vietnam's transport minister has ordered his senior staff off the golf course, complaining that their focus on the game is hurting their work.

High-ranking officials were instructed not to play golf or organize golf tournaments but instead concentrate on their jobs, according to the transport ministry website.

Hong Kong's pampered canines may have their own spas complete with jacuzzis and massage, but it can still be difficult for a dog to find inner peace. Help is now at hand in the shape of yoga instructor Suzette Ackermann and her yoga class -- for dogs.

Each Saturday morning in the city's Sheung Wan district, owners massage their pets before bringing them into postures such as the cobra pose, in which the hind legs are stretched out to the rear, as soothing music plays.

A Nigerian actor known for his comedic roles has found himself in a real-life absurdity: His bowel movements are being dutifully reported on front pages after he was detained for suspected drug trafficking.

Following two -- some say three -- bowel movements after being detained for allegedly seeking to transport drugs in his stomach while boarding a plane to Paris, the actor known as Baba Suwe has so far come up clean.