September has seen devout Muslims again flocking to Albania's only "burqa beach" after the Ramadan holy month, where women bathe in full hijab -- a short distance from the "other" Albania where girls romp in scanty bikinis.

The contrast is not to everyone's liking but is a testament to Albania's centuries-old tradition of religious tolerance, which even survived nearly half a century of a communist rule that tried to stamp out all religion.

Forty percent of foreign men visiting the Philippines are sex tourists, the U.S. ambassador on Manila said on Thursday in comments that were quickly disputed by the government.

U.S. ambassador Harry Thomas told a forum of Filipino judges and officials that corrupt officials were involved in a very visible sex trade, and challenged the legal profession to eliminate the "scourge".

Seventeen-year-old Susana Frieza is making waves in Portugal as the founder of the only female group of "forcados", or bullfighters who aim to subdue their adversary with bare hands.

"You are always scared but you learn to control fear and then it becomes easy," said Frieza, a native of Benavente -- a little town in the center of the country, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from Lisbon.

It is one of the world's most iconic sights. But for local residents, the huge "Hollywood" sign on their hillside overlooking Los Angeles is a source of growing anger.

Travelers have long flocked to have their pictures taken with the vast sign behind them -- but with the advent of satellite navigation and Google Earth, they have begun to invade the Hollywood Hills neighborhood like never before.

Prominent Aboriginal actor David Gulpilil, who appeared in numerous smash-hit films including "Crocodile Dundee" and "Australia", was Thursday jailed after beating his wife with a broomstick.

The 58-year-old was given a one-year sentence and ordered to serve a minimum of five months after being convicted of breaking wife Miriam Ashley's arm during a drunken attack in December.

A runaway steer stopped traffic on a major highway, hurtled over a brick wall and damaged two police vehicles during a Tuesday morning chase that had four Arizona law enforcement agencies scrambling.

The male bovine escaped from a livestock trailer Tuesday morning on Interstate 8 just east of Yuma in southeastern Arizona, Yuma County sheriff's Capt. Eben Bratcher told The Associated Press.

A dog eating carnival in China dating back more than 600 years has been banned after public outrage at the cruel way the animals are slaughtered, state media said Wednesday.

The dogs are killed and skinned in the streets of Qianxi township in the eastern coastal province of Zhejiang during the festival, which is usually held in October, the official Xinhua news agency said.

A local town council in central Turkey has built a morgue with a warning system in case dead bodies come back to life, Anatolia news agency reported Wednesday.

The municipality of Malatya province has equipped its new mortuary with refrigerators sensitive to movement inside, Anatolia said.

The sex life of Octopoteuthis deletron -- O. deletron, if you prefer -- is a cruelly hit-or-miss affair, according to candid footage of the deep-sea squid in its element, unveiled Wednesday.

No foreplay, no tender caresses, no fond farewells until the next union, just a desperate drive to reproduce followed by a glancing quickie and an early death.

Starbucks is being sued for $3 million by a tourist from Virginia who says his five-year-old daughter found a video camera hidden in the washroom of one of its Washington outlets.

William Yockey, 28, accuses the Seattle-based global coffee chain of invasion of privacy, negligence, "intentional infliction of emotional distress" and negligent hiring, training and supervision of staff.