A mystery benefactor has left about 2,000 lottery tickets in an elevator and asked that flood victims get the proceeds from any winning stub, Japanese police said Tuesday.

An elderly woman found the tickets -- which would have cost about 600,000 yen ($4,980) to buy -- and notes from the anonymous donor stuffed in a paper bag at the city hall car park elevator in Tochigi, north of Tokyo.

The favorite dog of Thailand's ailing monarch has died, days after a man was arrested under the kingdom's strict royal defamation laws for allegedly making a satirical online remark about the beloved canine.

The dog, called Tongdaeng (Copper), became both a household name and a publishing sensation in Thailand after King Bhumibol Adulyadej adopted her as a stray puppy and penned a heartfelt book about her attributes in 2002.

Diehard Real Madrid fan Sergi Guardiola's decision to write offensive tweets aimed at Barcelona came back to haunt him Monday when he was hired and fired by the Spanish giants on the same day.

The 24-year-old striker penned a deal with Barca's B team but was sacked just a few hours later when angry fans of the Catalan club made officials aware of Guardiola's Twitter tirade from 2013, www.lequipe.fr reported.

After more than a month sweating in the tropical heat, dozens of Brazilian Santa Clauses celebrated the end of the season Monday by shaving or trimming their thick white beards.

Dressed in T-shirts and drinking beers and Cokes, the exhausted men gathered at an Italian restaurant in Rio de Janeiro to ditch their beards after a hard season of temporary work at shopping malls and hospitals.

Steve Harvey, the man who famously gave the Miss Universe crown to the wrong contestant, has now offered the world Easter greetings  -- on Christmas Day.

"Merry Easter, y'all!" ran the caption to a picture of smiling Harvey, smoking a cigar and flashing a peace sign. The picture was posted Friday on Harvey's social media accounts.

Chuao, Baracoa, Hacienda Rio Peripa: when it comes to cocoa beans, it turns out there are vintages just like there are for fine wines, says Belgian chocolate maker Benoit Nihant. 

In a country where chocolate is a source of national pride, Nihant is one of around a dozen "bean-to-bar" makers who go direct to the source in Africa, the Americas and Asia to get the best possible taste.

An Australian surfer had a close encounter with a shark off Sydney's Bondi Beach on Tuesday when it jumped onto his board, giving him a huge fright in a near-miss witnessed by lifeguards.

Dean Norburn said he was surfing with two friends early in the morning when the shark launched itself out of the water onto his board.

Anti-Christmas protesters calling themselves "Losers with Women" marched through Tokyo's streets Saturday, bashing the upcoming holiday as a capitalist ploy that also discriminates against singletons.

The group of about 20 -- part of the Communist-inspired group that routinely protests Western holidays -- marched under angry banners that read "Smash Christmas!" in Tokyo's Shibuya district, where couples and families strolled for holiday shopping.

For anyone who may have forgotten about their fortune sitting idle in a Swiss bank account, a list published Wednesday could be a must read. 

The first-of-its kind list published by the Swiss Bankers Association identifies 2,600 accounts with total assets estimated at 44 million Swiss francs ($44 million/41 million euros) which have been dormant for at least 60 years. 

A Thai faces prison after being charged with lese majeste for insulting the king's dog, his lawyer said Tuesday, in an escalation of the already draconian royal defamation law.

Thanakorn Siripaiboon, 27, has been charged by police with lese majeste for a "satirical" Facebook post about the king and his dog, lawyer Pawinee Chumsri told AFP.