A 12-year-old girl in the southern French city of Bordeaux has been caught by police after using stolen cheques to buy 2,600 euros ($3,440) worth of candies and pastries.

Local police said Thursday that the girl had stolen a chequebook in March from a neighbour and used it over several months to buy the sweets from local bakeries.

Swaziland beer drinkers face a thirst-inducing shortage of brews in the coming weeks, as the kingdom's biggest brewery upgrades its bottling equipment, beer makers said Thursday.

A local subsidiary of brewing giant SABMiller said a $6.1 million project to replace an ageing bottling line has shut down beer production, but not that of soft drinks or traditional brews.

Pope Francis on Thursday showed that his message of renewed faith in Jesus Christ can compete with the Rolling Stones and their Sympathy for the Devil.

Seven years after the rock legends lured throngs to Copacabana for an epic concert, organizers of a Catholic youth event say Pope Francis attracted 1.5 million to Rio de Janeiro's legendary beach.

A Southern California husband and wife who were born on the same day and celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary last year have died just a day apart.

The couple's son Les Brown Jr. tells the Long Beach Press-Telegram (http://bit.ly/18CyufA) Thursday that 94-year-old Helen Brown died July 16 and 94-year-old Les Brown died July 17. She had stomach cancer. He had Parkinson's disease.

An uninhabited private island off the coast of Greece will go on auction at a starting price of 10 million euros ($13.2 million) in September, the company organizing the sale announced Wednesday.

The sale of the island, part of the Spalathronisia archipelago that sits 500 meters (0.3 miles) from the Halkidiki peninsula, a tourist hotspot in northern Greece, is just the latest from the country's crisis-hit landowners.

A Canadian looking to prove his swimming skills, and drunk, provoked an international rescue when he jumped into the Detroit River and swam to the United States, police said Wednesday.

John Morillo, 47, told the Windsor Star after being released from custody on Tuesday the stunt was "very stupid" but he relishes now being able to boast to friends about his exploit.

Former U.S. President George HW Bush shaved his head this week in solidarity with the young son of a member of his security detail who is suffering from leukemia.

A photo released by Bush's office shows two-year-old Patrick, who is undergoing leukemia treatment, and the elderly ex-president sporting bald heads and similar blue polo shirts and khakis.

Eccentric Australian mining magnate Clive Palmer was Thursday given the green light to build "the world's biggest" park of giant robotic dinosaurs, despite hundreds of objections filed by local residents.

A spokeswoman for the Sunshine Coast Regional Council said Palmer's plan to erect up to 160 animatronic dinosaurs at his Coolum Resort was approved "unanimously by council this morning", with local officials hoping for a tourism boost.

Australia's tropical Northern Territory presented an unusual gift to Britain's new royal baby, Prince George, on Thursday -- a crocodile hatched on the day his conception was announced.

The tiny reptile, named George after its recipient, was unveiled by Adam Giles, chief minister of the outback province, who described it as a "unique gift".

A crocodile was reportedly found on Wednesday in Beirut River as witnesses said more than one reptile existed in the area.

Al-Joumhouria newspaper posted a video footage it took of the crocodile, whose age is estimated to be between 3 to 5 years old.