France's Francois Hollande was left red-faced in Tokyo on Friday after a slip of the tongue that saw him confuse his Japanese hosts with the Chinese.

During a press conference Hollande, speaking in French, referred to the Algerian hostage crisis in January in which 10 Japanese nationals died, saying he had "expressed the condolences of the French people to the Chinese people."

As pets go, they are low maintenance. No muss, no fuss, nice and quiet, and even a bit furry. So, how about snuggling up with a giant, non-biting tarantula?

A farm in Chile exports the palm-sized critters to Asia, Europe and the United States for sale as exotic household companions.

More than nine million students packed exam halls across China for the opening day of the country's university entrance exam on Friday -- with attempts to stop cheating even leading to bans on metal bra clasps.

Students in the northeastern province of Jilin were banned from wearing clothing with metal parts and education authorities installed metal detectors in exam centres to clamp down on "wireless cheating devices", the state-run Global Times reported.

Bob Edwards was born before the first Model T rolled out of Henry Ford's factory in Detroit. He learned to drive in a French car that had a lever instead of a steering wheel. And he's still on the road, only now in a red four-wheel-drive Mitsubishi.

The oldest licensed driver in New Zealand, and one of the oldest in the world, has been driving for 88 of his 105 years and has no plans to give it up, just as he intends to keep working out every morning in his home gym, and to keep regularly cooking meals for himself and his wife, who's 91.

An aspiring half-marathon runner attributed her unbearable back pain to a two-hour training session. A day later, she was cradling a newborn.

Trish Staine, 33, says she had no idea she was pregnant before Monday's surprise birth. The Duluth mother of three said she hadn't gained any weight or felt fetal movement in the months before. And besides, her husband had a vasectomy.

Two rival auction houses have clashed over which one may have set the record for the sale of a crocodile-skin Birkin handbag by the luxury goods firm Hermes.

Paris auction house Artcurial said last month it had sold a red, orange and pink colored bag, named after the British-born French actress and singer Jane Birkin, for a record $82,600 (63,800 euros) on May 21.

Ex-president Vicente Fox said Wednesday that Mexico should legalize marijuana, steal business back from violent drug cartels -- and when it's legal, he's in (as a grower).

"Once it is legitimate and legal, of course, I do some farming. I can do it myself," the conservative former leader said from his ranch in San Francisco del Rincon.

A Saudi man who slapped his wife has earned himself a flogging and jail sentence, in a rare ruling in the Gulf kingdom that imposes stiff restrictions on women, a local newspaper reported Wednesday.

A court in the town of Safwa, in the eastern Qatif district, sentenced the man to 10 days in jail and 30 lashes, al-Sharq daily said.

Mobile phones are frequently regarded as the bane of classical music concerts, especially when they go off mid-performance.

But it wasn't a jarring ring that shattered the concentration of Polish pianist Krystian Zimerman during a recital Monday in the German city of Essen. Rather, the 56-year-old stormed off when he noticed an audience member filming the concert with a smartphone, organizers told Agence France Presse.

Staff at Bristol Airport in southwest England have appealed for help to find the owners of an antique teddy bear left in the departure lounge last year with a photograph dated 1918.

The black-and-white picture shows two young girls and what appears to be the bear. On the back is a handwritten note to "our darling Daddie" from "your loving little daughter and Sonia".