BERNE (Reuters) – Vuvuzelas have been kicked out of European competitions after UEFA said that the controversial plastic trumpets drowned out supporters and detracted from the emotion of the game.

VENICE (Reuters) – Whether a hoax or not, a new documentary about Joaquin Phoenix and his transition from acclaimed, brooding actor to bearded, shambolic hip-hop wannabe has captivated viewers at the Venice film festival.

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Luxury car maker Jaguar has cut its sponsorship of star Australia swimmer Stephanie Rice, a triple Olympic gold medalist, after she sent a tweet using an anti-gay slur.

LONDON (Reuters) – A giant bale of hay has killed a founding member of the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) band after it tumbled down a hill and crashed into his van.

BERLIN (Reuters Life!) – To sweeten their first day at primary school German children are normally given a cardboard cone filled with sweets, but schoolchildren in Essen this year opened their cones to find pens which project erotic images.

DAKAR (Reuters) – Senegalese security forces have arrested seven Koranic teachers for forcing children to panhandle, a police official said on Friday, days after the West African state announced a crack down on public begging.

BERLIN (Reuters) – A German company that fired a man for the theft of 1.8 euro cents (two U.S. cents) worth of electricity had no grounds for sacking him, a court ruled, dismissing the firm’s appeal against his reinstatement.

BERLIN (Reuters) – For tourists tired of traditional sightseeing tours, one Berlin tour guide is offering something altogether different: a tour of Berlin’s public conveniences.

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Police arrested an 82-year-old man after he bit and kicked officers who had arrived to mediate in a dispute with a neighbor over a domestic pet.

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The Dutch Finance Ministry Thursday acknowledged it was defrauded out of more than 160,000 euros ($204,800) earlier this year by an employee of the ministry unit that handles the state’s financing needs.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Canadian parents are more lenient with their children than mothers and fathers in France and Italy, according to a new study.

BERNE (Reuters) – Vuvuzelas have been kicked out of European competitions after UEFA said that the controversial plastic trumpets drowned out supporters and detracted from the emotion of the game.

BERLIN (Reuters) – A British airplane en route to Poland was forced to make an emergency landing in Germany after a 56-year-old woman spilled a hot cup of tea on herself, German police said on Wednesday.

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – A number of Dutch colleges are considering legal action against the publisher of a move-in guide for new freshmen, after the company included an ad recruiting students for jobs as online sex workers.

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The Dutch are set to live longer — good news for them but bad news for insurers that are expected to suffer from higher capital requirements and tighter profit margins as a result.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Older people like reading negative news stories about their younger counterparts because it boosts their own self-esteem, according to a new study.

PARIS (Reuters) – A man appeared in court on Tuesday accused of trying to dazzle pilots with a laser beam as they were landing at France’s second-busiest airport Paris Orly, aviation authorities said.

LONDON (Reuters) – A toilet that belonged to late Beatle John Lennon fetched 9,500 pounds ($14,740) at auction on Saturday, around 10 times its estimate, the sale organizers said.

MILAN (Reuters) – At least 18 mushroom-lovers have been killed in accidents while hunting for their favorite fungi in the mountains and forests of northern Italy.

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysian airport security arrested a convicted wildlife smuggler after finding almost 100 live reptiles in his luggage, the country’s Wildlife and National Parks Department said.