Mondo Europe

News that you might have missed from around the continent, selected by Steve Anglesey.

Pictures emerged showing the winner posing with other models in the colours of the opposition.

News that you might have missed from around the continent, selected by Steve Anglesey.

News that you might have missed from around the continent, selected by Steve Anglesey.

News that you might have missed from around the continent, selected by Steve Anglesey.

News that you might have missed from around the continent, selected by Steve Anglesey.

More weird news from Europe, including a fake Kanye West gig in a field near Paris, a cow-riding German and the Austrian punk singer who vaccinates his own fans

A vaccination centre in Sonneberg, central Germany, southern Thuringia, increased its footfall by nearly 80 per cent by offering a free bratwurst with each jab

The continent's strangest news, including a colony of rabbits winning a court battle against the French military and an alleged fraudster with a gold toilet

The week’s weirdest news from around Europe… Rome police dressed up as priests to bust a ring of con men disguised as cardinals. Five suspects aged between 58 and 75 have been arrested for a total of 20 offences committed since 1988, involving a total of around 1.7 million euros (£1.45m). Police said the fraudsters […]

A pizza restaurant with a robot as the chef has opened in Paris.

An apartment that costs 180,000 euros (£155,000) per month to rent is available in Monte Carlo One, a luxury block overlooking Monaco’s famous Place du Casino.

The weirdest stories in Europe: The pub waiter who says he's a Spanish royal, and a corpse rides for six hours on a Swiss tram

María Paz Fuentes Fernández's family got a shock after her death - she had booked a local newspaper notice banning them from her funeral

The week's weirdest news from Europe includes a drug mix-up in Poland, a trigger-happy pensioner in Germany and a violent squirrel in Turkey

Work stopped in a Bulgarian factory that produces olive oil processing machinery when it was accidentally stormed by American soldiers on a training exercise.

High school students in Skellefteå, north east Sweden, have been banned from buying goldfish over fears that they will eat them while still alive.

At a time when dictators and aircraft are making news, Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu’s third-favourite plane is up for auction with a starting price of €25,000 (£21,500).

The Flemish government has spent €1 on buying a 500-year-old castle that had become derelict because of a feud between the brothers who owned it

A round-up of some of the weirdest stories from Europe. Napoleon fans eager to mark the 200th anniversary of his death can now buy replicas of the emperor’s socks for 250 euros (£215). The idea is the work of Parisian clothing company Mes Chaussettes Rouges, who have based their designs on an antique pair of […]

Italy’s Robinson Crusoe says he is “really pissed off” being forced off the idyllic island he has spent 30 years living on alone. Mauro Morandi, now 81, landed on the pink sand atoll of Budelli in 1989 while attempting to sail to Polynesia with friends. He has remained ever since, even after his sole companion […]

The German village of Wakendorf II, population 1428, was covered in a wave of liquid manure after the seal on a farm silo burst. Locals said there was a “bestial” smell after the 230,000-litre holding tank, on a farm overlooking the village in Schleswig-Holstein, emptied its contents at 11am last Saturday.  Christopher Möller, 22, said […]

A bereaved Italian has reacted to Rome’s funeral crisis by putting up 9×7-metre digital billboardsbearing the words, “Mum, I’m sorry I’ve not been able to have you buried yet”. “There are hundreds of coffins waiting,” said Oberdan Zuccaroli, whose mother died of a heart attack on March 8. His aunt, who died on January 9, is […]

The city of Paris has mislaid two 10-tonne art deco fountains that stood near the Port de la Chapelle metro station. The landmarks were built in 1935 but were moved temporarily in 2014 to clear a new tram route for the 2024 Olympic Games. However, no-one now seems to know where they were put. Local […]

Switzerland’s army has launched a drive to attract more female recruits by introducing standard-issue women’s underwear for the first time. At present, female soldiers are issued with the same regulation undergarments used by men. Armasuisse, the Swiss armed forces’ procurement organisation, said that “previous army equipment and uniforms were too little or not at all […]

Another look at the continent’s weirdest stories, selected by Steve Anglesey. Paris police who boasted about busting a 1.2million euro (£1.03million) haul of MDMA and ecstasy turned out to have seized Haribo sweets instead. The gendarmes wrote on Twitter that after a “fruitful investigation” they had found a “large quantity of drugs to be sold […]

A Porsche 911 convertible which the footballer was caught driving through a red light at 111mph just after buying fetched a huge price at auction A Porsche 911 convertible which Diego Maradona was famously caught driving through a red light at 180km/h (111mph) just 30 minutes after buying has sold for €483,000 (£414,000) at auction in Paris. […]

A new era of advertising in the air is being tested in Germany A new era of advertising in the sky is being tested in Germany, where a squadron of planes flying in formation has written ‘Hallo Berlin’ and ‘Hallo Hamburg’ at an altitude of 3,000m above the cities. The messages are the work of […]