Sporting pioneer

One of Nigeria’s most high profile pastors gets social media cooking with comments about what makes an ideal spouse.

2011 riots: How one night changed my life
In 2011, thousands of people rioted in English cities. Here is the story of two people deeply affected by what went on.

The Olympian who never gave up
In 1992, 400m medal hopeful Derek Redmond pulled up injured in the semi-final of the Barcelona Olympics, but still finished the race.

S Korea military gives K-pop band anti-smoking mission
Girl group Lovelyz are tasked with encouraging South Korean soldiers to quit smoking.

Predicting the Rio Olympic medal table
The Rio Olympics have yet to start but we can already be confident the US and China will top the medals table. Why is this – and can we predict which other countries will do well?

The porn star who went to Iran for a nose job
Iranians are struggling to understand how a well-known British porn star was allowed into their country for cosmetic surgery.

Norway party proposes ‘slug hour’ to tackle invasive pests
Norway’s Socialist Left Party wants people to devote an hour to killing invasive slugs.

‘Not my Pope’ hashtag highlights French divisions
Pope Francis’s comments on Islam and terrorism spark a debate in France.

Serbia and Croatia in war of words over assassin statue
A monument to the Croatian nationalist and convicted killer Miro Baresic sparks anger in Serbia.

Teachers Group: The cult-like group linked to a charity that gets UK aid
A charity that has been paid millions by the UK government for its work in Africa is under the control of a cult-like organisation, an investigation reveals.

Egyptian campaign rejects gold bridal gifts tradition
A campaign against the tradition of grooms buying gold gifts for their brides gains support in Egypt.

How I was floored by a tick
When Allan Little began to feel ill, he knew almost immediately what it was – Lyme Disease. But getting a medical diagnosis – and treatment – took a lot longer.

Some of the world’s most boring jobs
A Frenchman is suing his former employer for boredom’s equivalent of burnout. We asked readers to tell us about the dullest job they have done.

UAE government selects ‘happiness officers’
Dozens of officials will spend five months overseas being trained in the science of happiness.

‘I am housemaid, hear me roar’
A Facebook page created to allow maids to tell horror stories about their employers has become a hit in Brazil.

Who can’t tweet about #Rio2016?
The United States Olympic Committee have been accused of bullying companies who want to talk about #Rio2016

‘God forgot Afghanistan’
Hundreds of thousands of tweets condemn the attack on an Afghan minority group by Islamic State militants.

10 things we didn’t know last week
The most heavy metal word in the English language and other news nuggets.

Dusseldorf residents told to pay for Nazi-era road
Court rules that homeowners must foot the bill for suburban Dusseldorf street first built in 1937.

The campaign that ‘shot’ Mark Zuckerberg in the face
A mocked-up photo of Facebook’s CEO with pellet gun wounds is used to highlight Kashmir and the company’s actions there.