An uncle of President Barack Obama was arrested last week near Boston on a charge of drunk driving, police said Monday.

Onyango Obama was arrested in Framingham, Massachusetts, on August 24 and charged in Framingham District Court with operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol.

A hand-made olive-wood chair, fashioned to look like the blue seats at the United Nations, is set to tour Europe to raise support for a Palestinian bid to join the world body.

The chair was commissioned by a Palestinian NGO which is hoping to rally support for the campaign to secure full U.N. membership for a Palestinian state when the General Assembly meets in New York next month.

An Australian man has pleaded with his local council to sift through their rubbish tips Tuesday after accidentally throwing out $50,000 (US$53,000) of his wife's jewelry.

The man, who only wanted to be known as Geoff, said the uninsured haul was stored in plastic bags to fool potential robbers but they were mistakenly tossed into wheelie bins outside his house last week in a pre-move clean-up.

The fantasy of seeing banknotes fluttering down from the sky came true for Dutch motorists after a package containing cash apparently fell from a bank transport truck and broke open.

The incident triggered a dangerous scramble for the euro bills Monday on the busy A2 highway near Maastricht, as people parked cars on the road's shoulder and ran to scoop up loose notes.

A wayward penguin that became a worldwide celebrity after washing up lost on a New Zealand beach left Wellington on Monday aboard a research ship bound for his frigid home waters in Antarctica.

The giant bird, dubbed Happy Feet, set sail on the New Zealand fisheries vessel Tangaroa in a custom-made insulated crate with his own veterinary team in attendance and a contingent of media to bid him farewell at the dock.

A South Korean burglar has been arrested after police found details of his criminal exploits recorded in his diary, complete with addresses he hit and entries such as "Jackpot!", a detective said Monday.

The 42-year-old Seoul man, identified only as Kim, had stolen luxury bags, jewelry and electronic items worth 320 million won ($300,000) from scores of houses and shops over the past six years.

Eat dark chocolate, watch funny movies, avoid stressful jobs, and pedal hard when biking are all ingredients in the recipe for a healthy heart, according to experts meeting in Paris this week.

Whether one is afflicted by a heart attack, high blood pressure or constricted arteries depends in large measure on a host of lifestyle choices.

He is about half the age of other students in the room. Yet 13-year-old Noah Egler is completely in his element, wearing powder blue medical scrubs and answering questions with an enthusiasm that draws smiles from those around him.

They are amused by his presence, but also inspired. Young Noah, meanwhile, is content, though a little nervous to be taking part in a workshop usually reserved for medical students, not for precocious eighth-graders.

Bess Cooper celebrated her 115th birthday as the world's oldest person in Monroe, Georgia, Friday, though there was no Elvis impersonator at the party like there was last year, reported local media.

A researcher from Guinness Book of World Records was on hand at Cooper's birthday party to deliver the Tennessee native her second plaque that certifies her as the oldest person on the planet.

With a lost look, a group of dancers hold the barre as they practice plies, twists and turns, as their teacher corrects their posture with a gentle touch.

Learning is slow and arduous, requiring much patience from ballerina Fernanda Bianchini, 32, who is trying to convey the beauty of the discipline to the students, who have one major difficulty: they are blind.