A British graduate who batted for 26 hours solid at The Oval cricket ground in London has broken the world record, officials confirmed Friday.

Guinness World Records said Alby Shale had set a new global benchmark with his marathon feat in the indoor nets.

Passengers on the Moscow metro puffed and sweated for a free ride on Friday after Olympic officials unveiled a machine that issues a free ticket as a reward for performing 30 squats.

By setting the somewhat embarrassing challenge with a time limit of two minutes, the organizers said they were encouraging people to incorporate "Olympic values" into their commute.

The newly-elected mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, is now a figurine for Christmas Nativity scenes in Naples thanks to artisans in the homeland of the politician's Italian grandfather.

The terracotta statuette shows the new mayor -- who has spoken proudly of his Italian heritage -- smiling and waving and wearing an Italian flag band like the one donned by mayors in Italy.

Dubai municipality has dished out 2.8 million dirhams ($762,942) gold in prizes to contestants in a weight-loss challenge, an initiative by the Gulf emirate to fight obesity.

The "Your Weight in Gold" campaign promised one gram of gold for each kilogram shed, provided the contestants lost at least two kilos (4.6 pounds) by August 16, when the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan ended.

A video showing a U.S. woman leading a dance party in an operating theater just before undergoing a double mastectomy has gone viral online.

Deborah Cohan, a trained gynecologist, can be seen getting down -- dressed in full pre-op gown and colorful protective cap -- with a team of anesthetists and other surgical staff.

Ever wonder why you constantly find yourself sitting next to the toilets in your local restaurant?

Revelations about the seating policy at two landmark eateries in Paris might provide an unsettling clue.

Tantric massages deliver sexual pleasure and are subject to the same tax levied on brothels and swinger clubs in the southwestern German city of Stuttgart, a local court ruled Thursday.

The decision by an administrative court in the city followed a complaint by the owner of a massage studio who had been billed a total of 840 euros ($1,100) for January and February 2012 under a local "amusement tax".

Danish police on Wednesday apologized for refusing to believe a woman who found the body of a hanged man the night after Halloween.

Pernille Sundwall, 19, was on her way to a bar with her friends last Friday when she spotted the body outside the train station in Hilleroed, 30 kilometers (18 miles) northwest of Copenhagen.

The superior of a Catholic religious order in Italy has been arrested for conjuring up fictive charges against two members of his congregation to prevent them voting against him at his election.

Father Renato Salvatore, general superior of the Camilliani order dedicated to caring for the sick and poor since the 16th century, was arrested along with five other people accused of helping carry out the Machiavellian scheme, police said in a statement.

Swiss aviator Yves "Jetman" Rossy, whose jet-engine powered wings have taken him over some of the world's most awe-inspiring places, has added another -- Japan's Mount Fuji.

"It's a fantastic privilege to be a little mosquito flying in front of that big mountain," the 54-year-old former Swiss air force pilot said Wednesday.