World briefs

There was a time when Vladimir Putin’s macho antics inspired pride among Russians, but many are finding it hard to believe the President’s latest stunt – catching a huge pike in Siberia.

Video footage released by the Kremlin last week showed Putin dressed in camouflage fatigues and sunglasses, fishing, driving a motorboat and petting reindeer in a remote region of Siberia with his prime minister and defence minister.

But the images of the 60-year-old President hauling in a pike which the Kremlin said weighed 21kg proved too much for some Russians to swallow.

Within hours, online satirists were questioning whether the incident was staged and whether the pike was really as big as the Kremlin said.

“Wonder who planted that fish for Putin to catch,” said a caption placed under two online pictures, one of Putin holding the fish and the other showing Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev emerging from a river in a wetsuit with a satisfied look. (Reuters)

Mother’s ‘surprise’ baby

A UK woman who thought she would never be a mother gave birth just 15 hours after visiting her GP with “tummy ache”.

Amanda Ross, 41, said she had not experienced any symptoms of pregnancy before giving birth to her daughter, Chloe.

“I had the munchies, but nothing, no cravings for anything in particular. I did not feel any movement. I put on a little bit of weight but nothing that was like a baby bump,” she told ITV’s Daybreak. She said she visited her GP after feeling a “little bit unwell” and had been told she could be pregnant.

She was referred the same day for a scan with a midwife, who told her she was around seven to eight months’ pregnant.

Chloe, weighing 4lb 9oz, was born the next morning by emergency Caesarean section in Bristol. (PA)

Disciplined over ‘perks’

Lavish weddings, fancy holidays and lunch-time wine on the public purse were among corrupt perks that led China’s ruling Communist Party to discipline 2,290 officials so far this year.

The party’s disciplinary arm provided examples of breaches, including a party chief who was stripped of his post for holding an extravagant wedding for his daughter and receiving around £100,000 in cash and gifts.

Party officials, led by President Xi Jinping, hail their efforts to eradicate extravagance among cadres as evidence that they are serious about cracking down on the graft that plagues them at every level. (PA)

Kiss sparks €450,000 lawsuit

The parents of a 15-year-old US girl are suing a summer camp in Massachusetts, saying their daughter was kicked out after she was kissed by a boy.

The lawsuit says the girl was evicted from Camp Emerson last month and a camp official falsely accused her and the boy of sexually provo-cative behaviour.

The action seeks €450,000 in damages, alleging negligent infliction of emotional distress, defamation and other claims. (PA)

Stolen Stradivarius is found

A 1696 Antonio Stradivarius violin worth £1.2 million, which was stolen by thieves in 2010, has been found.

The 300-year-old instrument and two bows worth £67,000 were stolen from Korean-born violinist Min-Jin Kym, 35, by opportunists while she was in a cafe at London’s Euston station.

British Transport Police said the violin was recovered from a property in the Midlands but would not release further details.

Police said investigators had verified the find with experts and the violin is now being held at a secure London location. (PA)