A car travelling on a motorway in Switzerland lost all four wheels simultaneously, coming to an immediate halt in the middle of the highway, police have said.

The car had just stopped and the passengers had changed from winter to summer wheels themselves, a common task in Switzerland where there is plenty of snow in winter, but used the wrong nuts when mounting the new set.

"When they then drove back on to the motorway, all of the wheels disconnected," St Gallen cantonal police said in a statement. "Luckily, no one was injured and no other vehicle was damaged." (Reuters)

China stops cruel practice

Chinese health authorities are putting a stop to restaurants serving chickens which have been bitten to death by poisonous snakes and cooked up for a supposedly detoxing meal.

The dish, served by a small number of eateries in Guangdong and Chongqing, has generated a storm of publicity and controversy in the Chinese media. A video showing a cook holding a snake and forcing it to bite a live chicken until it dies has been widely circulated online, ( http://you.video.sina.com.cn/b/21145091-1405053100.html ) generating mainly angry comments.

"Not only is it cruel and blood-thirsty, but totally amoral," the Chongqing Business Daily cited a neighbour to one of the restaurants as saying. Health authorities in Guangdong have already told restaurants to stop serving "poisonous snake-bitten chicken" and now those in Chongqing have joined in.

One dish, prized among some in Guangdong, is monkey brains scooped from a live animal, which has regularly upset animal rights campaigners in the West. (Reuters)

Cool robber goes for chic store

A lone gunman robbed a chic Paris jewellery store in broad daylight last Saturday, walking out of the Chopard shop on Place Vendome with up to €10 million of goods, police said. Dressed in a suit and wearing a fedora, the man entered the prestigious boutique, pulled out a gun and forced staff to hand over some 15 pieces of jewellery.

"According to the first set of information we received, it was a man in his fifties, dressed in a chic costume and wearing a Borsalino (fedora) hat," said Olivier Lebon, a police union representative.

"He came in like any other customer, pointed his gun at employees and asked for about fifteen pieces."

Mr Lebon said the robbery took two minutes and estimated the loot was worth between 6 and 10 million euros.

Chopard is known for adorning movie stars strutting on red carpets at high-profile events such as the Cannes film festival or Hollywood's Academy Awards. (Reuters)

A plague of serpents

A plague of snakes has caused panic in Iraq's Nasiriyah province, biting cattle and worrying residents as poisonous reptiles flee their dens in the country's water-deprived marshes.

Wissam al-Assadi, a veterinary officer in Chabaysh town said, "They have attacked cows and buffalo, and farmers have come to us looking for vaccines but we don't have any".

The farmers have even set up an overnight guard against snakes attacking their cows which are the only resource they have.

Iraq's water reserves dipped last month, although rainfall in winter was normal. Experts say Iraq faces agricultural disaster this summer if neighbouring Turkey continues to retain waters from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers which have nourished Iraqi agriculture for millennia. (AFP)

Jeweller's giveaway pulls thousands

Thousands of people queued for hours outside a luxury jeweller in Tokyo that was offering an unusual promotion to ease the recession blues - a giveaway of 5,000 free diamonds. A queue stretched for several city blocks from early morning as people waited for Mauboussin in upmarket Ginza district to open at 9 a.m. (0000 GMT), eager to get one of the 0.1 carat rocks, worth about 5,000 yen ($50) each.

Some arrived at 6 a.m. to get one of the precious stones being offered as a special promotion for the jeweller's recently-opened Japanese flagship store.

The free offer was part of a "bright campaign to drive away the recession", with the company also offering to set the diamonds in rings and necklaces for customers who want to pay for the jewellery. (AFP)

Jay Leno's farewell

Jay Leno, 59, has bid farewell to The Tonight Show, ending his 17-year run as host in the finale.

The main difference was a long ovation that Mr Leno struggled to quiet as he took the stage for an opening monologue that poked fun, as usual, at politicians, celebrities and current events.

He thanked the likes of pop star Michael Jackson and former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, for giving him material over the years.

The host ended with a tribute to the Tonight Show staff, many of whom stayed with the programme throughout his 17 years and even married their co-workers. The show's many couples had 68 children between them. (Reuters)