There's a squirrel popping up all over the internet.

The rodent first made its appearance in a holiday photo taken by an American couple in Canada and has gone on to become a web sensation. Melissa Brandts and her husband, Jackson, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, were taking a time delay picture of themselves in front of a lake at Canada's Banff National Park when the squirrel jumped into the frame.

Melissa Brandts submitted the picture to National Geographic's "Your Shot" photo gallery with an explanation of how the unusual picture came about. "We had our camera set up on some rocks and were getting ready to take the picture when this curious little ground squirrel appeared, became intrigued with the sound of the focusing camera and popped right into our shot!"

"A once in a lifetime moment! We were laughing about this little guy for days!!"

The holiday photo has since gone viral on the internet and websites such as "The Squirrelizer" have sprung up in which the photo of the squirrel can be inserted into any picture. (AFP)

Turkish garden in shade of Berlin Wall

Osman Kalin is the proud occupier of his very own patch of no man's land. The cabbages, cherry trees and grape vines that grow on his allotment, a short ride from Checkpoint Charlie, are flourishing on a patch of earth the pensioner accidentally seized from East Germany when the Berlin Wall was still standing.

Mr Kalin's bower has become a popular attraction for tourists in search of Cold War mementos.

One day in 1983, the Turk decided to clear up a spot of rough ground littered with rubbish on the western side of the Cold War barrier so he could grow vegetables there. He had no idea the land actually belonged to East Berlin.

The plot lay on a slight kink in the postwar partition of Berlin that East German authorities chose to leave on the other side of the Wall to make construction simpler. (AFP)

Unhappy with olives, man destroys bar

Police in Spain have detained a man who wrecked a bar after the olives he was served failed to come up to standard.

The 54-year-old sat at the outdoor terrace of the bar in Gijon and ordered the drink which came with the olives as tapas, the small snacks usually offered for free along with an alcoholic beverage in Spain.

Shortly afterwards he stormed into the bar to blast the quality of the olives and insult the owner of the bar, the Europa Press news agency reported.

When other patrons and bar staff told him to calm down and threatened to call police, the dissatisfied customer began smashing glasses and bottles and threw chairs and tables at cars travelling along the street outside. (AFP)

Young wing walker in record bid

An eight-year-old British boy sought to fly into the record books on Wednesday, "wing walking" at 160 kilometres per hour strapped to the top of a biplane.

Tiger Brewer, aiming to be the world's youngest wing walker, stood on top of his grandfather's plane as it climbed to an altitude of 300 metres during the stunt at an airfield near Cirencester, England.

"It felt amazing, like I was on top of the world," he said afterwards. "It was cold and windy but it can't be beaten. You don't have a parachute, just a pair of goggles."

His father Colin, who has legally changed his name to Happy Birthday, added: "He was nervous and although he acts like a big man, he is only eight". (AFP)

No elephants on the beach

A French town has banned circus elephants from bathing at its beaches over concerns the animals' excrement could pollute the water and pose a health hazard to other swimmers.

Last year, elephants from one of the circuses that tour many French towns in the summer months were allowed onto the beach at Granville, in Normandy, to exercise and paddle in the waves.

But inspectors checking water quality found traces of their droppings in the sea and issued a warning over health standards at the beach, which is popular with French and foreign holidaymakers.

"Circuses are more than welcome," said Roland Huet, an official at Granville's town hall. "But this year the rules governing their stay clearly specify they cannot allow any animals, including elephants, to bathe on our beaches because of the risk of pollution," he added. (Reuters)