Four prisoners died when a jail cell wall fell on them during an attempted prison escape in Congo's capital, Kinshasa.
Eight others were taken to the hospital after the inmates attempted to escape from the Lufungula police barracks' jail during a power cut.
Human rights groups have cited poor prison conditions as a reason for so many escape attempts. Last month, more 100 inmates escaped from jails in eastern Congo. (PA)
'Miraculous' image?
A woman who separated from her husband and had her work hours cut says an image of Jesus Christ she sees on her iron has reassured her that "life is going to be good".
Mary Jo Coady, from Massachusetts, says the brownish residue on the bottom of the iron looks like the face of a man with long hair.
She adds that the image looks like Jesus and is proof that "He's listening". (PA)
Hepburn treasures on auction
A collection of dresses and other wardrobe treasures worn by film star and style icon Audrey Hepburn is on show in Paris this week, ahead of a charity auction at Sotheby's in London.
A black silk Givenchy dress she wore in the 1962 hit Paris When It Sizzles is among the 36 gowns up for sale at the December 8 auction, Sotheby's said.
Hats, belts and plenty of Chanel handbags will be auctioned off, as will letters written by the late British star Hepburn during the filming of Roman Holiday with Gregory Peck in 1953. The famous wardrobe items worn by the chic and svelte actress is on show in Paris today and tomorrow ahead of the auction. Half of the proceeds from the sale will go to the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund.
Ms Hepburn's dresses have fetched high prices at previous auctions. A pink cocktail dress she wore in the 1961 classic Breakfast At Tiffany's sold for $192,000 in New York in 2007. (AFP)
Gay bar to fight AIDS
A Chinese city with one of the nation's highest rates of AIDS has opened a government-funded gay bar in an outreach effort that has stirred debate over the use of taxpayers' money.
The health department in Dali, a picturesque city on a lake in Yunnan province, funded the bar to reach out to China's increasingly open gay community. Dali is one of the 10 cities in China most affected by AIDS.
Same-sex transmission accounts for about one-third of new HIV infections in China, the minister of health said this month.
Founder Zhang Jianbo hopes that the bar will be a public gathering place for gay men, especially from rural villages, who used to gather in a patch of woods near the historic town.
The bar offers sex education and free condoms, in addition to companionship, Mr Zhang said in an interview with the newspaper. (Reuters)
Muslims pelt Tory peer with eggs
Eggs were thrown at Baroness Warsi during a visit to Luton in UK, yesterday.
The incident happened as the shadow minister for community cohesion and social action visited the area with a Conservative election candidate.
According to reports, the male protesters accused her of not being a proper Muslim and of supporting the death of Muslims in Afghanistan.
After the attack, Baroness Warsi said she had tried to talk to the protesters but they did not want to debate their concerns.
"They just weren't prepared to listen. They shouted," she told BBC News. (PA)
Quite a bagful
A charity shop has been given an unusually generous donation in the form of an unused Louis Vuitton handbag worth almost £1,400.
The designer bag was taken into a Cancer Research shop by a woman who urged staff to have it valued because it was "definitely real".
When a member of staff at the branch in Bedford High Street took it to Louis Vuitton's New Bond Street store in central London, he was told it was a genuine article with a retail price of £1,395. The shop is selling it on online auction site eBay. (PA)
'Nonsense' carols
Some of the UK's favourite Christmas carols have been attacked by a leading Church of England bishop as having "nonsense" lines.
The Rt Rev. Nick Baines, Bishop of Croydon, said hymns such as Away In A Manger had helped perpetuate an image of Christmas more to do with Victorian sentiment than the Gospel story.
He said: "If we sing nonsense, is it any surprise that children grow into adults and throw out the tearless baby Jesus with Father Christmas and other fantasy figures?" (PA)
Sex pest cyclist
A naked cyclist stalking women joggers has left police officers scratching their heads.
Investigators are examining a series of sightings of the sex pest close to the River Thames in Barnes, west London.
Women saw the man, either completely naked or naked from the waist down, exposing himself to them as they walked or jogged on towpaths and riverside roads. Officers have not been able to identify him. (PA)