French star Gerard Depardieu has been accused of urinating in an airliner’s cabin ahead of takeoff.

A woman passenger told France’s Europe-1 radio that Mr Depardieu appeared inebriated and announced “I need to piss, I need to piss” while the Dublin-bound flight was still on the ground in Paris.

She said when the cabin crew told him to remain seated during takeoff, “he stood up and did it (urinated) on the ground.”

A spokesman for City Jet, the Dublin-based airline that operated the Tuesday evening flight, confirmed that the incident had taken place. The passenger, who was escorted off the plane along with his two travelling companions and their luggage.

The plane took off two hours late.

Happy day

New Zealand’s favourite penguin visitor will soon be released into the sub-Antarctic ocean.

The emperor penguin, known as Happy Feet, was discovered on June 20 at Peka Peka Beach about 40 miles northwest of Wellington, far from his Antarctic feeding grounds. He was transferred to Wellington Zoo four days later after becoming sick from eating sand, which he is believed to have mistaken for snow.

He has been booked on to a research vessel scheduled to leave the country on August 29. The zoo said he will be released after four days at sea, at a latitude of 53 degrees south. His progress will be monitored with a GPS tracking device.

Apple sued

A lawyer says a group of more than 25,000 South Koreans are suing Apple for what they claim are privacy violations related to the collection of iPhone user location information.

Kim Hyeong-seok said the suit involves 27,612 people who are each seeking a million won (£567) in damages. Mr Kim said the suit targets Apple and its South Korean unit.

Apple has faced complaints and criticisms since revelations in the US that iPhones were storing locations of nearby mobile phone towers and wifi hot spots for up to a year. Such data can be used to create a rough map of the device owner’s movements.

9/11 album rethink

Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Steve Reich is picking another image for his album dedicated to 9/11 after the original photo – of the twin towers under attack – was met with protest.

Mr Reich’s WTC 9/11 is out on September 20, nine days after the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. The Kronos Quartet performs the music, and the piece includes pre-recorded voices from air traffic controllers, firefighters and others. The initial image shows one tower in flames after the first plane hit and another jet about to hit the second tower. Since the music included documentary material from the attacks, Mr Reich says he wanted the album art to do the same, but after some criticism, he agreed to choose another image.

Coffee cream?

Caffeine could be a useful addition to sunscreens as it absorbs ultraviolet light and protects against skin cancer, say scientists.

A new study, led by Dr Allan Conney, from Rutgers University in New Jersey, US, has shown how the coffee stimulant acts at the molecular level to prevent sunlight triggering tumour development in the skin.

The findings suggest that “topical application” of caffeine in creams or lotions could help prevent sun-induced skin cancer.

Candidate overload

Some 83 candidates have put their names forward for Kyrgyzstan’s presidential election, the Central Election Commission said.

It sets the stage for a lively political contest, but only a handful have any chance of winning the October 30 vote in the turbulent nation.

The expected front-runners are Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev, who leads the Social Democratic Party, nationalist Ata-Zhurt party leader Kamchibek Tashiyev, and the left-leaning Ata-Meken party chief Omurbek Tekebayev.

Forces get royal

Canada’s navy and air force are regaining their royalty.

Defence Minister Peter MacKay said they will once again officially be known as the Royal Canadian Navy and the Royal Canadian Air Force. He said the change is intended to help those in uniform reconnect with their historic past.

Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who leads Canada’s most pro-monarchy government since the 1950s, has been shifting the country from centre-left to centre-right, laying greater stress on traditional symbols such as the monarchy, military, ice hockey and the Arctic.

Designer wheels

High-fashion label Gucci has helped Fiat design a new version of its 500 for the US market.

The black special edition of the car features glossy paint, chrome detailing and a leather interior with white accents. It has the Italian fashion label’s emblem on the headrests and Gucci’s signature green-and-red stripe along the body, seat belt and seats.

It is getting the full designer treatment, with a launch date of September 8 ­– the start of New York Fashion Week.

Utility blunder

An energy firm in Britain has apologised and reimbursed nearly £200,000 to tens of thousands of customers after identifying a fault with its automated telephone meter reading system.

The problem affected EDF Energy customers and meant some were overcharged when the company changed its prices between October 2003 and May 2010.

Adam Scorer of Consumer Focus said: “Customers clearly have a right to expect that if they take the time and effort to give a meter reading, that their supplier will reflect this in their bill.” (PA)

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.