Paris officials have come up with an eco-friendly way to keep the city’s grass trim – by enlisting hungry sheep to replace gas-guzzling lawnmowers.

The initiative, which started this week, sees four sheep from an island in Brittany put to work munching the bountiful grass of the Paris Archives.

The eco-experiment, which could expand around the capital from October, follows on from a stint last year by two goats that the Louvre hired to mow the lawn of Paris’ famed Tuileries gardens.

Already, private companies have hundreds of operational sheep mowing lawns of big companies around Paris. (AP)

Al Pacino plans London show

The Godfather star Al Pacino will appear in a one-man show at the London Palladium later this year.

The actor will appear in An Evening With Pacino on Sunday June 2, talking about his career on the stage and screen and answering questions from the audience.

Pacino’s career has seen him star in some of the biggest films of the last 50 years including Serpico, Scarface and The Godfather.

He has been nominated for eight Oscars and was named best actor in 1992 for his role in Scent of a Woman. (PA)

Magnet stimulation for drug addicts

Drugs addicts could be cured by magnets, scientists believe.

In experiments with mice hooked on cocaine, they were no longer compelled to take the drugs after key brain cells were stimulated by lasers. And reducing cell activity turned normal mice into junkies, The Sun has reported.

Now the California University team are planning a series of tests to see if electromagnetic stimulation on humans can also put an end to addictive behaviour. (PA)

Stones concert sells out in minutes

The Rolling Stones concert in Hyde Park sold out in just five minutes despite fan concerns over ticket prices.

The 65,000 tickets for the central London gig went within minutes of being put on general release yesterday.

AEG Live promoter Rob Hallett said the response had been “incredible”.

He said: “We sold 65,000 tickets in the speed the system could handle. If the system could handle it in seconds, we would have probably sold out in seconds.” (PA)

Dangerous dogs being used ‘as assets’

Dangerous dogs are being bred by young men as a business asset in drug deals, debt collection and for their gang image, according to research.

More young men were using mastiffs, pit bulls, akitas and other aggressive dogs as a “commodity” for security and making money in gangs, the study found.

Dr Simon Harding of Middlesex University London, who is behind the research, said: “For many young people, dogs are increasingly viewed as a commodity which can be traded up or down like a mobile phone. It has become less about whether the dog will fit into family life and more about, ‘What will this dog do for me, how much will it make me?’.” (AP)

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