A life-size bronze statue of comic book reporter Tintin and more than 200 other items linked to the diminutive globetrotter have fetched more than €1 million at a Paris auction.
The most expensive lot was two inked and water-painted original panels from the 1938 King Ottokar's Sceptre album, which went for €243,750.
The bronze statue, showing Belgian artist Herge's hero Tintin with his hands in his pockets and dog Snowy at his side, went for €125,000 in the auction at the Drouot-Montaigne auction house. (PA)
Lost and found
Archaeologists have discovered the 3,300-year-old tomb of the ancient Egyptian capital's mayor, whose resting place had been lost under the desert sand since 19th century treasure hunters first carted off some of its decorative wall panels.
Ptahmes, the mayor of Memphis, also served as army chief, overseer of the treasury and royal scribe under Seti I and his son and successor, Ramses II, in the 13th century BC.
The discovery of his tomb in a New Kingdom necropolis at Saqqara, solves a riddle dating back to 1885, when foreign expeditions made off with pieces of the tomb, whose location was soon after forgotten.
"Since then it was covered by sand and no one knew about it," said archaeology Professor Ola el-Aguizy of Cairo University. "It is important because this tomb was the lost tomb."
The inner chambers of the large, temple-style tomb and Ptahmes's mummy remain undiscovered. (PA)
Burnt alive
At least 30 people, including 10 children, were burnt alive yesterday when a bus bound for the southern Indian city of Bangalore ploughed into a roadblock and caught fire, police said.
The state-owned vehicle overturned in a ditch and its fuel tank burst into flames, engulfing the bus, the Press Trust of India news agency reported, adding about 30 other people were injured.
The bus was on its way from Karnataka's Gulbarga district to Bangalore when the accident happened before dawn, senior police officer Labhu Ram told reporters.
At least three of the injured were in a serious condition, he added. The driver was among those killed. (AFP)
Gory discovery
Mexican police have found an abandoned silver mine scattered with bodies.
Five bodies were recovered from the mine at Taxco in southern Mexico in what appears to be a dumping ground for victims of organised crime, said Manuel Nava Garcia, a spokesman for Guerrero state government.
A state official estimates there may be more than 20 bodies at the site. He said authorities were tipped off by an organised crime suspect arrested last week in the nearby city of Iguala. (PA)
Jamaica longs for new Marley
In Jamaica's slums, the police are feared, the gangs are fractious and the politicians are resented, but one man remains a great uniter - Bob Marley.
After a week of violence on the streets of Kingston, many residents are nostalgic for the late reggae superstar, who attempted to broker an end to the island's bloody turf wars three decades ago.
Marley nearly paid with his life. He was shot in Kingston in 1976, apparent retribution for reaching out to both sides as the island verged on civil war. In 1978 Marley pulled off one of the defining moments of Jamaican political history when he coaxed the country's rival leaders to join him on stage at a concert and hold hands.
The two leaders, Michael Manley and Edward Seaga, were said not to have shaken hands again until 1981 at the funeral of Marley, who died of cancer at age 36. (AFP)
Aston Martin immigrants
Sixteen illegal immigrants were caught trying to smuggle themselves into the UK - after breaking into a lorry containing a £1 million racing car.
UK Border Agency officers working in Calais discovered eight Afghans, four Iraqis and four Vietnamese nationals sitting on a cramped shelf above the Aston Martin.
The officers, who had spotted that one of the trailer's side doors looked as if it had been forced open, handed the immigrants over to the French authorities.
Head of the UK border force Brodie Clark said: "The UK Border Agency has officers working 24 hours a day in Calais using the latest technology as well as specially trained dogs to identify and prevent illegal immigrants from reaching the UK". (PA)
Shark fin ban
The shark fin dish has been a favourite on the menu since Vienna Hou's Chinese restaurant opened in Honolulu 25 years ago.
But Kirin Restaurant customers will not be dining in that style from July 1 neat year when Hawaii becomes the first state in the nation to ban the possession of shark fins. The state is attempting to help prevent the overfishing and extinction of sharks around the world.
Governor Linda Lingle on Friday signed a Bill prohibiting the possession, sale or distribution of shark fins. The Bill passed the state House . (PA)