News From Elsewhere

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The committee in charge of Iceland's official register of horses has put its foot down after an owner attempted to register an animal with a "foreign" name, it's been reported.

While some Icelandic newspapers expressed surprise that such a committee even exists, IceNews website reports that the International Federation of Icelandic Horse Associations (FEIF) has recently passed a rule that names must be of Icelandic heritage for them to be included in the official database.

It comes after owner Gudrun Hrafnsdottir was told that the two-person panel had rejected the name Mosan for her three-year-old mare because it "conflicts with Icelandic grammar rules", Frettabladid newspaper says.

But the rules are there for a reason, says Jon Baldur Lorange of WordFengur, the studbook for Icelandic horses.

He says the two-person Horse Naming Committee was set up after people tried to register obscene names that left WordFengur "with no choice but to step in".

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An Australian television channel has apologised and deleted a video after it was accused of "casual racism" against Pacific Islanders.

The clip, on the popular Fox Sports Matty Johns Show, showed small children attempting to pronounce the 'funniest' player names in the NRL (National Rugby League), most of which being Pacific Islander surnames, 9News network reports.

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Council workers hoping to spruce up their street for a competition in St. Petersburg went a little too far and got themselves disqualified when they taped branches to bare trees, it's reported.

The "Cosy Garden 2017" competition in Russia's northern city aims to praise neighbourhoods that make an effort to beautify themselves, but local people on Tkachey Street were unimpressed when they saw gardeners had taped green branches to wilting trees - especially when they weren't even from the same type of tree, Life website reported.

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Cyclists in the Czech capital will soon be able to pedal along a route that will acquaint them with the city's most important and unusual trees.

The Stromojizda (Tree Ride) is being organised by the Prazske Stromy (Prague Trees) project, which provides information about the city's historic wooded areas. It is launching the free organised ride on Friday with a commentary on the sights in Czech, the Prazsky Patriot news portal reports.

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Poland's leading Catholic bishop has spoken out in favour of an almost complete ban on shops opening on Sunday, amid growing public controversy over the proposal.

"Free Sundays are what all Catholics, non-Catholics and non-believers need," Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki told Polish Radio ahead of a meeting of the Bishops Conference on Friday, which is expected to support the ban.

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Political parties in Estonia are offering skate parks and other teenager-friendly policies when 16- and 17-year-olds vote for the first time in forthcoming local elections.

Around 24,000 young people are shifting the dynamic in October's municipal elections, and the country's politicians are making big promises in an effort to secure their votes, the Postimees newspaper reports.

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Two Russian men have sold an apartment, car and a garage in an attempt to reconstruct a suspension bridge in Russia's Far East.

Yuri Vasilyev and Yevgeny Levin have spent 10m roubles ($170,000; £132,000) over three years to rebuild the bridge in Russia's Altai after it fell into neglect and was largely washed away in floods, Komsomolskaya Pravda news website reports. The men carried out the bulk of work themselves, but asked local residents for advice, and had a building company to oversee their workmanship.

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A Russian dating app is attempting to boost voter turnout in the upcoming elections by finding users an election "date", it's reported.

Popular dating service Mamba has introduced a feature called "Voting Together" which offers to help users find a companion to go to the polling station with during the 10 September local elections, independent broadcaster Dozhd says.

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An app is set to launch in a northeast Chinese city that allows anybody - not just the rich and famous - to hire a personal bodyguard, it's reported.

The Jinyiwei app, which is set to launch in Qingdao in September, provides an Uber-like service, and connects individuals and companies citywide with over 50,000 staff from 47 security companies.

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A Canadian driver has been told that a speeding ticket against him has been cancelled because the police officer involved only addressed him in English.

Lawyer Antoine Hacault, whose first language is French, was due to face a judge next week over an alleged speeding infraction in the largely French-speaking village of St-Pierre-Jolys in southern Manitoba, broadcaster CBC reports.