News of the weird

Paparazzi pooper: Last week's Invention Convention in Long Beach, California, saw the introduction of an anti-paparazzi baseball cap. A small electronic device attached to the cap contains a light sensor that detects the operation of a flash camera, then sends a flash back in the same direction, ruining any photograph. The inventor, Joe Resnick, says the device was inspired by a plea from George Clooney for photographers to respect celebrities' privacy after the death of Princess Diana.

Safe apes: Iush Yushan national park in Taiwan is now a safer place for thousands of Formosan rock monkeys following the construction of a monkey crossing above a busy road. The deaths of several monkeys in recent years prompted the building of what is believed to be the world's first overhead monkey crossing.

Not loony enough: Following the election of Alan Hope, deputy leader of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party, as mayor of Ashburton in Devon, the party leader, Screaming Lord Sutch, says they will be discussing "whether to fling him out for being too successful".