IT MUST BE TRUE… I read it in the tabloids

An Indian model has been awarded 20 million rupees – almost £200,000 – by a judge in compensation for a badly botched hairdo. Lawyers for Aashna Roy said her request for four inches of her hair to be cut off was misconstrued – and it was instead shorn to just four inches long. Alas, she noticed only when she put her glasses back on at the end of the appointment at the salon in the ITC Maurya Hotel in Delhi. Awarding damages, a consumer court said the haircut caused her pain and trauma, and “completely changed her lifestyle and shattered her dream to be a top model”.

The BBC’s choice of reporter to cover fuel shortages delighted viewers, who hailed it as a classic example of “nominative determinism”. Phil McCann’s name quickly began trending online after his broadcast from a petrol station forecourt in Stockport on panic buying by motorists. But while Twitter users said McCann had been “born for this moment”, the man himself seemed less impressed. “It’s like being back in Year Nine!” he said of the furore.

The Daily Star is hiring the world’s first dedicated extraterrestrial affairs correspondent. Michael Moran, a veteran of The Times and The Jewish Chronicle, vowed to cover topics which “might otherwise go unreported by mainstream news outlets” after being appointed to the post. The Star said the move fits with its “irreverent and cheeky” style – and Moran thinks the role will offer near limitless opportunities. “It’s a much bigger topic than what’s going on on Earth,” he said. “Frankly, it’s the biggest beat in journalism.”