STATUS UPDATES

A week in which Nigeria’s president denies being a clone and a bare-armed journalistis the story

BACK FROM THE DEAD:

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari. Buhari, 75, denied bizarre rumours that he had died and been replaced by a look-alike, a body double named Jubril from Sudan. “It’s (the) real me, I assure you,” he said, adding that he’s not a clone. No comment from “Jubril.”

EXPOSED:

A silly law by a 9-year-old boy in Severance, Colo. Dane Best persuaded the town’s leaders to toss out a nearly century-old ban on snowball fights. It was part of an ordinance making it illegal to toss stones or missiles at people, animals, buildings, trees, any other public or private property. Fun town. MOVING FREELY:

Commuters in Luxembourg. The country, home to 110,000 but with another 400,000 commuters from neighbouring countries, says it will remove fares on trains, streetcars and buses next summer. It’s part of a climate-friendly platform by a new government. Can Luxembourg save the world?

DISPUTED:

A multi-millioneuro family inheritance. The fight involves retired Vatican ambassador Carlo Maria Vigano, whose sex abuse coverup allegations rocked the Vatican. Now Vigano is trying to explain a court ruling forcing him to pay his brother (also a priest) 1.8 million euros in a messy civil case.

BACK FROM EXTINCTION:

The world’s smallest mammal, the Etruscan shrew, at least on the island of Tavolara. The tiny creature was thought to have died off 50 years ago on the island off the Sardinian coast, the Daily Telegraph reports. But it’s benefited from rat eradication.

OVEREXPOSED:

A journalist tossed out of Australia’s parliament. Patricia Karvelas allegedly breached the dress code for showing way too much … arm. After a backlash, she received an apology, with no less than the defence minister expressing regret. STAYING PUT:

A life-sized statue named “Victorious Youth.” The bronze dating from 300 BC to 100 BC is a highlight at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. The Museum vows it will keep it, even though an Italian court upheld an earlier ruling that ordered it returned to Italy. It was found in the sea in 1964.

GIVEN UP:

Boris Becker’s claim to have diplomatic immunity from bankruptcy. The former tennis star had said his appointment as a Central African Republic diplomat gave him protection from any legal claims. A planned trophy auction will now go ahead.