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| - Our weekly roundup of offbeat stories from around the world: There were blushes in Canada this week when a lawmaker was left red-cheeked after appearing stark naked on a House of Commons Zoom conference call and had to apologise to his colleagues. William Amos, a Liberal MP, was caught covering his nether regions with a mobile phone and in a state of nature between the flags of Quebec and Canada when his laptop camera turned on during the virtual session. "I made a really unfortunate mistake today & obviously I'm embarrassed by it," the 46-year-old tweeted after the incident in his office was made public. Another unexpected sight in Krakow brought Polish animal welfare workers out to investigate a dangerous-looking animal spotted in a tree -- only to find out it was a croissant. The Krakow Animal Welfare Society received a desperate call from a local resident in the southern Polish city. "It's been sitting in a tree across the house for two days! People aren't opening their windows because they're afraid it will go into their house," the caller was reported as saying. When the inspectors went to the scene they sighted the mysterious creature in a tree, noting it had "no legs or head" -- a potentially sinister twist, until they discovered it was a humble pastry. What's in a name? Rather a lot, apparently, for the French town of Bitche, celebrating its return to Facebook following a three-week shutdown when censors took down its page, believing the name to be an insult. The mayor of the northeastern town of 5,000 inhabitants near the border with Germany said Facebook took down the page on the basis that Bitche was a "violation of the conditions applying to Facebook pages". "Our town's name seems to be have been misinterpreted," said mayor Benoit Kieffer, suggesting it had been mistaken for the derogatory English term. Desperate to reconnect with residents, the municipality set up another page with the rather less inflammatory name "Mairie 57320" (townhall 57320), using its postcode. Dramatic repercussions of the Suez Canal blockage were being felt in Britain this week, which combined with high demand during lockdown has caused a shortage of the beloved garden gnome. The small bearded characters -- often with a trowel or fishing rod in hand or sitting beneath a toadstool -- have been a favourite of British gardeners since the 19th century. But in the wake of last month's snarl-up in the Suez, supplies of the diminutive garden guardians have dried up as many of the decorative ornaments have been left languishing in shipping containers. Add that to what Ian Byrne of Highfield Garden World in Gloucestershire calls a "massive upswing" in gnome sales during lockdown and you have a gnome problem. "We haven't seen a gnome in six months now unfortunately," said the assistant manager. It's a hard time for Major Biden too, proving that life is no walk in the park for the presidential canine. Transitioning to the White House for the Biden's German Shepherd, a former rescue pup, has been tricky. After at least one biting incident that had him sent back to the Biden family house in Delaware, the rambunctious young dog is leaving his new home again. Michael LaRosa, a spokesman for First Lady Jill Biden, said Major would "undergo some additional training to help him adjust to life in the White House." But his masters will not be left alone -- Major's elderly, fellow German Shepherd companion Champ will still be there. burs-eab/jmy/mjs
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