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From a terrible din Down Under to how Sri Lanka's cursing shamans now feel cursed... Your weekly roundup of offbeat stories from around the world.

It can't go on, Celine

A mayor is worried that people playing Celine Dion songs extra loud will spark an exodus from a small New Zealand city.

"It's a headache," Porirua mayor Anita Baker admitted, saying many of its 60,000 people were having sleepless nights because of the "siren battles" between Dion fans, who blare her power ballads at each other from powerful car speakers.

They "love Celine Dion", the mayor said, but everyone else has had enough of hearing "My Heart Will Go On" and "It's All Coming Back To Me Now".

"People are just not getting any sleep," she told AFP. "We don't want people leaving the city because of the noise."

Flipping obvious?

Hats off to academics and students at the University of Amsterdam who flipped 350,757 coins to see which side wins most.

Having tested 46 different currencies, with flippers given shoulder massages to get them through 12-hour days of intensive tossing, they finally came up with an answer... it's about the same.

The upward facing side did win the toss most -- but only 50.8 percent of the time.

"It's fun to do some stupid stuff from time to time," said researcher Frantisek Bartos, who insisted that the fine margin still mattered.

It's a crying shaman

Shamans who make their living from helping Sri Lankans put curses on their enemies are smarting after their appeals to the Lord of Destruction failed to stop cuts to their pay.

Chief shaman D.M. Kumara and nine others at the Seenigama Devale Buddhist temple off the island's south coast went on strike when officials drastically reduced the cut they get of offerings to the deity.

Shamans sit at the entrance of Seenigama Devale shrine as part of their strike in Seenigama on October 26, 2023. (Credit: AFP)

"We have taken our grievance to god Devol, but we are taking direct action because we have not seen immediate results," he said.

"Divine influence will take a little time to work."

Marked for life... 

Never want to be parted from a deceased loved one? A Californian body artist may have the answer. Use their ashes to get a tattoo.

Kat "Steel Honey" Dukes adds the ashes to her ink to leave a permanent mark on those left behind.

"It could be a dog that's passed away, or a husband," the 32-year-old from Oceanside near Los Angeles told AFP. "This is all part of the grieving process."

Just barking

An AI talking dog designed to help cheer up old people in Japan is in the doghouse for talking nonsense.

The "Dai-chan" chatbot -- which features a Shiba Inu cartoon dog -- is supposed to answer questions for the elderly people who might be in danger of getting a bit confused.

But some of its error-filled responses have not helped.

Asked by AFP for its reaction to the criticism, the chatbot said: "Yes, yes, I often make mistakes, but it's a bit hard that people report it. Making mistakes is part of growth, isn't it?"