In unusual but true stories this week, we have 'mobile phone safe lanes', a river-crossing competition that involves carrying sheep, a ship replica made from reed, and a river football match.

All the odd and interesting anecdotes from around the world are here in our review.

Pedestrian lanes for phone users

Two 75-meter long pedestrian lanes for phone users have been installed in central Manchester, after new research by AO-Mobile that found 96 percent of people say someone has walked into them because they were busy looking at their phone.

The lanes are thought to be the first of their kind in Europe.

According to a survey of 1,500 people, 75 percent admitted to walking and using their phone at the same time, while 70 percent said they regularly walk and text at the same time.

Mobile phone lanes have been introduced in the Chinese of city of Chongqing and smartphone distraction has even been blamed for a sharp rise in pedestrian deaths in the US in recent years.