Communi-tree centre 

Villagers in China have turned the boughs of a 1,800-year-old tree into a gathering place and community centre.
The 100ft wide camphor tree, in Mukou village, Jiangxi province, has a big open space in the middle around which seven thick branches grow.
The area is so wide that villagers have managed to install two big tables with spaces for more than 30 people to sit and talk, play games or read.
"It's the best place to sit in the summer as it is so cool and it's a great feeling to be so high up in the tree," one villager told People's Daily.
Local forestry officials worked out the age of the tree and say it is healthy enough to last for many more years - providing the villagers take care of it.

Basketball player saves dolphin

A marine park in China recruited a long-armed basketball player to help save a dying dolphin.
The female dolphin, named Linda, had swallowed a plastic mat which had got stuck in her stomach.
Staff at the Hangzhou Polar Ocean Park, Zhejiang province, x-rayed Linda after she lost interest in her usual trick of stealing fish from a bucket at the waterside.
"She seemed very upset and had no appetite at all. We were worried she was ill," said a spokesman for the park.
Vets' tools could not reach into the dolphin's stomach so an appeal went out to the local sports bureau for help.
A retired basketball player Zhang Youliang, who is 7ft 1in tall and has arms more than a metre long, stepped forward.
With the help of more than 10 staff, Zhang managed to reach into the dolphin's stomach and remove the mat at the second attempt.
Vets say Linda should now make a full recovery in about a week from the damage to her stomach.


Lion escapes and swims to school

A lion that escaped from its cage in a China zoo went for a swim in a local river.
Staff at the People's Park in Rudong of eastern China's Jiangsu province forgot to lock the cage when they finished cleaning the den.
The lion, a 4-year-old male, jumped into the river in the park and swam with the currents for nearly 400 metres before it tried to climb up into the campus of Rudong Shiyan Elementary School.
"Originally we thought it's a big dog or buffalo something in the water, never expecting it to be a giant and furious lion," said an eye witness.
Police evacuated local residents and ordered the school not to let students out of their classrooms.
After three anaesthetic shots, the lion was calmed and swam into a cage lowered into the water.
The feeder at the zoo later explained that when he cleaned the cage he saw a mouse and chased it to the corner, but when he turned around the lion had escaped


Jammy prince

Prince Harry's new girlfriend reportedly refers to him by the nickname of 'Jam'.
TV presenter Caroline Flack uses the secret name to keep her relationship with the Prince under wraps, according to The Sun.
The newspaper claims to have the inside line from friends of Caroline, 28, who say she chose the name because "he's got jam-coloured hair and he's sweet".
"Caroline realises that Clarence House would frown upon her gossiping about her relationship, so she uses the codeword among her close circle of pals," The Sun's source says.
"She doesn't want to jeopardise what she has with Harry - and he has really taken to his new pet name."
Caroline even posted an update on her Facebook site reading: "Caroline loves jam... x."