From the ridiculous to the more ridiculous, here are the weird stories that caught our eye this year.

Are garment factories in Bangladesh safe five years after the Rana Plaza disaster?

Remembering some of the figures from music, film, TV, radio and literature who died in 2018.

Festival-goers are told that a "dangerous" drug is circulating in Australia, following a man's death.

Dylema leads us through key events on the continent this year in a specially commissioned poem.

A top Republican says the president remains determined to defeat the Islamic State group in Syria.

France's president warns order will be kept "without complacency" after violent anti-government protests.

An official says people did not take precautions as the storm was not classed as a typhoon.

Watch BBC Sport's top 10 funniest moments of 2018 - from bizarre throw-ins, photobombs, incredible own goals and a nutmeg with a golf ball at 140 mph.

Harlequins' Mike Brown says match officials are failing to protect players and claims he could have broken his neck in Saturday's win over Wasps.

Liverpool have gone from hunting Manchester City to being hunted, but Jurgen Klopp's side must relish that challenge, says Martin Keown.

President Putin visits the city of Magnitogorsk, where at least four are dead after a gas leak.

Afro-Argentines often feel like they’ve been written out of history and are mistaken for foreigners in their own country.

Rights groups call the Philippine president's comments "repulsive" and "unworthy of his position".

The FSB security agency says a US man named Paul Whelan has been charged with spying.

Dr Nancy Grace Roman, the first woman to hold a senior leadership position at Nasa, has died at 93.

British number four Harriet Dart beats Australian wildcard Priscilla Hon to reach the second round of the Brisbane International.

Donald Trump's offer on trade cannot happen if the PM's Brexit deal goes through, says Woody Johnson.

Roger Federer and Serena Williams will meet on court for the first time at the Hopman Cup on Tuesday.

Take our sports news quiz of 2018 - but be warned, it's difficult...

Paul Mock filmed the cane toads riding the python, known as Monty, after a bad storm in Kununurra.