From a bear cooling down in an ice cream parlour to Japanese staff who took quality control too far. Your weekly roundup of offbeat stories from around the world.

- And one or two for the crew... -

A swanky Japanese sleeper train has suspended crew members for helping themselves to expensive wines for years in the name of "quality control".

"Some were repeatedly drinking more than they were allowed to as part of quality control testing," JR East, which runs the luxury Shiki-Shima train that boasts Michelin-starred chefs, solid cypress bathtubs and a snug with a roaring fire.

So many were living it up that the operator had to cancel an August 30 jaunt around the bucolic regions of Niigata and Nagano because of "manpower" shortages.

The two-night trip cost upwards of $3,000 and promised

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