Minion mayhem: giant inflatable stops traffic in Dublin

A giant minion has been causing chaos in Dublin, Ireland.

The 12-metre inflatable stopped cars on a busy road after strong winds had ripped the yellow giant loose from a nearby fairground.

No one was injured with one local calling the incident "a bit of fun".

The police, with the help of passers-by, eventually managed to let the air out of the yellow inflatable and took it away in a wheelbarrow.

The minion was being used at a fairground

Nobody was hurt but the traffic was stopped for 15 minutes. Police came to help and passers-by helped the police to let the air out of the minion and it was taken away in a wheelbarrow. ( CBBC Newsround)

Robot receptionist starts work in Tokyo department store

A super-life-like robot has started work at a department store in Tokyo, Japan.

The robot will help to welcome customers who visit the shop, and offer directions.

Mio Sakai has been working as the store's human receptionist for two years now, and says she feels honoured to work alongside the robot-lady.

The new robo-receptionist will be welcoming visitors to the store for the next few days, before working elsewhere in the store as a guide.

From BBC Newsround

Dressed in a kimono and smiling, Aiko Chihira greets shoppers at the entrance of Tokyo's Mitsukoshi department store. But Chihira is no regular employee — she is a humanoid robot.

Developed by Toshiba last year, the robot made its debut at the store on Monday in a new role interacting with customers.

Speaking Japanese, Chihira, which has human-like features and blinks, can also be programmed to speak in other languages such as Chinese.

"It would be good if we can have her provide guidance, or recommend various things in Chinese," said Hitoshi Tokuda, Toshiba's new business development division group manager.

"... People can be looking around and think, 'Oh if Aiko is around, she can speak Chinese'. That's what I hope will happen."

Sign language

Toshiba has said Chihira has 43 motors which allow it to move. The robot is also programmed to do Japanese sign language.

At Monday's unveiling, Chihira accompanied Japanese opera singer Shoko Iwashita in a performance.

"I would like you to listen to the song that I've put a lot of effort into," the robot said.

After the performance, in which it appeared as if Chihira had lip-synched, the robot asked for applause for Iwashita.

Chihira, currently not programmed to respond to customer complaints or questions, is not the only robot to work in retail. Last year, Nestle said it would enlist SoftBank Corp's humanoid robots, Pepper, to help sell its coffee makers at home appliances stores across Japan.

From CBCNews

Christmas trees donated for lions to play with

Lions at a zoo in Cambridgeshire have found a new use for old Christmas trees.

They've been given the real trees to play with and have been enjoying rolling around with them.

Linton Zoological Gardens are also using some of the trees in their bio-burner to provide heating for the buildings.

Zuri, an African lion, has become quite attached to his tree

Manager Dawny Greenwood said: "They just love the trees, it gives them hours of fun."

People have been dropping off their trees and some companies have donated unsold ones.

FromCBBC newsround

It's really a good use for those "old" Christmas trees, but it's a pity that they were cut off the forests where they belong and have a much worthy role. Nevertheless I love animals and I always feel happy when they have a nice treatment in Zoos as well as in reserves or in the wild. We all must protect animals if we want nature to survive to development.

Mª Dulce Branquinho

Christmas traditions Around the World

Christmas around the world from Nines Picado

A hologram of Father Christmas is entertaining crowds outside a house in Derby.

He can be seen moving around, looking out of the window and waving as he prepares for his busiest time of the year.

A jolly Mrs Claus can be seen waving from an upstairs window.

The holographic video footage was set up by the person who lives at the house, electrician Carl Holdsworth.

From CBBC newsround

Giant Christmas tree lights up Dortmund in Germany

Check out this enormous Christmas tree in the city of Dortmund, Germany.

The giant tree is 100 metres tall and is actually made of 1,700 smaller trees put together.

The branches are decorated by 48,000 lights!

The organisers of Dortmund's Christmas market say the tree is the largest "real" Christmas tree in the world.

From CBBC Newsround