Odd News Roundup: France's Macron said I will not surrender my umbrella; Rescued dolphin picks Chiefs to win Super Bowl and more

As Slovak Prime Minister Igor Matovic spoke to reporters before a meeting with Macron, a female aide came out and handed the French leader a black umbrella. Good of the Hive: the New York muralist on a mission to hand-paint 50,000 bees Like many artists, Matthew Willey had longed to meet his muse.

Following is a summary of current odd news briefs.

France's Macron: I will not surrender my umbrella

French President Emmanuel Macron was so determined to hold his own umbrella at a rain-dampened event outside the Elysee Palace on Wednesday that he shooed away aides three times when they tried to take it from him. As Slovak Prime Minister Igor Matovic spoke to reporters before a meeting with Macron, a female aide came out and handed the French leader a black umbrella. Macron took it and held it over his Slovakian guest.

NFL: Rescued dolphin picks Chiefs to win Super Bowl

Nicholas, a rescue bottlenose dolphin, made waves on Tuesday when he predicted the Kansas City Chiefs would win Sunday's Super Bowl, a controversial choice as the Florida resident picked against the hometown favourite Tampa Bay Buccaneers. An animal care specialist dressed as an NFL referee at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium presented Nicholas with two footballs - one with the logo of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and one with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Good of the Hive: the New York muralist on a mission to hand-paint 50,000 bees

Like many artists, Matthew Willey had longed to meet his muse. He had no idea she would fly in through his apartment window. The bee that buzzed into his room in late spring, 2008 so entranced the New York-based muralist that he embarked on a mission to highlight growing threats to pollinators by hand-painting 50,000 individual bees on buildings around the world.

German sniffer dogs detect COVID-19 with 94% accuracy

A German veterinary clinic has trained sniffer dogs to detect the novel coronavirus in human saliva samples with 94% accuracy. The dogs are conditioned to scent out the "corona odour" that comes from cells in infected people, said Esther Schalke, a vet at Germany's armed forces school for service dogs.

This newly discovered chameleon is so tiny it can fit on your fingertip

Scientists say they discovered a sunflower seed-sized subspecies of chameleon that may well be the smallest reptile on Earth. Two of the miniature lizards, one male and one female, were discovered by a German-Madagascan expedition team in northern Madagascar.

(With inputs from agencies.)