Odd News

  • WorldAFP

    Macron and Lula's 'bromance' sets social media fans alight

    Wedding photos or a diplomatic visit?"They are going to marry in the Amazon and have their honeymoon in Paris," joked one user on X, while others said pictures from the trip could make up a wedding album. 

    2 min read
  • LifestyleAFP

    Paris crowns champion waiters in one-of-a-kind 'cafe race'

    Visitors to central Paris were treated on Sunday to the sight of hundreds of aproned waiters surging through the mediaeval streets, in a one-of-a-kind race designed to show off the profession months ahead of the Olympic Games. First staged in 1914, the "course des garcons de cafe" (cafe waiters' race) was held on Sunday for the first time since 2011 -- four months before the city hosts the Olympics in July and August.

    3 min read
  • WorldAFP

    The unexplained: Giant Swedish archive logs paranormal phenomena

    Newspaper clippings, books and first-hand accounts of people who said they visited other planets are catalogued in a giant Swedish archive on paranormal phenomena, attracting the curious and researchers from around the world.Swedish artist Ida Idaida spent a month doing research in the AFU archives to create a giant sculpture made of dark wood.

    4 min read
  • USAFP

    Blooming good: World's biggest tulip garden marks 75th edition

    The world's biggest tulip garden opened to the public on Thursday for its 75th edition, with hundreds of thousands of people expected to enjoy a bewildering array of seven million bulbs in the western Dutch city of Lisse.Most visitors however, said they were just enjoying the outdoor flower garden.

    2 min read
  • BusinessAFP

    Hermes faces US lawsuit over 'refusal' to sell Birkin bag

    Fashionistas desperate to get their hands on an exclusive Birkin handbag are suing Hermes in California on grounds the company won't sell them one unless they buy other luxury products first.One of the plaintiffs, Tina Cavalleri, says she inquired about buying one of the coveted handbags from the French company in 2022.

    2 min read
  • USAFP

    Child bank robbers, dubbed 'Little Rascals,' nabbed in Texas

    Three boys aged 11, 12 and 16 -- dubbed the "Little Rascals" by the FBI -- have been arrested for allegedly robbing a Texas bank.The FBI had released a photo of the pint-sized suspects following their March 14 bank robbery, adding a caption that read "believe it or not, they just robbed the Wells Fargo."

    1 min read
  • WorldAFP

    Thai PM meets $500,000 albino buffalo in 'soft power' push

    Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin took the bull by the horns Wednesday as he welcomed an unusual visitor to his offices -- an enormous white buffalo that recently sold for $500,000. And big bulls are big business -- last year a farmer in northern Phitsanulok province reportedly sold his 1.4-tonne bull for more than $1.45 million.

    2 min read
  • SportsAFP

    'Curse of the Colonel' KFC statue disposed of in Japan

    A plastic statue of Kentucky Fried Chicken's founder Colonel Sanders that was a lucky charm for superstitious Japanese baseball fans has been "disposed of" 15 years after being dredged out of an Osaka river, the firm said.But as the years went by and the Tigers' fortunes faltered, a belief took hold among fans dubbed the "Curse of the Colonel" that success would only return if the life-sized doll was recovered.

    1 min read
  • WorldAFP

    25 speeding tickets in 19 days lands Frenchman in Norway jail

    A Frenchman who had been in Norway for just over a month has been handed a 21-day prison sentence for amassing 25 speeding tickets in 19 days.The man had his sentence reduced by three days, from 24 to 21, due to his full confession.

    1 min read
  • WorldAFP

    Collective siesta in Mexico City aims to promote the right to sleep

    In one of Mexico City's busiest neighborhoods on Friday, about 200 people took a collective nap in the middle of the street to celebrate World Sleep Day. Lying in the heat on synthetic mats, their necks resting on pillows and their eyes covered by masks, participants tuned out the chaos of Mexico's capital as part of what organizers described as "a peaceful demonstration for the right to sleep." "The idea is that sleeping well, or having this event attract attention, can help launch new public p

  • SportsAFP

    Bee-zarre: Bees stop Alcaraz-Zverev match at Indian Wells

    A "bee invasion" rocked Stadium Court at Indian Wells on Thursday, sending defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev diving for cover and making a hero of local bee expert Lance Davis.It would be almost two hours before play resumed, with Davis, a local expert who specializes in live bee removal, emerging as a star during the break.

    2 min read
  • BusinessAFP

    Mexican artist crushes Tesla under giant stone head

    A giant stone head resembling an ancient Indigenous sculpture sits on top of a crushed Tesla car."Look what I do to your lousy car with this wonderful head.

    2 min read
  • USAFP

    Rats in US police headquarters 'high' from eating seized marijuana

    As New Orleans police seize marijuana, they can't stop some inside the department headquarters from consuming the confiscated stash.Rats and cockroaches have apparently long infested the police department headquarters, originally built in 1968. 

    1 min read
  • WorldAFP

    The many chilling myths of Prague's 'lunatic graveyard'

    It was the setting of the chilling graveyard scene in "Amadeus", may have held the bones of Gavrilo Princip -- the man who started World War I -- and Margaret Thatcher paid a mysterious visit there when she was British prime minister.- Thatcher's pilot - Vitek said that British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher paid a mysterious visit to the graveyard in 1990 to reportedly bring home the remains of a British pilot shot down at the end of World War II. Nobody knew where the grave was, Vitek said,

    3 min read
  • SportsAFP

    Cambodia earns new world record for largest 'bridal carry'

    Hundreds of Cambodians braved sticky tropical heat to set an unusual new world record: for the most people performing a "bridal carry" at the same time."I am so happy, it is my first time to participate in such an event to break a world record for Cambodia," Sam Khan, 25, told AFP before carrying his wife.

    1 min read
  • WorldAFP

    Rupert Murdoch is engaged once again -- at 92

    Media magnate Rupert Murdoch is not giving up on love -- even at age 92.Murdoch handed over control of his global media empire to son Lachlan last November, shifting to an emeritus status. tjj/acb

    1 min read
  • WorldAFP

    Kala, rare Sumatran tiger cub, makes her debut in Rome

    A run around and a cuddle with dad -- Rome zoo's new Sumatran tiger cub made her public debut Thursday, three months after her birth boosted the critically endangered species.Sumatran tigers, named after the Indonesian island where they live, are the smallest species of tigers -- and the rarest.

    1 min read
  • WorldAFP

    Grand Prix theft auto: UK police find F1 driver's stolen Ferrari

    A Ferrari stolen from Austrian former racing driver Gerhard Berger after the San Marino Grand Prix in 1995 has been recovered, Britain's Metropolitan Police said Monday.Berger was one of the most popular drivers during his 14-season Formula One career, which began in 1984 and ended in 1997, winning 10 Grand Prix and twice finishing third in the championship while driving for Ferrari. 

    2 min read
  • WorldAFP

    Funny old world: The week's offbeat news

    From how Burkina Faso has had it with headcases to France's most self-service wine cellar... your weekly roundup of offbeat stories from around the world. - How laid-back - Burkina Faso is trying to persuade its most famous amateur stuntman to wear a helmet now he is 72.

    3 min read
  • WorldAFP

    London launches underground search for buskers to lift commuter spirits

    It was a busy morning at London's Southwark train station and the pressure was on -- but not just for the city's commuters.Bruell said he does not always get his train fare from Essex.

    4 min read
  • LifestyleAFP

    Hollywood ending: Scottish shop's sweets head to Oscars

    In a storyline improbable enough for Hollywood, a vegan chocolatier in a remote Scottish port town has made the confectionery to be given to silver screen icons at next month's Oscars.Meanwhile her vegan, gluten-free chocolates are made with organic and fair-trade ingredients "as far as possible", and her Oscars creations are alcohol-free.

    4 min read
  • WorldAFP

    From satirical street art to Vatican designer

    Ten years after his mural of Pope Francis as a superhero went viral, Italian street artist Maupal has been adopted by the Vatican, which is using his works to inspire the faithful.The mural was immediately painted over, but not before the image was picked up by the media and went viral.

    3 min read
  • EntertainmentAFP

    Lagos gets Sci-Fi treatment in new Disney+ series

    A new animated Disney series set in a futuristic Lagos has won over its first viewers with a Sci-Fi play on life in the Nigerian megacity.Head set designer Ibrahim said the series had left viewers "mind-blown." 

    3 min read
  • USAFP

    With 'Texit,' some want to make Texas a country, again

    Texas, an independent country 200 years ago, now boasts a pocket of people who want that status back, advocating a separation they call Texit.But after a war of independence -- the so-called Texas Revolution -- it achieved sovereign status in 1836.

    4 min read
  • WorldAFP

    What's in a leap year? Eternal youth, wedding bells and tech bugs

    An extra day every four years, what's not to love?Bearing in mind it takes around 365.2422 days each year for the Earth to revolve around the sun, the extra snippet (around six hours a year) adds up over time.

    3 min read
  • WorldReuters

    Belgian collects a treasure trove of 60,000 vintage tin boxes

    GRAND-HALLET, Belgium (Reuters) - The colourful tins piled high around Belgian collector Yvette Dardenne used to contain goods ranging from chocolates, toffees, coffee and rice to tobacco, talc and shoe polish, and come from as far away as India. Yvette Dardenne, 83, has accumulated almost 60,000 vintage tin boxes from all over the world since starting her collection some 30 years ago. The collection, which now occupies four houses, all began with a Cote d'Or chocolate box illustrated with a

    1 min read
  • WorldReuters

    Penguins missing visitors, say keepers, at locked-down Thai Zoo

    The flip flop sound of penguin feet rang out at an empty zoo in Thailand on Thursday as a parade of birds waddled out of their enclosure for their daily splash in a pool to keep them healthy during a COVID-19 lockdown. Thailand is fighting its biggest coronavirus outbreak yet and has introduced strict movement curbs that have seen many public places, including zoos, shuttered. "I noticed that they felt a bit confused because when they walk out, there's usually a lot of people waiting for them,

    2 min read
  • WorldReuters

    UK PM Johnson worried about his dog's 'romantic urges' in Downing Street

    British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that his dog Dilyn had "romantic urges" and was "endlessly at people's legs" in Downing Street. Johnson and Carrie Symonds revealed in 2019 that they had adopted a rescued Jack Russell-cross puppy named Dilyn. "Do you have to worry about his romantic urges?" Johnson asked a police dog handler with an Alsatian.

    1 min read
  • EntertainmentReuters

    Feline okay? The app that tells you if your cat's happy

    Cat owners who love to take pictures of their furry friends now have a new excuse to pull out their smartphones and take a snapshot: it may actually help the cat. A Calgary, Alberta, animal health technology company, Sylvester.ai, has developed an app called Tably that uses the phone's camera to tell whether a feline is feeling pain. A 2019 study published in peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports found that the so-called 'feline grimace scale,' or FGS, is a valid and reliable tool for acute

    2 min read
  • WorldReuters

    Samoan seasonal workers sing during Australian hotel quarantine

    Australia's strict hotel quarantine requirements leaves most people frustrated and angry, but a group of quarantined seasonal workers from Samoa sang from their hotel room balconies in Hobart to say thank you instead. They were also doing this to thank the Australian Defence Force, police and government for their efforts, according to Dennie Teniseli, who filmed the video on June 18 not long after the group flew in. Australia has since March 2020 shut its international border to non-citizens b

    1 min read
  • WorldReuters

    Australia man ties bedsheets together to escape 4th floor hotel quarantine - police

    A man in the Australian city of Perth escaped mandatory quarantine in a hotel by scaling down a rope made of tied together bedsheets from a fourth-floor window, police said on Tuesday. After arriving in the West Coast city on an interstate flight from Brisbane, the man had his application for entry refused under the state's tough border entry rules intended to stop the virus entering from elsewhere in the country. The man was told to leave the state within 48 hours and taken to a hotel for tem

    2 min read
  • ScienceReuters

    World record as tightrope walkers cross Swedish Arctic valley 600m up

    Four German tightrope walkers have set a new world highlining distance record by crossing a 2.1 km-long valley in Swedish lapland on a line suspended at a height of 600 metres. Reuters' video footage showed a barefoot man sway and teeter as he delicately tiptoed across the line between two mountain peaks in a snow-capped valley. "I just focused on being very slow, being extremely clean and just reaching the end," said Quirin Herterich, who was first to cross the line before compatriots Lukas I

    1 min read
  • USReuters

    'Bubble man' roams San Francisco streets, bringing joy

    The massive bubble Kurth Reis conjured last month, rising like a genie from a bucket of soap, startled a small girl visiting San Francisco's Embarcadero, almost enveloping her as she scampered away. Reis was in the military and later did jail time, burning bridges before a motorcycle crash hospitalized him in 2018, he recounted. His girlfriend, Kelly Sullivan, deserves much of the credit, or blame, for what she calls his soapy "addiction."

    3 min read
  • USReuters

    Lot in Canadian village for sale with small catch: It's under water

    A 19-acre (7.7-hectare) lot for sale in a protected bay on the Canadian side of Lake Erie may look like a steal at C$99,000 ($80,292), especially with the average home in Canada now worth C$688,000, but there is a catch. The vacant lot on Brock Street in the village of Shrewsbury, Ontario, about 65 miles (105 km) east of Detroit, has no actual address, though the neighborhood gets high marks for being quiet and car-friendly. Canada's housing market has been on a tear through the COVID-19 pande

    2 min read
  • WorldReuters

    Cambodia PM weighs in to get pet lion returned to owner

    A pet lion that authorities seized from a house in Cambodia's capital last week was reunited with its owner on Monday - after a personal intervention by Prime Minister Hun Sen. Police and wildlife officials initially raided the property on June 27, saying they were rescuing the animal after videos of it appeared on the social media app TikTok, and neighbours raised the alarm. In the days that followed, social media posts appeared saying the lion should be returned to the owner, who had denied

    2 min read
  • BusinessReuters

    With 3D printed 'steaks', Spanish startup eyes the mass market

    As demand for plant-based alternatives to meat rises, Barcelona-based startup Novameat is using its 3D printing technology to manufacture vegetarian "steaks" that it hopes will reach the mass market next year. Novameat plans to sell its "steaks" directly to consumers and to businesses such as restaurants interested in producing plant-based meat, business development manager Alexandre Campos told Reuters on Tuesday. The Spanish company, which developed its technology in 2018, was showing how it

    1 min read
  • BusinessReuters

    'Free meat for a year' offered in JBS U.S. vaccine sweepstakes

    Meatpacker JBS SA said on Thursday it will give away beef, pork and chicken for the next year to 50 U.S. families that participate in company-sponsored vaccination clinics over the coming weeks. The Brazilian company's arm in the United States and Pilgrim's Pride, a U.S. chicken company mostly owned by JBS, came under fire last year as thousands of meatpacking workers fell sick with COVID-19. "We've made great progress, and our vaccination rates are much higher than the rates in the communitie

    2 min read
  • WorldReuters

    Italian hospital uses CT scan to unveil secrets of Egyptian mummy

    Ancient Egypt met modern medical technology when a mummy underwent a CT scan at an Italian hospital as part of a research project to discover its secrets. The mummy of Ankhekhonsu, an ancient Egyptian priest, was transferred from Bergamo's Civic Archaeological Museum to Milan's Policlinico hospital, where experts will shed light on his life and the burial customs of almost 3,000 years ago. "The mummies are practically a biological museum, they are like a time capsule," said Sabina Malgora, the

    1 min read
  • LifestyleReuters

    Ukraine's inseparable couple ditches the handcuffs and parts ways

    After 123 days handcuffed together to save their on-again off-again relationship, Ukrainians Alexandr Kudlay and Viktoria Pustovitova have split up, shedding their bonds on national TV and saying the experiment had brought home uncomfortable truths. The young couple from the eastern city of Kharkiv decided to handcuff themselves together on Valentine's Day, in a last-ditch attempt to break the cycle of breaking up and making up. Pustovitova said personal space is what she missed most, although

    2 min read
  • BusinessReuters

    Kyrgyz cricket farm hopes to tap Chinese insects market

    With one eye on the lucrative Chinese market just across the border, an entrepreneur has launched Kyrgyzstan's first cricket farm and is producing high-protein insect flour and fried cricket snacks. Accompanied by loud chirping from his one tonne of crickets at the farm, Adyl Gaparov said his idea was inspired by online articles about breeding crickets. "Our main business is producing cricket flour with high protein content," Gaparov said.

    2 min read
  • WorldReuters

    Supermarket chain says Polish workers found cocaine in banana boxes

    Supermarket chain Carrefour SA said on Friday it had notified local police after employees at one of its Warsaw stores had found suspicious parcels in a delivery of bananas, which police later confirmed to be cocaine. "They immediately notified the police, who quickly secured the batch of goods and started an investigation that is currently underway," Carrefour said in an email to Reuters, adding that it was cooperating with the investigation. Warsaw police said the packages contained over 160

    1 min read
  • USReuters

    Jamming with the cicadas in New Jersey: a once in 17 years event

    For some in the U.S., the emergence of billions of red-eyed cicadas this spring after a 17-year slumber has been met with annoyance - particularly over their loud buzzing calls. But for David Rothenberg, a professor of philosophy and music at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, it has presented a unique opportunity for collaboration. "We're combining human musical ideas with nature's musical ideas," he explained as he gathered fellow musicians at a nature preserve in Princeton, New Jersey.

    2 min read
  • WorldReuters

    China's WeChat bans nose-picking, spanking in bid to clean up livestreams

    Chinese social media platform WeChat on Thursday published a list of activities and "violations" it is banning in a bid to clean up its livestreaming service, including "indecent" nose-picking and spanking games. WeChat, owned by Tencent Holdings, is ubiquitous in China, where it is used by around 1 billion people for everything from sending instant messages to ordering pizzas. China closely regulates its internet and has been increasingly clamping down on content that is politically or social

    1 min read
  • WorldReuters

    Pelicans befriend Cuban man living by the sea

    GUANIMAR (Reuters) - "Michel the noble" and "Panchito the affectionate" are some of the names Leonardo Carrillo has given the pelicans that flock each year to his wooden hut on the southern coast of Cuba. For the past two decades, the 62-year-old has cared for the colony of around 100 brown pelicans that land in his village of Guanimar in December to spend the winter months there before heading back north in May. Carrillo said he does actually have three (human) children - two who live in the

    2 min read
  • LifestyleReuters

    French restaurant serves up food of the future: insects

    Laurent Veyet's tasting menu is not for the faint-hearted, but may point to the future of feeding a booming world population - there is a prawn salad with yellow mealworm, crunchy insects on a bed of vegetables and chocolate-coated grasshoppers. "It's the ideal dish for first-timers," the Parisian chef said, preparing a serving of pasta made with mealworm flour, sweet potato and sauteed insect larvae. The European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) in January deemed the mealworm fit for human consumpti

    2 min read
  • WorldReuters

    With rattles and smoke, Peru shamans predict election outcome

    Peruvian shamans, with rattles, smoke and pictures of the Andean country's two presidential candidates, are trying to read the tea leaves ahead of a polarized run-off election on June 6 with polls showing what could be a tight contest. On a stony hillside in Lima, shamans burned incense and played musical instruments in colorful, traditional outfits to predict the winner from between socialist front-runner Pedro Castillo and conservative Keiko Fujimori. The vote could tip copper-rich Peru shar

    2 min read
  • WorldReuters

    Cattle for raffle gets Thai town in moood for vaccines

    BANGKOK (Reuters) -A district of northern Thailand has launched a raffle campaign for inoculated residents to win a live cow per week for the rest of the year, in a bid to boost the local COVID-19 vaccination drive. From next month, one lucky vaccinated villager in the Mae Chaem district of Chiang Mai province will be randomly chosen every week to win a young cow worth around 10,000 baht ($319). "Our vaccine registration numbers have gone from hundreds to thousands in a couple of days," distri

    1 min read
  • WorldReuters

    Would you wash with snail slime soap?

    Foamy slime bubbles onto Damien Desrocher’s hand as he lightly rubs one of the thousands of snails he keeps in an enclosure in his backyard. The 28-year-old French artisan began using the gastropod fluid to make soap bars, which he sells in local markets, in December. "It's all in the dexterity of how you tickle,” Desrocher said as he extracted the slime, noting that the process does not kill the animals.

    2 min read
  • SportsReuters

    Soccer-Push-up punishment for Belgium's Batshuayi after squad gaffe

    Belgium striker Michy Batshuayi faces a prompt punishment of 50 push-ups when he joins the national team squad for the European Championship at the end of the month. Batshuayi prematurely announced his own inclusion in the 26-man squad for the tournament on Monday, firing off a tweet before the squad’s official announcement was completed at a formal news conference addressed by coach Roberto Martinez. The Crystal Palace forward had not followed the announcement by Martinez on the Belgium FA mo

    1 min read
  • WorldReuters

    Rescued British yachtsman lands in Sydney's COVID-19 quarantine

    A British yachtsman has been placed in mandatory coronavirus quarantine in a hotel in downtown Sydney after being rescued from his sinking craft in rough waters, Australian police said on Sunday. Australian media said the 40-year-old was sailing to Sydney from Tahiti. Police in New South Wales said they launched a 26-hour rescue effort from midnight on Friday, after receiving reports of a 50-foot (15 m) Beneteau yacht taking on water about 95 nautical miles off the coast of Newcastle.

    1 min read